The Windy City

Wellington is famous/infamous for its wind, but we were very lucky on Sunday to have a very smooth crossing from Picton.
Our last day on South Island was spent exploring the coastline around Picton, where we found traces of Maori settlements:

 A bit of a gear change when we arrived in Wellington, a very dynamic place with loads to see. We were very lucky to be shown around some of the beautiful shoreline of the city, and also further up the coast, by Ted and Irene from Blythe Bridge, who have been spending half the year here for ten years now.

Ted, Irene and Brian by the Wahine ferry disaster memorial

Lots of public art to be seen in Wellington city centre...

Wise words

The bridge between the city and the sea

Lots of other great stuff in Wellington, particularly the National Museum, Te Papa, which really needs a whole day. Permanent exhibits included earthquake simulators, volcanoes, Natural History, including a skeleton of a blue whale, bush walks, and an amazing social history section, featuring photos and artefacts tracing the ups and downs of settlers' lives from 1840 to the 1980's.

There was also a magnificent exhibition on Gallipoli, which is running from the centenary of the event (May 1915) to the Armistice. No pics - you'll have to go yourself!

Wellington is also more of a cultural and ethnic hub than we had been used to on South Island. We ate Malaysian and Vietnamese food, went to an open mike comedy night, and saw some fringe theatre in an upstairs room.

We left this morning, and are now in Hawke's Bay. More soon...