Wellington, North island

As we left South Island we were entertained by Maori dancers, a nice touch as we were similarly greeted when we arrived.
The weather we have had was truly wonderful, allowing us to take in the superb scenery in comfort. Considering South Island has 200 days of rain a year, we have done very well indeed.

And the countryside around Picton is equally beautiful, more fiords to travel down to the Cook Strait, some with small town along the coast.The ferry is well appointed, good reclining seats, a bar and a couple of restaurants. It was rather quiet, the car decks were much less than half full, so there was plenty of room on board.

Wellington sits well inside a large lagoon, a very sheltered harbour. Mainly built up the hills around the harbour, over the years land has been reclaimed in the harbour to give some level land for the town centre.As we approached we could see two very large cruise ships berthed for the day.
Our hotel was very easy to find, right on the waterfront, opposite the national museum, Te Papa. But more of that later.
Wellington has a long history of Maori settlement, but the first European settlers came ashore in January 1840, buying land from the Maori. The seat of government was moved here from Auckland in 1865, because of it's central location, and since then it has grown to be a very big city.

We walked along the front to Old St Paul's church, which was the Cathedral Church of Wellington until 1964 when the new church was built along the road.
Built in 1866, by the time the new church was built it was in a very dilapidated state, and the diocese decided to demolish it. The public, however, decided that they wished to save it, and the New Zealand government agreed to purchase it in 1967, restoring it to reopen to the public in 1970.




It would have been a disaster  to pull it down, rarely have I seen such an interesting church, completely made of timber. The trusses and beams within are very fine indeed, lovingly restored to their former glory.
Although still consecrated, services are no longer held here. Apart that is from special events, weddings, funerals, christenings etc, where the celebrants can bring in their own clergy for the day.

Going on to visit the parliament, we found it consisted of three buildings. On the left above, is the beehive, a very modern executive building where the PM and his ministers have their officers, and where state receptions are held. In the centre, a lovely marble building houses the parliament itself, and on the right, almost hidden by trees, is the parliamentary library.
The parliament building itself was completed in 1918, after an earlier building was destroyed by fire in 1907. It was extensively refurbished between 1991 and 1995 when it was earthquake proofed using 400 rubber bearings to isolate it from the ground below. It can now withstand earthquakes up to 8.6 on the richter scale, and can move up to 300cm (1ft) in any direction without sustaining major damage.
 New Zealand has a British style parliament, but without a house of lords, which was abolished in the fifties. There are eight parties, and the ruling party at the moment is a minority, and relies on the smaller parties to stay in power. Elections are held every three years, and members are elected in various ways either representing geographical areas or representing their party. In addition there are seven representatives specifically for the Maori community.
Because the electorate is so mall, (only about two million), any person can write to or even come along and speak to select committees on any subject, which seems to me to be a very good way to do business.
Photos were not allowed inside unfortunately.

Close by is another very interesting building, part of which I show on the left here. Formerly a government building, it is now the Law Faculty of the University of Wellington, but still sports the British coat of arms on its roof.
But what makes it extraordinary is that is completely made of wood, although it is impossible to know that  if we were not told.
Resembling an Italian stone palace, it is one of the largest timber building in the world and was completed in 1876. It has two grand staircases, 146 rooms and 122 fireplaces, and originally housed the complete Wellington civil service as well as the cabinet rooms.

Along the waterfront opposite our hotel is Te Papa, the national museum. It is said that if we visit just one museum in New Zealand it has to be TE Papa. and I can well see why. I could spend all night describing the innovative ways that the exhibits are presented, suffice it to say that it is possible to spend a couple of days in there and still not be bored.
A couple of photos below show a typical Maori headman's house, and a third scale model of the sort of catamaran that the Polynesians arrived here in some twelve centuries ago to settle these islands.
A fascinating first day here, marred only by torrential rain at times, the first we have seen since arriving in NZ. Let's hope it improves soon!