Wellington, NZ - 15 January 2019 - 8:00 am to 10:00 pm



We arrive in Wellington, NZ docking in a commercial port at 7:54 am. This Capital of New Zealand is located on the southern tip of the northern island with a population of about 420,000.   It is purported to be the windiest city in the world (I always thought that distinction belonged to Chicago).   After breakfast the four of us are on the shuttle for the 15-minute ride to downtown Wellington.

Getting on the Cable Car

We head directly to the Wellington Cable Car -- "Climbing 120 meters in 5 minutes" almost 400 feet.    As the new suburb of Kelburn was being planned in the 1890's, Martin Kennedy, a wealthy businessman suggested a cable car as part of the plan for transporting people to the city down below.    The Cable Car opened in 1902 carrying 4,000 passengers on the first weekend of operation.  By 1904 a tea house was added to the Summit -- by 1933 electricity replaced steam to power the cable car -- by 1978 the original system was replaced by a new Swiss designed system in operation today.

Pat and Colette sitting on an old cable car at the Museum

At the summit we find:  Wellington Botanic Garden, Cable Car Museum, Space Place (a state of the art planetarium), Zealandia (eco sanctuary), as well as eating venues and a perfumery.  

We visit the Cable Car Museum -- which has some of the old cars and a history of the system.  I also learned that there are number of private cable cars in Wellington installed by wealthy people who live on a steep incline.

Phil in the Museum by an Old Cable Car

Then it is on to the Perfumery -- "Fragrifert Perfumeur" has been in business since 1911 and is currently run by Francesco van Eerd who is originally from the Netherlands.    Customers are encouraged to smell a variety of  perfumes -- in between each sniff coffee beans are used to cleanse the nose.   For a hefty price a personal scent can be developed from a base of available perfumes.   It is an interesting place and fun to look around.

Pat in the Perfumery
We could spend the entire day on this summit but there are other things to see and time is short.

Comparing a Victorian Baby Buggy to Today's Baby Buggy at Wellington Museum.

We take the cable car back down and within a couple blocks we are standing in front of the Wellington Museum.   This is a wonderful place -- free admission and very well done but hard to describe.  There is a brochure "Highlights in a Hurry" which points out ten things to see if you don't have a lot of time.  We start on the 3rd Floor and work our way down -- this is another place we could spend the day -- but it is time for lunch.

Victorian Commode circa 1890 -- Pull Chain from 1900 - Wellington Museum

The Crab Shack is just across from the Wellington Museum.  It bills itself as "a coastal/Cape Cod themed casual dining experience" -- in we go.   Phil and Marc order the seafood special which includes a variety of shellfish -- Colette and I each get sandwiches.   The food is very good.


Pat in front of Crab Shack!

Continuing to walk along the waterfront our destination is Te Papa --the museum of New Zealand -- which also happens to have an exhibit on the Chinese Terra Cotta Soldiers.   Colette and Marc are going in -- but it is crowded and Phil and I have the soldiers so wander over to Cuba Street before hopping the shuttle to the ship.

About the wind -- yes this is most likely the windiest city in the world.  The temperature is good for walking around but all of a sudden a gust of wind comes up from nowhere -- one just hold on to everything.

InsideWellington's St. Paul's Cathedral
Tonight we have an early dinner since it is another AzAmazing Evening -- this time at Wellington's St. Paul's Cathedral.   "Symphony by the Sea" is the name of the concert -- it combines familiar opera overtures with traditional songs from the Pacific Islands  -- all performed by Orchestra Wellington and Wellington's Signature Choir.


Phil at the Concert
The concert is very nice and is just about one hour-- perfect.

Colette, Pat and Marc at Concert -- in the Balcony.

We've had busy but fun day.

Thanks for Reading.

Pat

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