Back to Wellington

Wed 30 June 2010

So I guess it is about time to get this holiday underway!

Okay, so we got up at 4:20 am (a very ungodly hour)! We got ready quickly (or as quickly as you can at such a sick time), but we still had a few last minute things to pack and put away. We had kiwifruit for breakfast. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Then we got our stuff out of the house and I set the alarm. As soon as I set the alarm, I have to go out and lock the door. So I leave and shut the door...and the keys drop. Of course it is pitch black outside, so I can't find the keys anywhere. I start feeling my way around, but it is quite chilly outside, and I can barely feel my fingers as it is. Mom tries to find a light in her bag when I hear the keys. My fingers apparently hit them, so I could hear them, but I couldn't feel them. So I quickly locked the door, before the alarm goes off. Relief. What a way to start off.

We had to stand outside for a few minutes before the supershuttle picked us up. We then arrived at the airport and electronically checked-in. I was quite fascinated with checking-in electronically. It was kind of fun. I know I am weird.

Anyway, It was a tiny airport and it took us a whole 30 seconds to check-in, send our bags away, and go through security. We sat for a while, since we were early. Eventually we got called in and sat down in the narrowest seats I think I have ever experienced. These seats would make anyone feel like they were obese! We couldn't move very much, so it was a very good thing it was only a 45 minutes flight! Fortunately, they did have a snack on the plane, (although, maybe we should have eaten it afterwards as I don't think the seats could have taken any more pressure than they were already receiving! Mom and I were the last people to be served our snack, and by the time we received the snack, they were already collecting rubbish. So I ate my muffin as fast as I could.

We unbuckled our seat belts and stood up as soon as the sign went off (so that we could get the circulation flowing back in the lower half of our bodies). We went down and got our luggage and got the supershuttle to take us back to the city, where our hostel was. We checked in...and I found out that I reserved the hostel for the day before! So then I was panicking and asking if I could change the day to today. She said that wasn't a problem, so we went to our room. Quite embarrassing for me to make a mistake for the first day! At least it didn't ruin anything...just my pride.

We walked in the room, and there was someone there who was asleep. So we tried to be as quiet as we could, but it is a little difficult to do that when the door sounds like a cannon. So we decided to rearrange our things for the day outside the room. That way we wouldn't disturb our roommate. That would have been a good theory if no one was up and about. But of course, at this time, the whole world is coming out to get ready for the day and have to leap over or squeeze past our stuff as we try to organise our stuff. Not a pretty picture.

So we finally get everything ready and then decide to fix our lunch. There were toasters in the kitchen, so we have this brilliant idea to toast our peanut butter sandwiches. That was fine, but when the bread popped out, we put them down on the plastic bags, which melted together from the heat. We couldn't get the bread into the bags, so we had to rummage through everything to find other bags we could use. It was an interesting experience.

We finally get out of the hostel and set out for a day in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We only had one day here, so we had to see as much as possible. The forecast was rainy (no surprise as this is just about the wettest city in New Zealand). So we first head to Te Papa (the biggest museum). We go in and find out that they don't open until 10:00. I think it was around 9:15, so then we decided to walk around. So I take her for a walk around the wharf, and then we start heading to the Beehive and Parliament buildings. We arrived and they scanned everything we had, and then had to give our bags to them. Then we were able to take a tour.

On the tour, they said Parliament was going to be in session at 2:00 if we wanted to come see a question and answer talk among Parliament members. Our tour guide showed us all kinds of rooms. She said that they don't wear the wigs anymore, because they can't hear as well with them on. Makes sense. We saw the library, a chair display, a board with sashes of different countries represented in New Zealand. We went through the hallways of the offices of the different Parliament members. Many of the doors were open, so we saw some of the members (including the Speaker of the House. Then we saw the debate room. There was one side that said "Ayes" and the other "Nos". Our tour was actually longer than it was supposed to be, because we had a very inquisitive group. I could tell you some of the questions and answers of the group, but I think it would make this already lengthy entry even longer. I will mention that I noticed a New Zealand flag that was in a frame. It was tattered and had scorching marks. I read the caption and found out that it was a present from the United Sates from the Twin Towers disaster. Apparently, they uncovered the flag, and gave it back to New Zealand. I thought that was kind of cool.

So we left and went on a cable car to the top of the hill, where the botanical gardens were. By this point, the sky was clear with a few clouds and the sun was bursting through. It was quite beautiful. We went through the cable car museum and then headed to the observatory. It was closed for refurbishment or something, but was open now, but we discovered it would cost $18 to go in. We figured the LA observatory is 100 times better and bigger, and it is free. So we walked on by on to the gardens. Of course sign are horribly marked, so we did our best to walk to the rose garden. It wasn't easy as there were paths that branched off everywhere, but we did make it. The sad thing was, none of the flowers were in bloom. It was a beautiful setup, but no flowers. During our walk through other gardens, there were flowers in bloom, but no roses.

Then we made our way back to the city. We made it just in time to see Parliament in session. We went up in the stalls and watched as they gathered in their seats. We heard a sound and all members of Parliament rose and it was silent. A man with a gold, ornate scepter slowly marched up to the front as the Speaker of the House followed. The scepter was laid on the table and the Speaker of the House stepped up to the throne. He did a prayer that was actually quite nice. Then everyone sat down.

Then a lady stood up, was recognised by the Speaker of the house, and asked a question. Then a man stood up to answer that issue. There was tittering on the "No" side and the speaker had to speak quite loudly. Then there would be another question and the same man would answer. There was constant noise and scoffing. It got so noisy that the Speaker of the House stood up and said it was too noisy and that he couldn't hear. There was still constant chattering. Then, a question was raised about the Prime Minister. As soon as the word "Prime Minister" came out, there was laughing and one person said, "The Prime Minister is Useless." At this, the Speaker of the House was basically saying, cool it and don't be saying these inappropriate things. Although he said it, the smile on his face showed his true feelings. It was like he agreed, but his position of authority required him to take a stand. We left at this point.

We then went to Te Papa and looked for almost three hours, and we walked through quite fast. The best part of the museum is the Colossal Squid (in my opinion anyway). After the museum, we walked through Cuba Mall, which is a street of little shops. Then we sat down and had dinner (more peanut butter).

After this, it was really dark, so we went to the room and got ready for bed. We both had top bunks. The girl under me had stuff all over the ladder, so I couldn't get to my bunk. I actually had to climb up Mom's bunk, and then crawl over her bunk to my bunk in order to get into bed. We only had a bottom sheet, so we slept with our clothes, sweater, and jacket on. It was still cold, so I lifted up the bottom sheet and wrapped myself around it. I looked like I was in a cocoon.

So ends the first day...