Just over 48 hours after getting home from Spain, I found myself on a flight over ‘the ditch’. I was on my way to Wellington…on a tiny plane! After being on massive planes over the past 2 weeks, this plane felt like a domestic flight to Melbourne, not international. I was heading over to help the NZ Cancer Society with their first ever Fundraising Conference, an important event for them.
After being buffeted around in the air, we had a bumpy land in Wellington. Windy Wellington was certainly living up to its name! There was drizzling rain and wind when we checked in, so we wasted no time heading out to find a nice warm bar to stay dry in. We walked down Cuba St, a street in the centre of town with cafés and bars down both sides, and then found ourselves in Courtney Place, another busy street. We stopped in at the Banglore Polo Club…and didn’t leave.
The place was fabulous! There was an open air style (covered) courtyard out the front with fairy lights hanging across the roof, and then you go inside to a funky bar with light bulbs hanging in birdcages. The floor was covered with peanut shells, and there were bowls on peanuts everywhere. Sounds tacky, but it was exactly the opposite. Great food and drinks, cocktails were the order of the day for most people. We took a prime position at the bar and didn’t move. As the night got busier, we were even more glad for our seats, and our position. Everybody, and I mean everybody, uses EFTPOS in NZ, and not cash. I had known this before from my last visit, however to actually see it in action at a bar was fascinating. The entire time we were there, there were only 13 people who paid in cash. It was quite normal for people to buy one drink with EFTPOS…every time they wanted a drink. It really is a cashless society here.
Saturday we enjoyed breakfast in town, before walking down to the harbour. Wellington’s harbour is very picturesque, with parkland, shops and museums along the front. Wellington itself is such a beautiful place. The hills come down to meet the sea, making a great backdrop for the harbour. It was sunny day, cold but sunny, and was just perfect for pottering around the streets.
Stopped in at the underground craft markets on the front of the harbour. Wellington is so crafty and artistic. All the shops are unique and different, and the markets were no different. They were all local artists showing their wares, and it was very popular with the tourists.
We walked along the harbour, and then took the cable car up the hill to the Botanic Gardens. The cable car was opened in 1902, to bring people up the hill to try and create a new suburb. It’s only a very short trip, but the view from the top is stunning. You can see all over the Wellington Harbour and surrounding hills. The houses here are built all over the hills, and are obviously built for the windy cold weather. They are cute and compact, with no balconies. The Botanical Gardens up top are pretty and beautifully maintained, and there are some great walks throughout. We took the (un-strenuous) walk back down the hill into town.
Our mode of transport.
The view from the top.
Leading the way throught the botanical gardens.
Saturday night – we had managed to land in Wellington the weekend of Guy Fawkes night. FIREWORKS! I love fireworks, so had planned to spend the night by the harbour (along with the rest of Wellington) to watch them. The thing about Guy Fawkes night here is that anyone can buy fireworks and set them off…and they did! Sitting down on the harbour there were fireworks going off around us. People were setting them off in the park, regardless of powerlines and people around. Houses on the hill were setting them off as well, and it was cool to look up at the hills and see them going off. At 9pm (only just after dark) the 3 barges set off the fireworks from the middle of the harbour. The display went for 12mins, and it was the only 12mins of the night that I didn’t freeze – only because I was distracted!
Buy your own fireworks!
The crowd along the harbour.
