So Tom and I were picked up by our guide, Athena, at 9:35 (10 minutes early) for our five hour tour of Wellington and surrounds. Sadly, the tour got off to what can only be described as a rocky start as we were joined in the van by six MAGA Texans from a cruise ship docked in the harbour. And when I say these folks were typical MAGA Texans, I am not kidding. (Unfortunately, there was a lovely couple from Michigan/Australia and a young woman from Ireland who had to also put up with these yahoos.) Our tour turned into a contrast between the beauty of Wellington and the beastly behavior of these philistines.
Now the tension started when Athena began the tour by talking about Wellington and how the legislature had outlawed guns in the country as a direct result of the terrorist attacks a few years back. Sadly, the biggest jackass of them all (sitting in the front seat) immediately said guns are not that bad to which I chimed in, “You have got to be kidding” to which the wife (an obedient, clueless woman) chimed in “Oh its really not that bad in Texas.” Uh Uvalde lady???
Anyway, the wife then changed the subject, but kept up her babble telling us that they live close to where Elon Musk’s SpaceX headquarters are located (throughout the entire tour, this woman never shut up about her life) to which Athena commented that she was not a fan of Elon Musk and thought he was incredibly dangerous. I then said “Musk is an ass” to which the husband said “yea but he’s rich”, and I just couldn’t let it go and told him “yea but he still an ass”.
Fortunately, Athena changed the subject and began to tell us about the history of the area beginning with the Māori and then the arrival of the British settlers. And this is where I almost lost it. The husband interrupted Athena and commented that when the British settlers arrived, they were greeted by the Māori and the “pretty girls”, which was a good thing since they had been at sea for so long (seriously). Athena tried to shift the subject by noting that the Brits and the Māori signed a treaty of respect, to which the husband said again after that long trip it was good for the Brits to see the pretty girls. I AM NOT MAKING THIS STUFF UP. It was beyond gross and so offensive to the Māori people. I literally wanted to punch this jackass. And Americans wonder why they get a bad rap overseas. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Exhibit 1A. (There were many other examples during the tour, including the statement by the wife wondering how many senators they have in their government … to which I had to point out their government was a parliamentary system so there was no such thing as senators; and another statement, again by the wife, wondering why the kids in New Zealand have their summer holidays in December and January … I am not joking! She seemed oblivious to the fact IT IS SUMMER HERE!)
Anyway, enough of that. By now, we had driven along the Wellington waterfront past Oriental Parade Beach and then by Wellington’s version of the pink ladies constructed in 1906 (gorgeous Victorian homes painted a variety of pastel shades). We then weaved our way through a residential area of Wellington and up to Mt. Victoria Hill for an amazing 360 degree view of Wellington and the surrounding harbour.
Once Athena parked the van, we hiked up to the top of the lookout first admiring the views and then wandering around locating a Māori statute that is apparently a marker for a Māori Heritage Trail. Athena did not mention this, but I found a sign nearby that told the story.
We also took in the unique multi-hued “polar tent” monument to explorer Richard Byrd, who used Wellington as a base to explore Antarctica. The colours in the monument are meant to depict the colours of the aurora. (I did not take in the other side of the monument, which is a statute of Mr. Byrd).
So after the trip to the top of Mt. Victoria, Athena drove us down the hill and we began a drive around Evans’s Bay, the scene of numerous cliff side homes where we saw outdoor “elevators”, which allow residents to move their groceries up to their hillside homes. (Medina outside Seattle has a similar system). This area was also the site of boat building and whaling in the 1800s.
And we also made a brief stop in this area to take in a Hollywood-like sign aka the “Wellington Blown Away” sign which read “Wellington”. And the soccer ball in the sign is a new feature, which paid homage to the Womens’ World Cup held in Wellington.
Anyway, from here, we drove to the suburb of Miramar, which is the hub of Peter Jackson’s film empire (known as Weta Studios). Here, we stopped at Weta Cave where there is a museum that pays homage to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Now I have never seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies so this stop was pretty much pointless to me aside from the very cute trolls or ogres or whatever Lord of the Rings characters were being depicted standing guard over Weta Studios.
