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“The one hour tour is worth the time and money (it's free)” |
The next stop was in a suburb of Wellington called Plimmerton. Plimmerton was originally set up as a resort town meant to be a getaway for the wealthy in Wellington. Now being only 20 minutes away from downtown Wellington, it is just an upscale suburb near the beach. Our stay at the Moana Lodge was the best experience we had at a backpackers during our trip. The Moana Lodge is an old house with great views of the ocean and directly across from a swim able beach. In a neighborhood of $1,000,000 homes it is more like a B&B than a backpackers.
We managed to see a bit of Wellington taking a fascinating tour of the Beehive (that’s the capitol building). Cameras aren't allowed in the building but the one hour tour is worth the time and money (it's free). We learned a bit about the government, stood on the floor of the parliament, sat in committee room, and rubbed the wooden elephants head for good luck. Here is a site to visit for those among you that can't resist the lure of politics.
We stopped into the Backbenchers tavern for a beer famous for it's cariactures of political figures. The only two I recognized were Helen Clark and Winston Peters but those New Zealand political junkies out there would love the place.
At the National Archives we saw the original copies of the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty was signed by the government and the leaders of the various Maori iwi in the 1800's to ensure that all the people, but especially the natives would get a fair deal. This is not say that there wasn't trouble and that there still isn't any trouble.
The docent at Old St. Mark’s Church explained the signifigance of the flags in the church including the one left by American serviceman who had R&R in Wellington during WWII.
Along the very windy waterfront we found good examples of public art and watched local high school kids practicing canoe racing on very choppy waters, yes with whitecaps, and no life jackets for the paddlers.
A visit to the National Museum, Te Papa is a must. Two hours gets you to maybe 30% of what's there, it's a small musuem by American standards but has some nooks and crannies worth exploring. I especially liked the fashion exhibit, the corragated iron car, the New Zealand music room, and breathtakingly beautiful marae.
We made use of public transport taking the train from Plimmerton to Wellington and walked everywhere we wanted in Wellington. In spite of it being the capitol of New Zealand, it is still only the size of Christchurch and is very walkable.
Of course it is the people that make a journey and at Moana we met an American couple who had sailed from San Francisco to New Zealand with their 12 year old daughter and had been exploring for the last 2 years.
previous travel blog entry
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