Sunday, January 13, 2008

New Zealand Road Trip - December 17, 2007 (14)

December 17


Wellington

It was Monday, a work day, so we didn't want to navigate traffic to town in our car (on the "wrong" side of the road). Instead, we got on a commuter train, which in itself was an interesting experience. We have the Calgary C-Train, which is based on the honour system (occasionally a person is asked to produce their pass or ticket), and we have used the BART train in San Francisco, which is highly automated. The Wellington train is neither. There is an attendant on each car who stands at the door (only one door per car is opened) and sells or checks tickets. The trains look a bit ratty on the outside, I expect due to the climate, but were fine inside.

This was another overcast day. We didn't actually take many pix this day, as we essentially revisited the Parliament Buildings and the harbour front, specifically the museums there, and we'd taken pix of all those buildings the previous day. So there are only a few pix to look at here - darn, eh? :)


Old Wooden Government Building - the interesting trivia about this building is that it's the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere (you have look closely to see that it is made of wood).



Parliamentary Library with Parliament House to the left.


For more on the Parliament Buildings, click here.


We did the official tour of the Parliament Buildings. It's about an hour long. No pix allowed. We had to go through security - like an airport. They do this at the Ottawa Parliament Buildings as well, now - so this is nothing new. For more info on the tour, click here.


Parliament House.

Richard John Seddon, Premier of New Zealand for 13 years.




Parliament House.The Beehive - Executive Wing


Joe and I wandered around this part of town a bit more, then went to the Museum of Wellington, City and Sea. I realize that we didn't get a picture of this - not sure how that happened! Check the link for more on the City and Sea museum. Craig went back to Te Papa (see post for Dec. 16) to see the special whale exhibit it was featuring. We met at the City and Sea museum. By then it was time to find our way back to the train, as the last train leaves around 18:00.


Wellington Railway Station

Wellington Railway Station

This grand old station, completed in 1937, is the main transport hub to and from the northern suburbs of Khandallah and Johnsonville, the Kapiti Coast and Hutt Valley. Intercity trains also arrive here from Auckland and all stops in between. It is a short walk from here to Lambton Quay or take the City Circular Bus to other main attractions. Services run daily and tickets are purchased at the counter or on the train. An added bonus is the Georgian revival building with its classical portico and Spanish tiles - enjoy it before leaving town.

[from
http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-79609605-New_Zealand_Wellington_Wellington_Railway_Station.html ]


So ended our stay in the Wellington area - the next day we were off again to points further north. We really liked Wellington - it's an attractive, interesting city. Again, more time would have been nice - so it's another place on our "next time" list.

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