Day Thirteen … hello Wellington

Well today we said farewell to Auckland. Our original itinerary (the one we had booked ages ago) had us travelling from Auckland to Wellington via train but due to so many changes with our booking … thanks Covid … we were unable to get tickets for the date we needed. So, a change of plans had us heading to the airport to catch a domestic flight (thank you to our ever patient travel agent Joanne).  So up, packed and away, car returned (thanks girl - you did us good) and away we go ✈️

We arrived in Wellington at about 11.30 and whilst Ian collected our bags, I grabbed us some lunch so that we could eat on the go later on. We took a taxi from the airport to our accomodation expecting to only be allowed to leave our bags due to the time we arrived but they let us straight up to our room. Our hotel - the last for our trip - is beautiful! Gorgeous, ornate, stunning old lifts and it smells divine! They gave us warm chocolate chip biscuits on arrival - in their own little bag - and they were delicious! We dumped our bags, off loaded our hand luggage and headed straight out the door.

We are located right in the middle of the central business district and just a quick walk to the bottom of the cable car. We bought tickets and boarded the short trip up to the top. The cable car is a funicular railway with 4 stops and 3 tunnels. It rises 120 metres over 620 metres … a gradient of 1 in 5. The trip takes only 5 minutes but boy was I glad I didn’t have to walk up that hill! The tunnels also have a light show installed so each one is a visual treat.

At the top of the cable car we boarded a free shuttle bus to Zealandia, a 500+ acre eco sanctuary totally surrounded by a predator proof fence. The fence looks like a blend of the Great Wall of China and a prison fence but it serves to keep out feral cats, rabbits, possums and other animals and hence allows the native lizards, frogs and substantial bird life to thrive. 

We spent a very pleasant 3+ hrs following the paths and tracks around the sanctuary, stopping to try firstly to listen for birds, then to spot them and then to try and photograph them. We walked past one of the old huts used during the building of the dam and the mining times and along the dam wall where it was very windy. (Believe me … today we found out why Wellington is known as the Windy City of NZ). The paths took us to a pontoon by the edge of the lake created by the dam where we saw baby birds in their nests and along rivers where we saw birds splashing in the water. We also saw Kaka birds using a very clever feeder that lifts the lid on the food when they place their weight on a bar.

Feeling exhilarated by the beauty of Zealandia we headed back to the cable car, again by the free shuttle bus, and back down to the CBD where we explored a little and completed a few stages of an Ad Lab (more to finish tomorrow) and stopping by the wharf to grab a geocache where we were approached by an older gentleman who is himself a geocacher. We had a lovely chat with him and he suggested some things for us to do tomorrow (although I do believe my trusty and ever reliable guide has it all under control). The buildings in the city are so varied from old historic, ornate to modern and contemporary. I can’t wait to see more tomorrow. Our day ended with a fabulous dinner at a local Chinese restaurant (it was so yummy we may in fact go back tomorrow).