If you make Wellington your national capital then there is no danger your flag will ever hang limply from the pole. While Lyn went through her morning exercises I walked up the road to ‘the Beehive’, Wellington’s odd-looking national parliament.
On my return we walked to Old St Paul’s, the magnificent 1860s wooden church. Made wholly of native timber, it is a joy inside and out. The nice young woman working there told me not to miss the altar cloths in huge drawers. They were extraordinary.
We caught a bus towards the national museum, Te Papa, though we diverted for tacos and beer on the way.
At Te Papa we caught the ‘Entombed Warriors’ exhibition. That was amazing though admittedly the kiwi content was zero.
We found Phar Lap and various other displays but the Gallipoli exhibits were the standout. It sounds odd but the displays were punctuated by giant figures of NZ soldiers and a nurse. The scale is best understood by looking at the human figure in one of my pictures. This was a little bit odd at first but, in the round, very powerful and affecting.
By this time the wind had dropped from the prevailing gale and the sun was out. We walked back along the stunning waterfront for a well-earned rest.
Siesta over, we caught the cable car to the heights above the city.
We walked down through the botanical gardens. Wellington was idyllic rather than windy. Will our weather luck continue?
The evening ended with a tasting plate at a nearby pub.
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