Wednesday, 2 October 2024

New Zealand Southland - Part 1

 A nice easy cruise on a glorious, sunny day in New Zealand. Long live holidays!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the voyage!

Leaving port
I have always loved ferry trips, which may sound a bit weird considering that seasickness is a real and very life-threatening condition. Well, real at least, but to anyone that has experienced it in full swing (so to speak), will no doubt agree with me that you feel like you will die. There are many different types of ferries though, from a Sydney Rivercat up the Parramatta River that cruises along smoothly like a hot knife through butter, to the rollercoaster classic trip of Circular Quay to Manly during rough weather, waves and wind lashing at anyone brave enough to be outside.  These are tame compared to what you get on the open seas. I once caught the ferry from Barcelona to Ibiza, which was lovely, and I even slept (as it was overnight). The way back, however, was a maritime disaster of epic proportions, with the puke-O-meter on full projectile. It was a car ferry, but nothing huge, and being a catamaran, you’d think it would be smooth sailing. However, when people got on and did their usual thing of eat and drink immediately (like a 1-hour flight, people just need to stuff themselves), I was worried – I never eat on a ferry until I know she isn’t gonna hit waves. 


Seasickness is not fun!
The person I was travelling with wanted something to eat, but I warned them to wait. We did. Then it happened. One person ducked unsteadily to the bathroom. Followed by another, then another, then the first person again. There was vomit washing back and forth along the floor, people going on the carpet because they got caught short. Even the crew go into the act – by the end, about 90% of everyone on board had lost their breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any food from every time they’d ever eaten. Not me; I fell asleep in my chair. A family had also fallen asleep, laying down on the floor with their feet point towards the front of the ferry. They explained to me afterwards that seasickness is not about eating, or even your stomach, but rather your balance and inner ear, so laying flat helps this balance. I have been very sick on a smaller boat just outside the Sydney Heads, while scuba diving with sharks, so I wasn’t immune. So, stepping onto this ferry, I sized it up, checked out the bathrooms and closest door to the fresh air, and decided it was safe and not rockable. I did not head straight for the restaurant though. We left port a little later than expected, setting sail out of beautiful Wellington at 2:30 instead of 1pm, and the journey between the North and South Island was going to about 4 hours, a nice easy cruise on a glorious, sunny day in New Zealand. Long live holidays!

Green hills on the South Island

Some tucked away houses

Pulling into port at Picton

Vineyards just outside of Kaikaoura
The ferry was very smooth, the sun was shining, so it was a very pleasant trip across the Cook Strait. There are two kinds of people on boat trips – those that chill in their seats, reading books, looking at phones, chatting; then there is the other type, getting up to see the boat leave, the water slapping the sides, the wake left by the ship, then rushing up to the front to get the best view. Maybe the second type is just kids… and me. It wasn’t long before we’d passed the southern tip of the North Island, and by this time the South Island was already visible. I was outside most of the time, enjoying the weather and the views, watching the land slip by. Along the wild coast of the top of the South Island there were small houses built right up on the shore, little farmsteads and wooden cottages on stilts, all with property and views included, and some even with private piers. The landscape was rugged, hilly, but very beautiful, and not even the wind turbines on top of the ridge line could take that that away. 




