This was our day to explore Wellington, the seat of government as well as the unofficial cultural centre of the country.

Right after breakfast, we took a walking tour with Auto who got us oriented in the city. He gave us suggestions of things to do and then we went our separate ways. We saw the "Beehive" which is part of the Parliament buildings and just got familiar with the city. 

Vic, Beth and I decided to hike up Mount Victoria to take in the sweeping views of the city while it was still crisp. It's a beautiful, sunny day. Well we, of course, went the long way up. We missed the short cut and ended up on a winding, steep bush walk. The German couple, who were behind us were leaving when we were arriving. We all were soaking wet with sweat and they had sweaters and jackets on!!! I figure we walked at least 8 km all uphill. But it was worth it. The views were amazing. A wise Aussie lady said to me "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey". Well, we had quite the journey! From the lookout we could see the mountains of the South Island, Wellington harbour, the city and suburbs. The walk reminded us of San Francisco with villas clinging to the sides of hills. These houses are gorgeous homes with bay windows overlooking the harbour.  

What a beautiful city this is. Vic now we says he would retire here! (But Byron Bay in Australia is still our first choice.) The city surrounds the harbour and it is very clean, people are friendly and it is fairly big but has a homey feel to it. 

Then we went to Cuba Street, which is closed to traffic and is full of cafes and stores. It was supposed to have street art but I guess the artists were still in bed. We did see an action singing performance by a primary school group but it wasn't what we were expecting. 

We saw some things of interest on Lambton Quay Road, the main shopping area, when we were touring with Auto so we went to look at the shops and see about souvenir shopping. Everything is so expensive here so that was not a successful venture either. 

Vic & I were going to get lunch so Beth decided to continue shopping. We made our way to the waterfront in hopes of finding a nice, sunny patio overlooking the harbour. Success at last! We found a balcony where we had lunch and enjoyed the harbour views and people watching. Our server at lunch loves Toronto. He backpacked from St. John's Newfoundland to Torornto last summer. His big question was if we like poutine. We've been asked that a few times. I guess Canada is known for poutine. A great achievement! It's nice, though, to hear that visitors to Toronto like it. We tend to take our own homes for granted and take for granted all it's virtues. 

Now we decided to take the Wellington Cable Car which connects downtown with Victoria University, the Botanic Gardens, Carter Observatory and the homes on the hills. It was opened in 1902 and the cable cars have been electrically powered since 1933. I felt  "la la la la la la la feelin' groovy" (Remember that song by Simon & Garfunkel?). The tunnels have psychedelic lights in them. I'm sure the university students enjoy this "trip" whenever they can. When we got to the top we strolled a little ways into the Botanic Gardens but it seemed repetitive - mainly trees - so we headed back to take the cable car back down to check out the renowned Te Papa Museum. 

The Te Papa Museum has exhibition space equivalent to 3 football fields. It's one of the largest museums in the world and is committed to telling the stories of all cultures in NZ. We went into the Earthquake House which simulates the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake. The building shakes and you see the devastation it caused on a tv screen. We explored the 'Mountains to Sea' exhibit which shows the variety of NZ animals and plants. There was a few realitstic (stuffed) kiwi birds. It's probably the only kiwi bird I'm going to see in NZ! We also saw a giant squid which has been preserved in a tank. It's one of the largest squid ever caught. Then we just had to check out the Galipoli exhibit by Peter Jackson. It was brilliant as a true NZer would say. It told the story of the invasion of Galipoli by the Aussies and NZers by the soldiers themselves. I found it very moving and had tears in my eyes throughout. There were "sculptures/ models" of some of the soldiers, doctors and nurses which are 3x life size and were so detailed you could see each insdividual pore. The museum was closing so we didn't get a chance to check out the Maori exhibits but since we were in an actual village I don't think we missed much. 

By by now our feet and legs were aching so it was back to the hotel for a quick freshen up and out for dinner and an early night. Tomorrow we have to be in the lobby for 6:45 am to get to the ferry to traverse the treacherous waters of the Cook Straight to Picton. Many of the group are quite nervous about this as stories are circulating about sea sickness.