Wellington

Gollum at the Wellington Airport.

When in New Zealand, don't forget to visit Wellington. It is the capital and is located at the bottom of North Island, which is an hour away by plane from Auckland. Here are the places I went to when I was there.

I went to Weta Cave. It's not really a cave, but a warehouse of the Weta Digital Studios, the creators of Lord of the Rings, Avatar and District 9 to name a few. They have a small museum at the side of the complex with props and other memorabilia from their films. Entrance is free.

Statue of Prime Minister Richard Seddon in front of Parliament building.

I also visited the New Zealand Parliament in downtown Wellington. I took the visitors tour with my friends. Unfortunately, taking photos was prohibited inside. Sayang, maganda pa naman sa loob. Naalala ko tuloy nung nag-tu-tourguide ako sa Batasan nuong nag-lo-law pa ako. Anyway, if you have the time, do take the tour. It's free, it's in downtown, and it's worth it.

Right across Parliament is Victoria University's Law School. This is where I would have gone to school had I chosen to take my LLM.

Just a few steps from the law school is the Wellington waterfront. Really nice harbour. Clear and calm waters.

Behind me is an enlarged version of the Treaty of Waitangi.

At the other end of the waterfront is New Zealand's largest museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. It's a really big museum with many exhibits on Maori (the indigenous people) and Pakeha (British colonizers) culture and history. It's also an art gallery. Entrance is free for the regular exhibits.

From its terminal in Lambton Quay, you can take the Wellington Cable Car up Kelburn Lookout where you can get a fantastic view of the city. It's like taking the funicular up Victoria Peak in Hongkong. One way is NZ$4.00, while a return ticket is NZ$7.00. I just got the one way ticket. And then from Kelburn Lookout I just walked down the Botanical Gardens. You'll end up in the vicinity of Parliament building.

Richard viewing the telescope at Zealandia.

My friends and I also visited Zealandia. It's a bird sanctuary in Karori, behind the CBD. If you like bird watching and nature, this is the place to go. It has nice trails for walking, and it's so peaceful you can hear the birds chirping. Entrance to the sanctuary valley is NZ$18.50.

Since Wellington is the capital, it goes without saying that all diplomatic posts are there. The Philippine Embassy is located in the quiet neighborhood of Thorndon. It's the quaintest and homiest embassy I've been to.

Ambassador Benavidez with Richard, Kristine and I at the Philippine Embassy in Wellington.

We were lucky that on our visit the Philippine Ambassador, Virginia Benavidez, was there to receive us. She was very friendly and even hosted lunch for us at her residence.

What's a visit to Wellington without ending it at Cuba Street. Here we are having coffee at Espressoholic with our hosts Arla and Norman. Cuba Street is the city's center for nightlife, music festivals and vintage shops. It's supposed to be the hippest area in Wellington.

I spent a total of three days in Wellington, which was just about right. My friends and I flew Jetstar and stayed at a bach (a vacation house for rent).

Mount Ruapehu

View of Mount Ngauruhoe from Mount Ruapehu.

It's supposed to be Spring already, but it's still quite cold, wet and windy here late in September. So, since it still feels like Winter, I might as well share my ski trip to Mount Ruapehu back in July.

The AUSC Lodge in Whakapapa Ski Area.

I joined the PGSA organized trip to Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park, around 300 kms south of Auckland. Our group met in city campus at 9:30 in the morning. We rode on 3 rented vans. We stopped at Taupo, had lunch there, and then we proceeded up to Whakapapa Village. The total travel time was 4 1/2 hours.

With fellow Filipino scholar, Ginny, at the AUSC Ski Lodge.

We stayed at the university's ski lodge. The lodge was like a dorm, with bunk beds, a common kitchen area and living room, as well as shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. The differences, I noticed, was that the fireplace was actually used to warm the lodge, and there was a separate room for skis and boots, and there was one big dry room where you could dry your clothes.

When we arrived at Mount Ruapehu it was already late in the afternoon and we couldn't go skiing anymore. So we just relaxed at the lodge. There was no wifi and no TV, so I joined the others and drank beer.

It's funny since it was cold outside, it made sense to use the porch as an outdoor fridge for our drinks. In fact, dun namin pinalamig yung beer. Anyway, being a student-run facility, we all had to do chores. Mine were to wash the dishes and clean the staircase. I was glad I wasn't assigned to clean the toilets. Ugh! 

The next day was ski day. Now, I've seen snow before, but I've never skiied. So I'm very thankful for this opportunity to go skiing during my postgraduate studies.

Anyway, I had earlier borrowed snow boots and a ski jacket from a friend, so that saved me a bit. I paid for my ski lesson (NZ$70 on promo in GrabOne. Regular rate is NZ$110) at the entrance, and then rode a ski lift to Happy Valley, which was the beginner's ski area at base level. There, I rented a helmet (NZ$12), ski pants (NZ$17), and a pair of skis & poles at the shop. After getting in my gear, I walked out and assembled with the others for our group ski lesson.

The instructor had us do some drills. It was quite easy to learn how to move on skis. The hard part was to learn how to stop. And I struggled with that. I kept on crashing. After an afternoon of skiing, next to kids the age of my 3 year old daughter going faster than me, I came to the conclusion that skiing wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I had fun and it is worth the experience, but I wouldn't do it again.

I decided to return the ski equipment early, and take the lifts to the top of Mount Ruapehu. You thought the cable car rides at the town fiesta were scary? My God, other than a thin metal bar across the seat, there was nothing else that secured you on ski lifts. Literally, pag nadulas ka, hulog ka. But the views were spectacular.

Sunset from Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand.

It was the middle of winter when I visited Mount Ruapehu, but the mountain was not fully covered in snow. Nevertheless, I was amazed with the views. If only for the scenery, a trip to Mount Ruapehu is worth it. Did I mention that Mount Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe were film locations for Lord of the Rings? They interchanged depicting Mount Doom.

Anyhoo, the next day, we went hiking to Taranaki Falls (will blog about this next time), before returning to Auckland. All in all, I spent 3 days in Mount Ruapehu. If you have a chance to visit this place, I encourage you to do so. I guarantee you'll enjoy the trip.