From the experience of taking the airport bus, to my arrival at my Airbnb, I felt very welcomed in Wellington. (Alliteration, see what I did there). I took a 6 hour bus ride from Taupo on the Intercity Gold coach with a big cushion seat. We made a few stops for food. I found the long ride incredibly relaxing. Not being in a rush or feeling time-constrained is such a privilege. I'm not taking any minute of this for granted. Wellington proved to be a remarkable final stop on my New Zealand journey.
New Zealand Parliament
The airport in Wellington is incredibly easy to access and close to the center of the city. The rail station and bus station are the same complex. I took the bus from the bus station to Courtenay Place, right in the center of the city. My Airbnb was in a fancy tower nearby. My hosts were a Kiwi couple, the first and only gay Kiwi dudes I had met. They were warm, curious and friendly. It was refreshing and exciting. They wanted to hear my story of why I was traveling and some sordid details of my journey thus far. I was worried about ranting but they seemed engaged. I think I wasn't too hungry because I ate a lot on the bus, so I just walked around the city at night to get a sense of the vibe.
A gully fern. Fellow friends of the 80s and 90s, remember the film Ferngully?
I couldn't wait to head out to the city the next day. In the morning, I found a hipster coffee shop across the street. The baristas had the requisite outfit with the towel draped over the shoulder nonchalantly, handlebar mustache and paperboy cap. I ordered by Americano with milk and blueberry crumble granola looking thingy. As I was waiting for them to put my order together, a hipster mom came in with her son. He had to be 2 years old, max. He had his childhood blanket with him. Let's call it his blankie. He tried walking behind the counter to watch the baristas make coffee. The mom apologized on his behalf and explained that he really wants to watch the guys work. What happened next was really unexpected and I am not sure things like this happen in New York City coffee shops.
Wellington Botanical Garden
The barista prepared a high chair behind the counter. He took off his towel and and took the blankie off the boys shoulder and gave it to mommy. He then placed his barista rag on the boys shoulder and let him sit in the high chair behind the register. He gave him a coffee grind press to squeeze. The look in the boy's eyes was astonishment. You could see that he was in disbelief that he was allowed to do this but also that he was living it. You could see him growing in the moment. He was so happy just be doing this. And just at that point of bliss, he realized his blankie was missing. He looked around briefly and saw that mommy was holding it. It was a sense of relief but also brought him back to his former life as a regular 2 year old boy. He reached out for his blankie but mommy said that big boy's working in the coffee shop can't bring their blankie behind the counter. He seemed to understand. That's when I started tearing up. I felt like I was watching the beginning of blanket separation happen. I was also watching a group of really cool people help develop this child. Then, my coffee was ready.
I started my gallivanting around Wellington by making my way to the Parliament building. As the capital of New Zealand, I felt that the architecture of the city really did the country justice. I knew from talking to backpackers that the famous "see everything in one day" hike starts/ends at Parliament. You go to the hill behind there and you have the Botanical Gardens and then the tram that takes you up/down the hill. At the top of the hill, I walked to nearby Zealandia project. It's an attempt to recreate the original pre-settlement ecology of New Zealand. I thought it was beautiful. Some pictures below, including my favorite landscape shots.
After Zealandia, I took the famous cable car down the hill and walked to the famous Te Papa Museum. At the Te Papa Museum, I stumbled upon a conference for Indonesians living in New Zealand and the third floor was filled with Indonesians talking to each other. The main exhibits include a larger than life retrospect on New Zealand's involvement in World War I, a scientific overview of the earthquake that affected Christchurch last year, exhibits about native animals, an exhibit on elements of Maori culture and finally, a rather small room dedicated to the saddest period of time in modern New Zealand: The New Zealand Wars.
Wellington from the top of the hill.
The exhibit on The New Zealand Wars makes it clear: New Zealand committed a genocide against the Maori people. It also clarified that this is the first exhibit in the entire country dedicated to this war and this is also the first year the country has ever commemorated and memorialized the war officially. Still, I thought the exhibit should be much, much bigger and offer more detail. It's a good first step to talking about a very difficult past. This thought led me to a really amazing conversation with an employee at the information desk. She was of Maori descent. She told me about how Maori history was not included in the public school curriculum until the 1990s and how Maori language used to be illegal to speak. She agreed that the exhibit should be bigger. I wrote a little letter for the recommendation box.
I loved Wellington. I apparently lucked out and not experience any of the infamous wind. I do not see myself ever really living in New Zealand. It's too remote for me. All of the people who own boats, even though they might be bought from home equity loans, still intimidates me. I am looking forward to visiting again and sharing the beauty of New Zealand with someone I care for. On this next trip, I especially hope to backpack the South Island and see all of it's amazing nature.
This concludes my New Zealand essay collection. I decided after Wellington that I needed to make some drastic changes to my travel itinerary because I was sorely missing the cultural exchange and exploration element of my trip. I chose Fiji to start a new regional tour of the South Pacific Islands. I'll leave you with some pictures from the plane as we left New Zealand.
