All's Well that Ends in Wellington (12/18/2005)

Hi Folks:

The South Pacific shimmered as we descended beside it, meandering between the sea and the Tararua Range, the hills (OK, low mountains) that taper off slightly enough to allow a city to punctuate them. Wellington, our location until Thursday, is the world's southernmost capital city, and damn it if it isn't one of the quaintest and coziest too.

The last few days have been filled with a lot of driving and exploring -- to and from the subtropical Bay of Islands up north, to Rotorua and its thermal pools and (true and fabricated) Maori culture, through Tongariro National Park and the shooting locals for Emyn Muil and Mordor, via Palmerston North and the NZ Rugby Museum, all culminating in Windy Wellington. Whew. All the driving took place amid luscious green meadows (think Ireland) and small towns (think Vermont) -- the latter of which the locals deem "townships". (Note to self: don't talk about them at an All Blacks-Springboks game.)

On the way, we have run the gamit on Kiwidom - participated in (I mean that literally), a Maori "hangi;" dipped into natural thermal pools; seen geysers blow off their steam, schmoozed with quirky natives, emigres, and tourists; and visited sites of natural (volcanoes), political (Parliament), and cultural ("Lord of the Rings") importance. You wear them well, NZ.

If Boston is a city on a hill, DC a city with a Hill, Auckland a city of hills, then Wellington is a city surrounded by hills - a green belt hugging the town and keep its coziness from sprawling -- one can traverse the whole thing in about 20 minutes. The pedestrian zone that bisects the centre is a nice touch, remiscent of a mid-sized European ville. Whereas my last email likened Auckland to NZ's amulet, Wellingtonians might refer to it as a choke chain -- though such nomenclature might exaggerate a bit, the capital's only visible fault thus far divides tectonic plates. Not too shabby.

One last thing: if "King Kong" opened to fanfare in LA, then Wellington saw said fanfare and raised it to "1812 Overture" proportions. Ads are atop every lamppost, proudly spouting "King Kong: 14 December 2005. Wellington." So tonight, it's off to the Embassy Theater - where Kong made his Australasian premeire five days ago - to see him on the largest screen in the Southern Hemisphere.

Take that, Montevideo.