New Zealand Day 6 Wellington

Day 6 Wellington

Wellington, here we come. As if by magic, Wellington appeared out of the ship windows when we woke on Saturday morning. Wellington didn’t seem a big place when we arrived but a day out in the city saw us clocking up 18,500 steps. We decided to follow the example of a couple we chatted to and have a decent breakfast and then nothing till dinner.

Wellington transport ran a series of shuttle busses from the gangplank into the city proper. This was just as well as it was quite an industrial area near the dock. We opted to get off the shuttle near the parliament building. The city had a sort of Sydney feel with its meandering roads and lush plantings. It had the appearance of a very ordered and prosperous place. Instead of hire bikes there were some really cool electric scoters run by UBER. I really wanted to ride one but you needed to have an UBER account and we hadn’t organized one. Still, I think a similar scheme is coming to Melbourne soon. As we had no particular plan and were offered a tour of the parliament building, we took the opportunity. It was interesting to hear that the NZ parliament decided a senate was unnecessary and voted themselves out of existence. I can’t see the Australian pollies being so selfless. The tour was interesting but the earnest guide with the slightly manic manner was a bit irritating.

We then made our way down past the court precinct to the commercial area. Again it was so clean and polished. It was reassuring to see so many familiar names as we walked through the streets. There were lots of sidewalk signs welcoming cruise ship passengers and attempts to tempt us in for extra discount bargains. Prices seemed staggeringly high. A banana cost $1.30 and petrol was $2.30 a litre. I thought that with the high price of food and the endless hill walking these New Zealanders must all be thin and fit.

We then headed down to the dock area where I think we saw the biggest yacht ever made. It virtually took over the whole wharf. We walked past the wharfs converted into shops and entertainments and up to the commercial area where we found a lovely coffee shop in the old bank arcade. Coffee was great but they had some pretty unusual food items. I don’t think i have ever heard of battered chips. And mince on toast. Still each to their own. Then we headed off to the Plimmer Steps. These were quite steep but the fastest way to get up to the road leading to the Botanical Gardens perched high above Wellington. We set off at a soldierly pace, up, up and even further up. I must have sounded quite grumpy when I said to John, “remind me why we are doing this!”. There was a great array of interesting houses on the way up to keep me going.

It was in utter relief that we caught sight of the sign that proclaimed we had reached the Botanical Gardens, but there was still more upward path stretching before us if we were to get to the best view over the harbour and a view of the observatory. At the top there were a lot of cheery, chatting folk. “The bastards probably came up in a bus” I muttered darkly to John.

As botanical gardens went, I didn’t really think much of this place. The view was wonderful but the planting looked a bit sparse. We had a look at the Wellington Cable Car and had all but decided to curtail our exploration of the “gardens” after a quick look through the cable car museum and get back o the city. I did fleetingly wonder if this might not be a Frankfurt Airport moment though and when we picked up a guide to the gardens just as we were heading for the cable car, we discovered that we had come in through the back entrance and there were extensive  beautiful plantings on the other side. It was actually very, very beautiful, with some spectacular hydrangea beds and a a lot of international sections as well. We were really glad we stayed the course.

Eventually we found our way to the rose garden that had been hand carved out of the side of the hill many years ago. There were also some stunning blooms in the Begonia garden. It was here where our resolve not to have lunch, had worn thin. Still, all we each had was half a roast vegetable panini and then shared a bottle of ginger beer. That was quite enough.

The path out of the botanical gardens was downhill through a historic cemetery. One very sad tombstone memorialized a woman who had two children years apart but each had died at three years old. Eventually the path led us across a busy overpass and dropped us back in the parliamentary precinct.

Along the way I had picked up a visitors guide that pointed out an “underground market” near the waterfront. We headed off there again at a soldierly pace, but it was just full of tourist tatt, so we quickly passed through it and back out to the sunshine. The waterfront was full of people and as well as food sellers, there seemed to be some sort of open air music concert going on. We were quite close to the contemporary art gallery so we thought we might have a quick look. It might have been distinguished art, but to us it was just a load of rubbish. One installation consisted of paint splattered walls and a mad tangle of electric wire hanging from the walls. I think it should have been called A Serious Health and Safety issue. Hamik would not have been impressed.

