Day 22 - Fri 2 Nov

Had breakfast with our hosts Tom and Anne, who are a lovely couple from England originally, but living in NZ for the last 20 or so years. They have three children -- the youngest works for IBM. The house is beautiful and high on a hill with great views over Wellington Harbour and the city of Wellington.

Modern Marae

We walked down the hill into the city (the promised 10 to 15 minutes was more like 45 and that included a short cut through Central Park, but it was a nice day for it) and straight to Te Papa, the New Zealand National Museum, arriving about 12 noon. We stayed until they kicked us out at 6 PM.

Te Papa, meaning "Our Place" is the common name for the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Sitting on the docks beside Wellington Harbour, the museum has extensive (and still growing) range of displays and exhibits including:

• Maori art, crafts and culture, including carved houses, a waka, and a most impressive carved house, Te Hono ki Hawaiki, carved to reflect tradtional themes and features, but in a contemporary style.
• Awesome Forces, a display about the volcanic and tectonic events that shaped New Zealand (and much of the Pacific region including Australia).
• Displays on the New Zealand native Flora and Fauna, including an outdoor bush area containing hundreds of native plant and animal species.
• An exhibition tracing the country's art and design.
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• Several newly opened galleries for more traditional artistic forms including paintings and sculptures.
• A number of interactive rides or games, including simulated bungy jumping, whale riding, skiing, dragon boat racing and sheep shearing. And don't forget the lame "Magic Lilo" ride. Much more fun was the Blastback ride which incorporates bucking and swooping hydraulically controlled seats with a movie presenting the history of New Zealand from historical, geological and cultural basis. Much like the "Back to the Future", "Star Tours" or "Inside the Body" rides at various Disney parks. The scene where the viewer swoops with a giant eagle to chase then catch, kill and eat a Moa was particularly vivid.

Wharenui - Night house

We took a very informative 45 minute tour that ran for over 75 minutes. Our guide was friendly and energetic and could answer any question he was asked, in either English or Maori (all staff must speak Maori). However, Te Papa is not without its detractors. There was much discussion and dissent over the placement directly over a fault line of a building that would hold many of New Zealand's cultural treasures. In addition, the management and funding of the museum are apparently not appreciated by all comers. We thought it was a great place and wished we had more time to spend there.

Apparently just after 6 PM, Wellington was shaken by an earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter Scale. We didn't feel a thing... it could be that we were still on the grounds of Te Papa which is protected from earthquakes.

Cable car

After Te Papa, we walked up Lambton Quay to the cable car, which took us to Kelburn, where we had a great view of the town and harbour. From there we walked down through the Botanic Gardens, including the Lady Norwood Rose Garden (though it's a bit early in the season for the best showing there). We wandered on through the Memorial Gardens, a historic cemetary that has now been handed over to be managed by the DOC. In the 1960s, a motorway was driven through the middle of it, requiring the relocation of a large number of gravesites and memorials. There were protests at the time, but we were pretty amazed that it had gone ahead.

By the time we reached the bottom of the gardens, it was 7:30 and time we thought about dinner. This time we wandered into Cuba St, one of the original business streests in Wellington and now another key location for restaurants and nightlife. We stumbled by chance into a great Contemporary Indian restaurant by the name of Tulsi which was doing a roaring trade. Had a very enjoyable dinner, including the best Chicken Tikka Marsala we can remember.