New Zealand – Wellington

When we departed Ship Cove, we left behind the south island of New Zealand and made our way across the Cook Strait to reach the city of Wellington at the southern tip of the north island. As the capital city, it is a bustling place and quite the contrast to the more laid-back towns of Dunedin and Christchurch, which we’d visited just two and three days prior. For me, there were two highlights to our evening-and-a-day in Wellington: dinner with an old friend, and a tour of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa.

The last time I’d seen my friend Troy was on our prior visit to Wellington, way back in 2009. Today was a great opportunity to catch up on the past 16 years, and to hear more from him about the state of science and of higher education in New Zealand. It was a fascinating dinner conversation, followed by a lovely stroll along the blustery harbor promenade. We stopped, of course, for the obligatory photo – to put the “i” in Wellington.

The next morning, I and the other ‘early risers’ of the ship were treated to a spectacular sunrise display, what photographers like to call “god rays”.

We were bussed into town to visit New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa. I was deeply impressed. Not only does this museum cover some fascinating topics – culture, history, science, and more – but it does so in an interactive, engaging way. Re-reading my 2009 blog post, I see I had a similar impression back then. Today, I was most impressed with the new exhibit about the Gallipoli campaign, the tragically deadly months-long battle between the Allies and the Turks in World War I. It became a defining moment in the emergence of modern Turkey and, apparently, is “considered by some to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness.” The exhibit is well designed and deeply moving, considering the tremendous loss of life on both sides.

I have few photos to share today; full-res photos in the gallery.