Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Wellington - the private cable car city


I liked Wellington – it's an interesting place.
I particularly liked the old public cable car – it reminded me of the funicular railways in Valparaiso, Chile, which I rode on earlier this year.
But what surprised me was that many folk who live in houses perched on tops of the steep hills, have their own private funicular railway or cable car. Apart from climbing hundreds of steps this is often the only way of accessing their property.
Wellington also has an excellent maritime museum and actual film footage of the wreck of the passenger ferry ‘Wahine’ which was a reminder of how rough the waters of Cook Strait can be and why Wellington has been dubbed the ‘Windy city’.
Photo: from the Observatory looking down over Wellington

1 comment:

World of the Written Word said...

Glad you liked Wellington. When I was living in Hamilton (an hour's flight to the north) and came here for work once a month, I noticed that I always felt better when I arrived. I think it is because it is so windy -- the air is so clear, with no smells of traffic. It was our first choice of a place to live when we returned to NZ from New York. And it has turned out to be awesome. Great public transport (not just the cable car), and it is noticeable that all the passengers are smiling quietly to themselves as they look out the windows. Pleased with themselves for living here.