We docked at Aotea Quay in Windy Welly, a city that lived up to its nickname, and threw a rain storm at us for good measure.  If Auckland is the commercial and industrial center of New Zealand, Wellington, with ballet, opera and orchestra, is its cultural heart. The Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Museum of New Zealand, is an especially entrancing museum. 

As we stepped off the ship, the blustering rain and wind attacked us from all directions. My new slicker, purchased just for this trip, was keeping me nice and dry. Pre-vacation I debated allocating suitcase space to a raincoat, but was happy with my decision.  Bob was less pleased with his umbrella – within five minutes it had turned inside out.  New Zealanders are a most helpful people.  As our map shredded and disintegrated in our hands, people stopped to offer directions to the befuddled-looking tourists.

 Wellington, the Cultural Heart of New Zealand

Parliament was the first scheduled stop of our day. On the way we passed the Wellington Train Station with a statue of Mahatma Gandhi standing in front. As Bob prepared to take a picture of the spiritual leader, a group of tourists stepped in front of him.  Perhaps influenced by the philosophy of the best known pacifist of all times, Bob was unfazed.  He figured Gandhi was going nowhere and we were already wet, so a few additional seconds soaking up raindrops seemed unimportant.

Entrance to Platforms that Lead Passengers to their Trains

Mahatma Gandhi Casts a Shadow in Front of the Railway Station

We reached the Parliament Buildings Complex, thrilled to have a place to escape the elements.  The one and a half hour tour gave us time to dry out and learn a bit about New Zealand's government. I was quickly distracted by two small children along for the tour. They were quite well-behaved, but a long, walking narrative about government didn’t capture their rapt attention. The little sister appeared to be about three and the older brother about four.  They were very quietly playing a game of their own invention: “who can put the cap on the other's head and make them keep it.”  They were so adorable that I paid more attention to them than to our guide, so I missed a few details.

The Parliament Building Complex

The Executive Wing of Parliament, Called the Beehive for its Unique Architectural Style

I did learn that Parliament is responsible for making new laws and repealing, abolishing, or changing current ones. A law is passed after significant debate in committee. It was sounding pretty familiar. I learned one fact, however, that seemed hardly possible – one house of government actually voted itself out of existence. Can you imagine any politician in the U.S. voting to eliminate his or her position?  Certainly not unless they simultaneously voted for a lifelong pension equal to or greater than what they earned as a working government official.

In the Parliament House, where all of the legislators sit around and do their stuff, we noticed several of the appointed chairs had wool throws over them. We were told that these fuzzy, sheep’s wool blankets provided the legislators’ an additional measure of comfort.  They also gave the chambers a rather homey look. The most interesting room inside the Parliament House was the Maori Affairs Committee Room with remarkable carvings and weavings commissioned when the building was refurbished. The exterior of the Parliament House is Commandel granite and Takaka marble

There are three buildings to the Parliamentary complex. In addition to the Parliament House there are the Parliamentary Library and the Executive wing. The latter is also called the Beehive because of its shape; it houses Ministers' offices.    Although each of the buildings is a different architectural style, they blend together in an interesting way.

Our guide showed us the earthquake readiness construction that was put into the buildings to keep them safe when the next violent shaking begins.  Apparently New Zealand is as plagued by rocking and rolling earth as San Francisco.

A short distance from Parliament we explored Old St. Paul's Wellington Cathedral. When the new Anglican Church was constructed there was talk of razing old St. Paul's. Fortunately the proposal was reconsidered and the Cathedral saved. Today it is one of Wellington's true historical jewels.  St. Paul's was consecrated in 1866. Services are no longer held there, although weddings and special events are.  U.S. soldiers landed in New Zealand during WWII to help keep the militarily weak country safe. After the departure of the troops an American flag that had been left behind was found. Inside St. Paul's it now hangs next to the New Zealand flag as a symbol of lasting friendship between the two countries.

The Wellington Cathedral

Old St. Paul’s Wellington Cathedral

From St. Paul's we hiked down to the Te Papa Museum.  It looked like a long walk, but I figured we could use a bit more exercise and the rain had stopped. Bob wanted to take a peek at the Wellington Botanic Gardens first and they were not exactly “on the way.” It remained cloudy and overcast and I expected sprinkles to resume any moment, but I knew we would never be back so I relented.  I did draw the line at going to the top of the Mt. Victoria Lookout since the view would be unspectacular on such an overcast day. The additional distance it would force us to hike was not insignificant. The plan was to simply walk along the southern edge of the garden and then wind our way to the Te Papa. 