Our amazing (and free!) campsite near Kaikoura
While standing outside on the railings, I got talking to an older bloke who was coming down for his daughter’s wedding. He was quiet, polite, but full of info about the local area, as he’d been here a few times. He was lovely and even took a photo of us - a rare thing as I hardly ever hand my camera over. The ship pulled up in Picton after 4 hours of smooth sailing, and we drove right off, through the town, and onto our stopping point for the night. It was nearly dusk already, as it was about 6:30pm, so we needed to find a place to stay, and make dinner while we could. I did have a place in mind, and it was a new campsite on the beach with facilities and even a shop and restaurant. It was called Kekerengu, and we got there at about 7:45pm. However, there was nobody there at the shop, a few people at the campsite, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Although we hadn’t booked, I was expecting to pay, but figured there was nothing I could do till morning. We parked up, made dinner, and enjoyed a sunset while watching the waves crash against the coast. It was so picturesque here, and was the best camping spot we’d stopped at so far. There were even facilities on-site, including flushing toilets (a real luxury while camping!) and hot showers. Yes, hot showers! It was coin operated, which out in the middle of nowhere for a couple of cashless travellers (who uses cash after the pandemic?), would have made us showerless travellers as well. Luckily for us, we’d met Bruce a few days back in that funny little campsite before Wellington, and had taken some cash out. Bruce you are a legend! Hot showers were taken quickly in fear of the timer running out, but it just kept going, so after business was attended to, we could enjoy the steady flow of hot water. We decided to end the shower before the water stopped, as I wasn’t sure it would, and wanted to leave water for other people in case it was tank water. Warm, fed, and parked up in a beautiful spot, we crashed early, listening to the waves as we fell asleep.

Beautiful Kaikoura!

Hello Mr (or Ms) Seal!

Seals love sunbaking

Watching dolphins in Kaikoura
We woke up early, packed up and headed off. We stopped off by the café to see if there was anyone to pay, but it seemed like they were sleeping in. We tried. Our next stop would be Kaikoura, a gorgeous little coastal town famous for its beaches and seal colony. An hour of driving and we reached Kaikoura, which is nestled between the mountains, green forests, and the ocean. I visited this place for the first time way back in 2007 and I remembered the great fish and chips, so I knew exactly what we’d be having for lunch today. The other thing was the seals, which live just outside of town in a colony beneath tall, chalky cliffs. We cruised through town, passing little arts and crafts stores, and the place had a lot more tourists than I remember from 2007. Everywhere gets popular eventually, and this place is a true hidden gem of New Zealand. We spotted the fish and chips place, which was already busy, but wanted to see the seals before lunch, so continued on. We parked at the seal colony, and a dense mist had moved in from the sea and come right up to the land. It was hard to see much, but the sky was still blue, and I’m sure the seals were out there somewhere. We walked right out onto the rocks, not following a trail or anything, searching for the cute little New Zealand Fur Seals that we came for. It wasn’t long that we began to see little brown blobs through the mist, becoming clearer as we can closer. There was some seals that were sleeping, some were sitting up and looking at us, while there was also one noisy one who was barking and showing his teeth. There is nothing to worry about, seals aren’t normally aggressive, as long as you don’t get too close. 


Our van in Kaikoura
Another thing you need to be mindful of is their escape route – these little guys will always try and run away first, so don’t get between them and the sea, or you might get between their teeth. We also walked along the clifftop, to get more of a bird’s eye view of the area. The fog moved in and out, sometimes obscuring everything but the path 2 metres ahead, then it would open up and you could see the green paddocks, the blue sky, the sea out to the horizon. From this vantage point, you also go to smell the gull colony, which stank almost like rotten fish, possibly made worse by all the seals lying out in the sun (and using dry land to poo). We walked back to the car, very happy with what we’d seen, along with some great photos. Just before we got in the car, there was a little commotion in the water - we went over to the edge of the water, climbing the rocks to get where other people were watching something, and then we saw them - a large pod of dolphins jumping and splashing around. They must have been fishing as a family, and it was amazing to watch - sadly too far away and too quick for any decent photos, but still an experience. There is so much wildlife in a small stretch of land (or sea). It was lunch time, so we headed back to town to tuck into the ‘World Famous Fish and Chips’ of Cooper's Catch that I’d been craving all day. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint – cheap, plenty of food, friendly service, and outdoor seating with free parking for customers. The seagulls did not get a feed.

