My first visit to Wellington
by keeweechic
My first visit to Wellington was on a school trip when I was about 7. We travelled overnight on a sleeper train, toured the important buildings in Wellington the next day and made our return the next night. My first big adventure away from home. All I mainly remember is falling out of the top bunk on the train and being given a meat pie which made me feel ill afterwards. I was to return to Wellington quite a few times over the years but this time by car or by plane.
. Not so much fondest as memorable. There were two especially memorable trips. One involved the motel in which we were staying. One of the legs fell off the corner of the bed resulting in a lopsided thud in the middle of the night. The knob fell of the t.v. and we experienced further earth tremors that we had experienced in Taupo on the way down. The other was in 1986, January 28th, watching t.v. early that morning in my room in the James Cook Hotel and seeing that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded 73 secs after launch. I just sat there in disbelief at what I was seeing. I shall never forget that.
The City of Pohutukawa
by Kakapo2
If you have not read about my love for pohutukawa – New Zealand’s Christmas Tree – on some of my other pages, let me just tell it again: Since my first visit to NZ those beautiful trees which are covered in red blossoms around Christmas time, have a place in my heart.
First thing after settling in NZ, I planted several ones in containers, so they do not lift the house with their impressive roots at some point ;-) But as inhabitants of the east coast of the South Island we do not a terrible lot of them, just in Christchurch’s seaside suburb of Sumner, and even here in Lyttelton, and the most impressive pohutukawa town on the wet and more suitable West Coast in Greymouth. The pohutukawa clearly is more wide-spread on the North Island, and Wellington is a brilliant example of that.
The drive from the airport to the city is like a parade through pohutukawa-lined streets, and somehow they are everywhere, as the absolutely dominant tree of the city and its suburbs. They are in front of Parliament, around the main War Memorial, the university grounds, parks and gardens. It is a big joy from the start until the end of a visit.
Flowering starts mid November already, starting on the sunnier north sides of the trees. It can vary, depending on the general weather conditions, like everywhere.
Rugby
by fishandchips
Rugby is the NZ national game and it's a well supported sport in Wellington. The local Wellington Stadium aka the Caketin is a great place to go to a game as the stands completly encircle the ground. The local team plays Rugby like France plays Football - you never know which team is going to turn up on the day. In 2006 the local team, the Hurricanes, made it through to the Super 14 final so they are not too bad at the game (my team the Crusdaers won that match!!).
Makara Beach
by djramey
Makara Beach, just a short jog in the car from downtown Wellington, is a hotspot on the weekends and maybe one of the quieter beaches in New Zealand during the week. When I visited on a Friday morning, there were only 5 cars in the lot and only 2 people to be seen collecting drift wood.
To further enjoy the rough and rigid nature of Makara, head up the Makara Track. Makara Track begins and ends at the beach, and gives some of the better views in all of Wellington, and dareIsay the North Island.
The beach is at the end of Makara Road which runs from the south end of Karori Road. You will come up in between no more than 15 houses and be set on the black rock beach sorrounded by vast cliffs and wave breaks.
To view more Makara Beach photos, click here.
Buy the Book
by fishandchips about Arty Bee's
Arty Bee's has been in Welly for quite some time with two shop locations. One is in Courtenany Place (down the Cambridge St end) and the other is on Manners St. Both sell second hand books with the manners st shop also having a range of new fantasy & sci fi books.
The range of books in both stores is quite good with some real bargains to be found if you look hard enough. All genres and topics are catered for in the stores so you should be able to find something to please everyone.
The team at each store are really helpful so if you are after something in particular or are after a suggestion or two you shouldn't be disappointed. If you're like me then you will be here to buy Sci Fi & or Fantasy books. The new books section is right up to date so you can normally find what you are after. The second hand area has lots of hard to find stuff including many of the old masters of the genre. The price you'll pay will very much depend on the item with the rarer books fetching a quite high price. The new books are priced a bit cheaper than some of the other stores and the used books average around the $10 mark. Price is very much dependant on the item!!
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Bill English and John Key
A path in the Botanic Garden
Expectant diners
The Thistle Inn
