Our first look at Wellington last Thursday morning was from the air and I must say, its beauty startled me, even after being promised great scenery by everyone familiar with thi
s place. The South Pacific sailing by far below us outlined the steep green mountains undulating up and down the coastline. As we approached the airport, it seemed like we might land right on the water since the tarmac seemed to be perched on a very narrow and short piece of ground, barely long enough to contain the airstrip, and almost completely surrounded by the huge harbor that gives Wellington its crescent shape. But, just like the scenery, the landing was perfectly magnificent.
While
we haven’t yet strayed very far from our home base, there is incredible beauty even in the heart of the city, which is where we live. There is a lot of life that centers along the waterfront. If we head northwest a short distance, we end up at the wharf filled with large ships, working d
ocks as well as bright orange and red kayaks to rent. Strung along its edges lies a series of open spaces and parks full of wonderful sculptures, government buildings and monuments. If we head a bit east of there we get to Oriental Bay which is where we went wandering this afternoon in the warm afternoon sunshine. This part of the waterfront has a very well-used beach, a playground for the children and a wide walkway for bicycling, rollerblading as well as walking.
It is mostly houses that cascade down the hillsides towards the waterfront so that the downtown itself is very compact and walkable. We go out exploring almost every day and have discovered several areas that are already favorites. About 4 or 5 blocks away is Courtney Place which is a popular street filled with restaurants, small shops, theaters and many, many cafes. We’ve tried a few of them and so far our favorite is the Deluxe Café which has good coffee, but best
of all is a great place to people watch. We sort of get the impression that Wellington is home to lots of free spirits and they seem to gather regularly at the Deluxe. This week we discovered another area that’s fun and lively called Cuba Street. It’s a little further away from our house, and has a more hippy kind of feel. There were several secondhand shops, used book stores, and more casual restaurants like Cuba Kebabs wh
ere we were served Middle Eastern falafels and hummus by two Iraqis from Baghdad. It was a humbling experience for us to meet people from that part of the world face-to-face, and to hear their stories and their view of the war with America.
We’re settling into learning our duties and responsibilities as Resident Friends. Right now it’s quite a lot since we’re having to get adjusted to the way things are done here, but we’re also free to put our own brand on the place. Our main w
ork is tending to the travelers who stay at the small, two-bedroom bed and breakfast. We also assist the Quakers with some of their meeting functions, and are generally a presence here meaning that we answer phone calls and questions as they come up.
So far, we’re really liking the active and energetic feel of the city and love getting to know people in another part of the world. Wellington is very open and very friendly and we will write more about our life here on another day.
ent with two friends on a day hike to a nearby park.These are pictures of our trip to the Kakori Wildlife Sanctuary.
ent with two friends on a day hike to a nearby park.These are pictures of our trip to the Kakori Wildlife Sanctuary.
