today is wellington day :)

wellington day falls on 27-May and that is today … *grin* glad it falls on my first sunday here.  so joining the locals i planned to make full use of the 1 gold coin per visit offer.   the weather unfortunately is not in my favor, it looks like it will start raining any time.  so lets see where i have ventured:

cable car ride + museum

carter observatory

last but not least, macdonald for lunch + dinner !

tat's all folks !  din do too much today due to the weather and partly due to anxiety for the upcoming week ...

first saturday in wellington

being my first weekend in wellington, i m feeling all hyped up to see the town.  after 5 workdays of waking up with the effects of jet lags, i m very super glad that i can finally enjoy my breakfast leisurely at my favorite side table with a good view of the passerby ...

mount victoria

after breakfast, i first set out for mount victoria hike (whom lookout is ranked as one of the "must do" in their tourism page).   started with a walk along the harbor that took me approx. 20 minutes to reach the oriental bay.  oriental bay is like a mini-beach where … during the walk i even spot an interesting "kitchen" that hosts cooking lesson (wonder wat they are cooking tonight, yum!).  after reaching the bay, i was starting to feel a bit lost.  somehow being a pampered singaporean, i was thinking that there will be ready signs or walkway up mount victoria.  well luckily i come prepared with my map and even before i start reading it, a kind kiwi has come along (energetic aunty who is probably having her jog) all ready to extend a helpful hand.  

after hearing all the available options from my kind "tour guide", i headed toward hay street and BUMP! dead end after climbing up a very very very steep walkway (sweat ah) … how nice (-.-!).  i even attempt to venture into the forest until i saw a danger sign warning of poisonous plants ahead phew… well at least the weather is cooling, so down the hill i strolled (so tempted to just roll hah)  shortly after making my way down lazily, i started going up again, this time towards oriental tce.  the walk is quiet and most of the time i felt like any minute i will be caught by one of the residents as a trespasser.  luckily my fear was unfounded and on my way up the stairs (many many of them *panting*), i even run into a lady smiling and wishing me good day :) like any other kiwi here in wellington.  

after climbing for dunno how many steps, ha finally a signage !!!  i felt assured that my walk up was not as fruitless as the earlier attempt.  i was up at the church that i can see from my hotel room … it never occurs to me that it can be that far and high by foot.  during then i thought i was near the lookout, but … only later i found out that i was only halfway up haha.  the solitary walk up is definitely one of my treasured memories not because of spectacular sceneries but because it is mixed with anxiety (how far more to the peak?), fear (huh, am i lost?), fatigue (breakfast fully digest le), thirst (dehydrated le), relief (yey there are people!), realization (am i taking frodo's walk) and finally awe (i did it!) as i conquer the peak by foot !!!  surprisingly there were quite a bit of people up the lookout compared to those i ran into when climbing up.  orhhh… they are the lucky ones coming up by cars, how nice hah.  the lookout is probably the highest altitude point in wellington, i can get a pretty good view of the town, where i "lived" … the sky can be brighter that day but in the end, what's really makes one happy is not the beautiful pictures taken, but simply the the fact that i have did it on my own and by foot !!! 

i would have stayed longer up the lookout if not for an appointment with the lead to visit zealandia … well anyway i m sure i have seen enough.  and so i start my way down, this time taking a slightly different route.  instead of the forest walk that frodo and sam have tramped, i decided to go with civilization this time taking the routes for cars haha.  top up with previous experiences, i have now learnt to walk guiltlessly down the stairways next to residences (shortest way down the hill).  so by 1pm or so, i m back at oriental bay :)

zealandia

after meeting up with our dear fren who probably just woke up and looking grouchy :p … we set out to find the i-site visitor centre.  the place is huge n very friendly to visitors i must say with the amount of information they can provide.  there are heaps of brochures about group tours, suggested hikes and walks, bus schedules.  we gather wat we need and check out on where to hop on the free bus.  the free ride to zealandia takes approximately 15mins, the bus is empty asides from us.   reckon its not a great idea to venture with the weather outlook :(  zealandia is like a natural sanctuary to … so unlike the zoo, we can't really spot the wildlife as easily since they are free to roam.  the best way to spot them is probably during feeding time when they will gather at a common place knowing there is free food.  unfortunately the feeding time is not in our favor :(

so most of time we are taking nature walks, enjoying the greens around us, abit of overdose for me after the mountain excursion this morning.  

finally dinner 

finally time for dinner, we visited matterhorn … i have decided to start with sashimi, followed by waygu beef as my main together with red wine recommended by their staff.  they also serve very nice hot bread yum !  after the main, i was full to the throat … despite the sweet temptation of their dessert, i will have to forgo it.  sigh  … 

that ends my first saturday in wellington :) a workout day … i was dead beat when i reached the hotel, i sure hope my legs are up to it for tomorrow