Te Papa....and train trouble
Another trip to down town Wellington today, primarily to explore the great Te Papa museum renowned across the country for being a good day out - and its free! Auntie kindly delivers me to Waikanae station in time for the 9am to Wellington. $14 NZD for a return ticket, about 7.50 UK Pounds for another scenic ride between the sea and mountains, and of all the things to spot, an old Gatwick Express train carriage at the Plimmerton Steam Train Depot!
A bright and breezy day in Wellington, a pretty cool wind blowing in from the Antarctic. The station its self is a architectural delight modelled in a colonial style with a polished marbled floor. Left out of the station and onto the old wharfs where trade once buoyant, now the domain of tourism. its not hard to imagine how this place would have once been a hive of commercial activity back in history. The cargo sheds here are now upper class eating establishments - fine dining, good wines and a heavy wallet around here. Tourists can get a ferry to the opposite side of the bay, about 6 UK Pounds for a single trip, alternatively take a helicopter for about 50 UK Pounds - two sitting on the wharfs end, awaiting some business.
Further along, close to the city marina is Te Papa - the museum of New Zealand. Free to get in but some attraction within levy a charge - the retro computer games for example, 20 quid to play space invaders! Surprisingly, there are tourists paying for the experience, those simple, uncomplicated arcade games of the Eighties. The rest of Te Papa expands upwards taking six floors to show visitors artifacts of New Zealands cultural heritage. Situated on the 'Pacific Rim of Fire' the country is prone to earthquakes and visitors can step into a mock house to get the feel of the earth moving as the house is rocked sideways in time with commentary. A comprehensive display of geology and the whole business of earthquakes and the effects thereof for visitors to Te Papa. The large Maori section, dedicated to their struggles, independence and life's ups and downs, is quite an interesting hour here, concentrating substantially on British concessions and the treaty of Waitangari.
Lunch around here is a sandwich for 5 UK Pounds and up, so thankfully there is a supermarket close by, the Kiwi version of Sainsburys, they call it 'Countdown'. Plenty of options in here to grab a pie or even a pizza for a reasonable price, reasonable for Kiwis that is, still on the pricey side for us Brits though.
Well, I've made it to floor 3 in the Te Papa museum, but really I'm all museum'ed out and the remaining floors can wait for another day. Coffee, and then better get the train back, hopefully the 4pm. Looking at the scoreboards and no mention of a train to Waikanae. Well, that's because there are no trains as the place starts descending into chaos. turns out that a bush fire has closed the line, but they are trying to organise replacement buses! Eventually, its a scramble to get on the bus. Paekaekariki is as far north this bus is going, apparently a train there will get us all back to Waikanae. Actually it all works pretty well, only 30 minutes late for my lift back to Te Horo.
Another trip to down town Wellington today, primarily to explore the great Te Papa museum renowned across the country for being a good day out - and its free! Auntie kindly delivers me to Waikanae station in time for the 9am to Wellington. $14 NZD for a return ticket, about 7.50 UK Pounds for another scenic ride between the sea and mountains, and of all the things to spot, an old Gatwick Express train carriage at the Plimmerton Steam Train Depot!
A bright and breezy day in Wellington, a pretty cool wind blowing in from the Antarctic. The station its self is a architectural delight modelled in a colonial style with a polished marbled floor. Left out of the station and onto the old wharfs where trade once buoyant, now the domain of tourism. its not hard to imagine how this place would have once been a hive of commercial activity back in history. The cargo sheds here are now upper class eating establishments - fine dining, good wines and a heavy wallet around here. Tourists can get a ferry to the opposite side of the bay, about 6 UK Pounds for a single trip, alternatively take a helicopter for about 50 UK Pounds - two sitting on the wharfs end, awaiting some business.
Further along, close to the city marina is Te Papa - the museum of New Zealand. Free to get in but some attraction within levy a charge - the retro computer games for example, 20 quid to play space invaders! Surprisingly, there are tourists paying for the experience, those simple, uncomplicated arcade games of the Eighties. The rest of Te Papa expands upwards taking six floors to show visitors artifacts of New Zealands cultural heritage. Situated on the 'Pacific Rim of Fire' the country is prone to earthquakes and visitors can step into a mock house to get the feel of the earth moving as the house is rocked sideways in time with commentary. A comprehensive display of geology and the whole business of earthquakes and the effects thereof for visitors to Te Papa. The large Maori section, dedicated to their struggles, independence and life's ups and downs, is quite an interesting hour here, concentrating substantially on British concessions and the treaty of Waitangari.
Lunch around here is a sandwich for 5 UK Pounds and up, so thankfully there is a supermarket close by, the Kiwi version of Sainsburys, they call it 'Countdown'. Plenty of options in here to grab a pie or even a pizza for a reasonable price, reasonable for Kiwis that is, still on the pricey side for us Brits though.
Well, I've made it to floor 3 in the Te Papa museum, but really I'm all museum'ed out and the remaining floors can wait for another day. Coffee, and then better get the train back, hopefully the 4pm. Looking at the scoreboards and no mention of a train to Waikanae. Well, that's because there are no trains as the place starts descending into chaos. turns out that a bush fire has closed the line, but they are trying to organise replacement buses! Eventually, its a scramble to get on the bus. Paekaekariki is as far north this bus is going, apparently a train there will get us all back to Waikanae. Actually it all works pretty well, only 30 minutes late for my lift back to Te Horo.
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