An afternoon in Wellington

My trip to Wellington was something of a whirlwind.  I had an 8am flight, the shuttle picked me up at 6:30am, despite the notorious traffic of Auckland city, it took about 25 minutes to get to the airport.  The weather in Auckland was damp, grey and humid.  It was a good flight, 40 minutes in total and the Wellington weather was a balmy 20 degrees, and for once, no wind!

We got a cab to the building we were working in and jumped straight into testing the new software, stopped for lunch and carried on till 5pm.  Then we walked to our hotel and checked in.  With me was one of the Auckland staff I manage and one from Christchurch.

I had promised the Wee Girl I would take a pic of Parliament for her.  So I changed into my comfy clothes and walked up Lambton Quay.

It took about 20 minutes.  Lambton Quay was busy with people walking, Wellingtonians have wonderful public transport so they walk a lot, too and from buses and trains.

The bottom of the map is my starting point, the Hotel Ibis on Featherstone.

Lambton Quay is a pretty walk, full of sculpture and places to sit, places of historical interest and shops!  Some of the most exclusive designers have a store on Lambton Quay.  Trelise Cooper, Country Road and luxury stores like Kirkcaldie and Staines.



The Beehive (so named because of it's distinctive appearance) was opened in the 1970's by HRH Princess Ann.  It houses the executive wing of Parliament and the National Crisis Management Centre (known as the Bunker) in the basement.

This was my first view of the Beehive, I have to say it does look impressive.

Below is the old house, this is where the government sits when it's in session.  A tv news crew were filming on the steps.  The pinkish building to the right is the Parliamentary Library.  The Statue in front is Richard (King Dick) Seddon our longest serving PM to date and regarded as one of our finest leaders.

All in all it was a pleasant wander.  I had dinner in the hotel restaurant with Alesha the other Aucklander and we decided to wander the waterfront until dark to walk off the meal.  Then it was a shower and bed for another day of work.

I got home at 6:15pm last night, to the Wee Girl waiting for me at the gate, a valentines gift of a pair of earrings from the husband and the man child grunting a welcome home.

Some more images of Wellington:

The Albatross fountain, with bubbles for Valentines Day

Wellington Harbour

Westpac Stadium aka "The Cake Tin"