When we thought about moving over to New Zealand, we didn’t seriously consider anywhere other than Wellington.
We had explored the South Island in March / April 2013 and fell in love with what we saw but as beautiful as Dunedin was, it’s too far south and Christchurch was a little … damaged (and moving out here wasn’t really on our radar). We ruled out Auckland after spending a few days there in February 2014 (it’s a lovely city but not worth leaving Brisbane for).
We visited Wellington for the first time in the middle of winter in 2015 and we fell in love with it. We were only here for two days … one of those days was magical; clear blue sky, a real crispness to the air and a wintery warmth to the sun. Everyone in Wellington was out walking along the waterfront or sitting on the bay drinking hot drinks. It was brilliant.
Last year, before we committed to the move, we did a March / April tour North Island. The few days that we spent back in Wellington, it was already a bit like coming home.
We’ve lived here for a little over a year and I think I’ve fallen a little further in love with Wellington. I challenge anyone not to. The food is amazing, the festivals are numerous and varied, the coffee is great, the beer is magnificent, the countryside is beautiful and the weather is not as awful as you might fear.
It’s not for everyone. Many Kiwi’s are extremely disparaging about Wellington – and it’s not hard to see why. Wind and Earthquakes are often cited (can’t argue with that); but also … well, if you’ve seen Portlandia, it’s that. Quirky (which is not for everyone).
I don’t know how long we’ll stay … certainly we’re here for another 18 months; so come visit (or revisit), because we love to show Wellington off.
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Flickr is updated less frequently … but the pictures are better.
The Obligatory Blog 