It is finally here. We have finished our South-Island adventures. We have done everything we wanted to do that we could do with the weather and time available. There are a few more things that would have been nice to cross off the list, but they will just have to wait until our next visit. Maybe by then most of the earthquake damage will have been repaired and the things we couldn’t see because of that will be available. For our last day on the island, we visited the northern coast along the Cook Strait, specifically Marfell’s Beach.
If you look closely, you can see the hills of the North Island in the distance.
Then, on Saturday, April 21, we got on the Bluebridge Ferry and crossed over. This time, the ferry was larger and newer, which probably helped. It was also a calmer day. We watched a free viewing of “Daddy’s Home 2” on the way, and by the time it finished, we were almost to the North Island.
View from the ferry.
We had some mail sent to us here, but as it was a weekend, we would have to spend 2 nights in Wellington area. It was just as well, as there were plenty of things to see, and I only have so much energy for in-town visits. Our first stop was the Beehive, NZ’s Parliament building. We found the war memorial on the way over to be interesting.
The Beehive.
Second stop was the Te Papa Tongarewa museum. Their building is earthquake proof! The pillars are set upon some sturdy rubber-steel-lead pads that allow the earth to move under it while dampening the movement above it.
One of the pads under the foundation.
A pad’s cross-section construction. The horizontal slats are steel. The vertical shafts are filled with flexible lead.
Evidence of an earthquake since installation. Doesn’t look like a big one, though.
The museum did a good job of showing how much human habitation has changed the islands. Both natural and human history was well represented.
There was an very entertaining display about kakapo (critically-endangered, flightless night parrot) and the recovery program. These tools were (unsuccessfully) used to try to gather data about kakapo semen. They had a semen collecting hat and a faux female.
The Polynesian navigators that populated NZ 800 years ago used coconuts to find their way back to an island! Apparently they would take a coconut or gourd and poke a couple of holes in it. One for the eye on one side, on the other side a designated star at its zenith. There was also a ring of holes near the bottom so that when they would fill it with water, it would create an artificial horizon so that you would not be using the wrong angle. Once you got lined up properly with the star, you were on the island’s correct latitude. Now you just had to go east or west along the latitude to get back to the island. Crazy, huh?
Jonathan liked the bike.
For lunch, we drove up to Mt Victoria lookout.
Afterwards, we walked along the boardwalk to the art museum. Passing by a gelato place, I decided to treat ourselves with some. It was delicious.
We saw this bridge on the way in and I definitely wanted a picture.
The star of the show at the art gallery was this Maori-themed piano.
By then, I was exhausted, so we called it a day. Though, we did go to a movie. Decided to watch Ready Player One, which was quite fun. Apparently while we were out, someone tried to take our spot at our campground, but thankfully our neighbors defended our spot and we were able to continue our touring the next day.
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