Don't get between seals and their escape route (the water)

The wild and beautiful cost around Kaikoura

The beach just outside of Christchurch

As advertised - world famous!
The day was half over, but all that was planned for the afternoon was to drive south to Christchurch and get some accommodation. As we drove, we passed some absolutely stunning scenery – the area around Kaikoura is full of beaches, mountains, and green rolling hills in between, with enough sheep, cows and farmhouses to make a landscape renaissance painter wet their pants. There were even a few vineyards, all planted in neat rows, and full of green leaves, but no grapes as yet. We arrived at Christchurch at about 4:30pm and found a nice little campsite within a few blocks of the beach. This campsite was a paid one, a small family-owned and run business in South Brighton, which sat on a peninsula of land between the ocean and Christchurch. We would be exploring the city tomorrow, but decided today would be a relaxing afternoon, a walk on the beach and a bit of grocery shopping for dinner and lunch the next day. We set up camp (parked the van), then went for a walk along the beach on our way to the supermarket. The weather wasn’t warm enough for a swim, but it was a good stretch of beach for walking and playing with dogs. There were a few keen mutts running into the waves chasing down sticks thrown by their owners, but nobody swimming at all. It was still a nice walk, but then we go to South Brighton, and what we saw there was a little depressing. 


Caution! Seals!
The town had clearly seen better days, and half of the stores were boarded up and closed. There was graffiti on plenty of walls, but not the cool street art type graffiti, but more tagging and sloppy spraying that anything else. I’m not sure if it was because of Covid, and the place had never really sprung back to life, or maybe the earthquakes that hit Christchurch, but there was a real air of disappointment and almost despair, as if a wonderful seaside town that was once bustling, colourful and full of live had died gradually and painfully. There were quite a few bored teenagers hanging around, without the energy to even cause trouble, as well as a few drunks and homeless people. Everyone else was either at home, in a pub, or in a hurry to get to either of these places. I’m sorry South Brighton, I hope a new mayor comes in, or something else that brings changes to breathe life back into you soon – I could see there was something there once and it would be a shame to lose that forever. I have to move on from this depressing subject, so I will talk about the supermarket. There are two main chains of supermarkets in New Zealand, New World and Countdown. The first company is a locally owned one, and we were frequent visitors, as they had NZ brands, decent coffee, and also free Wi-Fi for 30 mins, which we used to catch up on the world. Countdown, on the other hand, is Australian owned, and called Woolworths back home (and they haven’t changed the logo either). Its pretty much like the Big Two in Australia, where the prices and look of the shops are ‘same same but different.’ We got out shopping from Countdown today, and walked back for dinner.

Green hills and tall mountains - pure New Zealand!

The colours of Kaikoura

Christchurch tram and the cathedral

Trams about town
We got into Christchurch the next morning, and were looking forward to walking around the city, but the clouds had moved in, with rain looking likely. We needed to do some shopping for souvenirs as well as get some cooking gas, as our bottle run dry after (just) making dinner. Unfortunately, New Zealand towns all look the same from the main roads; strip malls, car dealerships, fast food chains, and nothing to see. Christchurch, however, was different as soon as you passed the ring road (or bypass road) and go to the centre. Unique to this city are its grey stone buildings, which include the cathedral, as well as some public buildings and many of the educational institutions. I’m not sure why this stone, but I’m guessing these buildings were all constructed around the same time, much like Sydney’s sandstone buildings that were built between 1850 and 1900 (Sydney Uni – 1850; Sydney Town Hall – 1869; The QVB – 1893). We stopped for coffee just outside the cathedral, after having found a safe and free parking spot. The coffee shop was a little food truck-style outlet, and served coffee in five sizes: eeny, meeny, miney, moe, and teeny weeny. I felt silly asking for it, but ordered two flat white mineys (or should that be two miney flat whites?).



