NZ2008 - Southern Swirl: Day 9 (Post Tour)

After celebrating the new year eve in Wellington last night, we prepared our things and are waiting for our flight home around noon. In order to kill some time, we decided to wander around the CBD again to see if there’s anyone on a new year’s day.

 

Wellington CBD

 

The city is pretty much dead on a new year’s day. Anyway, since the nearest attraction to us is the Te Papa Museum, we decided to check it out. The great thing about this place is the free entry and its open 365 days a year!!

 

Te Papa Museum

 

Te Papa provides museum services that contribute to the Government's outcome of preserving and presenting the taonga (treasures) of the peoples, interpreting the heritage of New Zealand for national and international audiences.

 

 

It offers visitors a unique and authentic experience of the country's treasures and stories. In over five floors, one can explore the nation's nature, art, history, and heritage - from the shaping of its land to the spirit of its diverse peoples, from its unique wildlife to its distinctive art and visual culture.

 

 

All the interactive exhibits are highly technologically advanced and I think they functioned well in educating the visitors.

 

 

Real life replicas are also a common scene in the museum. During our visit, we were also lucky to catch the Colossal Squid exhibition. The exhibition showed the squid’s journey from Antarctica to Te Papa, the conservation efforts, its anatomy and habitat.

 

 

On display were also the museum’s effort in establishing New Zealand’s place in the world through contextualising their heritage within the heritage of other cultures. Exhibits include the transformation of New Zealand, the Waitangi Treaty, the influx of migrants and many more.

 

 

And if you are already being blown away by all the interactive displays or your brain is over flown with too much information, you can relax at the lounge for a cup of coffee.

 

 

Leaving the museum, we head back to our hotel before catching a taxi to the airport. Good bye New Zealand!!

NZ2008 - Southern Swirl: Day 8

After biding farewell to some of our friends in Christchurch, we continued to head north, catching the spectacular views along the Kaikoura Coastline.

 

Coastal road to Kaikoura

 

We then had a quick stop at the Kaikoura town centre where we get to see a skate-boarding dog.

 

Skate-boarding dog

Kaikoura

 

We were also lucky to spot one of the many Seal colonies in this area.

 

Seals

 

Continuing northwards, we head on to Picton, where the inter-island ferry terminal is located. 

 

Nice sceneries along the way

 

Arriving at the ferry terminal, this is where we boarded the inter-island ferry allowing us to hop between the South and North island through the Marlborough Sound and the Cook Strait.

 

Ferry terminal

 

The Interislander ferry service travels a distance of 92 kilometres (approximately 3 hours) across the Cook Strait. It was said to be “one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world”, “New Zealand’s most iconic tourist experiences”, and “one of the most spectacular cruises in the world”. On-board the ferry, they provided a host of services such as comfortable seatings and lounges, movie screening in the on-board cinemas, on-board shops, amusement area and food courts.

 

Ferry’s interior

 

Cruising through Malborough Sound and the Cook Strait, we were treated by spectaculars views. Besides, we were also told that we were lucky the weather wasn’t too rough.

 

Our cruising route

 

Views along the cruise

 

Back on terra firma, it's a drive along the scenic waterfront …

 

Wellington waterfront

 

… and up to Mount Victoria, before arriving into Wellington, a cosmopolitan city famed for its cafes, restaurants and trendy bars.

 

Views from Mount Victoria

 

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, situated at the south western tip of the North Island between the Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Although this is my second time in Wellington, I decided to walk around the city to check out what’s the CBD like on a new year’s eve.

 

 

Wellington CBD

 

As a majority of the workforce in Wellington do not stay within the city, only a small population of people were in the city to celebrate the New Year with an outdoor countdown party and concert. Here, we bid farewell to the group who will continue on with the North Island tour while we prepared for our flight home the next morning.