New Zealand: NAN-WLG & Wellington

Our time in Fiji came to an end, but we had a new country to visit-New Zealand!

When we got to the airport and checked in, we saw this bright sign. I guess common sense isn't always common?

Our flight from Fiji to Wellington was comfortable and uneventful. We had to wake up really early, so we both dozed over the 4 hour flight.

We got to Wellington and took the bus to our hotel. The bus driver was running late from the airport, so she shuffled everyone in quickly and didn't make us pay for our ride, which was very nice! When we arrived at the hotel, they didn't have our room ready, so we walked around the area. The harbor was a few blocks from our hotel and the weather was beautiful, so we enjoyed our time outside.

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and the seat of government. We were able to go and see their Parliament building, known as the Beehive. We also walked past the office of the prime minister, which was right next door. All of the grounds of these buildings were very accessible-it was so interesting that there was no security, even around these important government buildings!

Right across the street from the government buildings was the national library. We walked in and through an exhibit all about the founding of New Zealand, as well as the relationship between the Maori and European settlers. It was a nice, quick overview of some New Zealand history. This sculpture was of Kate Sheppard, who campaigned for women to be able to vote. New Zealand was the first country in the world to make women's suffrage legal in 1893.

Our time in Wellington was short (less than 24 hours!), but we made the most of it. Brennan wanted to hike up this hill and I wanted to ride the funicular, so we met at the top. The view was amazing. 

This is a human powered sundial. When you stand on the correct date, you can see what time it is. In this picture, it was almost 6PM!

We walked through the botanical garden. There were so many varieties of flowers, trees, and plants. The paths and weather made it really nice to be outside!

The flowers were so vibrant and in bloom! I had to limit myself on how many pictures I took. Summer was in full swing in the Southern Hemisphere!

New Zealand has a strong connection to the Lord of the Rings movies, because they were filmed all over the country. These costumes were created by a production company in Wellington and are on display at the top funicular station. 

Riding the cable car was exciting for us, but it's just part of the transportation network for a lot of people. They had cool light displays and some historical photos displayed to show the history of this form of transportation in Wellington.

Our last stop before leaving Wellington was at this brewery called Fork. We sat outside and ate dinner on the balcony. It was still light out at 9:30!

Our time in Wellington was short, but it impressed both of us! We'd like to go back again and spend more time there someday!