The Swanson's New Zealand Trip

Wellington: 24-26 May

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. She lies at the southern tip of the North Island and is the northern terminus of the Interislander, the ferry service connecting the two islands. We arrived in Wellington aboard the ferry Arahura where we picked up our North Island rental car from Omega right at the ferry terminal. Great service!

While on the ferry we "upgraded" to Club Class, which gave us access to a very comfortable lounge area off limits to anyone under eighteen years of age (in our opinion, an extremely civilized restriction.) One of our fellow passengers was a lady associated with the Wellington Tourist Board, who made a recommendation for a place to stay. She even let us use her cellular telephone to call the motel and confirm that they had space.

So, once we retrieved our luggage and left the ferry terminal we drove directly to our motel. They not only had rooms but, for the same money (NZ$110), we got a full apartment. It was only two block from a major downtown shopping area and within walking distance of the museums. Very convenient as we didn't have to drive around the city.

After "settling in" we headed to the Te Papa Museum which was open that evening. This is the "official" museum of New Zealand. We spent several hours enjoying their excellent Maori exhibits and also some of the more contemporary ones. After "museuming" we stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where Bob managed to get a dose of yellow dye that triggered an allergic reaction. Fortunately, he had his medication, so he was OK. We really didn't want to test New Zealand's brand of socialized medicine...

The next morning we did laundry and then headed to the same Chinese restaurant for Dim Sum, where Sandi got an overdose of MSG. Maybe we shouldn't go there again... After lunch we headed to the maritime museum (on foot in the pouring rain). The museum was very, very interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. When we left the museum it had cleared up and we strolled around the harbor.

For dinner we had takeout from a nearby Thai restaurant (and both of us managed to digest that without difficulty.) Our apartment was very comfortable and we enjoyed having a lounge in which to relax and put our "feet up". The next morning, Saturday, we packed our bags and headed out for Lake Taupo section.

The "thumbnails" following this narrative are a select subset of our Wellington images. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!

The Interislander Arahura arriving at Picton	In the Arahura's Club Class lounge	Wellington Harbor Boardroom Description	Wellington Maritime Museum	Bob examines the museum's WW1 display
Lighthouse lens	Beautifully detailed ship's model	Wellington Harbor	Interislander Lynx	Sunset Over Wellington

Back to North Coast l Continue to Taupo

Return to Map Page l Return to Opening Page