The Capital of New Zealand

Over break I visited the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. This was not the original capital but was made so due to the fact it is in the middle of the country. Wellington is a beautiful city with most of its drives on the beautiful blue shores and a constant view of planes flying into the airport. Speaking of the airport, Wellington is one of the windiest cities in the world, so flights are often delayed. My flight was delayed and hour and at one point in the week my friend's dad was stuck in another city for a night after a work event. I spent my week there at a friend's home, which was a unique experience rather than staying at hotels. I greatly appreciated all the home-cooked meals for dinners and breakfasts. I got to live more like a local and attended the scouts' meetings and events that his mother helped run. I got to go inside a New Zealand school to help set up a book fair event and hang out with the kids who thought my accent was hilarious.  I visited Te Papa, a free museum, with amazing sculptures of soldiers from war. Te Papa included Māori boats and other cultural pieces of history as well as New Zealand's wildlife with bird sounds and remains of animals.  

On the following day I learned about how many New Zealander are really into golf although I only went mini golfing. I also noted how much tea New Zealanders seem to drink, although my friend's family may say it was a normal amount I am not sure I buy into it. That same day I found that Wellington has many beautiful hiking trails and vistas that vary with difficulty for any person's skill level. 

The third day of being there I went out to Castle Point to visit the lighthouse and we made a few serene stops along the way. One stop was at a local candy store where I got to try some original New Zealand lollies. Finally, we made it to the light house and the wind was so extreme if I jumped up vertically, I would be blown forward a couple feet. The birds were glued to the ground because the 100km winds were too much for them. Before our drive back, we had a meal at the local pub for lunch and I had a fantastic time chicken sandwich or chicken burger as they call it.  

One of my favorite places to visit in Wellington was Cuba street. The shops were amazing with vintage records and clothing. There was also a cool comic store and books store, and I had ice cream as a treat. I really dove into New Zealand cuisine by having a mince pie which was way too delicious for its own good.  

Finally on the last day, I visited Zealandia which is a bird sanctuary that I heavily recommend going to. I saw so many birds such as the Tui, Kea, and Pukeko. The Tui made beautiful bird calls, and I laid in the grass just to listen to it. This was one of the biggest highlights of the trip since I love animals and nature.