Wellington is not laid out in nice square grids with parallel streets. Day one of our vacation I learned that the national sport of New Zealand is jaywalking, and Bob became an instant champion.  Without warning, or a second thought, he would grab my hand and dash me across a street against the light. My constant refrain became: “What are you trying to do, kill me?”

Another Shortcut to Goodness Only Knows Where

The Wellington Botanical Gardens cover a huge area (exactly 25 hectares, whatever that is). They offer a unique landscape of protected native forest and exotic trees as well as seasonal floral displays like 25,000 tulips. The Lady Norwood Rose Garden was impressive, although the roses were not at optimum splendor.

Grounds of the Wellington Botanical Gardens

A Profusion of Color and Variety at the Botanical Gardens

New Zealand Anthurium, or Flamingo Flower

The tattered map we carried had not been particularly helpful before it dissolved and was now useless. After walking a half mile or so, I was beginning to fear we might not be on track to the Te Papa.  Bob assured me he knew exactly where we were going. I am sure he did. What he obviously was less clear about, was how we would get there.  When I saw the tram station and entry to Mt. Victoria Lookout ahead of us, I knew we had missed a turn somewhere.

In Wellington there are places you simply cannot get by following a straight path. The way from the Botanical Gardens to the Te Papa was full of switchbacks. Since arriving in New Zealand we had devised a method for finding our way to nearly any attraction. We simply stopped someone and asked. We then followed that person's directions for about fifty yards and asked again. This method gave us confirmation or quickly corrected any bad directions we got. The most helpful people can sometimes be wrong.

Immediately after wandering out of the gardens we stopped a gentleman and asked if he could direct us to the Te Papa. He said, “Pop into the hotel (he was pointing) take the elevator to the ground floor and walk through the shopping area, out the other side, and into the alley behind to Charles Street - and you will save several blocks.”  We walked into the building we thought he had been pointing to, but when we got to the elevator bank, none went down. We were already on the lowest floor, and there was no alley anywhere.

A young man dressed in an elegant navy suit with a red power tie observed our puzzlement and asked if he could help.  We told him we were trying to get to the Te Papa and that a kindly gentleman had suggested we come inside, take the elevator down one floor and exit through the lower level, beyond the shops, to the alley, and onto Charles Street.  Since these elevators did not go down we had no idea what we were supposed to do.

“Follow me,” he said.  He left the elevator bank and took us outside where he pointed to a hotel another half block away, and said, “That's the hotel you need to go through.” Our Good Samaritan then disappeared back into his building, I assumed for a day of business. He took the gratitude of two lost tourists with him.

The Te Papa is THE museum of New Zealand.  The building housing it is an architectural masterpiece. Inside the exhibits seem unending. Before starting we had tea at the museum tea room and scrutinized the floor plan to figure out how to allocate our limited time. There were Maori displays, hands on experiences for children (OK, we stepped inside the cottage that shakes you like an earthquake and played with some of the children's games), an ocean exhibit, a whole floor of artifacts from the first settlers, jewelry, and an art gallery where the art was appropriately titled. I didn’t have to agonize trying to figure out why the artist called his work “The Energy of Children” since it showed a playground full of children running wild.  Another was simply called “Storm” and with dark skies and a somber mood, it made perfect sense.

Entrance to the Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand

Intricate Carving on a Maori Canoe

The Te Papa Has a Vast Collection of Maori Artifacts

We were amazed at how much we had covered in a few short hours, although if it left us suffering a mild case of sensory overload.  As we walked out of the museum’s art gallery I checked my watch, and we decided it was time to head back to the ship.

We Wound Our Way Back to Ship Along the Shoreline at the Aotea Quay

In New Zealand if you ask someone for directions and then follow that request with the question “how far is it?” the standard response is, “Oh, about ten minutes.”  If you then walk for ten minutes and ask again, chances are you will still be told it’s “ten minutes away.”  So as we began our trek, following the harbor back to our floating room, Bob decided to take a shortcut. When we hooked back up to the main path he said, “I think we have just saved ten minutes, so we should only be about ten minutes away.”

Julie Albrecht Royce, Travel Adventures Editor, is the author of Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast and Traveling Michigan's Thumb, both published by Thunder Bay Press. She writes a monthly column for Wandering Educators.

All photos courtesy and copyright of Bob and Julie Royce.