Day 49 Wellington, Cable Car, Carter Observatory

Thursday (Day 49) was sunny but windy. There is a cable car here in Wellington that first went in to service in 1902. The Cable Car runs from Lambton Quay in the heart of the central business district and after a 5 minute climb drops you off at the top entrance of the Wellington Botanic Gardens. So we headed downtown and parked at the only lot in the downtown area that would hold the van. It was a about a 15 minute walk to the cable cars but I wanted a look at the area so we took the long way. Oh, alright, I had the map upside down and we had walked 6 or 7 blocks in the wrong direction before I noticed it. Anywho, it was a nice day for a walk except for the wind. We finally reached the entrance to the Cable Cars which leaves from under an office complex only to find out it was temperally closed due to a potential fire. So we went for an early lunch and just hung around for awhile. When we went back it was all clear so we boarded for our short trip up the hill.

Wellington Cable Car

When we got to the top we found not only the Botanical Gardens but the Cable Car Museum and the Carter Observatory. We also found that we got a pretty good view of Wellington.

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We spent time at the top going through the Cable Car Museum and the Carter Observatory. It was an enjoyable afternoon learning about both the history of the Cable Car and how it came to be as well as getting a refresher course in Astromony.
We also spent a little time going through the gardens but found ourselves spending most of our time chasing this little fellow around. They don't sit still very long and it took quite a bit of time to get a picture that was any good.




Tui




Tui with White Turf Showing



They are an attractive bird and can often be heard singing a beautiful melody long before you see them. If you are fortunate to glimpse one you will recognise them by their destinctive white turf under their throat, which contrasts dramatically with the metallic blue-green sheen to their underlying black color.

It was late in the afternoon when we boarded for the return trip. We stopped for coffee, hot chocolate and a snack before getting to the van and driving back to the park. We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing