Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is located near the southern end of the North Island on the Cook Strait. The city is relatively small with a lovely waterfront walk, sandy beaches and colourful historical wooden houses on the hills.
After docking in Wellington we headed into the city a short distance away and planned to make a visit to the Wellington Botanic Garden.
Wellington Botanic Garden
We took the Wellington Cable Car from the Lambton Quay up to the entrance to the Wellington Botanic Garden. At the top we got a magnificent view over Wellington. The Wellington Botanic Garden covers 25 hectares of land on the side of the hill between Thorndon and Kelburn, near central Wellington. The garden features 25 hectares of protected native forest, conifers, plant collections and seasonal displays.
Bolton Street Cemetery
Close to Wellington Botanic Garden was the very interesting Bolton Street Cemetery which had some wonderful old gravestones. Bolton Street Memorial Park, formerly known as Bolton Street Cemetery, is the oldest cemetery in Wellington dating back to 1840 with many notable people buried here.
Mount Victoria Lookout
After lunch at the KC Cafe, an excellent Chinese restaurant, we headed up Mount Victoria at the south side of Wellington. Here there was an observation deck offering panoramic views over Wellington and the Cook Strait.
Oriental Bay
We then came back down to Oriental Bay and walked along the sea front where there were some magnificent houses overlooking a beautiful sandy beach.
Along the waterfront we passed the boat sheds and then admired the Solace in the Wind (The Naked Man) Statue on the side of the dock.
We walked back to the city centre and along one side street I found some wonderful graffiti.
And of course there was always time for an ice cream before heading back to the ship to reboard for our next destination.
Passionate Photographer …. Lost in Asia
Stuart Taylor of HighlanderImages Photography has been making images for over 40 years focusing on Asia with a documentary/photojournalistic style.
Stuart is available for a variety of assignments in subject areas of photojournalism, commercial, architectural, real estate, industrial, interior design, corporate, urbex, adventure, wilderness, and travel.
E-Mail : staylor@highlanderimages.com