Our Place

Sunday

Ro slept in till 8:30, meaning he still had a good 9.5 hours of sleep after his late night, so we were optimistic for the day ahead. Sherry helped herself to the coffee in the room, thinking it was free, only spotting the price at the bottom of the minibar list after she ripped it open - $6.50! Fortunately, the nice breakfast buffet was complimentary for Priority Club members, but Ro was in a finicky mood and didn't eat much. Jean had forewarned Sherry, "take some warm clothes, because when the weather turns in Wellington, it TURNS." No...frikkin'...joke. While the weather yesterday was picture perfect, today it was cool, drizzly, and downright blustery. Mark's hat blew off as soon as we walked outside the hotel! No wonder Kiwis call gumboots "Wellies."

Oshkosh, not Prada. Who knew?

The hotel is only about a kilometer from the museum we were going to (less than the distance to Westpac Stadium), but between the gale-force winds and Sherry trying to hobble along on wet pavement, we only walked about 2 meters before we decided to hail a cab. The short drive along the waterfront revealed lots of interesting places that Sherry and Ro will have fun exploring next weekend (more on that later). We weren't the only ones with the notion of visiting the museum on this rainy Sunday - the place was packed.

Ro was too excited (or cold) to stop and pose

Te Papa Tongarewa, or just "Te Papa" meaning "our place" in Maori, is the national museum of New Zealand. Sherry and Mark found the details of New Zealand's history fascinating, although many of the exhibits involved reading, so Ro moved us through the museum at a brisk pace. Fortunately, they had multiple "Discovery Centers" for kids scattered throughout the building, one of which featured a huge animatronic baby that the kids could control with a few levers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_New_Zealand_Te_Papa_Tongarewa

Checking out the Mountains to Sea exhibit

The colossal squid is the largest invertebrate on the planet

This whale heart is suffering a fatal embolism

Who knew New Zealand had Velociraptors?

That's where we live!

And that's where I buggered my knee!

Even the café was kid-friendly

The revolutionary, world-beating Britten V1000. Still ahead of its time 20 years later

The current special exhibit, A Day in Pompeii, required an admission fee (Te Papa is free but donations are encouraged), so we waited to see how long the rest of the museum took before forking out for it. Turns out the permanent collections were MORE than enough to fill a whole day, so we never did get to see Pompeii. The museum was like a mix of the Natural History and American History Museums at the Smithsonian, only about NZ, of course. Highlights included the colossal squid (we'd seen the story of how it arrived at Te Papa on Discovery Channel), Maori huts and war canoes, a towering display of the Treaty of Waitangi (akin to NZ's Constitution), whole rooms devoted to nearly every major immigrant group, funky art, and an interactive architecture exhibit that reacted to your movements and shadows.

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/

Dwarfed by a waka taua (Maori war canoe)

Shoes off in the wharenui, please!

Inside the Maori meeting house

A wharenui for everyone, Maori and Pakeha alike

Tea time!

The "Big Baby" was a prop designed for Peter Jackson's The Frighteners, but ended up on the cutting room floor

This corned beef hash cow was a commentary on the decimation of Pacific Islander cuisine by white culture

Entering the nostalgic Golden Days exhibit

We stayed at the museum for a good 6 hours, getting pushed out as it was closing. We could have easily spent more time there, as the place is huge. There was also a whole garden section with a waterfall outside that we only saw through the rain-spattered windows. Mark asked one of the museum workers where the good restaurants were nearby, and she directed us to Allen Street a couple blocks from the museum. As soon as we stepped outside, the cold wind hit us like a slap in the face. Despite some lollygagging and whining about the balmy Wellington summer weather, we eventually reached the inviting block of restaurants.

Ro had the roof sculpture garden to himself

Wellington Harbour from the top of Te Papa

The ever-controversial Treaty of Waitangi

To keep the peace, we let Ro choose which restaurant on the block we ate at, as we would have been happy with any of them. He randomly picked the Indian place, which was very good. Lemonade (i.e. Sprite) in hand, Ro was happy again. Mark had the fish curry, which was excellent (although less so later around 3am), Sherry her standard Saag Paneer, and Ro the buttered chicken, with plenty of naan to go around.

http://www.satayindia.com/

Glad to be off our feet

It was still too chilly and drizzly for a stroll along the waterfront after dinner, and it only took a few seconds of walking for Ro to plead, "Can we get a taxi, dad?" We retreated to the hotel pool, where Sherry soaked her aching knee in the spa tub, taking care to keep it well away from Ro as he jumped in and out of the lap pool and spa. The lap pool was well over his head, but he cannonballed in and swam the entire length of it; we marvelled at just how far he had come in his swimming in just a few months. Sherry left Mark and Ro to finish playing at the pool while she relaxed in solitude in a hot bath, then we put Ro to bed as we fell asleep watching the final of the Australian Open.

Warm at last!

Say "cheese," babe!