Wellington

Wellington is the capital city of NZ and it lies on the very southern tip of the north island. As you can see...it is a really really beautiful city that wraps around the harbour. I shortened my stay there to only a day and a half in order to get to the south island sooner, but that was definately a bit of a sacrifice. Wellington appealed to me so much more than Auckland did. The city is super pedestrian friendly, as you can see from the picture below of one of the pedestrian only streets. The city is loaded with cafes, bars, restaurants, internet cafes, music stores, and second hand book shops! I really enjoyed my day in this city.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did after breakfast was a trip to Te Papa, NZ's national museum. It was a great place that reminded me a lot of Toronto's science center. I particularly liked the Maori section. Afterwards, I followed a fellow travelers advice and made the hike up to Mt. Victoria, one of the many mountains that surrounds the harbour. It was a hell of a hike but well worth it for the view (see pic above).

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city streets. In the evening, another Canadian guy and I went to one of the local bars to enjoy a Super 14 rugby game. The Super 14 Union is made up of teams from NZ, Aus and South Africa, and the people love it.