We then moved on to a lunch stop at the very cute café known as Chocolate Fish, which sits in a heritage building originally constructed in 1892 as a mess hall to feed the local military. The site is near Shelly’s Bay, which was the site of a fight between a developer and the local Māori who wanted the ancestral land preserved. Ultimately, Peter Jackson stepped in and purchased the land from the developer and is restoring the land to its original owners (the Māori).
After lunch, we drove all along the southern coast passing through small waterfront villages, beaches and surfing sites. At one point was passed by Breaker Bay, the site of New Zealand’s worst ferry disaster, the sinking of the Lyttelton–Wellington ferry Wahine, on April 10, 1968 in which 51 people lost their lives. The ship hit rocks during a huge storm, began to list and ended up on its side against another set of nearby rocks. Brutal.
As we continued, we made a brief stop at the Taputarenga Marine Reserve where locals are working to protect marine life and mammal species on Taputarenga Island as well as conduct excavations on Māori archeological remains.
Next up was Red Rocks aka the Te Kopahou Reserve Visitors Centre, which is an incredibly important geological site and includes a wide range of rock formations that have evolved over thousands of years as a result of the numerous earthquakes in the area. Rocks taken from the area apparently tell the story of how New Zealand was formed. Very cool.
At this point, we left the waterfront and headed back into the city where we dropped off the MAGAs for a ride on the Wellington tram that takes you up to the Wellington Botanical Gardens. The rest of us road up in the van so we could walk around the gardens. (And classic, as soon as the MAGAS left, the rest of us in the van unloaded about their behavior, including poor Athena who had to be polite to those loons.)
Anyway, once at the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, we began what was billed as a 15 minute walk, (which was more like a half hour), through the gardens. The walk took us downhill through beautiful tree lined paths childrens’ play areas, numerous gardens, statutes, fountains and huge, old growth trees. We eventually reached a lovely garden area and from here, we had a 8 minute hike up a fairly steep hill to reach the viewpoint to the Lady Norwood Rose Gardens where we were meeting Athena and the others.
So once at the Rose Garden we wandered around a bit waiting for the Michigan/Australia couple (we had to go pick up the gentleman as the hike up was too severe for him) before moving on to the New Zealand Parliament Buildings, (Wellington is the capital of New Zealand), which features Parliament House, the Parliamentary Library, Bowen House and the famous Beehive (also known as the Executive Wing).
The Beehive, is aptly named because it looks just like a beehive and incorporates a number of Māori designs around the building including a gorgeous wood carved entrance and nearby Māori poles symbolizing the Treaty of Waitangi (the treaty between the Brits and the Māori that recognized the rights of the Māori people – although there is now some dispute about this).
So after a bit of walk around the parliamentary grounds, we went to our last stop of the day, Old St. Paul’s Cathedral. The building dates to 1856 and is made from native hardwood timber. The interior of the building featured a gorgeous wood ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows.
At this point, me, Tom and our lovely Irish friend said goodbye to Athena and the Michigan/Australia couple (I refused to acknowledge the jackasses), and we made our way back down the street for the 15 or so minute walk to the Wellington Tram.
And as we walked, we passed by two statutes denoting the tribal boundary markers for the Wai-titi beach landing (where pre-European Māori tribes would land their wakas (similar to canoes) as well as the Wellington Supreme Court, which is covered in a decorative screen inspired by the branches of the pōhutukawa and rātā trees.
Once we reached the entrance to the tram, which was first used in 1899, we paid the $12 round trip and took the quick trip up to the top (and through three different tunnels, two of which contain light displays). At the top, we said goodbye to our Irish friend, took a few pictures and then made the trek back down.
We then began the loooong trek back to our hotel. Now walking in Wellington is no easy feat. The roads are a mishmash of names. You can be walking along one street that goes by one name and in the next block, the name changes. It makes it very challenging to get around. Fortunately, a combination of Tom’s map and my iphone MAPS app, we eventually made it back by just before 5:00. Tomorrow, we are off on a food tour.
