Wellington

We’ve  just had a couple of days in Wellington, we flew down on Saturday night and were back in Auckland  by Monday evening so it was definitely a quick trip.  The sun was setting on the large cloud bank as we flew down on Saturday evening making for a very pleasant view. 

  

We went to Wellington to see the two World War One Exbititions; the Weta Workshop Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa and the Peter Jackson Great War exhibition at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. They were both amazingly breathtaking and are worthy of their own separate posts, which we shall report on shortly.

Whilst in Wellington we took the opportunity to meet up with my niece Natalie and her husband Richard and their two delightful wee girls Renee (nearly 7) and Michelle (nearly 2).  Natalie met us on Saturday night for a late dinner in town at Wagamama on the waterfront.    

 Roy and Natalie

Sunday morning we walked down to the waterfront for a quick breakfast.  Wellington turned on a stunning day for us and it was very pleasant sitting out in the morning sun watching the world go by.

 

We met up with Natalie and family at the War Memorial for a guided tour through the exhibition before heading  off to Scorching Bay for a late lunch.     

 Someone has been busy decorating the outside of the restaurant 

  
It was then back into town to Te Papa to see the Gallipoli exhibition, but the queues were still very long with a minimum 45 minute wait before we could get in, so instead we headed off to view the Air New Zealand 75th anniversary exhibition.  This brought back lots of memories of trips taken when flying was a novelty and a luxury.  Do you remember getting dressed up to take your flight? And being offered a menu? When seats were large and comfortable with room to move?  We certainly enjoyed the exhibition and viewing all the displays.   

 Who could forget Waihirere  wines?  – the Sauterne was Mum & Dad’s tipple of choice!

Soon it was time for Natalie to get the girls home for their evening meal, bath and bed.  We bade farewell to them, and look forward to seeing them all again soon.    Meanwhile Roy and I headed off to see the Gallipoli exhibition,  on our flight down we sat with one of the museum curators and she gave us a bit of helpful advice – that the best time to see the exhibition was after 4pm as the crowds tend to dissipate by then.  We walked straight in and had a good couple of hours exploring this amazing display before heading off for a bite to eat.

We headed for a well known Wellington institution for our early dinner – The Green Parrot.  The food is totally unpretentious and so old fashioned that it is probably back in fashion again.  I mean, where else do you get a plate of thin sliced white bread with butter delivered to your table on your arrival?!     

 This restaurant has been around since 1926, and is a hit with politicians and movie stars with the walls covered with pictures of famous guests.   The back wall has a large painting/mural of an internal scene of the restaurant with a variety of famous faces from past and present included.  The meals are renown for being large and generous, as we had had a good lunch we both chose an entree sized portion for our evening meal and even then we struggled to finish our meal. 

Monday morning and after breakfast in town we went for a quick ride on the cable car   

  Wellingtons cable car  (which is actually a funicular) – you can google the differences.

View from the top

 Then it was back to Te Papa for a second viewing of the exhibition.  Although we got to the museum at opening time, the queues we even longer than Sunday so instead we headed to the top floor and worked our way down all the floors looking at the different exhibitions.  At Iunch time we had arranged to meet up with Natalie again, and also Roy’s cousin Dr Antonia Davin as it had been a couple of years since we had seen her.  We all had a lovely lunch at St. John’s, a short walk from Te Papa and managed to catch up with all their latest news.  Antonia has led a very interesting and varied life, her father (brother of Dan Davin the author) was in the Diplomatic Services, Antonia’s early life and education was very international having attended schools throughout NZ, as well as in London, Paris, New York, Rome and Canberra, she then went on to complete her degrees in France and Belgium.  Her working life was just as interesting and varied and it is always fun listening to her tales.   After an entertaining long lunch, it was farewell to Natalie and to Antonia, till next time. 

 Roy and Antonia 

Roy and I went back to Te Papa and as luck would have it, the queue for the War exhibition had again dispersed so we took advantage of the lack of crowds and went back through the displays, this time picking up much more information and detail.

Soon it was time for us to head off to the airport for the flight back to Auckland and to our van parked at the NZMCA park at Ardmore Airport.  We will stay there for a couple more days to catch up with Antony as well as restock the larder and get a few chores done before we go to Waharau on the Firth of Thames for a week or two.