At the start of this month, we headed up to Wellington for our semi-annual pilgrimage up north to check out the World of Wearable Arts show, get our coconut buns fix (since we don't have *any* dim sum places offering them here in Christchurch), and fit in another tour of the usual sights (i.e. Te Papa, waterfront, Lambton Quay, Old Bank Arcade, etc.)
In the interests of getting this post up (since heck, it's nearly the end of the month now, and also I haven't even finished working through my Sydney ones, or the MtCook ones from earlier in the year), I will likely end up making separate posts for some of the highlights below if/when I ever get around to finishing editing the photos (almost done, but not for some sets), uploading them, and curating them in a blog-post. Otherwise, I may just link to the relevant albums, since that's easier...
NOTE: This post will likely be updated with images in due course as I get them processed + uploaded. But the text comes first, so I can tick this off my personal todo-list (not that posting these really matters)
Notable highlights this time round:
* Spotted fewer exotic bird species this time, but got more value out of the ones I did see:
* 1) Only saw 1 Tui (but up close, and on the ground right in front of me at eye level!),
* 2) Saw a bunch of Kaka either high up in the trees doing affectionate-kaka-things, or flying in flocks. Also got a much better understanding of their vocalisations :D
* For the first time in so many visits to Wellington, I learned + took the ferries across the harbour. Notes:
* I have a bunch of very nice pics from that trip, along with a bunch that need a bit more editing
* Didn't manage to get off on the other end, as the ferry schedule made it a bit dicey to try to stop over (and risk missing our flights home)
* It was a pity that they didn't seem to be operating their fancy electric ferry. Dunno *when* (if ever) it is even in operation
* It also helped that the weather on this day was awesome. Really sunny + warm (which made walking around the waterfront all the more a nice experience, especially after the wind and rain the previous day). TBH, it's the first time nearly a decade I guess that it was sunny in Wellington when we were up there.
* Another first-time experience was visiting Wellington Museum
* Yes, I can vouch that this little museum is indeed worth visiting
* They've done quite a nice job telling the story of the region, along with various neat exhibits
* Particular highlights: The "hologram" storytime show telling some story about Maui + how the people got fire was very cool, as was the attic
* After so many visits here, I can finally name a hotel I'd love to stay at again: DoubleTree Hilton in the T&G building
* Dunno about other rooms, but the room we were in was pretty awesome (and one I'd try to get again if I stay there again). In short - it was directly above one of Mum's favourite stores, with a very interesting view.
* The downside of this room is that some people may find it a bit noisy (i.e. especially if the curtains aren't pulled, the gaps in the window seals around some of the windows let in a *lot* of the ambient noise), for us it was a lot of fun.
* General other things that were great about staying there:
- Room generally seemed cleaner + tidier than practically *every* hotel room we've stayed in over the past decade or so. It helps that the decor all seems quite new.
- The decor is nice (i.e. that "Chicago style" / era architecture) that they also took into the rooms worked really well
- High ceilings + spacious room, with an interesting layout (i.e. bathroom off to the side, and bulk of room not visible straight from the front door). Maybe I'm giving away already which room this is, if you know this hotel / have stayed in this exact room ;)
- I actually managed to get several solid nights of sleep, with no notable insomnia problems here. (This is quite a feat, as most prior trips upto Wellington, I actually haven't gotten very much if any sleep)
* Oh, and I've now learned that a warm chocolate-chip cookie on arrival is a hallmark of this brand of hotels now :)
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