Wellington
New Zealand’s capital city is crowded around a wonderful natural harbour, with steep hills ringing the sea. This will be our only truly urban stop on this cruise, and the city’s many interesting buildings made for a fascinating morning excursion. We visited the Houses of Parliament, including the rotund building known colloquially as “the beehive”. Built in the 1970s, The Beehive is perhaps the world’s least-attractive parliament house, but it is at least distinctive. Further wandering took us to the lovely Old St Paul’s Anglican church, which was built in 1866 of New Zealand native timber. It is still in great shape and is a wonderful example of what can be done with beautiful wood and a gothic design. We also took in the city’s magnificent botancial gardens before finishing our tour at Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum. Many of us took advantage of the ship’s central berthing location and strolled the waterfront, mingling with commuting office workers or jogging bureaucrats.
The afternoon revealed Wellington’s wilder side, with a visit to the Zealandia Sanctuary. In a suburb in the middle of the city, a “mainland island” has been carved out. The whole area has been ringed with a fence so secure that it prevents the ingress of introduced pest species such as rats and weasels. By excluding these exotic predators, the native flora and fauna of the region are free to live as they would have before the city was founded and these mammals were introduced.