Dance like nobody is watching
Sadly, the cathedral had taken some damage in the 2011 quake, which also killed 185, but restoration was well under way, so it wouldn’t belong before she was back in once piece. I couldn’t remember how bad the quake had been, so looked it up, and it was a serious one – 6.3 and causing extensive damage in the city. We saw some of the damage that hadn’t been fixed, and it did look like the city was still recovering from this natural disaster. I have to note that the city had plenty of rubble and empty spaces where buildings used to be, but they had some great graffiti to cover up the sore spots. One art installation that I have to mention was the Dance-O-Mat – a small square surrounded by damaged buildings covered in graffiti, but with a coin-operated, bluetooth speaker-jukebox. All you need to do is slot in $2 into the old washing machine and off you go with your own music for 30 mins of boogie time! We had a quick dance like nobody was watching, pulling out all the dance moves (including an attempted moon walk), before the coffee wore off and we needed to slow it down a bit. The centre of Christchurch has some nice cafes and restaurants, but it mainly a smaller version of any city, with glass frontage for brand name stores that you get anywhere. To see the important stuff in the city, you can grab an old tram that runs in a loop around the centre. We got what we needed to do, which was some food shopping and some gifts for back home, then decided to walk back to the car before the rain made it miserable to walk. We got back to the van just in time, as the rain had really settled in. We were stocked up and ready to roll out, with the next stop being Mt Cook and the lakes along the way. I enjoyed Christchurch, but I’m always more exited by seeing some mountains and wilderness.

The vista from Lake Tekapo

Amazing, even on an overcast day

The colourful and Insta-popular Lupin flower

Welcome to Lake Tekapo
We stopped off in Geraldine for petrol and a late lunch, before continuing on the Lake Tekapo. This road west was very beautiful, golden fields with green hills that were changing into mountains, with plenty of open spaces and not many people. There were a few little towns along this road, including Burke’s Pass, which apart from the stunning scenery typical of a mountain pass, had some great stores, including a ye olde petrol station full of fuel and road signs. Unfortunately, we only drove past, not wanting to stop as the weather was closing in a little and we wanted to see the main attractions for today – Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook. We came down from the pass and hit the lake – and my heart rate jumped! It had been a long time since I’d been here, but even so, my memory of this place was such a good one that it made me almost twice as excited. 






The church of The Good Shepheard
The waters of the lake are a glacial blue colour, with darker or lighter patches with the sunlight, but very hard to tell how deep at any point. Ringed by mountains, slopping down with pine trees all the way to the lakes edge, Lake Tekapo is a postcard scene, and one that you just have to stop for numerous times to appreciate. We pulled over in a small carpark, jumped out, and started taking photos. Everyone did this, and I think if they built a pedestrian crossing at this point, the traffic would bank up for miles! From here we could see the snow-capped mountain range, including Mt Cook (just!), but the clouds were making the view both better (dramatic effect) and worse (too much drama) at the same time; I wasn’t sure how long it would be before it rained and ruined everything. We got back in the van and headed just down the road to the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is the main stopping point for the lake, and where we’d find the most tourists. The area is very nice though, and worth the stop, as apart from the great views of the lake, you also get to see a picturesque stone church that sits on a slight rise and looks out over the lake. The whole grassy area around the carpark and church is full of brightly coloured flowers, called Lupin flowers, which make an amazing splash of blue, purple and pink in front of the blue lake and mountains. I remember seeing these flowers, or ones very similar at least, in southern Chile in the Torres del Paine area, so they must grow in colder highlands. Unfortunately, most patches of these flower were covered in tourists, trying to get that amazing shot for Instagram. People were pulling all sorts of poses, much like people at the Leaning Tower in Pisa. One girl had even fallen right in the middle of them to get a shot.


With the clouds really moving in now, and even a few drops of rain starting to fall, it was time to find out spot for the night. It wasn’t a long drive before we found our destination, Mackenzie Waitaki campsite, which is on a slight rise above Lake Pukaki (the next lake across). This was another free camping site, and had toilet facilities, which is a bonus, but sadly no shower like Kaikoura. So, we parked the van, made some hot soup for dinner, then nestled down for the night as the rain settled in. There were a few people here, in rental vans from a variety of companies, and some I was sure that we'd seen on our trip, like we were all going the same way. Travellers Autobahn, Juicy, and even Escape vans like ours were parked up front-row for the view of the lake and mountains. A few people also had their foldable camping chairs out and were enjoying a cuppa, watching the best show on tv - nature. Although we weren’t hopeful the weather would be great the next day, we couldn’t change our plan – we were heading north up the west side of the lake and onto Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park to hopefully see the mountain and do some walking.


