We started our day by crossing the road and heading for the city (about a block away from our camp - how often can you do that in a capital city?). There were signs for a cable car and I was intrigued. I had not heard of it before. Brett was a bit reluctant because he is not fond of heights, but when we found it (5 minutes before the first run of the day), it turned out to be more like a steep train car. I don't think it was a funicular railway, because it didn't seem to have a counterweight. (The other rail car perhaps? We passed each other half way)
At the top was a cafe and a museum. We had a coffee and checked out the museum, which was in the original winding house. For a small museum, the quality was really very good. The story was well told and there were many artefacts, from the tools used by the engineers to original machinery and the cars previously used. One of the things we love about NZ is the way they embrace their industrial history.
We walked down the hill through gardens - I managed to get a picture of a Tui who kindly posed for me, right next to the path. After the gardens was the original public cemetery which was full of interesting headstones and memorials. Fantastic examples of the work of monumental masons.
We returned to the city next to the parliament buildings. Some old beautiful buildings and some not-so-old ugly buildings. And a bee on a stick. Our girls had the same pull-along bee when they were kids - I wonder if it is a traditional NZ toy, I have seen this bee in about 3 places now.
We walked through the city then along the waterfront to the Te Papa museum.
The first section we saw had details of many birds, animals and sea life of New Zealand. The next section was about the impact of people on the land. Fascinating.
Plus I got to see Phar Lap's skeleton. I have now seen all 3 pieces of him, in their 3 different locations - skeleton in Wellington, hide in Melbourne, and heart in Canberra.
Air New Zealand had its 75th anniversary exhibition on. Very interesting. Memories there for me too, as my first trip to NZ was on an Air New Zealand DC-10 back in 1977.
We stopped for a drink and a bite to eat in the museum cafe, then checked out some modern memorabilia. We then left the museum, went to the supermarket and back along the waterfront. We keep forgetting to buy everything we need when we go to the shops. A shopping list has been started, only have to remember to use it now.
It was about 4pm when we got back to the van. We had a cuppa and then another short walk around the waterfront nearby. We checked out some boats, the impressive Central Railway Station building then back home for our usual evening routine of loading the day's photos to the computer, having a drink and happy hour food before dinner and bed. Maybe a TV show or movie from the hard drive.