Wellington

Our first port of entry into New Zealand is its capital city, Wellington, nestling at the foot of the North Island. The city lives up to its nickname, the Windy City, with a persistent, cool wind, blowing from the South which takes the edge off the temperature.  It's a clean, safe city, with a relaxed feel about it.  Much of the city was redeveloped in the 1970's when earthquake prone buildings were torn down and replaced with modern office blocks. Recently the city's port has moved out of town and the wharf area has been redesigned as a trendy area.  We enjoyed a superb meal on our first night here at Shed No:5.

We took the cable car from Lambton Quay to the Botanic Gardens.  There are superb views over the city and the cricket ground to the harbour area beyond. The Carter National Observatory is based here and we enjoyed the planetarium show and accompanying museum.  We walked back down the hill past the hydrangea gardens and the Lady Norwood Rose Garden to the Old Government buildings, the second largest wooden building in the world.  Directly opposite, the unique circular cabinet offices are known as The Beehive.  With the weather turning overcast and decidedly cool, we rounded off our day with a visit to the cinema where we watched the newly released, Mandela Long Road to Freedom.