Looking our over the lake towards Mount Cook National Park


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MyUncleTravellingMatt. November 2022.



Sunday, 30 June 2024

New Zealand North Islanding - Part 2

 Watching this landscape go past, I constantly had the LotR theme playing in my head

Welcome to The Shire!

Watersports on the lake
There was a bit of rain overnight, and the temperature had dropped a little, but the day was mostly clear, and everything looked fresh and clean. Today we were heading South towards Wakapapa village to see some volcanoes, so hopefully the weather would be fine for that. We cruised around Lake Taupo, which isn’t small, and had to stop a couple of times for some photos and time to appreciate how beautiful it was. The wind was up and about, and so were the windsurfers and parasailers, making the most of a cloudy day on the lake. As I was watching and taking pictures, a guy rocked up with a wing foil, something you don’t see every day. Wing foiling is a combination between windsurfing with the sail and board, and sailing a catamaran with the ‘foil’ part in the water and lifting you up and over the surface of the water. I watched these guys wiz around for a bit, then jumped back in the van and continued on. Lake Taupo is just beautiful, and it was hard not to stop again and again to take pictures, with a combination of the water, sky and green land, with the occasional outline of a volcano making for a very beautiful view. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t stay nice for very long, and the rain came in. 


Van and tree
We arrived at Wakapapa village to rain and nearly complete cloud cover, so we couldn’t see anything. Without losing heart, we got prepared for a cold and wet walk, but stopped in at the visitor centre to have a look around first. I asked one of the helpful ladies inside about short walks, as we didn’t want to do the whole volcano loop (a multi-day hike) or anything over 2 hours one way because the weather was pretty crappy and unreliable. We settled on the Taranaki Falls Track, which was a 2 hour, 6km loop. We were hoping to get a good view of at least one of the volcanoes, the conical Mt Ngauruhoe, which stands at 2287. Although I wanted to see Mt Ruapehu, made famous by hiker William Pyke’s story, I wasn’t hopeful, but wanted a bit of a hike anyway. I had actually read about William before coming on this trip, and although I had no such grand plans to hike to the top of a volcano and back, I did get a little more interested in NZ’s wild landscape, and wanted to see the volcano that nearly took his life. A very inspirational story, as he made it back alive after being trapped in a hut on the side of the mountain, saved by his mate who rushed down to get help, while only partially dressed, in the darkness, and just after an extremely violent eruption. Small hike today, and nothing dangerous, but I had that story in the back of my mind, ever looking for that beast of nature so I could say that at least I saw it.

Wakapapa village

Reminds me of Scotland

Walking in the 5th oldest national park in the world

The Taranaki Falls
We started off on our walk, dry so far, but prepared to be rained on. Although the clouds were hanging low, and the temperature was quite chilly, it was a pleasant enough walk and still beautiful. There were small, hard-bristled scrubs everywhere along the path, covered in moss (or possible lichen), and the walk was along well-tended gravel paths. It was easy going, and even when we entered a rainforesty area, the path was well kept and the views interesting. There were huge ferns everywhere, clumps of moss growing high up in trees, and you could almost forget where you were. Although you would think that in this kind of environment there would be animals everywhere, there wasn’t. Not even a bird call, a scurry of something in the brushes… and I kept my eyes open in the hope of seeing a Kiwi, even though I had no idea what their habitats were, or if they even came out during the day. 




Welcome to the jungle!

