Southwest, easyJet, JetStar… what the heck? Is that like a bargain paint color as well?
We took JetStar from Auckland to Wellington… that was an experience. Never flown with a 29” seat pitch before. Zowie… if you’re taller than 5’5”, I strongly recommend you find another carrier or at least pay for the exit or bulkhead.
I gotta say, I LIKE the idea they weigh your carry on baggage (then tag it to show it passed) – you get 7 kilos (16 lbs) unless you pay for an extra 7 kg. Period. As a result, you could stow children in the overhead bins, there’s so much available space. They were freaking empty.
You also pay for your checked luggage (I kind of freaked out and bought 40 kg each in advance, as we had two cases each (winter clothing) – that cost $20NZD to bring it up from the original 50kg I bought – because it costs $15NZD (US$9) per kilo at the airport.)
Our planned crew was in a car accident en route to the airport, so they had to scramble to get a replacement – not a bad trick at only 70 minutes’ delay. It didn’t sound like it was serious but we all know even a fender bender can take forever to sort out.
Wellington is even hillier than Auckland. Holy cats. Fortunately, they have a funicular (which they call a “cable car”) to get you up the worst hill. $6NZD to avoid that? Oh, hell yes.
From there, you can walk back down to the business district via the botanical garden, which is perched on the cliff. It’s a steep walk, but at least you have gravity in your favor.
Half way down, we met… a cat.
He’s a lovely old boy, but didn’t catch his name and he didn’t offer it. Weird to meet a friendly cat, honestly.
Except… he displayed the same psychiatric disturbances as MaeMae. He was lovely and loving on the path, as we approached the gift shop, halfway down the hill.
Went into the gift shop, wandered around, spied him reclining on a squidgy stool. I walked gently over to resume our love fest and discovered between the stroll in the garden and his entering the bookshop, he underwent a personality change.
And bit me.
Damn, cat! What the hell?
No response other than a twitching tail. Huh. At least MaeMae tells me what’s wrong. Guess we weren’t on good enough terms for conversation.
The other startling and amazing thing about the botanic garden: their fragrance garden. Beloved wondered if they were piping the scent in, a la Disney’s Soaring ride where you get treated to an olfactory as well as a physical experience.
Nope. Really scented flowers. But that wasn’t the amazing thing to me. What’s really great: signs in Braille. What a wonderful way to include the disabled.
From there we walked through the old cemetery. I love the Kiwis… the city planners wanted to take out the graveyard, which dates to the 1840s, to put in a freeway. This infuriated the locals. After negotiations, they sent the freeway through it, but managed to keep most of it intact.
They kindly provide a printed guide which describes many of the… ah… residents. We both went “OH!!” when learning one of the angel statues was erected by a family for their three little boys who all died of scarlet fever in a month.
Vaccines. Can’t say enough good things about them.
We also went to Te Papa, the museum in Wellington (everything is so walkable here…) – free, amazingly, and wow. Went through their immersive experience on Gallipoli, the Aussie/NZ battle in Turkey during WWI.
To say that was intense is an understatement. I’d heard of ANZAC before, but damn, that was awful – they got mown down. The museum made 2x life size statues for the displays which were incredible.
On a lighter note, the walk along the harbor was a hoot. They’re definitely not a litigious society – at least, not like us.
There’s a diving platform (two heights) actually IN the harbor. The water is crazy clear and the platform is at a serious depth. They assume you’re not an idiot, so it’s open for whoever wants to jump.
Examining Misadventures 