30 Days in Wellington in Pictures

I recently re-read my goals and targets for 2015 and realised that I had not yet completed the ‘take a photo a day for a month’ challenge.

I also felt this blog would be lighter compared to my last Auckland post – I decided not to edit out my feelings too much because I wanted it to be accurate. Yes, the photos are ace, it looks amazing, but, as with all life changes, there are ups and downs.

I was looking forward to moving to Wellington, which coincided with me starting the challenge. It’s actually been really useful to look back over my first month, so here’s what it looked like:

Day 1: Friday 13th November

I had dinner with Chelsea last night and she told me about some house viewings she’d already had, including a place that had two rooms available. The rent was reasonably priced so I asked if she minded if I viewed the other room. Google maps said it would take about an hour from the YHA I was staying at. 

But here’s the catch, it’s quite uphill and I had to cut through the botanic gardens. There were a few times that I actually thought I was lost in the woods and would never get out, but I made it… To the bottom of an extremely steep hill… That I needed to be at the top of. But isn’t the view stunning? 

Day 2: Saturday 14th November

Today we took the cable car up to the botanic gardens, which kinda felt like home because the colours were quite autumnal and we saw some great views across the city. 

Day 3: Sunday 15th November

There was a pretty moody sky hanging over Wellington today, and it rained on and off most of the day, which meant it was perfect for the Te Papa museum. I learnt a lot about the history of New Zealand, the influence Europeans had and saw the 100 year anniversary exhibition of Gallipoli.  

Day 4: Monday 16th November

I bought this ahead of the #TravelBookChat on Twitter with Monica the Travel Hack and Girl Tweets World. This was the first Twitter book chat that I ever joined and it’s really great to feel like you are part of something and to be surrounded by people that are passionate about both travel and books. 

Day 5: Tuesday 17th November

I don’t usually go in for the whole selfie thing, but today I did. Because this is something of a momentous occasion. I am standing in my new room after being in NZ for only two weeks. It’s moving day! 

Day 6: Wednesday 18th November

A legit street sign in New Zealand. It’s signs like this that make me question if I’m actually walking on a real road or not. 

Day 7: Thursday 19th November

…When you book a midnight showing for the final Hunger Games and you’re super excited, but it turns out that you miss the screening because it’s midnight on wednesday, not Thursday (this is confirmed by the guy on the phone when he laughs at my mistake).  

The Embassy Theatre

Day 8: Friday 20th November

I watched the sunset from the deck tonight. It’s glorious but deceptive! The weather has been miserable requiring a LOTR day.  

Day 9: Saturday 21st November

Another one of many deceptive photos, it looks like a lovely day but it was pretty windy and cold. When we ask Wellingtonians when it will get warm, they just laugh…

Day 10: Sunday 22nd November

Today I had my first hike in Wellington with my roomie and our buddy. We hiked the trail just above our house which provided some great views over the city.

Day 11: Monday 23rd November

I spotted this really great wall art in Wellington today, close to the government buildings. The caption I wrote for the day was particularly random, apparently on the breakfast news they discussed that there are 4 million cats in Wellington, which is bad for the native bird population… And this made the breakfast news. 

Day 12: Tuesday 24th November

So today I finally finished this book and frankly, it was amazing. I’ve been reading it on and off since October. I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Day 13: Wednesday 25th November

The best decorated Christmas section I’ve ever seen at Kirkcaldie & Stains on Lambton Quay. It was festive heaven. If only for a brief moment.

Day 14: Thursday 26th November

I found this street in Karori (my neighbouring suburb). It reminded me of home, which never really feels that far away with Whatsapp and Skype. 

Day 15: Friday 27th November

Yesterday I spotted this massive guy on my path. Which is something we’ve noticed about the bees here, they’re often on the floor… 

Day 16: Saturday 28th November

Today was lovely again. We headed to what I thought would be a Christmas fair… It turned out to be an International Fair. I knew it was going to be… Different when I heard the bagpipes and saw the Morris dancers. It was pretty interesting to see the house of the UK High Commissioner to NZ though. 

 

Day 17: Sunday 29th November

Sunday’s are for relaxing, especially when the weather is this nice. This was the view from my yoga mat this afternoon. 

Day 18: Monday 30th November

Tonight we raced up the hill behind our house to watch the sunset. It definitely did not disappoint.  

Day 19: Tuesday 1st December

This was from the sunset last night. It’s true what they say about Wellington, you really can’t beat it on a good day. I’m glad we didn’t wait for the sun today because there wasn’t any. Sometimes it’s like living in a cloud.  

Day 20: Wednesday 2nd December

The weather was pretty terrible today so I got my boxes ready to post tomorrow! Starting to feel a little more festive even though it’s starting to feel like summer here. 

Day 21: Thursday 3rd December

This is the route back to where I live. I’m not sure if this photo accurately captures the steepness of it, but it’s really steep! Walking home is a legit workout.  

Day 22: Friday 4th December

Finally hiked Mount Victoria for the first time, it was a long day because we cut through the botanic gardens to get there and walked back along Oriental Parade (the beach). 

Day 23: Saturday 5th December

Just another Saturday in Wellington. We came across these guys playing with fire – they were really impressive!  

Day 24: Sunday 6th December

One of the many ironies of moving to the other side of the world is that I happen to be living in an English style cottage, complete with roses round the front. 

Day 25: Monday 7th December

This was one of my leaving presents from work, with a lovely message on the inside cover. It’s been a while since a book has really grabbed me. I read it in 3 days and it was breathtaking. 

Day 26: Tuesday 8th December

The Beehive, also known as part of Wellington parliament. I think this picture is great, however the first time I saw this building, I could barely stop the words from tumbling out: “wow. I’ve never been so underwhelmed to see a building that I have been looking forward to seeing”. 

Day 27: Wednesday 9th December

One of my favourite views of Wellington, especially on a nice day, as I make my way to the city centre. 

Day 28: Thursday 10th December

Bit of a #throwbackthursday to Sweden from earlier in the year.

Day 29: Friday 11th December

My parcel got opened by customs, I wonder if it’ll find fame on ‘one of those to shows’.

Day 30: Saturday 12th December

The infamous windy Wellie

You’ll notice that towards the end of the 30 day challenge I started having way more ‘reading’, ‘inside’ and ‘chill’ days. This is fine, except, I realised that I was doing that thing where you get relatively settled in a place and you take it for granted and don’t make the most of it.

So I set myself a challenge: to explore as much of Wellington as possible in 7 days as if I am a tourist who only has that much time. I knew I’d write a post about it so I’m trying to keep the activities varied, but I’m also trying to stay true to my own interests so they’ll be lots of nature!

Stayed tuned for the seven day tourist challenge!