Wellington: City and Sea

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The Sundial of Human Involvement
(not as depressing as it sounds)
As you may have been able to tell from the previous post, this past week we entertained a visitor from the States on her first (but hopefully not last) trip to New Zealand.

The best part about having company is getting to catch up with loved ones you seldom see, but second best is having an excuse to visit all those places in your town that you otherwise wouldn't!  It is a great excuse to see your city from a tourist's eyes.  Over the course of the week we visited Maitu/Somes Island, Owhiro Bay, the Botanical Gardens, the City and Sea Museum, and the Weta Cave, along with quite a few other tiny stops in between.

We also took advantage of almost all the public transit Wellington has to offer, we rode the bus, cable car, and a ferry.  Next time, we're taking the train!

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We originally set out for Owhiro Bay because we hoped to visit Red Rocks and a fur seal colony.  We were aware that a lengthy trek lay ahead of us, but from what everyone told us, once you reached the car park and toilets at Owhiro Bay there was only a 30 minute journey by foot until you reach Red Rocks.  Either this is not the case, or those rocks aren't red.

We walked approximately twenty minutes to get to Owhiro Bay from the bus, then we walked about 15 minutes more to get to the car park, from the car park we walked forty more minutes before we decided we had to head back if we were going to get home before night set in.  It was a bit disappointing for me, as I was really looking forward to seeing seals in their natural habitat, but everyone else seemed quite content with the journey.






At the end of Happy Valley Road (where Carlucchi Land is located), Owhiro Bay feels like a beach at the end of the world.   The moment we turned onto Happy Valley Road, the enormous mountains that had previously surrounded us fell away and we were greeted with a stunning view of the ocean.  It is difficult to even make conversation as you walk along the beach, the roar of the waves overpowers all other sounds.


Seth and I hope to return someday soon to search for the elusive Red Rocks and if we are successful I will certainly post an update.

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Our visitor, Tabitha, doesn't enjoy nature as nearly as much as she enjoys the city and all the culture it has to offer, so though our weekend was spent in the bush, our weekdays were spent exploring the concrete jungle.   Through her prompting Tabitha introduced me to LUSH, a brand I had often heard about, but never bother to try myself.  After one visit, I might just be a convert.  For some reason New Zealand has wrecked havoc on my skin and hair and after just a few treatments the LUSH products seem to be helping.  I was also treated to a jar of what they call "hair fluff", it contains both henna and coconut oil so as you can imagine the results are pretty amazing.

Tabitha also prompted me into visiting an upscale chocolate shop called Bohemein, something I would never do on my own.  Their chocolates were quite good, but I think I would much rather stick to my large Cadbury bar than a tiny piece of designer chocolate that costs about the same.  Still it was a tasty experience and I am glad to have done it.

It was great having a fellow lady around to do "girly" things with.  Seth is always very gracious when we go shopping, but I can't say that I have ever really had a female friend that I went out with and sometimes I find that a bit disappointing.  I have sisters, but there is such a huge age gap between us that there was never a time when we could have girly days out.  It was nice finally having that sort of experience, even if it did take me till my mid-twenties.

Perhaps the worst part about having someone around that I get on with so well is finding a place to eat.  That probably doesn't make much sense, but let me explain.  Tabitha and I are both incredibly picky eaters and Wellington is an incredibly "foodie" town.  We walked around the CBD and Cuba Street for over an hour and a half looking for the perfect restaurant.  After all the menus I read, I can say with certainty that far too many Wellington restaurants serve duck liver.  We finally settled on Laundry, but when we reached it's doors we were dismayed to discover it wasn't opening until dinner.  Dejected, we walked back down Cuba Street.  As we were pondering over an Italian restaurant and considering continuing on to McDonald's instead, a stranger approached us and asked if she could take a photo of us for a school project.  We obliged and she helpfully quipped that she had just recently tried the restaurant we were in front of herself and really enjoyed it.  We decided to go for it and boy are we glad we did.

Scopa makes pizza, that is probably what they are best known for, but what we really found enticing were their roasted potatoes ($8).  They were crisp in all the right places, with the perfect amount of seasoning.  Normally I slather my potato products with sauce, but these potatoes were heavenly naked.  They are also quite possibly the only restaurant in Wellington to sell Coke products, which made Tabitha quite happy.

On our last day together in the city we visited Wellington: City and Sea, which has been voted one of the world's top 50 museums.  I know everyone loves Te Papa, but City and Sea is truly where it's at.  I find Te Papa difficult to navigate and so did Tabitha.  City and Sea is laid out like a traditional museum,  yet they still manage to include innovative and engaging exhibits into their space.  It really gives a voice to the city and it's heritage.

Bet you didn't know Wellington's heritage 
included depressing children's sea shanties.

I don't want to give away too much, but I highly recommend the interactive exhibit on the second floor and the theatre in the the very back of the third floor.  It is a fairly small museum, but it took us approximately an hour to navigate each of the three floors.


Honestly, how many museums would even bother
 to keep something like this?  City and Sea went as far as
to put it on display and pair it with a thought provoking question!

When you first enter the third floor there is a lovely Maori carving and tapestry along with a plaque explaining the stories told in each.  The carving tells the story of Kupe, the great explorer who found New Zealand.  It includes tales of Maitu and Makaro, his daughter after which two of the islands in the harbour are named, of how the daughters cut themselves when they thought their father had been lost, staining the rocks red in Owiro Bay, and how two supernatural sea creatures were trapped in the harbour, one escaped, while the other died and his body bridged the gap between the mainland and the island of Miramar.  (Yes, I am living on the back of a giant deceased sea creature.)  It was really great to hear Maori legends that coincided with places we visited throughout the week.


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