The government building of Wellington nicknamed the Beehive.
A Maori totem in the museum.
Jan Eric on the left and Bev and Carol on the right, who are also on exchange from Canada.
Thursday, January
7th.
After a continental
breakfast in the hotel most of us assembled in the lobby to meet Max
for a short walking tour of Wellington, which is the capital of New Zealand. Max affectionately calls it Windy Welly because it is frequently windy and today was no
exception. We saw the parliament building (top photo), which is nicknamed the
Beehive and then we walked through town to the Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand. This is a great museum, which I wandered
around happily for at least four hours. I saw the preserved carcass
of the colossal squid which is the largest invertebrate in the world. It was 4.2 metres long and weighed over 400 hundred kilos and has the
largest eyes of any animal, about the size of a basketball!
The museum also highlights the history of New Zealand from the arrival of the native people, the Maori to the arrival of the Europeans and all the non native plants and animals that they brought with them that have wrecked havoc with the native species. The highlight though, was a powerful exhibit of the battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during the First World War. The Allies landed there and fought bravely for a couple of months but were ultimately forced to evacuate. To Australians and New Zealanders this is their Vimy Ridge. The New Zealand forces lost up to 95% of their men. The exhibit was highly detailed, with photos, and several larger than life statues of soldiers and nurses at critical points in the battle which really made you understand the conditions of the battle and the futility of war.
Back to the hotel along the waterfront where I talked to a young Danish tourist for a while in the lounge. He was traveling on a shoestring and eating a can of tuna for dinner. We swapped some stories and I asked him about a few of the destinations we are going to on the south island. Then the group assembled in the lobby and we all went for dinner at the One Red Dog restaurant. The group is gelling well and everyone seems to be getting along just fine. The two Torontonians, Bev and Carol, that I will be working with in Melbourne are on the right side of the photo. My room mate Jan Eric is on the left.
The museum also highlights the history of New Zealand from the arrival of the native people, the Maori to the arrival of the Europeans and all the non native plants and animals that they brought with them that have wrecked havoc with the native species. The highlight though, was a powerful exhibit of the battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during the First World War. The Allies landed there and fought bravely for a couple of months but were ultimately forced to evacuate. To Australians and New Zealanders this is their Vimy Ridge. The New Zealand forces lost up to 95% of their men. The exhibit was highly detailed, with photos, and several larger than life statues of soldiers and nurses at critical points in the battle which really made you understand the conditions of the battle and the futility of war.
Back to the hotel along the waterfront where I talked to a young Danish tourist for a while in the lounge. He was traveling on a shoestring and eating a can of tuna for dinner. We swapped some stories and I asked him about a few of the destinations we are going to on the south island. Then the group assembled in the lobby and we all went for dinner at the One Red Dog restaurant. The group is gelling well and everyone seems to be getting along just fine. The two Torontonians, Bev and Carol, that I will be working with in Melbourne are on the right side of the photo. My room mate Jan Eric is on the left.
Where's the photo of the giant squid??
ReplyDeleteWhat happened your camera doesn't work in the museum. Where's the pictures of the giant squid it is only minus 8 here
ReplyDelete