Arrival in Wellington

When I left New Plymouth yesterday morning, it was beautiful weather and I got to see the mountain (Mt. Taranaki, that is) in its full glory for the first time since my arrival.

Mt. Taranaki

I had such a great time with Denise, Ross & co. but honestly, I had butterflies in my stomach when the bus finally got to Wellington (it’s a 7 hour trip that took almost 8). First you get to see the city from the bay, and the bus stop is right at the train station, where the railway campus of Victoria University is, where I had most my classes. I ended up taking a taxi to my accommodation, a student hall that rents out its rooms during the summer trimester – I get to pay by the week for my very own room (very basic, with shared facilities but my own and with 4 gigs of free wifi to boot), which ends up being quite a bit cheaper than even a dorm room in the YHA would be.

Naturally the first thing I did after unpacking (properly, since I’ll be here for two whole weeks) and taking a shower was head down the hill to the waterfront, my favourite spot in all of Wellington. It’s just so beautiful down there and always lots going on, especially when the weather is as nice as now. I even filmed my arrival there because I felt as if I was going to burst with happiness:

For dinner I went to a quiet little Japanese restaurant that I’m pretty sure I’d been to before. There’s going to be a lot of Asian food for me, even if it’s the ready-made kind – I went and bought some miso as well as udon noodles so I don’t have to eat out all the time (plus the yummy crackers with sea weed that I missed so much). I’m already spending way too much here – a little bit here, a little bit there, you know how it goes, especially with Christmas waiting for me at home… *g*

It’s not quite as if I was here only yesterday, but I don’t think I can get lost despite the changes and my sieve of a memory. I always know where I am in relation to the waterfront/Lambton Quay/Cuba Street/my temporary home. This morning I did have to look up where exactly the entrance to the cable car up to the Botanical Garden is, but subsequently I spent a couple of very agreeable hours ambling back downhill through the forest there and enjoying the roses in full bloom.
Pukatea bush walk . Me in the rose garden

Afterwards I had lunch at the waterfront (duh! *g*) and then ambled all across downtown, re-visiting some of my old haunts, like the two places I lived in, the church I went to & the café with the best Italian hot chocolate. I also dropped in at the tattoo studio where I had several tats done last time – Roger, the artist, has retired, but the shop is still going and the new owner agreed to freshen up my fairy tattoo. It’s been five years, the cute little thing has faded, as colour tattoos are wont to do. I didn’t think he’d be able to fit me in so quickly, but we’ve got an appointment tomorrow & this way it’ll be all healed up by the time I hit the hot springs towards the end of my trip! (I did mention I was spending too much money already, right? *g*)

I’ll also meet my friend Mer tomorrow for dinner – we met when she worked at the YHA and she ended up taking over my room when I left. Can’t wait to catch up! So far this trip is going even better than I’d hoped – I simply love it here, the friendly people, the beautiful city, and even the weather is doing its best to make me feel welcome. 🙂

To be realistic, there are 2 drops of bitter among all the sweet: a) I stumbled on the curb of Denise’s house my first day there and since then two of my toes have been in mild pain whenever I walk, which could potentially spoil the Tongariro Crossing for me; and b) today I seem to have lost my beautiful one-of-a-kind mosaic ring from the V&A museum in London – I called around at some of the places I’d been to, because I sometimes remove it to clean the green copper residue off my finger, but no sign of it. Such a pity! Still, who can be sad when in a place like this:
Wellington from the top of the Botanic Gardens

Note: All photos can be found in this set on Flickr.