We decided to explore Wellington and thus started by the Botanic Garden. We made our way through the streets leading to the main central area, where some rather exquisite goods (such as the golden shoes) kept on drawing my attention.
We ended up getting on the cable car, said to have been open since 1902 and which links the hill suburbs to the city. The walls were decorated with fairly interesting paintings, some of which I managed to capture with my camera.
We got off at the Kelburn terminus which should have presumably provided us with fine views over the harbour, but because the weather was greyish and the sky overcast the view wasn't as spectacular as it might have been under different weather conditions. At one point it started to rain lightly as we moved along the gardens and paths leading to the Botanic garden, which had a few Henry Moore sculptures and some very romantic corners.
Established in 1868 the garden is in fact a mix of native forest conifer plantings and plant collections. We started by the lady Norwood Rose garden followed by the very interesting Begonia House featuring tropical and temperate plants, among which orchids. The nicest of it all was a lily pond, which gave the whole ambiance a different touch.
Once we left the garden after having stopped at their shop, where I bought a few souvenirs, we headed back to the cable car and then the harbour front to shortly after visit the Te Papa Tongarea Museum.
Neil Dawson's ferns sculpure suspended in the Civic Square naturally caught our attention. The Square itself is known as the heart of the city's cultural scene with its paved plaza-style courtyard featuring other sculptures and providing a link to a number of institutions which border it - the Public Library, City Gallery Wellington, the Town Hall and the Michael Fowler Centre, to mention just a few.
The City-to-Sea Bridge which links the Civic Square and Frank Kitts Park is decorated with large Pacif-stlyle wood carvings, which I found to be stunning, especially because they contrast with the surrounding buildings and are completely different from anything I would have expected in such a space. I couldn't resist taking a photo at the base of those gigantic bird like wooden shapes.
The Waitangi Park, the Lambton harbour and the Circa Theatre were impressive in their own way. The sky was unexpectedely clear and as if by "miraculous" warning New Zealanders rushed out so as not to miss it. The almost empty spaces were suddenly filled with people.
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