Wellington Sightseeing - Know When to Fold Them - CycleBlaze

November 17, 2023

Wellington Sightseeing

The dream run of perfect weather ended today with gale strength wind blasts, downpours and then drizzle.

Nevertheless I donned my raincoat, unloaded the bike (I have a room at the Wellington YHA) and was able to treadle about in the central Wellington area and check out the local sights, especially around the harbour area. I’ve arrived in Wellington a day earlier, than I expected so I may as well have a good look around. 

The highlight was the Te Papa Museum. It’s one of the best museums I’ve seen. 

Unfortunately the YHA room I had couldn’t be rebooked, so I moved to a nearby pub room. Very basic but adequate.

Sign on the exit door of my accommodation indicates how the Windy Wellington name was earned.
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Wellington railway station is grander than I expected
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The outside also
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Instantly recognisable
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Gastro has a different meaning to travellers. Is Imodium served as an entree?
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Parliament House. Wellington is New Zealand’s national capital.
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The distinctive Beehive building. Government offices.
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I mentioned it was wet and windy.
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Love this dog statue
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Amazing Māori canoe with a long history. In Te Papa.
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Māori storehouse. The wood carving is fantastically intricate.
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Stone anchor
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Meeting house
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View from Te Papa over a wet and wild Wellington harbour
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Map showing the known migration history of people in Oceania.
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Floor mural at Te Papa
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NZ built motor bike. Carbon fibre. Topped 302 km per hour!
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Informative but sobering graph of CO2 and global temperatures. Part of a display at Te Papa.
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Adjacent to Te Papa. A freely accessible, staffed bike maintenance centre. Funded by the city.
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Vince McCarthyHi Graham, I'm just catching up on your blog. Congratulations!
This stuff just makes sense. If only we could have it in Canberra, more people would be riding their bikes.
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4 months ago
Graham SmithTo Vince McCarthyHi Vince,
Yes NZ local and national governments have put a lot of thought, resources and action into cycling infrastructure.

It’s certainly not perfect but it’s much better than Australia’s, especially when comparing regional towns.
For example, Napier and the Hawkes Bay region have an extensive network of cycleways. So does Nelson. These aren’t big places but they’ve done a lot to encourage recreational and commuter cycling.
That said I’m very happy with Canberra’s cycle ways.
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4 months ago
Well equipped. An excellent resource for locals and cycle tourists.
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Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 146 km (91 miles)

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