Windy Wellington-January 20

This morning we awoke as we were docking in Wellington, the Capital of New Zealand. It is on the southmost point of the North Island. The capital was moved from Auckland after the gold rush in the 1850's. The population shifted so drastically that people worried that the south island might become a separate colony. The population of greater Wellington is 450,000 and the city itself only has 180,000 people. He said they also have 40,000 sheep and 70,000 possums. The possums are really a problem for the area.

After breakfast we went to the Parliament and saw the building lovingly called The Beehive. It is the office building for the politicians. We also saw the former chamber for the Upper House when this parliament had two "houses." The wood carvings and the remembrances from visits by the Queen were interesting.

We visited the room decorated with Maori carvings and weavings and designed for meetings concerning the Maori people. It was a spectacular place for a meeting. The description showed how careful- NOW- all sides are to be certain the Maori are represented.

We went to a wonderful museum Te Papa meaning "Our Place." It was a marvelous blend of New Zealand wild life and Maori customs. The earliest name of Wellington, from Maori legend, is "Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui." This means "the head of Mari's fish." The legend says Maui hooked a fish and brought it to the surface of the water pulling up the North Island.

This area is prone to earthquakes and at the museum we saw a large globe with the fault lines marked. Didn't realize how many there are. Alan, our guide and driver, said they average about 200 earthquakes a year but most are not large enough to be felt but only register on the ricter scale. New building codes have been put into effect to prepare "for the big one" which people believe will come. Downstairs in the Parliament building you could see the suspension system that helps the building move in an earthquake.

We also went to a Welcome Center-(Wharenai) which had a beautiful carvings depicting the many Maori tribes. The top of the meeting house has a carving depicting Maui and his 4 brothers holding back the sun so the day could be longer and they could catch more fish.

The welcome ceremony has several steps- people gather outside, a song is sung by a young woman to invite people to enter, men are seated in the front and women in the back, speeches of welcome and situation are given, people press their noses to each other, people shake hands, and then they eat.

We saw a replica of the treaty signed in 1840 between the English and the Maori. After the Englsh had been here for a while, the French navy began to gather. England and the Maori feared the French so in exchange for royal protection for the Maori, a treat was drawn-up. Some of the Maori refused to sign because the document didn't translate directly. Other chose to sign because they believed they would receive royal protection. Actually the British began taking the Maori land without any compensation.  In 1960 many Maori tribes who had received no compensation made claim and received either back their land or some financial compensation. Sounds just like the way we treated the Native Americans to me.

We rode up Mt Victoria and had a beautiful view of the city. We also went by a heavily forested area where the opening scenes in the Fellowship of the Rings was filmed- where the Hobbits were hiding from the dark horses. The trees naturally didn't have those huge tree roots- those were created by styrofoam. The director agreed to return the ground to its natural state. All through the area several towns advertised a day long "Lord of the Rings Tour."

Downtown Wellington has a beautiful beach. The early ships used sand for ballast when they came to get wood. The sand was just dumped so it was decided to use it to build a beach. Since today is Sunday many, many folks were enjoying the water and the sun.

The day went from being a bit chilly to being really warm.