Feet throbbing and unable to shake the thought that on board there were fresh baked scones with jam and cream, we decided to head down Wakefield St to the shuttle bus that would drop us back at the ship. When we boarded the double decker, we found Malike and his wife there. She was so excited about the bus that she planned to stay on the bus for another round of the city. We had a better plan. In the lido, the scones were indeed there and a couple of scones and a cup of tea later, we felt ready for more fun, fun, fun. Actually, we both felt like a snooze. And then some fun fun fun.

Even though all this touring about is wonderful, I can’t help thinking about family and home. Thanks to What’s App, we know that all is well. Perry is bike riding in the Melbourne sunshine. Ginny and Zak are camping in the great outdoors. Britty is flying off to Paris for a short business trip. And all is well with my world. It’s a good life.

Dinner was in the Britannia room and it was really nice for the staff to recognize us and chat for a bit. Our two wait staff were from the Philippines and as they said, this ship would not function without the army of Philippino staff that Cunard recruit. Johnny had entree of frogs legs followed by duck. I had smoked salmon followed by chicken. Both were beautiful.

New Zealand Day 5 Akeroa

Day 5 Akeroa 

Hooray! Woke up without a headache. We had breakfast then set off for Akaroa. We had breakfast next to a couple who live in Auckland but also have a holding in South Australia. Nice couple that told us about their garden and 33 metre boat. On this ship everyone has a story.

We wondered how long it would take us to get on the tender as we were allocated to group 21, but it was only a 30 min wait as they had several taxiing back and forth. It was a 15 min journey and we disembarked at the jetty. We had to pass a safety test that involved us stepping between two markers, to prove that we were able to disembark safely.

Akaroa is a little jewel of a place. Ships are using it as the stopover wharf for Christchurch as Lyttleton was damaged by the earthquake. At first Akaroa looks petite, but there is a lot more to it than the seafront. It has a distinctly French feel as everything in this seaside port gleamed. The French were some of the earliest settlers. All the old buildings were restored sympathetically and any new additions were sympathetically designed. We walked along the sea front and then up through the interesting streets. There were some lovely cottages and the gardens were abundant with flowers.

The museum was of a very high quality with loads of interesting historical artefacts. The French cottage was particularly interesting as many walls were stripped back to their skeletal construction. They were pretty basic structures but they created the foundations of what was to become a thriving community.

We tried to get to a vantage point that was signposted from the seafront, but inexplicably the path ended and footing became dangerous so we returned to the seafront and then headed off to Murphy’s fish and chip shop for lunch. John ordered elephant fish and chips for two and was presented with a family pack that could have served 5 at least. Despite our best efforts, we retired defeated and binned what we couldn’t eat.

Of course no holiday lunch can end without an ice cream and with cups in hand we crossed the township and climbed up the hill towards the lighthouse. There was a great view of the bay sparkling in sunlight and the QE on the other side of the bay. The bay was created by the eruption of a volcano and the collapse of the seaward edge into the ocean. It created a really beautiful landscape with a calm harbour and green hills climbing up into farmland. The one fault with Akaroa was the price gouging cost of a coffee. Can you believe they charged us $5.70 each!

We managed to return to the ship on the tender in time for the ubiquitous afternoon tea and scones. Lily declined a scone as the ice cream hadn’t yet settled.

At 5pm there was some dancing on the entertainment timetable that attracted Lily’s attention, but we think it involved touching other people, so we settled for watching the ship depart Akaroa while looking for the famous Hector’s Dolphins. Well, no dolphins were spotted but the afternoon sun was very enticing and so we draped ourselves over the lounges and ordered a beer. Almost imperceptibly, the engines started and the ship prepared to leave the protection of Akaroa bay, but not before the last tender returned and was deftly hoisted on board.

It was Friday so here was no argument. Dinner had to be pizza. The kitchen lets passengers select their own toppings and build their own pizzas. The two we ordered were very good indeed and the glass of red was an excellent accompaniment. We then walked down the deck to the Garden Lounge for a proper coffee. The night was still young so we swung by the Queen’s Lounge where the music was latin and the dancing was in full swing. I jiggled in my seat but was terrified that I might be spotted by the staff and potentially coaxed onto the dance floor. It would have been great to have a go but I don’t think we were up to it without a bit of practice.