Wellington, Our Place

Waking up in what is in essence a glorified carpark, we found ourselves - unusually for our trip in NZ - in the heart of the city. Wellington has expanded rapidly over the past 150 years and it quickly became clear that the small church - considered sufficient for the likely growth of the small congregation at the time of its construction in 1865 - was underspecified. Now known as Old St Paul's, the church is surrounded by buildings much larger than itself - a 'new' St. Paul's in the modern Gothic style dominates the street only a couple of blocks away, looking like something out of a Terry Gilliam film. Despite the usurpation, the old church - built in native timber - has a certain charm and has remained a consecrated building, retaining its popularity as a wedding venue.

Old St. Paul's

Speaking of large modern buildings, the Te Papa museum (meaning "Our Place") is an imposing presence on the reclaimed land of Wellington's waterfront.

Its collections and exhibitions are enormous and varied, and so I resolved to download an audio guide to help us make the most of our time. After a overly theatrical but convincing introduction, this turned out in fact to be a piece of audio theatre. The spoof commentary by two Wellingtonians guided us round the lesser visited parts of the museun and challenges the visitor to view the displays, other people and, by extension, reality itself, in a different way.

Life as art

For example, the café, when viewed from the upper mezzanine, appears as a long-term installation, in which the patrons are actors, and the 'piece' explores isolation and the nature of human interaction. To be honest, although this guide didn't take itself at all seriously, or attempt to navigate the actual exhibits, it was a good way to introduce us to what is otherwise a cacophonic sensory overload.

The museum's collection covers Maori culture, European settlement up to the 20th century, and some isolated incongruous exhibits, such as a horses skeleton, the skin of which is on display in an Australian museum. The whole makes for a confusing maze of exhibits that could occupy the interested visitor for several days, but I soon suffered museum fatigue and had to reboot by installing myself in the café exhibit.

Having revived myself sufficiently, K and I tackled the newly opened exhibition on Gallipoli. We knew that this would take a toll on the emotions but were eager to see how the history was told with the aid of Weta workshop's skilled artistry.

Lt. Col. Fenwick

Through a series of rooms, the days and weeks of the conflict were told from the very first landing. In between rooms were dominated by the presence of a astonishingly life-like mannequin representing a real person involved in the battle.

Corned beef again

The individual ANZAC soldiers had enviable courage and tenacity, but were ultimately failed by the leaders of the war and the concept of taking Gallipoli from the battle-hardened and much underestimated Turks. After much attrition, through sickness as well as battle injuries, the leaders ceded to the superior force and pulled the men out. It was a heavy price to pay. Lt. Col. Percival Fenwick, who, as part of the medical corps, saw the worst that the conflict wrought on its combatants, observed the futility most eloquently in one of his letters home: "If this is war, I trust NZ will never be fool enough to forget that to avoid war one must be too strong to invite war."

Desperation

After having spent much of the day inside, we craved some fresh air. A cable car runs directly from the centre of town - departing from an unlikely looking doorway between two shops on Lambton Quay - to the top of the hill and the botanic garden. The lookout provided us with a view over the bay and out to the erstwhile prison island of Matiu/Somes, which sits at its centre.

Let the train take the strain

We made a return trip on the cable car, but then found ourselves (under my leadership) walking uphill again through a series of steep steps to The Terrace. The hilly route was due to a topological miscalculation and failure to take into account gradient when navigating our way to Garage Project - a brewery set up in a petrol station.

Hopper-esque

The extended walk had worked up a thirst, which was admirably quenched at the brewery taproom. Given the draconian liquor licensing laws, getting alicence to sell on site is almost impossible, so the brewery offers generous tastings, growler refills, and a shelf bending under the weight of bottles and cans for sale under off licence.

Not a bad'un in there

We were met by a very friendly and knowledgeable server who ran us through the eight beer taps and even cracked open a can of their seasonal special, Pan Pacific, brewed in commemoration of the Anzac soldiers. While all went down a treat with our four-strong group, the best for me was the Venusian Pale Ale, which was bursting with Asian citrus flavours, from kaffir lime to lemongrass, and was underpinned by a malty IPA backbone. Garage Project carries an astonishingly varied range for a brewery only four years old.

To the next four years

After a prolific beer tasting, food beckoned, so we took the shorter, less hilly route back into town and stopped at Little Beer Quarter. LBQ was cozy, if a little busy, as it was 2-for-1 meals night. We availed ourselves of the offer and the excellent selection of beer on tap.