We got into Wellington on the night of the 7th after a long bus ride from Rotorua. We were a bit sad to leave the smelly town because there was still much for us to do there. First impressions of Wellington: another big city, relatively expensive, and prettier than Auckland. We got checked into our hostel downtown and walked around for a bit getting acquainted with the city.
Not knowing where to start, we went to the hostel’s front desk and chatted with the girl working there. She was a wealth of information and informed us of several free things to do in Wellington before leaving. During the conversation, we found out she’d never heard of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which was unacceptable. She thought the idea of them was gross, so we made her a half sandwich to try to show her the light. She liked it (how could you not…unless you’re allergic to PB) and thought it was an interesting combo!
The first thing we did on her list was go to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand. What I’ll remember most about it is the colossal squid they have on display. This squid is the only one in the world of its type on display being 4m long with barbed suckers, hooks in the tentacles, and a nasty beak. Pretty massive!
4m colossal squid at Te Papa Museum
There were also exhibits on the Maori people and how they lived years ago. There were some interesting hut replicas in the museum that were pretty cool to walk in. Not ideal for Will’s height though.
Will standing in front of a Maori home in Te Papa Museum
After the museum, we walked across town to take a cable car up to Wellington Botanical Gardens. It was the first cable car I’ve ridden in and as it was built on a pretty steep hill, the cable car is significantly slanted with stairs running up the middle instead of your typical train/bus aisle.
Wellington's slanted cable car
After getting to the top of the cable car’s hill, we had an amazing view of Wellington and the bay.
Wellington from the Botanical Gardens
We walked through the botanical gardens for a while back towards Wellington. The flowers and trees that they have there were amazing and it smelled great. The natural beauty of New Zealand is more what I thought of before I came here and it definitely lived up to the expectations.
Rose garden at Wellington Botanical Gardens
Overall, I enjoyed Wellington more than Auckland. Both are cool cities, but there was more to do and see in Wellington (at least in our budget).
Love that shot of you and the banyon!
Dad
Squid… it’s what’s for dinner! I wonder how many pounds that would clean out to. Speaking of dinner, Jake, how about some discussion of foods other than PBJ. Any hot sauces?
No one in England knows about PB&J either. I guess its a true american classic.