Well...here we were in Windy Wellington. Claude opened the door to our patio in our hotel room.
Yep, Wellington IS windy. It would continue to show us why it has earned this moniker.
We started our day with a driving tour of Wellington. First, up to the top of Mt. Victoria. I don't think there has been a country we have visited that doesn't have something named after Queen Victoria. This lady must have been a force! I took these pictures at the top to give you a 360 view of Wellington. Note the first picture. There is a strip of concrete between two bodies of water with land on either side to the left of middle center. That is the landing strip for the airport. We were told it is very concerning to land on this strip of land. Remember that for later.
There is a tram that goes from the city center up the hill. We opted to take that tram ride. Our coach dropped us off at the bottom and picked us up at the top. It was fun to give this a try. There are two tunnels through the hill. Each is lined with lights that change colors as you go through the tunnel. This is getting on the tram at the bottom, a tunnel and getting off the tram at the top.
We visited the grounds where their government meets. The first building it the Library and houses their judicial branch of government. Beside the Library, the gray building housing the legislative branch of the government. At the end of the gray building is the Beehive which houses the executive branch of government.
On the grounds is a big slide. Many of our group went down the slide. Claude went down and I ran around to take pictures of him coming down.
Across the street from the government buildings is this pub. It is called The Backseaters. It is where all the government workers like to spend their time. I found the name delightful.
Our coach dropped us off at the Botanical Gardens for a brief walk. Claude and I walked the lower levels. We opted not to hike up the hill this time. March is the beginning of fall in New Zealand. Wouldn't be long until winter for these people.
It is important to learn a few words when traveling each country. This is a good one to learn in any country!
Time for lunch and then a free afternoon and evening. The coach dropped us off at Cuba Street in downtown Wellington. There are places to eat and shop and we were within walking distance of our hotel. Claude and I went directly to a Taco Bell. Then we walked Cuba Street. This street is closed to traffic for several blocks. We roamed these blocks and found a Ben & Jerry's for a nice dessert. While sitting in the window of Ben & Jerry's we looked across and found a restaurant with an interesting name. Turns out it is a vegetarian restaurant.
We decided to hike back to our hotel and rest for a bit, if possible. We had tickets to the Weta Workshop in the evening. As we walked, I noted the stop light warnings for when to cross and when not to cross. On Manners St. I was able to get the Do Not Cross symbol. It is a Maori warrior in a haka pose. I was not able to get the Okay to Cross symbol. It is a green Maori running warrior with a spear. So cute and appropriate for New Zealand.
We met McKenna Jensen, our host, in the lobby of the hotel. She secured us an Uber to get us to the Weta Cave and Workshop. Four others from our group went in another Uber and would meet us there. This was my very first Uber ride. We simply have had no need for them in our lives. McKenna showed me the app she has on her phone attached to her credit card. She orders the ride and it is paid for with her credit card. Then she can track where the Uber driver is in relations to where she is. Then she can track how quickly he is getting to our destination. It was great fun and a new wrinkle in my brain. McKenna is young and single. She has her app set so that her father gets and alert of where she is and timing. Even though he is in the USA, it gives her a bit of security to know someone knows when she does this. We would treat McKenna to dinner another night to pay for our part of the Uber ride.
Our tour was the Weta Workshop tour. The Weta Cave is in front of the workshop. It is a museum of things as well as their gift shop. If you were in Wellington, you could go to the museum (Cave) and not pay admission. And you could shop for souvenirs. There are no pictures allowed on the tour as all things in the workshop are copyrighted. These pictures were taken with the trolls outside of the entry (Hobbit movie) and inside in their museum (Lord of the Rings and Hobbits).
Claude was put in front of a green screen at the end of the tour. They superimposed his image on a background and we bought one picture. Cool. Claude as Gandalf.
This was an excellent tour. The tour guide kept calling me "my Lady". I found this charming and assured Claude he needed to pick up this habit. He has not! We did get to touch the kind of chain mail they made for the actors in the movies. The neat one was mithril. Bilbo was given a mithril shirt to wear under his clothing to protect it. It was made by the elves and was very light and could not be penetrated. He would later give it to Frodo along with Sting, his sword. I learned that is it really the came small chain mail they make gloves for butchers out of to protect their hands when cutting meats.
Back in the Uber in the pouring rain to get back to the Copthorne Hotel Wellington – Oriental Bay. Traffic was awful and we took a detour which helped get us to our destination much more quickly.
Once at the hotel, we were ready for dinner before going to our room. Alas, the restaurant was reserved for a party. We were able to order from the bar and eat in the open area where guests can chill out. We took our meal to a round coffee table and sat to eat. Others came who were there for the party. They sat and talked to us while we ate. A little disconcerting but we had our meal and headed up to get a good night's rest.
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