WELLINGTON!

Wellington was voted 'the coolest little capitol in the world' by Lonely Planet in 2011 and it definitely lives up to its expectations. It also has the infamous nickname 'Windy Welly' because of its frequent gale-force winds and often wet climate in the Winter months. Thankfully, there was only a breeze and mist today. As we drove into Wellington, there was a faint rainbow starting from the bay towards the city. What a great way to start the day! 

If you're going to spend the money and time travelling to New Zealand, for the most part, you really don't want to spend your time in the city. You've come for the views and variety of activities New Zealand has to offer. A city is a city is a city (for the most part in my opinion). But if you going to choose between Auckland (where most travel agencies will have you spend a few days to start/end your trip) and Wellington, absolutely choose Wellington. I know this is biased as I have not visited Auckland, but this is also something I've heard from my host, who has been to Auckland. 

The great thing about Wellington is that it's beautiful AND walk-able.The city centre is located along the harbour and you can walk right along the waterfront. Most of the main attractions, the railway and bus station and one of the inter-island ferries are along or within walking distance of the waterfront footpath. 

Queen's Wharf Waterfront

My first stop was to Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum and art gallery. There are lots of museums in Wellington (and the bonus is many of them are free), but if you're going to visit Wellington I highly advise putting Te Papa on your list of places to go. It's very easy to spend hours here (I spent about 2 and I was rushing). There are lots of exhibitions about New Zealand's geography, wildlife, history, art and culture. It also has some nice views of the harbour (the photo above was take from one of the windows in the Museum). 

Now this wouldn't be a post about Wellington if I didn't mention it's cafe culture. In New Zealand cafes, you get your own glass of water. There usually is a tap with some glasses beside it, so you can serve yourself. When you're finished your meal and are ready to leave, you walk up to the cash register to pay and tipping is not mandatory. According to Lonely Planet Wellington has more cafes, pubs and restaurants per capita than New York. As I have never been to New York, I cannot confirm whether or not this is accurate, but there definitely were a lot. The day I visited Wellington was the same day as the All Blacks vs. South Africa rugby match, so most of the pubs were filled with black and white jerseys. I think it's important to remember that when your travelling that you can eat at Starbucks, Burger King or McDonald's almost anywhere. We often have a tendency to flock to things that are familiar to us, but since you're probably not going to see this city again, try something new. Honestly, in 10 years you're likely not going to remember what that tea and sandwich tasted like, but at least you can say you did it and not have to think of what could have been. 

After lunch, I explored the Beehive and Parliament Buildings, the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere (Old Government Building) and Old St. Paul's Anglican Church. 

Old Parliament Building now a Law School

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings 

Old St. Paul's Anglican Church and Historic Site

Unfortunately, this was all the time I was able to spend in Wellington, but I will have plenty of other weekends to visit other iconic locations. Time to go home and watch a rugby game!