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[Previously]
My new's year resolution was to get outside of Auckland at least once a month,
every month for all of this year.
[World map showing Wellington in relation to Los Angeles]
[Title: Travelling Cliff. Travel. Gear. Food. Drink. Let's Go!
My latest adventure would take me over 650 kilometers south of Auckland
to the capital of New Zealand, Wellington.
It's the world's windiest city and also "the coolest little capital in the world".
With a population of close to half a million people you have the likes of Sir Peter Jackson
and Weta Workshop who call it home.
From the airport you're immediately immersed in the city's arts and culture scene,
mix of architecture, and sports and politics.
So let me show you some of my favourite things to see and do in Wellington.
[Wellington Airport]
[where you can find a Smaug the Dragon on display]
[also Gandalf and two giant eagles over the food court]
[Lambton Quay and Cable Car Lane]
[where you can catch the Wellington Cable Car up to the Cable Car Museum]
[and more...]
I've got a couple of things planned for today.
I'm gonna head to Zealandia.
There's a free shuttle from here
but before I do I'm going to the Cable Car Museum.
There's a cafe here too so I'm thinking of having a coffee
depending on time and after I've done Zealandia
I'm going to walk down through Botanic Garden
and then catch a bus to Mount Victoria.
From there, I'm going to climb up to the look out
and come back to the Observatory or Space Place.
It's open from 4 pm so I'm going to come back and
catch the cable car again for that.
Okay everyone, I caught the free shuttle
down to Zealandia.
You can walk down from where the cable car stops but
I recommend just catching the free shuttle.
You might be able to see the behind me the fence
I believe the guy said it's a six foot fence
It helps keep all the pests out
I'm gonna go check it out shortly
but I might go have a coffee first.
[Montage of Zealandia's Heritage Area]
[Intersection of Lake Road and Valley View Track]
[I took Valley View Track or the hilly track as I'd call it]
[Intersection of Valley View Track and Morning Star Track]
I should've brought some water and insect repellent.
I think the main one is water
I should really have brought some but
I'll have to carry on.
Zealandia is a 500 year project
It's going to outlast any of us.
Ooh, a suspension bridge.
[Walking across the bridge]
[Tui, a native New Zealand bird]
[also a Kaka, a large New Zealand parrot]
It is three thirty five and there's just so much to see.
I might have to come back.
I don't know where I am, I'm kind of lost.
I'm just gonna spend a bit more time
trying to see if I can spot any more birds.
so that's it for this update.
I love how green it is up here
I didn't realize how much I like trails.
Normally there's probably some animals,
maybe Takahe, in this location.
I can't see anything at the moment.
They could be hiding in the bush.
Maybe they're sleeping, who knows,
but I'll give you a quick tour.
The sign says, "Do not share your food with the Takahe".
[Pylon Track]
[Stops walking]
[Picks up camera]
I see one and it's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be.
[Dramatic music]
[Takahe, a large flightless bird]
[Having climbed the Pylon Track I have to go around it]
[I couldn't go back and I knew nothing about them]
[After a few minutes I decided to go for it]
Okay, little fella. I'm just gonna walk past you.
It's okay.
[Slowly walking past the Takahe]
My god, that thing's huge.
Bye bye now.
That [Takahe] looked agressive.
I don't want to mess with that thing on a bad day.
I really did think it was going to chase after me,
try to bite me, attack me or something [giggles].
There's another one.
This one looks a little bit better,
a little less worse for wear.
There's the city down there.
A map!
So I'm here...
[Realizing I have no idea where I am]
[curses]
This fence reminds me of Jurassic Park.
We've got a fence,
even warnings on it.
We've got an exit route in case of an emergency.
Native wildlife report.
I've seen two Tuis,
heard a million of them, they're all over the place.
And I've seen two Takahe.
We're going onto the Union Mine Track.
Lets see where this takes us.
You can tell from my huffing and puffing, lots of walking.
I should've had my ten thousand steps in by now.
Still going.
Status update. Twelve thousand and six hundred steps
so doing well, doing well.
That [bridge] looks familiar. I've been that way.
This flatter track [Lake Road] seems to have a lot more
family oriented stuff.
They've got drinking stations for the birds
whereas the hilly path [Valley View Track] was definitely
a lot more fun
but you don't see as much wildlife.
I saw so many Kea birds [actually Kaka] back there,
four, at least and I was hunting to find them
on the hilly track.
Anyway, I've got to get out of here.
It's well after five and I think this place closed
at five o'clock
That's why there's no one around
so I've got to get out of here
before they shut me in.
I'm not actually sure if the shuttle's still working.
[And it's not]
This is the result.
I have to walk back to the cable car and botanic garden.
It's a lovely walk although I think it took about
ten minutes to drive here so that's going to be a fairly
long walk.
I'm back where I started.
The Cable Car Museum is behind me.
The walk itself wasn't too bad.
I think it took about fifteen to twenty minutes.
I could kill for a milkshake [right now],
or thick shake, strawberry.
or a coffee, that'd do.
Lets see if Space Place is open and then
walk down Botanic Garden.
[Wellington Botanic Garden]
[Australian Garden]
[Walks onto a look out]
This [bush] feels like deja vu [Zealandia].
[Montage of the various flora found in the Botanic Garden]
[Treehouse Visitor Centre]
I'm up by the top of the waterfall and peace garden.
It reminds me a little bit of the waterfall in Karekare.
I think that's it for me here.
[Bus stopping]
I made it to the bottom of Mount Victoria.
I'm gonna head in that direction if I'm not too lost.
I'll try and make my way up to the look out.
[Pirie Street Play Area]
The sign says [this way to] "Hobbit Hollow".
Does it look like we're in the Shire?
[More walking]
I can see the top up there.
[Taking photos of Wellington City]
[Panning shot of Wellington to the City]
We're not quite done. We've still got another
set of steps to climb up but then I think that's it.
Yeah, almost done here for Mount Victoria look out.
[Look out walkway to City, Oriental Parade]
Lots of people at the look out.
I'm heading down to Oriental Parade on
one of the tracks.
I've got a little bit further until I get to Oriental Bay,
it's a walk back to the hotel and then we're done.
Check out that view, wow.
There's Westpac Stadium on the other side of the water.
[Montage of the Beach on Oriental Parade]
[Calm ocean waters, sun, blue skies, and mellow music]
[The architecture]
[Boat sheds]
[The waterfront]
[Te Papa. National Museum]
Okay, but umm [interrupted by siren]
Yeah...
[Sad music]
[Exhibit: Gallipoli. The Scale of our War]
["tells the story through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders"]
["who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances"]
["2,779 Kiwis lost their lives on Gallipoli"]
["and many others were scarred for ever."]
That's it for me from Wellington.
I guess it's back to Auckland and
I've had a really good time here.
I can't wait to come back.
[But wait there's more...]
[Westpac Stadium]
[A Helicopter lands on the field with the home team's mascot]
[Montage showing the Hurricanes (home team) playing the Crusaders]
[The home team's mascot, Captain Hurricane, knows how to work the crowd]
[Panning shot showing the circular shape of the stadium]
[The Hurricanes would go on to win 29-19. Good game]
[Fade to black]
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Thanks for watching. Cliff at Travelling Cliff.