I’m going to confess that I know nothing about Kiwis, apart from that are small flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, as possibly named after the fruit (both small and furry). Oh, I just realised that I do know something about this bird – they have the shortest beak of any bird; although, to a layman it would seem their beaks are very long, but as beaks are measured from the nostril to the start of the beak, the kiwis actually win this accolade. Back to the walk! The colours here were amazing, all deep greens, wet browns, and turquoise blue of the waterfalls. Yes, we made it to the falls! The rain let up just enough for us to get a good view of the water pouring down through the jagged rock walls, crashing into the pool below, and kicking up a fine, wet mist into the air. Some brave (or silly) soul had climbed down underneath the falls to get a closer look, but I was happy to stay up top and take pictures of him. Although the walk from here was only a 2-hour trip to Lower Tama Lake, which looked stunning on Google Images (but doesn’t everything?), the rain had set in again and didn’t look like it was going away. So, we headed back to the car for lunch, continuing on the circuit to get a different (still wet) view of the park. The landscape reminded me a little of Scotland and the highlands, with its flattish peaks, red and brown in colour, and with green and yellow grasses dotting the hillsides. We got back to the van, made some sandwiches and ate inside to keep dry.

Mount Ngauruhoe

What a view! Wow!

Mount Doom (aka  Mount Ngāuruhoe)

Road, mountain, cloud and sky
Overall, the day had been a mixed experience – it was good to get out and do some walking, but never, much fun in the rain and not actually getting to see anything. We were very happy to have visited though, as this park is the 5th oldest National Park in the world, with Yellowstone in the States being the first, and Sydney’s Royal National Park coming in second. Then the sun came out. I hadn’t even finished my sandwich, but it didn’t matter, I dropped it and rushed out of the van with my camera. To my delight, Mt Ruapehu had come into view through the clouds, and with the wet road, clouds and snowy peak, it made an extremely impressive and photo worthy sight! Snap, snap, snap, and the view had disappeared, but I had seen it and captured it. I wasn’t the only one either, as a Chinese tourist also had that same grin on his face and I did, big camera in hand, wife looking on not as impressed. Inspired, I dragged my wife out of the van and up the hill for a walk to get some more views (and photos). We got what we wanted – a sunny photo op and happy memories to leave on. It had been worth a little rain, some windy weather, and the drive. We got back to the van, still smiling, and then started to drive off past the grand old building that is the Chateau Tongariro Hotel. I’m so glad I keep looking for more, always looking for another photo (even while driving), because to the right of the road the clouds had truly cleared and Mt Ngauruhoe had come into view in all its volcanoey glory! I skidded to a stop, pulled over and got my camera out to get some pictures before it disappeared again (and forever, as we weren’t coming back). Fun fact about Mt Ngauruhoe - it was Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films, home of Sauron (and his eye), and famously swallowing up Gollum and the ring in the final scenes of the third movie (spoiler alert!). Wow, what a day! Sometimes I think I have a lot of luck when travelling, and today felt like it for sure. Still on a high, we headed south (only one way to go really!) and stopped in Whanganui for the night. Although I hadn’t planned the stop, we quickly checked out the CamperMate app and found a cool sounding place on the river. This was where we met Bruce, a super chilled bloke who runs Caroline’s Outback Camping Grounds, which sits in the grassy field behind a cool pub called, you guessed it, Caroline’s. He only accepted cash (of which I had none and so had to run down to an ATM), had a few cats wandering around (that were friendly), and didn’t need any check in details apart from ‘that your van? Cool.’ We parked and went straight to the pub to have a sundowner before dinner. Sitting on the front porch of the pub was the perfect end to the day and was topped off by sipping on a lovely tasting beer (in a quart bottle!) called Export Gold. We’d done 600kms since Auckland over 2 days, and so we were very proud of ourselves. Tomorrow, the capital of Wellington!

Mountains Gandalf! Mountains!

