Day 29 - February 1, 2025 - Saturday - Wellington, NZ

 Daybreak this morning was pretty drab.  It was overcast and misty so there is no "daybreak" photo today.  The good news is the forecast is for clearing skies.  I hope we will have a good day in Wellington.  We have a private 6 hour coastal tour planned.

As we come into port, there was a tremendous amount of timber on the dock.  This is pine which is raised as a crop for export.  It is not a native species.

The information from our excursion company was pretty clear regarding our meeting place... until we actually arrived.  It said after deboarding we should exit the cruise terminal and look for our guide in the private tour parking section.  Well, there is not a cruise terminal and since it is a working dock, there is no walking from the port.  The city of Wellington does provide a shuttle service to the city center.   

I telephoned the local tour company around 8:30 AM, our tour was for 9:30.  I had to leave a message but I quickly received a text in reply.  He said, oh, just exit the ship and your guide Athena will meet you just past the tour buses at 9:30.

This was apparently the tour terminal, a converted cargo container!

Our guide, Athena, did show up on time with a clean, modern Mercedes van. I'll tell you more about Athena later.  She informed us that there was one additional passenger to be picked up for the tour.  This made a total of 5 for a vehicle which could carry 9 plus the driver.  We had plenty of room.

The tour was described as a costal tour, and it certainly was.  In addition we made it to the two highest peaks in the area, visited the Botanical Gardens, the Parliament Building and Old St. James Church.  We had lunch as well.  

As you can see from my Geo Tracker map, we covered quite a bit of territory.  I estimated we did about 40 miles total.

I'll just post some photos with a comment occasionally.

This view is from Mount Victoria, also known as Wellington Hill.  This 643 foot tall hill has beautiful old housed except for the last third, which is considered too windy to live.  It can't be seen with enlarging the photo, but at the very right had edge, our ship is at dock.

We made a quick stop at the famous Weta Workshop, a company of artisans and innovators.  They have been recognized with five Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and dozens of other recognitions for their work in film and television special effects and props.  Some of their best known work was for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but include many, many other projects.

Our ship featured a behind the scenes tour of the workshop which I am sure would have been interesting, but there is just not time for everything!

Our tour included lunch which was had at a most interesting seaside cafe, The Chocolate Fish.

The building was nothing fancy, but they had a large courtyard with tables as well as a large playground for children.  Everyone we saw seemed to be locals.

There was a full menu as well as today's specials.  I was not familiar with gurnard fish, so I had to try it.  In fact several of us did.  It was an excellent white fish which was very lightly battered and fried.  I looked it up later and learned it is common around New Zealand shores.  It is a bottom feeder and looks similar to a catfish with wings.  The article said it was one of the world's most underrated fishes for flavor.  I have to agree.  I had a sandwich and some had it in a salad.

This photo of a Gurnard is from fishing.net.nz.

I asked about local beers.  It seems most of the beers in this area are IPA's which are not my favorite, but I order the Hazy IPA from a local brewer.  It is made with citrus and stone fruit.  It wasn't too high in IBU and the flavor was refreshing and complimented the fish well.

We learned that Athena who was born in Greece and received some of her education in the USA had worked with the Greenpeace organization for about 30 years.  She spent 7 years on a ship sailing around the world.  She fell in love with New Zealand and decided she has spent enough of her life trying to, as she said "save the earth".   Athena was very personable and knowledgeable.  She was a very good guide and a good driver - I certainly couldn't navigate some of Wellington's streets.  I just never could have imagined I would be driven around New Zealand by a Greenpeace protester! 

For a big dog you need a big stick!

Despite the temperature, we saw a lot of people swimming.  Our guide said the water was never warm, but that doesn't deter the locals.  Athena, our guide is originally from Greece and she said she does not participate in the frigid swimming.

Many, many beautiful Norfolk Pine trees in Wellington.

Athena navigated the narrow streets, which always had numerous vehicles parked on both sides of the street to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine on Hawkins Hill.  At 495 meters (1624 feet), the view is expansive and the wind is strong.

Kay trying to stay warm and not be blown away.

The view from Hawkins Hill

Up one side of Hawkins Hill, the fence for Zealandia may be seen.  This 500+ acre ecosanctuary is a groundbreaking conservation project that has reintroduced a number of species of native wildlife back into the area, some of which were previously absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years. 

Prior to the arrival of humans New Zealand was isolated and unique. Without any mammalian predators an ecosystem of remarkable flora and fauna had evolved – the likes of which could be found nowhere else in the world. Sadly, over the last 700 years, that paradise was almost destroyed by humans and the mammals they introduced with them. Introduced predators decimated New Zealand's native and endemic species, who had evolved without needing defenses from mammals for millions of years.  Feral cats are one of New Zealand's primary apex predators, hunting many of the native species.

Zealandia is an attempt to preserve and reintroduce some of these species in a protective environment.

This was the furthest point we went on our around the coast trip, to the Red Rocks Reserve.  

We then made our way back into town and visited the Botanical Gardens where we took an easy and leisurely stroll through the grounds.  The gardens were established in 1868.

The original parliament build and adjacent legal library.

The new "beehive" paralement building.  Can you guess where it got it's name?

Even the new building keeps some of New Zealand's Mauri roots as seen by it's entrance.

Our final stop on our tour was Old St. Paul's Anglican Church.  Consecrated in 1866, the church is one of Wellington's best loved heritage landmarks.  Built entirely of native New Zealand timbers - rimu, totara, matai and kauri, some of which are now impossible to find in quantity.

The interior is truly magnificent.

We were all pretty exhausted after our busy day, but I was excited to at least see the South Island as we passed thru the Cook Strait, even if I didn't get to visit the island.

We are now on our way to Australia.  We have three sea days to recover as we cross the Tasman Sea or "The Ditch" as it is referred to by the locals.