Wellington: Capital of Middle Earth

Every time we return to Wellington (and remember, Roger lived here for a decade or so), we are struck by what a picturesque, livable capital city it is.  We are not alone: Lonely Planet ranked it the 4th best city in the world to visit (after New York, Tangier, and Tel Aviv).  Roger disputes the ranking!  Lonely Planet called Wellington  the ‘coolest little capital in the world’ – and they’re not talking about the wind chill  The prevailing wind is an unpleasant northwesterly but the really nasty southerly comes up from time to time from the Antarctic.

Our daughter Melissa lives near the top of Mount Victoria, one of the many high hills around the city, with a spectacular view of the harbour.  At night, the view below is magical.

Grace at Oriental Bay at the foot of Mt Victoria

 The irony: when we arrived in Wellington, Melissa was in the States!  So while she drove our car, we drove hers.  We think we got a pretty good deal, as we had full-time custody of our granddaughter Grace.  Dance lessons, drama classes, track meets: we didn't realize how much we missed those activities!

Mount Victoria from Oriental Bay

The hills that surround Wellington present a challenge: for driving, living, parking. You have be a mountain goat to get places on foot, and there are even some dwellings that have private cable cars up the slopes.  Imagine using this parking place:




Wellington's coastland is extremely irregular, with numerous smaller bays and peninsulas.  Here is a view taken from Mt. Victoria looking away from the city towards Evans Bay (in the foreground) and the channel to the sea (in the background).

Mt. Victoria is, of course, named after that legendary Queen Wikitoria who appeared in statuary (not statutory) form in our prior blogs from Australia.  In the interest of comparative studies, here is Wellington's version of Her Royal Majesty.