Towering mountains and deep fiords. Flightless birds and nine sheep to every human. Hundreds of cold cascading waterfalls and hot springs. The "Penguin Capital of the world". Blue glaciers pushing into temperate rainforests. Hobbit homes and movie sets. Birds with 12 foot wingspans and flightless birds with a wingspan of one inch. Fur seals and glow worms in caves. Hairpin turns on single-lane bridges, and driving on the left. Two names for everything - one English and the other the language of the Maori natives. What do all these things have in common? You can find them in
New Zealand (known in Māori as "Aotearoa").
These are the facts, but not the experience. Of all my extensive travels around the world, New Zealand is definitely my favorite country to explore. Although portions of other favored countries are very lovely and interesting, I found that almost every part of New Zealand is breathtaking. It has a great abundance of stunning and unusual natural sights that take your breath away everywhere you look!
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Wellington Harbour
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Geography:
New Zealand contains the North and the South Island, connected by a ferry. To the east is the South Pacific Ocean, and eventually Chile, 5,700 miles away; to the west is the Tasman Sea and Australia (1,300 miles) and further still is Tasmania (1,400 miles). The flight from Sydney to Wellington takes 3 hours, and there is a two hour time zone change. The flight attendants welcomed us in the native language ("Nau mai.")
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Wellington Harbour as seen from the museum
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Lodging and Transportation:
Although Wellington has over 400,000 residents, it seems like a smaller city, and a rental car is not needed in a city designed for walkers or public transportation. There are many types of accommodations, from backpackers' hostels and budget motels to B&Bs, boutique and luxury lodges. We chose to rent a two bedroom apartment selected for its location near the attractions we wanted to visit on foot.
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Wellington mixes old and new architecture; our apartment was next door in this eclectic area
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Sightseeing:
Wellington has much to offer visitors, including my favorite, the free world-class Museum of New Zealand, showcasing the country's history and its Maori culture. One could easily spend a few hours browsing the exhibits, fascinating ancestral carvings, ornaments, garments, and weaponry, plus replicas of a Maori lodge and decorative meeting house.
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Maori Meeting House
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Cable Car and Botanical Gardens:
The historic cable car lifts riders 400 feet above the city to the lush Botanical Garden. The cable car propels riders through tunnels lit with decorative colored LED lights. At Halloween, we were surprised to see LED bats "flying" through the tunnels. The lovely and free garden at the top is a "Garden of National Significance."
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View from the Botanical Gardens
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The Botanical Gardens contains a Cable Car Museum and an observatory. There are several extensive walking paths and a Sculpture Trail that winds through native trees,
local brush and specialized plant collections, and colorful floral displays to the famous Rose Garden and the city below.
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The Botanical Gardens
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Culture and Arts:
The "cultural capital" of New Zealand, Wellington hosts artistic and cultural organizations such as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet, as well as several theaters. It boasts a great "vibe" and a youthful feel, and is a very walkable city. The waterfront offers an enjoyable, easy paved stroll along the harbour, passing the historic post office and numerous monuments to the area's history, a park with a children's lighthouse slide, a skateboard park, and shops and businesses lodged in restored early wharfs.
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Historic square adjacent to the waterfront
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Ferry to South Island:
After several enjoyable days exploring this city that we quickly grew to love, we boarded a ferry for a 58 mile, three hour trip known as one of the most beautiful ferry cruises in the world. Crossing the Cook Strait via ferry to the South Island is a memorable experience, and there are plenty of seats on the open deck to take in the lovely scenery and snap photographs. Inside are several lounges and restaurants with more comfortable seating.
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Passengers enjoy the top deck ferry view while awaiting departure from Wellington.
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The map below shows the route taken by the ferry, from Wellington at the southern tip of the North Island (on the right), to Picton, through the fiords to the northern end of the South Island. The two cities are almost directly across from each other!
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The scenery is so spectacular that most passengers took many photos. I snapped over 100!
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Although the ferries transports many cars, trucks and campers, there is a lot of foot traffic as well. Being content to walk in Wellington, we were able to board with our luggage, paying only for a seat. Many visitors rent a vehicle for their travels on the North Island, return the car at Wellington, take the ferry across to the South Island, and then rent another vehicle there, to save the expense of transporting a vehicle.
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One of the ferries arrives in Picton, on the South Island
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Shortly after our arrival on the South Island, we lunched in Picton and picked up our rental van. Then we steered the vehicle to the left side of the road and pointed it in the direction of our well-planned 15 day road trip adventure.
Join me for Part II of our amazing New Zealand adventure in my next blog!
"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Psalm 90:2
