Introduction to Creative Wellington

Monday February 11 started out cloudy but became sunnier and sunnier as we headed toward Wellington from Napier.  The high was around 24C.

We took an 8:00 a.m. Inter-City bus and scored seats in the front of the second level of the bus.  Very pretty ride through rolling hills and lots of green.

En route to Wellington

Wind Farms-- not a dirty word in NZ

View through the bus window

A Valley below

We got to Wellington at around 1:40 p.m. and took a cab to our Airbnb located on a street called The Terrace.  We have a separate room and bathroom in a townhouse owned by a lovely couple.  He is from Paris originally and was a French pastry chef, who now works at the Post Office.  His wife works in the government in a Minister's correspondence unit.  They had owned and operated a French bakery in Wellington for about ten years and then a number of years ago sold the business.  The place is very clean and we have a great view of the town from a bit of height.

It was about a 15 walk down some stairs into the CBD (Central Business District).  En route, we were looking at our map and a woman asked if she could help.  We said we were going for coffee at Customs Brew Bar.  She said she was meeting her son there, so she showed us the way and gave us some other suggestions for coffee shops and restaurants.  We have found people in NZ exceptionally friendly.

Inside of Customs Brew Bar- they serve Supreme coffee beans, which we first had in Auckland

Alain waiting for his flat white

Graffiti across the way

There is a lot of street art in Wellington and the city definitely has an edge.  Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and the second most populous urban area with about 420,000 residents.  It is the world's windiest city by average wind speed!!  The architecture is hodge podge, but the waterfront is spectacular and well used by the public.   We went to the I-Site tourism office and booked the
5:00 p.m. walking tour that started outside their building.   There were 11 people on our walk.  Our guide, Tina, had a part-time job as a counsellor for the elderly, but enjoyed doing the tours (she said the first tour she had taken had been in Chicago and she then became involved in doing tours in Wellington).

Our first stop was the Civic Square.  There were some government buildings in the square as well as the Wellington City Art Gallery, which houses interesting contemporary art.  High above the square is the silver Ferns globe, made by Neil Dawson.  Silver ferns are a symbol of New Zealand. The old piece had hung in the square from 1998-2015, when it was taken down due to safety concerns caused by structural weaknesses that had been exacerbated by the Wellington wind.  The artist fabricated a new globe, built with stainless steel rather than aluminium.  It returned to the Square in June 2018.

Fabulous new Ferns sculpture over Civic Square

After refurbishing, the City Gallery Wellington (Te Whare Toi) moved to its present location in 1993, in the old Wellington Public Library building.  The Library moved into a new building next door.  The building had been built in 1940 in the Art Deco style.

City Gallery Wellington--- the neon lines one can see on both levels represent the two fault lines under New Zealand--- earthquakes are a real issue in the country

Our guide told us about the Wellington Sculpture Trust which was established in 1982 to provide contemporary innovative public art for the city.  It has installed 27 works in the city centre.  The trust commissions work, funded by corporate donations, and then works with the City to find locations for the sculptures.  With one notable exception of a Henry Moore, all the sculptures are by prominent New Zealand artists.   We passed a number on our walk-- it really adds to the reputation of Wellington as a creative hub.

This sculpture is of two whales on the bridge

The Ferns up close

 Nautical symbols beside the bridge

Walk of metal palm trees

We then walked over to the Old Bank Building Arcade.  In 1901, the Bank of New Zealand opened their Head Offie in a magnificent building over the remains of Plimmer's Ark on reclaimed land.  Once the building was no longer used for a bank, it remained idle for a number of years.  In the late 1990s the building was restored.  The remains of an old three masted sailing vessel, Plimmer's Ark, were unearthed during building renovations between 1997-99.   The vessel had remained there since it was left high and dry after the earthquake of 1855.  Today, the bow section can be seen under the floor in the Bank Vaults area.

The Old Bank - a grand building

Today, the arcade houses a number of retail stores.  Lovely setting and signage.

Stores in the arcade- lovely restored floor

There is a beautiful clock hanging in the building.  It is an animated, musical clock and every hour, the clock opens to reveal animated scenes that relate to the history of the arcade site.  We weren't there at an opportune time, but the clock is incredible.

The Old Bank Clock

Tina pointed out signs in the street indicating where the shoreline had been in 1840.

We then stopped to see another sculpture that moves in the wind.

Protoplasm- Phil Price 2002

Plaque on building beside sculpture

The public art is excellent in the city.  We stopped at another sculpture entitled Invisible City, done in braille.

Invisible City- Anton Parsons 2003

Sky Blues-Bill Culbert, March 2006 (this sculpture lights up at night)

We then walked down to the waterfront area, which contains the container port, restaurants and is the site of a few museums.

Large moveable crane

We passed the Wellington Museum on Queen's Wharf.  It occupies the 1892 Bond Store, an historic building.  It has four floors covering the history of Wellington.  It opened as a museum in 1972.

Wellington museum

Across from the museum was a fountain dedicated to a famous New Zealand dog-- Paddy the Wanderer.  He hung out on the waterfront in the 1930s and died in 1939. At the bottom of the structure, made from marble from the Waterloo Bridge in London, are two dog bowls.

We then had a view of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand's national museum.  It is known as Te Papa, or "Our Place."  It opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum and the National Gallery.   We will definitely be visiting the museum.

View of Te Papa

Boats and homes across the water

Lots of dragon boaters

There were two places where people can dive into the harbour.   Lots of folks out in the late afternoon.

Diving in the harbour

Showing off with a back flip

Statue in front of Māori meeting place

Māori meeting place on waterfront

A closer view of Te Papa museum

Lantern Terra Cotta Warriors outside of Museum- there is an exhibit of the Terra Cotta warriors inside

Solace in the Wind- Max Patté

We then walked away from the harbour to an area of former warehouses which house a number of restaurants and bars.  Our guide liked the Shark Wall.

Lots of Sharks!

We then checked out a giant sculpture called "Tripod" by Weta Workshop in recognition of the film and television industry.  Weta Workshop is a special effect and prop company based in Miramar, NZ producing effects for television and film.  It was founded in 1987.  It came to prominence with director Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings.  Peter Jackson (b. 1961) is a key player in the arts in Wellington, where he was born.

Tripod November 2005

We went across the street to the restored Embassy Theatre.  Peter Jackson was a major contributor to the restoration and the premiere of Lord of the Rings was held in the theatre.  We wandered up to the second floor.

The Embassy Theatre- originally built in 1924

Restored inside of Embassy Theatre

We then went around the corner for dinner.  The fish restaurant we had wanted to eat at was fully booked, so we made a reservation for the next evening.   We decided to follow the lead of our guide and get some fish and chips at the Mt. Vic Chippery.  It had also been recommended as one of the best fish and chips places in Wellington.  Fish and Chips is big in New Zealand.  One chooses the fish, topping, fries, sauces etc from a menu on the wall.  It was expensive by the time we added everything- but the quality was great.  The place was constantly busy.

Wall menu

Alain with his portion

Outside The Chippery

We then climbed the hill back to our Airbnb.  Our room is on the second floor of the townhouse with the red door.  Our hosts had a cup of tea with us.  They have run the Airbnb for two years.  They are up early for work and are letting us do a big laundry while we are here.

Outside of townhouse-- just at dusk sound 8:40 p.m.

We were both very tired.  The Inter-City bus system works like clock work, but a 5.5 hour bus ride is still tiring.  We had a very nice introduction to Wellington.  I am posting this mid morning on Tuesday February 12.