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River Of Data.com |
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Tuesday, 25 November, Wellington, NZ Another morning getting up late, and having a nice late breakfast in the cafeteria (of course on the ship it isn’t the cafeteria, but the Lido Restaurant Buffet, but I’m gauche). We docked about 900 and a while later we left by taxi for the Te Papa Museum, which opened just as we arrived at 1000. It had rained and blown all night, but as we left the rain left and the sky changed to partly cloudy, but the wind was still strong, about 30—40 mph. I just held on to my hat or folded it into my pocket. We took sweatshirts, but didn’t really need them. The Museum was amazing, and included a large number of interactive and virtual reality exhibits, as well as traditional types of exhibits. For a start we took two of the “trips” in simulators. The first was an underwater trip to a volcanic vent inside of a “diving vessel”, complete with bumps, bounces, and noises. The videos of the volcanic vents over a mile deep in the ocean, and the shrimp that live in water as acidic as battery acid were amazing. The second was a “flight”, but included views from the point of view of a volleyball, a hang glider, a motorcycle, a jeep, a skateboard, a rugby ball, and many others. Each view was accompanied by appropriate bumps, bounces, and noises that would be experienced by the item in question. We then looked at exhibits on the Maori, various animals and birds native to New Zealand, geologic history, and so forth. We took a taxi back to the ship and had a very leisurely lunch in the cafeteria before heading out for our afternoon tour. The bus took us on a tour of Wellington, starting with the cable car from downtown up the hill. It is a funicular type of car, riding on rails but pulled by a cable, with two cars somewhat balancing each other. It was first built in 1901, but has been updated several times since then. There was a nice view from the top. After that we were taken to the rose garden, where they have over 400 varieties, all in full bloom since it is early summer. We only had time to see a small percentage of them, and didn’t get into the greenhouse at all to see their large collection of begonias. Next we went the government center where we saw the “beehive” parliament building, and other official buildings, once again with great rose gardens in front of them. The following stop was at Old St. Paul’s Church, which was originally the Anglican Cathedral, all built from wood. Most early buildings have been built of wood, since they withstood earthquakes much better than stone or brick buildings, as they learned in the great quake of 1855. The church is completely built of wood, with wonderful stained glass windows. There is a new Anglican Cathedral, but the Crown now owns the historic church, which has never been deconsecrated. It is now an interdenominational church with no pastor, but is used for many weddings and other events, as long as those users “supply their own pastor”. Finally we went through town again and headed up to the top of Mount Victoria, about 1000 feet above sea level. The road twisted past all sorts of houses hung in impossible places on the sides of mountains and cliffs. Some only have access via a steep stairway or a personal elevator/lift. The top of the mountain gave a 360 degree view of the city, but the wind was blowing 50 to 60 miles an hour, making it hard to even stand up on top. But it was worth it. After returning to the ship we had another excellent dinner with Wayne and Louise in the dining room. Back to itinerary (trip home page)
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