{"id":16615,"date":"2022-07-20T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=16615"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:39:44","slug":"beehive-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=16615","title":{"rendered":"Beehive & Five"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally Published July 22, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Wellington, New Zealand from Little Rock, Arkansas<\/em> \u2013 Here\u2019s what I\u2019d choose to do on my second full day in Wellington, after the bus tour overview and the birds-eye view from the helicopter. Wherever I go, I try to see things I couldn\u2019t see anywhere else in the world. I\u2019d like to see everything<\/em>, but time and a creaky knee keep me reasonable. So I pick and choose the \u201cmost uniquest!\u201d<\/p>\n

Parliament and The Beehive<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201ccapitol building of the country\u201d is always top of my list, and here, that is Parliament House<\/em>, with its supporting building, the Beehive<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Parliament House<\/em>, in use since 1918, is Edwardian neoclassical in style, a distinguished building that features New Zealand materials such as Takaka marble; marble columns line the front. The building contains the debating \"\"<\/a>chamber, speaker\u2019s office, and committee rooms. It is open to visitors most days, though access to the public galleries above the debating chamber are possible only when the house is sitting; a dress code applies.<\/p>\n

The adjoining Beehive<\/em> , completed in 1981, looks much like its clever name. Up top is the Cabinet room and the Prime Minister\u2019s office; senior ministers are situated according to their ranking in Cabinet. Other facilities include function rooms, a banqueting hall, Pickwicks bar, Copperfields caf\u00e9, a theaterette used for press conferences, a gym, and a swimming pool! The country\u2019s National Crisis Management Center is also located in this building. Guided tours available for both buildings; also educational visits for students.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.parliament.nz\/en\/visit-and-learn\/visit\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Te Papa<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wildly popular Te Papa is the national museum of New Zealand, six floors of cutting-edge interactive exhibits in an architectural wonder of a building. Its full name is Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, <\/em>which translates to \u201ccontainer of treasures;\u201d it is considered the home of New Zealand stories. Over 30 million people have come through since it opened in 1998; Trip Advisor rates it one of the top 25 museums in the world; Lonely Planet \u201cone of the top 500 places on earth!\u201d Te Papa’s clever, contemporary and bicultural approach puts it in a league of its own; the blend of artifacts and modern art powerfully shows how the nation’s heritage is so essential to modern-day culture. A good starting place is the Mana Whenua<\/em> exhibit about New Zealand\u2019s indigenous people, the M\u0101ori. The museum is open every day but Christmas and entry is free.<\/p>\n

I would not miss this! https:\/\/www.tepapa.govt.nz\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Historic Red Cable Car<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Never mind that the Red Cable Car is one of Wellington\u2019s top tourist attractions; if I lived there I\u2019d find a way to ride it at least once a week! Definitely an interesting way to get to work; imagine watching the seasons change from the seat of this charming vehicle, the cloud formations over the harbour, the sunset. A 5-minute ride leaving every 10-15 minutes from Lambton Quay, there is art too; murals at the terminal, active light installations in the tunnels, and a museum at the top. The Wellington Cable Car Museum is housed in the original winding house; two floors of exhibits tell the story of the cable car, in operation since 1902.<\/p>\n

A must! https:\/\/www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz\/English\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Zealandia<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Zealandia is described as \u201ca fully-fenced pest-proof urban island that is the closest thing you\u2019ll find to being in New Zealand before humans arrived.\u201d This pioneering eco-sanctuary just outside the city is an incredible slice of wilderness that turns back time on Wellington\u2019s native environment. New Zealand was once an isolated land free from mammals, which meant native plants and birdlife flourished, including flightless kiwi. But with the arrival of humans came pests and predators, which caused the extinction of much wildlife and endangered many species. Two-hour tours with a guide; track down the rarest wildlife such as tuatara, prehistoric reptiles that have a real third eye, or giant weta that look like armored grasshoppers, or kerer\u016b, whose flapping wings sound like a helicopter! Night tours by torchlight might reveal glowworms, ruru owls, or the little spotted kiwi; end the evening with a cup of bushman\u2019s tea.<\/p>\n

A definite visit here; ranks high on the Most Uniquest<\/em> scale. https:\/\/www.visitzealandia.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

WETA Workshop<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>W\u0113t\u0101 are giant flightless crickets, some of the heaviest insects in the world; something you\u2019d see at Zealandia. The WETA Workshop is not about crickets though. It\u2019s a design and manufacturing facility that turns out props, costumes, and creature effects for such Oscar-winning movies as Lord of the Rings<\/em> and The Hobbit<\/em>, also The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, Blade Runner 2049<\/em> to name a few. If you are among the millions of fans who love these movies, you\u2019ve seen their work onscreen. I\u2019m not, but I appreciate the craftsmanship and ingenuity it takes to make things that look so other-worldly and grand. Several tours, 45-minutes or full-day; watch people \u201cjust doing their work\u201d in jobs that kids would die for.<\/p>\n

Unique, for sure! https:\/\/www.wetaworkshop.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hannah\u2019s Laneway and Cuba Street<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Hannah\u2019s Laneway<\/em> is Wellington\u2019s little food haven. It\u2019s right in the middle of town between Leeds and Eva Streets. Stop at the shop window of Fix & Fogg<\/em>, for peanut butter tastings and gourmet toast, it takes its name from the classic Around the World in 80 Days<\/em> characters Detective Fix and Phileas Fogg. Their peanut butter does go around the world \u2013 they ship to Australia, Singapore, the USA, beyond. Stroll on down the lane to Golding\u2019s Free Dive<\/em> (bar), Leeds Street Bakery<\/em>, Wellington Chocolate Factory<\/em>, Lashings<\/em> (brownies!), Fortune Favours<\/em> (brewbar), Shepherd<\/em> (restaurant), Pizza Pomodoro<\/em>, Hanging Ditch<\/em>. Hanging Ditch<\/em> is a cocktail bar where the range of liquor is, really, hanging \u2013 their bottles of booze are suspended from the ceiling, dangling overhead on bungee cords which the bartenders pull down to pour. Great selections of local beer and wine here too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cuba Street<\/em> is Wellington\u2019s most colorful street; get splashed by the famous Bucket Fountain<\/em> (yes, buckets); discover quirky cafes, vintage clothing, record stores, art galleries. End the night at Midnight Espresso<\/em>, one of the last places open late for midnight feasts; the caf\u00e9 counter is piled high with vegetarian frittatas, pies, sandwiches, cakes and slices, flamboyantly decorated with fruits and flowers; the vast short-order menu is written large on the caf\u00e9 wall; liquid refreshments are freshly squeezed juices and high-octane Havana espresso, of course.<\/p>\n

My kind of quirky unique! https:\/\/fixandfogg.com\/usa<\/a> and https:\/\/www.wellingtonnz.com\/visit\/cuba-street\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally Published July 22, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Wellington, New Zealand from Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 Here\u2019s what I\u2019d choose to do on my second full day in Wellington, after the bus tour overview and the birds-eye view from the helicopter. Wherever I go, I try to see things I couldn\u2019t see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3464],"tags":[3677,3698,3695,3696,3694,3697,3690,3693,3661,3466,3692,3691],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16615"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16631,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16615\/revisions\/16631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}