Well Wellington has certainly lived up to its name this weekend. I don't think we saw the sun once, it tried to rain most of the time, and the wind was really mean anywhere that was exposed.
Camping spots are hard to find in this very hilly city, so we stayed out in Petone, at the Workingmen's/RSA Club. They have a huge car park which we shared with half a dozen other campers. It also meant that we had somewhere to go on Saturday evening to watch the rugby. This club is one of the biggest in NZ with over 14 000 members and their facilities are extensive. We even had a choice of two restaurants to enjoy a meal before the game.
There were a couple of places that I wanted to visit while we were here. After our first year teaching in Taranaki all three of us got posted to Lower Hutt. My school was Naenae Primary so we took a drive to have a look. My recollections of being there are all fairly vague though nothing seems to have changed too much except for some new paint and signage.
Next stop was the house we rented at Woburn. It still looks much the same as well though I do think there has been a garage added.
Ave's job was in Wainuiomata and Stephen had never been there so we took a drive up the hill and over into the valley. The school Ave taught at is still there which surprised me somewhat as I always thought Trevor Mallard had closed most of them all those years ago when he was doing the same thing in Invercargill. The view from the top of the hill looking down into the Hutt Valley and back across to Wellington was worth the drive up though if the day had been clear we would have seen further. We finished our afternoon by driving along the Eastern Coast bays going as far as the road would let us.
On Sunday we drove into Wellington itself. We weren't very keen on getting out of the car. Those hardy souls braving the weather were all well wrapped up, with heads down into the wind. So we went for a long drive around all the bays. Neither of us had been out along this coastal drive along Evans Bay, through Seatoun, into Lyall Bay and around as far as you can go to Owhiro Bay. There was a coastal walking track that would have been enticing had it been warmer. Still you have to admire those Wellingtonians who were out braving it. Instead we sat in the car park and had a cuppa while checking out the site of Barrett's reef which caused the Wahine disaster.
Originally we had thought we might have gone into Te Papa but when we were driving passed, parking was at a premium, so we changed our plans and found Zealandia instead. I had read and heard about this new Wildlife Sanctuary in Karori and thought it would be well worth checking out.
Link to their website: Zealandia
Zealandia was officially opened in 2010 but a huge amount of work had been done prior to this date. It covers an area of over 200ha and incorporates the city's original water supply dams. A huge predator protection fence has been built around the entire sanctuary and it is now home to many of our endangered birds.
We spent a couple of hours wandering the tracks, reading the information panels and listening to all the birdsong.
As the day was very much overcast we probably didn't see as many different birds as we could have. We certainly heard them. Some of the birds you could expect to see are tui, takahe, bellbird, kereru, robin, kaka, kakariki, hihi, saddleback, shags, and if you did a night tour, kiwi. As well as birds there are reptiles, insects, bats, fish and native planting.
One section of the walk had a place where you could listen to the different bird calls. Loudspeakers are set up high in the bush, and with the push of a button you are able to listen to a variety of different birds you might expect to hear. An excellent feature for those birdcalls you are unsure of.
There is also an excellent exhibition that takes you on a journery of "from the day before humans arrived; through a century of catastrophic loss; and finally, to the present day, when New Zealanders begin to put our shattered paradise back together."
Unfortunately we didn't realise this was part of the experience until we looked at their website. Something for next time as it is definitely a place that could be visited many times.
Camping spots are hard to find in this very hilly city, so we stayed out in Petone, at the Workingmen's/RSA Club. They have a huge car park which we shared with half a dozen other campers. It also meant that we had somewhere to go on Saturday evening to watch the rugby. This club is one of the biggest in NZ with over 14 000 members and their facilities are extensive. We even had a choice of two restaurants to enjoy a meal before the game.
There were a couple of places that I wanted to visit while we were here. After our first year teaching in Taranaki all three of us got posted to Lower Hutt. My school was Naenae Primary so we took a drive to have a look. My recollections of being there are all fairly vague though nothing seems to have changed too much except for some new paint and signage.
Next stop was the house we rented at Woburn. It still looks much the same as well though I do think there has been a garage added.
 |
| Gutherie Street Woburn. |
Ave's job was in Wainuiomata and Stephen had never been there so we took a drive up the hill and over into the valley. The school Ave taught at is still there which surprised me somewhat as I always thought Trevor Mallard had closed most of them all those years ago when he was doing the same thing in Invercargill. The view from the top of the hill looking down into the Hutt Valley and back across to Wellington was worth the drive up though if the day had been clear we would have seen further. We finished our afternoon by driving along the Eastern Coast bays going as far as the road would let us.
On Sunday we drove into Wellington itself. We weren't very keen on getting out of the car. Those hardy souls braving the weather were all well wrapped up, with heads down into the wind. So we went for a long drive around all the bays. Neither of us had been out along this coastal drive along Evans Bay, through Seatoun, into Lyall Bay and around as far as you can go to Owhiro Bay. There was a coastal walking track that would have been enticing had it been warmer. Still you have to admire those Wellingtonians who were out braving it. Instead we sat in the car park and had a cuppa while checking out the site of Barrett's reef which caused the Wahine disaster.
Originally we had thought we might have gone into Te Papa but when we were driving passed, parking was at a premium, so we changed our plans and found Zealandia instead. I had read and heard about this new Wildlife Sanctuary in Karori and thought it would be well worth checking out.
Link to their website: Zealandia
Zealandia was officially opened in 2010 but a huge amount of work had been done prior to this date. It covers an area of over 200ha and incorporates the city's original water supply dams. A huge predator protection fence has been built around the entire sanctuary and it is now home to many of our endangered birds.
We spent a couple of hours wandering the tracks, reading the information panels and listening to all the birdsong.
As the day was very much overcast we probably didn't see as many different birds as we could have. We certainly heard them. Some of the birds you could expect to see are tui, takahe, bellbird, kereru, robin, kaka, kakariki, hihi, saddleback, shags, and if you did a night tour, kiwi. As well as birds there are reptiles, insects, bats, fish and native planting.
One section of the walk had a place where you could listen to the different bird calls. Loudspeakers are set up high in the bush, and with the push of a button you are able to listen to a variety of different birds you might expect to hear. An excellent feature for those birdcalls you are unsure of.
There is also an excellent exhibition that takes you on a journery of "from the day before humans arrived; through a century of catastrophic loss; and finally, to the present day, when New Zealanders begin to put our shattered paradise back together."
Unfortunately we didn't realise this was part of the experience until we looked at their website. Something for next time as it is definitely a place that could be visited many times.
No comments:
Post a Comment