The windy Welly

Well, I have finally found a place in New Zealand that I absolutely love. Wellington is a funky, big but small, coastal, hilly, young town that has been a pure pleasure to visit. In a way, it reminds me of San Francisco.
A few quick facts about Wellington:

• It's the capital of New Zealand.
• Population is around 400,000 residents, the second most populated city in New Zealand after Auckland.
• Wellington is the world's most southerly capital city.
• Major earthquakes in the 1840s and 1850s caused vertical movements of the land in Wellington, actually raising new land out of the sea, which is now part of the city. The street that marked the shoreline in 1840, Lambton Quay, is now 100-200 meters from the harbor.
• Wellington's harbor has three islands.
• It's known as "Windy Welly" because, well, it's always windy.

I met up with new friends Allison and David (see picture below), Belgian expatriates currently living in Wellington. After brunch at Sweet Mother's Kitchen (yum!), they drove me up to Mt. Victoria, which offers a 360-degree view of the Wellington area. After that, we drove along the Miramar Peninsula and I got a firsthand view of the beautiful coastline. Later that day I went for a jog along Oriental Charade (the street running along the coast of Wellington) and had dinner with a friend.

Mt. Victoria

David and Allison

Looking towards Wellington from Mt. Victoria

My second day in Welly I ventured out to the town's cable car (yes, there's only one!), which dropped me off right at the Botanical Gardens.

 

  

At the Botanical Garden's lookout point

A low-res 360 view from the lookout point

I LOVED the Botanical Gardens!

The rose garden

Leaving the Botanical Gardens, I made my way down Bolton Street and its pathways, along with many locals on their lunch breaks, where I found a lovely cemetery overlooking the city.

Next stop: the government buildings. These include what is referred to as "the Beehive" (see left below), the Parliament Building, the Parliament Library, and another building across the street.

Since it was a sunny day, I decided to head to the urban beach for a bit. The Wellington waterfront is absolutely lovely.

Oriental Beach, adjacent to Oriental Charade. That's the Mt. Victoria neighborhood on the hill.

The waterfront looking towards the central business district

After a couple short days in Wellington, I caught the ferry to continue my adventures on New Zealand's south island. So far, it has been wonderful. I will post another update soon!