From Tragic WWI Battle to Bucolic Sheep Station

Days 43 and 44, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise

Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 14-15, 2022; Wellington, North Island, New Zealand.

There are so many things I know little about, and World War I is one of those subjects. So, the amazing exhibit on the 1915 campaign at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast enthralled me. The exhibit was a highlight at the Te Papa Tongarewa museum in Wellington. It tells the story of the landing and struggle to hold the perilous ground through the eyes and words of eight New Zealanders who fought there. In a collaboration with Wētā Workshop (see special effects, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, etc., etc., etc.), larger-than-life (2.4 times human size) models of those Kiwis make the stories personal.

In retrospect the invasion seems perhaps a lost cause, but one result was the emergence of Australia and New Zealand as independent states with national identities. To this day, the two countries commemorate the landing date — April 25 — as Anzac Day.

I also spent time at the museum in the Te Taiao Nature exhibition showcasing the geology, native flora and fauna and natural history of the island nation. Bush City took me outside for a bushwalk. And the top two floors feature the national art collection. I can understand whence the national museum’s name, from the Māori for “container of treasures.”

My morning in the museum was unhurried. It was serendipity that we had two days in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city on the southern edge of the North Island.  For never-explained “operational issues,” the cruise canceled the port of Kaikoura on the South Island and gave us an extra day in Wellington. I haven’t been to Kaikoura (the albatross capital of New Zealand), so I don’t know if it was a good exchange. But I did enjoy the extra day in Wellington.

After the morning at the museum, I walked several blocks to the base of the cable car, stopping for a slice at Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza. The funicular took us up a high hill overlooking the city. Instead of riding back down, I set off to return to the heart of the city through the Wellington Botanic Garden. After a short distance, I worried that the path was too steep for the new knee I got almost a year ago. But the thought of walking back up was enough to keep me going, taking just baby steps on the steepest parts.

The path took me through wild landscapes of hydrangeas, succulents, camellias and ferns, interspersed with a children’s playground, discovery garden, garden shop and eventually a rose garden and cemetery. It was early days for blooms (spring here in the southern hemisphere), but I enjoyed some time sketching on a quiet bench. What was promised by the signage to be a 35-minute walk to the “Beehive” – the parliament building back downtown – took me a couple of hours. Because the ship was docked overnight, I could take all the time I wanted.

The second day I took a ship’s excursion outside the city. We circled the Wellington harbor and followed the Storm Coast all the way around to the east head – the cliff that marks the eastern entrance to the large bay. During the nearly hour-long drive on the coast, we passed through suburban communities and holiday-home villages. Our weather luck has continued, and we could even see a snowy peak on the South Island, across the Cook Strait.

After passing the two lighthouses that mark the eastern head, we arrived at Pencarrow Station, a cattle and sheep farm. The owners served morning tea and demonstrated the herding capabilities of their sheep dogs.

My only complaint with the tour was with the driver, who felt the need to fill the entire time of our return journey with his positions on politics and society in general. You know when someone starts out by saying, “Now I’m not a racist…” that things will just go downhill. I’ll let the shore excursion department know that this driver needs to learn when to just be quiet and let his passenger sleep.

As we were leaving Wellington, the captain reported that in the past two days we added 10 new Covid isolations to the 13 he previously reported, for a total of 23. We are still required to wear masks indoors, on excursion buses and whenever we can’t socially distance, with the exception of when we are eating. I’m seeing almost 100 percent compliance.