Pure New Zealand

Beach time with the van

Welcome to Wellington: 'The Bum of the World'
Day 3 on the road and we stopped off at Paraparaumu and Raumati beach for a short break before getting to Wellington. The hills in this area were so green and hilly, and just so beautiful – quintessential New Zealand. We had to stop a few times for photos, but there was no way of avoiding this! Watching this landscape go past, I constantly had the LotR theme playing in my head (mountains Gandalf, mountains!), and easily saw how Peter Jackson thought this the perfect place to depict The Shire and Middle Earth. There were also plenty of sheep, so doubly New Zealand. We got to the beach, and although the weather was sunny, it was still a little windy, so no swimming. It was worth the stop though, as the ocean was so green and blue, and I could just make out the South Island (I think). We had a snack overlooking the beach and watched all the gulls diving at people for their food or sitting on cars waiting for someone to open a window. Its’s amusing when its not you! We walked down along the beach and were met by two super cute dogs – one little puppy that was so full of energy, and the other an older, slower dog, but just as friendly and cuddly. 


Colourful sea huts in Wellington
I love patting dogs anywhere and go out of my way to do so – this made me think of Chile, when you’d get a stray dog for the day, and they’d be the loveliest dog ever, then they would just go and you’d never see them again. Completely free. Not quite the case with these dogs, both were owned and loved, so went back to their owners, and so we went back to our van. We headed away from the beach and beachside towns, and onto the main highway that ran into Wellington, the most southerly capital city in the world. Cutting through the hills, the road dropped down into the bay that the city was nestled in and opened up to show Wellington. The city was pressed between the green hills and the sea, with this road basically cutting the city in two, tall glass buildings either side. We cruised through the city, just looking around, and enjoying it for the first time while getting a perspective of where everything was. I like to do it that way – get an overview before hitting the streets and walking a place to really get to know it. I’d done some research before driving into the city, and had found a free camping site on the waterfront, on the other side of a hill to the city centre. We could park the van close to the amenities, get access to water and bathrooms on-site, and then walk to and from the city in no time. We go into the city around lunchtime, and all the parking had nearly been taken already, but we found a spot, organised some lunch, and then got ready to walk into the city. The route we chose was not the most direct way, instead following a path around the coast, which wound its way around cliffs, with houses looking out form their high vantage points on the hills - the scenic route! On the way back, we’d come a different way, a little more direct.
Wellington - The Windy City

Sea themed deco

Sydney beach vibes

The most southerly capital in the world!
Wellington sits on the southerly tip of New Zealand’s South Island, in a protected bay with the Cook Strait on one side and green hills on the other. It’s often called The Windy City by the locals, but I think there is a little competition between the capital and Auckland, as both locals complain about the wind. It is the administrative capital of the county, the 3rd largest city in NZ, and (after some research) is the WORLD’S WINDIEST city by average wind speeds (take that Auckland and Chicago!) With a population of only 450,000, its small by Australian standards, where Sydney has more than 5 million (more than New Zealand as a whole country!), but it still felt quite busy in the centre. We followed the path around Evan’s Bay, which would lead us into the city, and were very glad we did – the walk along the coast had some great views of the bay, the houses along the roadside and also those perched on the cliffs above (which had private lifts for access), but there was also cute little sea houses sitting on stilts in the water. Multi-coloured and unique, these pretty little shacks were small private buildings, serving as independent yacht clubs, or even holiday homes, and added a little more charm to the city. 


View of the city from above
The sun was out, there was very little wind, and it was a great 6km walk that left us happy and truly enjoying the city. We turned the last of the winding corners and saw the city open up in front of us – it reminded me a little of Manly, with the beach promenade, with huge pines growing along the walkway. There were people running, sitting on benches having food, and just plenty of people out enjoying the weather. I couldn’t even remember what day it was, a weekday or a weekend, but it didn’t seem to matter to anyone. The water was crystal clear, and a few people were even swimming and sunbathing, with the backdrop of a glass city in the background. Wellington had instantly become my favourite city in New Zealand – it just felt so relaxed and Sydney-like with its beach vibes (minus the large crowds). The waterfront was very nice, and the whole way was pedestrianised and very walkable, with museums, parks, bridges, and pubs and restaurants dotting the way. It was a small city though, with only a few blocks from the water making up the CBD, then the hills started with houses. Along this thin strip of city there is plenty to see and do, restaurants, pubs, cool graffiti and museums, but its also business, so there are loads of offices and business ‘space,’ before that eventually gives way to the sports stadium, and then the working port and ferry docks. We walked all around the city before finding a nice place for a beer and snacks, getting in a bit of chill time before heading back to the van for dinner and bed. The walk home was not as scenic as the walk in, but it was different, and we ended up walking through a very long tunnel under Mt Wellington to get back to our side of the city, just in time for a bottle of wine and sunset at the marina where we’d parked the van.

