Wellington the Windy City

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is a really beautiful city with historic buildings, a great harbour, cable car and steep hills that provide dramatic views. At the southern tip of the North Island, it's also the place to catch the inter-islander ferry to the South Island.
On arrival I was nearly blown over by the ferocity of the wind. I spent my first day trying to see as much of the city as possible with Silvia, as she only had the one day in Wellington.
The Te Papa National Museum is the city's main attraction and offers the most comprehensive exhibits of New Zealand's history. It really is a terrific museum, easily one of the best I've visited on my travels so far. It's a huge building (we had 4 hours and didn't see everything), with exhibits and galleries spread over six floors in a purpose built facility right on the harbour.

The Te Papa Museum, so big I couldn't fit it all in frame.

I particularly enjoyed the exhibit on immigration (obviously a big part of the museum), in one video clip an elderly Scottish man talks about his arrival in New Zealand. He and his wife couldn't afford to emigrate to Australia (it cost 10 pounds), but New Zealand was free, so that was that. There was also an interesting display on young Polish children who had survived concentration camps, to be sent on long voyages as orphans to a new life in New Zealand.
They also house a very comprehensive art collection. What impressed me most though was the way all the exhibitions had been put together. Every form of media was in use and yet it didn't feel overwhelming. The artefact's were diverse but never irrelevant. Displays appealed to young and old alike.
From the Te Papa we headed to the cable car that takes passengers from the city centre to Kelburn Village, where the botanical gardens, observatory and small cable car museum are.

Kelburn Cable Car

Botanic Gardens

The weather was perfect for Silvia and I to wander around the botanical gardens, they are spread over a few steep hills. From here we headed to the Parliament buildings. The distinctive Beehive, houses the offices of the Prime Minister, Helen Clarke. Designed by an Englishman it really is quite a hideous building, surrounded by confused looking tourists taking photographs.

The Beehive

Cuba Street is one of the main streets for shops and coffee houses. It unfortunately has the feel of any provincial English town centre, but was on route to the Film Archive. I was keen to watch some films by Kiwi directors but unfortunately I always seemed to arrive at the wrong time to enter the viewing library.
I spent a few more days in Wellington, searching for thermal underwear to take to the South Island. No photo's necessary.