"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part I

Over this past week, Callie and I were on Easter Break, and in order to take advantage of our time off, we decided to visit New Zealand.  We traveled the country for roughly eleven days, and over that time, we concluded that there was simply too much to say in just one post. As a result, we wanted to write about our trip in increments. What follows is a reflection on our time in New Zealand, a journey in the "land of the long white cloud." 

We began our 11 day journey through New Zealand in "Windy Wellington," the country's capital and second-largest city.  Its nickname became very evident as our plane attempted to land safely, but looking out the window, we knew we were in for a treat.  Wellington is located on the southern tip of the North Island and is home to the Te Papa National Museum, the first place we ventured after our arrival. 

 The museum is designed to present the geologic, natural, and native history of New Zealand, and its signature exhibit is the world's only preserved giant squid.  We discovered how the convergence of the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates have created the mountains, volcanoes, hot springs, and, of course, earthquakes in New Zealand.  Additionally, we learned that the country is home to numerous unique bird species such as the kiwi and other flightless fowl, including the 9-foot tall, 450 lb. giant moa, which is now extinct.  These flightless birds flourished in the absence of predators for centuries because New Zealand broke away from Gondwana, the supercontinent, before land mammals had evolved.  But Wilson will have more on subjects such as these in future posts. 

The following morning we rode Wellington's historic cable car up the hill (see first photo) for a lovely view of the city and a visit to the botanical gardens.  Just like Australia, New Zealand seems to have an abundance of green space throughout its cities, and Wellington is no exception.  Though we could have wandered along paths in the gardens for hours, we decided just to hit the highlights, such as the enormous rose garden pictured below.  After our botanical trek, we sought rejuvenation at Sweet Mother's Kitchen, which just happened to serve down home Creole cookin' straight out of N'awlins.  (Sidenote: Of course we ordered the cornbread - I haven't eaten cornbread in a year!  They don't even sell cornmeal at the grocery store over here.)  

Anyway, our time in Wellington drew to a close as we ventured over to the ferry passenger terminal and awaited our call to board the Interislander, which transported us across the Cook Strait over to the South Island.