Wellington

This is a city park on the waterfront

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, is also the second largest with a population of about 400,000. Built at the edge of the harbor its hills bring a resemblance to San Francisco, but this would be San Francisco on steroids. The Central Business District (CBD) is confined to a small area on the waterfront. Beyond that and the area around the airport, other than a narrow beachfront, the land rises quickly and steeply. Houses are built on the sides of those hills and the relatively few flat spots at their tops. One public tram and some escalators assist in the climb up some hills, but with ten different hills, this doesn’t solve the problem for everyone. Several homeowners have built private tramways or cable cars so they can reach their homes more easily than climbing stairs. Moving companies are said to charge as much as $50 per stair step when hired to move furniture. One upshot of the hills is that you see very few overweight people around town.

Building on the hillside

We spent two nights here between our arrival on the train from Auckland and our ferry to the South Island. Joyce’s B&B is centrally located near the top of one of the hills directly above the CBD. Joyce and Phil are two of the best and friendliest hosts we have ever encountered in all of our travels. They offered excellent dinner and sightseeing suggestions, joined us for the excellent and satisfying breakfast, and invited us to spend time in the evening in their TV room for a glass of wine. Joyce told us they stayed at some other B&Bs when planning to open this one. They enjoyed most the ones where the hosts made the guests feel a part of the family and tried to emulate those. Phil even took us to the ferry terminal in the morning. You can’t beat service like that. We will be happy to see them again when they come to visit our neck of the woods - provided we are home that is.

Parliament

Dinner did require a walk down the hill to the redeveloping harbor area. Like many city harbors Wellington is working hard to turn an eyesore of unused warehouses into a beautiful waterfront where people can enjoy the day and an evening out for dinner. The walk down the hill was easy and we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Crab Shack. We passed on the opportunity walk back up that hill and took a taxi instead.

The next afternoon we took a break from the museum to take a tour of the city with Hammond's tours. Our guide was one of the best we have had. Informative and funny, he pointed out what we were seeing and supplemented the canned tour talk with his own comments. The tour included an opportunity to take the cable car up the hill from the CBD. The day was clear and warm so we jumped at this opportunity. Built around 1900, the tram’s cars are of a 1950s vintage from Switzerland. Built to entice people to move up the hillside, it still fills the need to get people up and down the hill. We did not see much as we made the ascent, but the time we had at the top provided a bird’s eye view of the city.

We made several other stops as part of the tour. One of these was at the rose garden. While only a couple of bushes were in bloom, it was easy to see how spectacular this will look before much longer.

Wood for this lecturn from Wells Cathedral in England.
Everything else is local including the matching one opposite.

We also spent some time at St. John’s Catholic Cathedral.  Built in 1861 in a gothic style, but of local wood, it is a spectacular building on the inside. The natural reddish hue of the wood creates a beauty that is much different from the stone of European cathedrals. It is no longer used for services, but is available for religious events, weddings, and funerals. You just have to provide your own minister. This ranks among the best venues available for a wedding anywhere.

After winding around the beachfront, we ascended Mt. Victoria to the lookout atop that hill for another bird’s-eye view of the city. Our trip down from Mt. Victoria reminded us of our bus ride in the Norwegian fjords. The winding road was barely wide enough for two cars, yet people are allowed to park along the curb. This necessitates slow travel, pull-outs, and even the ability to back up on occasion if the two vehicles are to pass and continue on their way. Like in Norway, it appears that buses do NOT back up for cars.

Maori-inspired sculpture on a walkway on the waterfront

A diving platform at the docks

It's fake grass, but still very busy

This is a city we could live in. It has been rated the world's most livable city. The vibrant night life includes good restaurants and plenty of music and theater venues. The redeveloping waterfront is a great place to hang out on a sunny day. Houses with a view are within walking distance of the city center or if you want to live further out, the bus system will get you there in minutes. Outdoor living is right on the doorstep whether you want to enjoy the water or the mountains. The train station, the airport, and the ferry landing are all within minutes of downtown. It reminds us a lot of home. Big enough to have all the amenities, small enough to feel comfortable. The only downside of living here is the strong winds that blow much of the season. Airline pilots need a special tick on their license to fly into the wind and the locals laugh at tourists trying to use an umbrella when it is raining, knowing the rubbish bins will be full of them tomorrow. Still, a little wind and rain is a small price to pay for everything else this city has to offer.

It's hard to tell from this snapshot, but
the tower is built at an 18 degree slant
to emulate the strong winds