Day 18 - New Year's Day in Wellington

01.01.2015

Clear, today is a holiday in New Zealand as well. However, it's unusual that practically everything is closed and I'm glad that I am self-catering for breakfast. Because there isn't a single cafe in the area that's open today - despite the open 7 days signs. And as I can see at some stores, they have extended their closure until January 5th - even the venerable department store Kirkaldie & Stains, which is located at the end of the small street where my hotel is.

I treated myself to the luxury of sleeping until half past nine today. While the year is slowly coming to an end at home, I'm starting to walk since the weather is beautiful and there's no trace of the storms and rainfalls of last night. 

Actually, I wanted to be at the top of the Cable Car at 12:00 p.m. and look at Wellington, but the line is endless. There's a cruise ship in the harbor and I'm sure many tourists have postponed their trip up there to today because the view was certainly not good yesterday.

So I walk around the block and realize: Today, nothing works without a warm jacket. Sun or not. The wind is bitterly cold and I grab my fleece jacket first and I'm glad I have it on when I go down to Customhouse Quay. The hotel is located on Johnston Street and two blocks away is the water. I turn right, towards Queens Wharf, which runs right along the water. There are also a few small shops open where night owls are now enjoying a late breakfast. I chat with my family a bit - now 2014 is finally coming to an end, also in Europe. It's sunny here, there's snow everywhere - actually, that's also a nice thought, celebrating New Year's Eve with snow and not disgusting rainy weather.

A decommissioned fire truck, converted into a food stand, is funny. It has the fire extinguishing equipment at hand in case the grill catches fire. There are a few amusing art objects to be found on the promenade, as well as a few old houses, a theater, and then I stand in front of the national museum Te Papa. Admission is free and I actually want to go in, but the sun is so beautiful, so I decide to go to the cinema behind it first and see when the Hobbit movie might be playing. Tonight there are two options and I continue on my exploratory stroll through Wellington. The trendy district is Cuba Street.

Part of it is pedestrian zone, but today it's also rather empty. Except for two pubs, even the trendy Cuba Street is in holiday mode today. Everything is closed. 

I walk back towards the water and pass by the Old Bank Arcade again. It closed yesterday at 5:00 p.m. when I wanted to go in. Today it's completely closed. It's really a former bank building that is over 100 years old and equipped with luxury boutiques and cafes, probably the most upscale shopping address in Wellington. There's also an ancient huge musical clock here. On the sidewalk outside, you can see markings Shoreline 1855. But it's true, because in 1855 there was a powerful earthquake and where this beautiful building stands today, there was a three-master in the harbor basin at the time, to be able to use it for storage. After the earthquake, the ship was left high and dry and even today you can see remnants of the ship in the basement, which now belong to the foundation of the Old Bank Arcade. I want to see that, but it's not possible today.

So I continue walking down the street and pass by the cable car lower station again, where the line is now shorter. Nonetheless, I wait for about half an hour until I can finally take the ride up for 4 dollars. At the end of the short journey, which covers 120 meters in height, you are 610 meters high. Up there, there's a beautiful view of the bay of Wellington, Lambton Harbour and the Mount Victoria on the right. 

There are some very beautiful, partly old wooden houses to be seen, which are built into the slopes. Definitely not cheap. I enjoy having time, walk around a bit, absorb the view, and decide to have a mini-piece of passion fruit cake plus coffee and sit at a wooden table on a bench in the sun. I don't start walking back to the city until half past two.

Right next to the cable car station at the top of the mountain, the Wellington Botanic Garden begins, and you can walk from here comfortably through the park into the city on winding paths. 

It's a beautiful walk and you pass not only through the Australian Garden and a Fragrance Garden with particularly fragrant plants and flowers, but also down to the small Lady Norwood Rose Garden. It has over 100 species of roses, but it's rather small compared to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon. Most of the flowers are finished due to the rain and wind of the previous day. But it's still quite a nice sight. I continue strolling and eventually pass through an ancient cemetery integrated into the Botanic Garden and divided into two parts by Highway 1. You have to walk over a rather steep bridge because one side simply lies significantly higher on the slope than the other.

Then I find myself in front of a somewhat odd, ugly building that's somewhat cone-shaped. The Kiwis call it Beehive - beehive - their government building.

The building next door, which is the Old Government Building, is much more beautiful - but today it's the law faculty of Victoria University of Wellington. Incidentally, it's one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. It's difficult to grasp now, and I'm not sure what is considered really large for wooden buildings. In any case, it was built here in the mid-1870s out of wood to have more flexible walls in the event of an earthquake and to give the officials and ministers working in it a little more security.

The area is completely deserted and I walk down towards the water. I'm back at the hotel just after 5:00 p.m., now I have 2 hours "free" and then I'll go see the 3rd part of the Hobbit films. Well then. Maybe you have to be a bigger Hobbit fan - I didn't think it was that good. When I start my way back along the harbor at 10:30 p.m., it's quite chilly. I had thought about having a beer at the corner next to my hotel, but they're just closing up as I pass by at 11:00 p.m. The bakery across the street, which I had actually considered for a roll for tomorrow's breakfast, is closed for several days.

Kilometers today: 0