We first met these two women in Bermuda in the late 80’s. Since then we have become the best of friends and have spent time together in Boston, London, Tuscany, Melbourne and Auckland. This is our third time visiting them in New Zealand and when we get to Greytown next week we will have seen all three of their houses here.
It was great to see these smiling faces again. We were together this past summer in Croatia but before that we had not been together since 2019.The first thing we did was to go for a long walk along the Harbor.This bronze statue is entitled Solace in the Wind. It was erected in 2008 and depicts the artist Max Patte an Englishman saying goodbye to NZ once he finished his work here on a holiday working visa. To us it looked more like a naked man ready to skinny dip in Wellington Harbor. Jim looks like he is checking out if the statue is anatomically correct.🫣 Another interesting sculpture called Fruits of the Garden. Hmmm Almost forty years of friendship here despite the miles and countries between us.♥️On Sundays Wellington has a wonderful market selling produce, flowers plants, crafts and a great selection of food trucks.The Wellington Christmas tree in full bloom. Pōhutukawa, remember this as there is a quiz at the end.Wellington is known for its hilly landscape, making building on steep sites a significant challenge. These homes were built into the bedrock. The ones in the photos below are called “cliff hanger” homes. They are anchored directly into bedrock. Look at that set of stairs to access the homes.We had a lovely long stroll along what is called the Oriental Parade.View of Wellington skyline from across the harbor.This is the Circa Theatre where we were able to get tickets for the Pantomime performance of Robin Hood. After our walk we went to Te Papa(Maori meaning: “storehouse of treasures”) Wellington Museum. There is no entry fee but donations are appreciated. We went specifically to see the Gallipoli Exhibit: The Scale of Our War which tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in WWI through the eyes and ears of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.The figures were made by the world class creative artistry of Weta Workshop and are massive and frighteningly life like as you can see in these photos.2,779 New Zealanders died at Gallipoli and a total of 7,500 died throughout the nine month campaign. The majority of deaths occurred during the initial landings on April 25 1915Each figure is captured frozen in a moment of time on a monumental scale, about 2.4 times human size.Be sure to zoom in on the photo to see all the flies on his sandwich and hands.Auckland native Lottie Le Gallais who served as a nurse on a hospital ship during the war receives the unopened letters she wrote to her brother and realizes this means he was killed in action.This exhibit was very powerful and moving and really blew us away. It was way too much war for Jim’s liking.At the 4pm Pantomime. In most English language pantomime means a performance where the actors express meaning through gestures accompanied by music but not using any words. In British English it is a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.Our Pantomime was Robin Hood. there was a group who came wearing Robin Hood hats and they offered them to the children after the performance.This was a memorable new experience for us. The children in the audience were so involved calling out to the performers who would interact with the audience with a lot of great ad libbing. There was a bit of political humor both local and international and also quite a bit of risqué humor. All in all a brilliant performance.On the Wellington Cable Car which goes up to a lookout and the Wellington Botanical Garden.Lighted tunnel on the way up. A second tunnel is visible in the center.
A long video of the very colorful ride up through a few tunnels.Cablecar at the top of the mountain.View from the top over Wellington and the harbor.African LillyQuiz: what is the name of this tree? Pōhutukawa, pronounced just as written.We took a tour of New Zealand’s Parliament Building which locals refer to as the Beehive due to its distinctive shape. It was officially opened in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II.The main building is ten stories high. The top floor is occupied by the Cabinet room, with the prime minister’s office on the floor immediately below. It also houses the debating chamber, speaker’s offices, visitor center, and committee rooms. This picture is taken in the press briefing room which is very often shown on the news programs.Debate Chamber. This horseshoe shaped arrangement features a green carpet symbolizing the House of Commons with a tradition that the Governor- General doesn’t walk on it. Government sits to the Speaker’s right, Opposition to the left; the Prime Minister faces the leader of the Opposition. There is no upper house or senate in New Zealand.Beautiful stained glass ceiling.Jacinda Arden was an activist and 40th prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party. She led the country through major crises, notably the Christchurch mosque attacks, responding with swift action to ban assault weapons and steered the nation through the Covid 19 pandemic with an effective elimination strategy that saved lives and garnered global acclaim resulting in the world’s lowest Covid death rates. However while celebrated internationally her popularity waned domestically as pandemic restrictions continued facing criticism and protests.New Zealand Parlimentary Library, completed in 1899 survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the General Assembly building in 1907. The Library had an iron fire doorA picture after the fire.This is the Maori Affairs Committee Room which has rich carvings and panels that reflect the indigenous tribe’s artistry and culture. Our guide who is standing in the blue shirt moved at a very fast pace as she lead us through the building and seemed like she couldn’t wait to get rid of us.This is a picture of the Parliamentary Library.Our next stop was Old St Paul’s Church. Established in 1866 on the historic grounds of Pipitea Pa stands as a global masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture, crafted from native timbers.During WWII, American troops were sent to New Zealand both to protect the country and to use it as a strategic base from which to launch campaigns in the Pacific. Many US Marines based in Wellington found their way to Old St Paul’s as a place of peace, calm and community. This is a photo we took of the image we saw when we shined the flashlight above the window.The interior of the new Cathedral. Not nearly as impressive as the Old Church.The altar feels like it is miles from the seated congregation.This is the oldest wooden building still standing in New Zealand.Wellington train Station was the first major NZ structure to incorporate a significant measure of earthquake resistance.Our final attraction in Wellington was a tour of Government house. Helen arranged this for us as she worked at Government House in Auckland but would come to Wellington when they prepared for visiting dignitaries and Royalty. Her job enabled her to meet King Charles and Camilla, Prince William and wife Kate with young son George as well as Barak Obama.These are Royal portraits which hang in the Ballroom of the House.Government House is located on 12 hectares and has a self contained apartment for the Governor General and family as well as 8 guest suites, a ballroom, conservatory, sitting rooms, service rooms, kitchen and wing of offices. Other facilities include a tennis court, small swimming pool, a bomb shelter and squash courts.This is the Conservatory where Helen served dinner to Prince William and wife Kate.Formal Dining Room.Grand Staircase.The front entrance Hall has portraits of former Governor Generals of New Zealand. This is a photo of the Governor General that Helen worked for.Sir Jerry was a former soldier who served as the 20th Governor General between 2011-2016 and was the second Maori person to hold the office. Following his term he became the high commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020. We had the pleasure of meeting him when we lived in London in 2018. Here is our friend Helen in the photo with Prince William and Kate when they visited New Zealand.
Our six week stay in New Zealand is off to a good start. We now will drive with Helen and Sue to their home in Greytown on the North Island of New Zealand. They are insisting that we stay in their AirBNB attached to their home.
The Wellington Christmas tree looks just like the ‘Ōhi‘a lehua found in Hawai’i. Assuming they’re at least somewhat related. Glad to see your NZ trip is off to a good start!
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