Windy Wellington--Capital City

Just before starting work I thought I should head South a bit to see the Capital. Wellington is called the Windy City because there is often strong winds coming off the sea, but I was lucky the week I was there and didn't get blown away :) The weather was actually fabulous most of my trip, rain one day, an earthquake another day, clear skies 90% of the time.

Wellington is an excellent city to walk around. Most of the cool things to see you can get to on foot. There is also a bus system, and if you really want to get into the suburbs, you can attempt figuring out the train. Most of the "tourist-ey" stuff is in the center of the city which is then surrounded by several suburbs.

There is a lot of history in Wellington. One of the coolest things I got to see was the original treaty and documents signed between the Maori people and he European settlers. I had gotten lost while looking for something else and stumbled on the National Archive building, which had a viewing room for important historic documents. No photos allowed, so can't visually share with you, but it was neat to see.

Some highlights:

The capital building, also known as the "beehive."

The Botanical Garden. I know I only saw a small portion of it, but it is a delightful, quiet spot in the heart of the city.

Peppermint Tree

From Gondor?

The old Anglican Cathedral, St. Paul's. The US and Marine Corps flags were a gift to the cathedral during WWII. According to the curator, there were some US Marines stationed in Wellington on their way to some Pacific Islands and were told the only reason they'd be able to leave their ship is if they were leaving to attend church. So one Sunday a couple Marines ventured to the Cathedral, and after the service were invited over to a parishioners house for dinner. The next week nearly all the men stationed there decided to go to the Cathedral for church and were treated with wonderful hospitality by the parishioners of St. Pauls the entire time they stayed in Wellington. When they departed, they presented the flags to the cathedral in appreciation.

The flags

Cool street art :)

And graffiti, better painting than I can do!

Cable car museum! The car still runs during the day and is a nice shortcut to the botanical gardens.

A beautiful view of the city and harbor.

Batman IS real. I found where he eats.