Wellington by the Tardis

(Following Mum's footprints, from Wellington to Nelson)

We actually met some bad weather and found ourselves (well, really myself, having only packed crocs...) in need of travel supply. In there some nifty black shoes hide.

 The strong winds, a regular if not daily occurrence in Welly, didn't trouble our ladyship-pilot and her first mate, who landed the plane extremely smoothly.

And after a quick stop to the Youth Hostel to get lighter bags, we walked on the warf

... and entered Te Papa museum.

here's the first glimpse, on the Te Aotearoa section (there are 6 levels, with 2 temp exhibitions and 2 permanent). In several display you find yourself listening to a Moko (petit-enfant) and a Koro (Grand-pa) talking about legends, with swirling maori pattern on the ceiling.

A little mystical.

 Rachel did wonder why these door were so tiny, for your average Maori warrior size. And she got Intel! Apparently it is designed for tight fit so that if you are inside and you don't like that warrior that's coming, you can beat them out.

Belwo is a more modern version of Maori art. This was taken in a cotemporary Marae (sort of community hall), and it features the Maori symbol overlain by the Treaty of Waitangi.

There Mano and I filled a form about our identity. We had to think about how we came to Aotearoa, who was our father, our mother and where were the Mountain and the River we knew.

Somehow Mano picked Olympus Mons from Mars....Go Percy Jackson.

Mano and Rachel chilling while taking the sight of Wellington :)

However, Te papa has a little more in store than traditional Maori culture...