The inter-islander ferry

Chilling with a view

Some grand old buildings in Wellington


Modern art in the city
We got up early the next day ready to spend half a day in the city before jumping on the inter-island ferry to get to the South Island for the second leg of your NZ Tour. We decided to have breakfast at the top of Mt Wellington, the hill that divides the CBD side of the city and the airport side (which we were on) and gives a great view of the whole city with almost 360 degree views. The drive was easy, and we took it slowly to enjoy it, and the view from the top was amazing. We weren’t the only ones up here early, with a few backpackers and their vans already, as well as a couple of tour buses. Apart from the scenic lookout, Mt Wellington has leafy suburbs for the slightly better-off residents of the city, with little wooden houses, picked fences and nice gardens. It was such a quiet area, this is where I would be choosing to live if I were to live in Wellington. It still wasn’t windy, even up here, so we set up our ‘breakfast table’ in the van and ate with the view. After a little bit of time taking in the views, we jumped back in the van and headed down to see a suburb called Newtown, which was supposed to be much like the Sydney suburb of the same name. Newtown in Sydney is famous for being ‘a little bit different,’ or some would even say 'hippy.' Situated in the Inner West, there are restaurants everywhere, make your own jewellery stores, 2nd hand clothing, café-bookshops (and bookshop-cafes!), cool pubs that have regular drag shows, and the list goes on. 




The cool neighborhood of Newtown
Newtown was where I first had Indian and Thai in my life, and it has always had a special place in my heart – I now live a 10 minute walk from the heart of Newtown and all it has to offer. This Newtown, although different (and smaller), was just as funky and cool in its own way! Store facades were painted and made of timber, usually brightly coloured but sometimes a little weathered, there was cool graffiti on sides of buildings, bookshops, op shops selling all sorts of retro and alternative lifestyle products, and there was also plenty of interesting characters wandering around too. One guy was sitting on his mobility scooter, which was adorned with flags and stickers, chilling in the sun outside a café, and doing a crossword. There were plenty of little oddities; there was one nightclub/bar called ‘Come as you are,’ but the only way you knew it was a place was because it had some small writing on the wall next to the red door for the entrance. It also had a little balcony above with a metal ladder leading up to it from the street. The downside of this area was the homelessness, which there seemed to be a fair bit of, and there were also quite a few social services buildings. This happens in all cities, but at least it seemed that something was being done about it. It was nearly time to board that ferry, so we got back in the van and headed through the city towards the docks. We parked up in line, waiting to check in and, as we were early, I decided to quickly run and take a few extra photos (with the excuse of getting a snack or two for the boat trip). I had 30 minutes before it was time to drive on the boat - plenty of time! I ducked off to see Parliament House, which I hadn’t had time to before, and its an interesting building – two actually! The old building was built in 1929 to replace the previous building which burnt down, but there was a ‘new’ building which was completed in 1977. The old parliament building is a stern, marble / stone Gothic revival block, with pillars and an imposing façade, whereas the new parliament building is a round, concrete and glass construction, which is colloquially known as ‘the beehive.’ To be honest, that’s the name I would have called it too. Running around quickly, taking a few hurried photos, I realised that there was much more to this city that we’d had the chance to see. Sadly, it was time to get back to the van and get on that ferry. The good news of this was we would be on the South Island in a few hours!


The Old Parliament building



The Beehive (the New Parliament building)

Next stop - South Island

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MyUncleTravellingMatt. November 2022.

New Zealand Southland - Part 1

 A nice easy cruise on a glorious, sunny day in New Zealand. Long live holidays! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the voyage! Leaving port I have ...