The 5 star YHA hostel where my brother & I made reservations is located in downtown Wellington City near the Central Fire Station, on Wakefield Street. The hostel occupies a tall apartment building and offers a wide range of facilities for guests to enjoy. Since we came to explore the city, the only facilities we'd use in the hostel were the Internet lounge, toilets, and our twin room. After deciding when to meet back at the hostel for dinner, my brother & I went our separate ways for the day.
My first destination was the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) which is just a block north of the hostel. Admission is mostly free except for travelling exhibitions. The travelling exhibition at the time of my arrival was 'A Day In Pompeii', which displayed hundreds of artifacts & paintings of the once bustling ancient Roman city before Mt. Vesuvius buried it in ash and rock back in 79 CE.
The free exhibitions occupy the museum's 6 levels and present topics on New Zealand Immigration, Maori life & culture, New Zealand history, marine life, Pasifika history, and contemporary art. You could spend an entire day here browsing through the endless collections on display. For this post, I'll focus on the Maori exhibitions. The other exhibitions are cool too so check them out when you visit the museum. Oh, & I would like to thank the museum for explaining why they are called jandals (click on the above picture to find out).
The Maori exhibit happened to be the most interesting & engaging, while the contemporary art exhibit was the most questionable for me (some of the works didn't make sense or shouldn't have been called works). The Maori exhibit featured life size wharenuis (meeting houses) with elaborate carvings, wakas (canoes), portraits, carved statues, and jewelry made from nephrite, more commonly known as greenstone. There is an exhibit dedicated to the Treaty of Waitangi & the Waitangi Tribunal. The treaty itself is quite short, containing only 3 articles but has shaped New Zealand's history and Maori & Pakeha relations since 1840. There are two large reproductions of the treaty in English & Te Reo Maori on display.
The most colourful Maori display in my mind is The Marae on Level 4, somewhat hidden in a secluded corner. "The space comprises a marae atea (place of encounter) and wharenui (meeting house) that cater for all the purposes such places customarily serve. It is also a living exhibition that interprets for visitors the meaning of the marae experience, and acts as a showcase for contemporary Māori art and design." - (taken from Museum website).
Half of the day had gone by before I exited the museum. The sun was still shining & the sky was clear blue. I headed north along the Harbourfront, passing by people on roller blades and on car bicycles. One group of young boys were riding around trying to get high-fives from anyone they passed. Along the Harbourfront, you can find The Civic Square, Circa Theatres, Frank Kitts Park, and Courtenay Place. I stopped into a cafe for a quick snack & drink before continuing on to the Parliament buildings.
The Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings is commonly known as the 'Beehive' because . . . well, just look at it. The Beehive was built in 1977 and is the locations of the Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Room, and cabinet ministers offices. There's also a banquet hall to hold functions. Unfortunately, the Beehive is currently listed as the 3rd ugliest building in the world according to the website VirtualTourist.com. Personally, I don't think it's that ugly; I can think of many other buildings that are uglier.
After the Beehive, I walked further north towards Westpac Stadium, my next destination, crossing streets and watching the yellow public buses transporting passengers around the city. The GO Buses as they are called, are tram buses like the ones in Toronto, Canada, drawing their power from power lines suspended from above the main roads. Westpac Stadium is a multi-purpose facility built near the main industrial port & railway station. It opened in 2000 & has a seating capacity of 36,000. It's mainly used for rugby games but also hosts large music concerts. What impressed me was not the stadium itself but the long, wide, and elevated concrete walkway built for fans. The concrete walkway is 650 metres long and extends as far as the railway station! It's wide enough to be a fair ground. Below the walkway is a large parking lot for vehicles.
I back tracked the way I came and photographed the railway station. Inside, it's open & spacious, reminding me of New York's Grand Central Station. From the train station, I walked southwest and explored the quiet Botanic Gardens. Getting there on foot is a bit of a challenge because it rests on a hill. However, there is the Cable Car that can take you up the hill for breathtaking views of the city & to visit the Cable Car Museum.
After walking around the suburbs on the hill, I descended back into the city and met up with my brother. Night had settled when we strolled into a restaurant/pub called Coyote Bar, located on Courtenay Place Road. I should note that Courtenay Place Road is the party district; bars, clubs, & restaurants line this street and are bustling with activity and excitement at night. For dinner my brother ordered beef fajitas with Pepsi, while I ordered a steak with white house wine. The atmosphere of the place was busy but not too loud, and the food was great.
While wobbling back to the hostel, my brother & I were surprised to see an orange Lamborghini Gallardo parked on the side of the road. It prompted me to run to my room, grab my digital camera, and snap a photo before the owner drove it away. While I slept that night, I wondered who was the owner? Maybe PM John Key?
To Be Conitnued . . .
(Post 5 of 10)
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