Final day of our long weekend in Wellington
On our final day in Wellington, my friend Jane and I decided to visit the national museum as so many people had told us before we left Canberra, that we ‘just had to visit’ the Te Papa Museum. And as you know sometimes you take travel advice and other times you just don’t have time or the inclination; this time we did and we were so glad!!
We walked from our hotel and reached the marina where the museum is located. It’s really beautiful walking along the water front and we spent a bit of time just looking at some of the structures and waterfront apartments.
At the museum, which like most museums is free to enter, the first exhibition we visited was Gallipoli: The scale of our war. As the museum’s website says…’this ground-breaking exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances’.
‘Each person is captured frozen in a moment of time on a monumental scale – 2.4 times human size. The large-scale sculptures took 24,000 hours to create, and countless hours were spent researching their histories’. They were absolutely amazing, every wrinkle, frown and muscle accounted for!!
It was a magnificent exhibition as these ‘people’ were so life like and so life like; their stories so sad as over 2,500 New Zealanders lost their lives on Gallipoli.
Being Australian, Gallipoli has huge significance not just for the New Zealanders but for us Aussies too, as it was on Gallipoli shores on 25 April 1914 that Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS) fought their first military action, during the First World War and over 8,500 Aussies lost their lives. The pride the soldiers took in that name ANZAC endures to this day and 25 April is remembered every year with a Dawn Service both in New Zealand and Australia.
After this sombre visit we walked through the rest of the museum and enjoyed a history lesson on the New Zealand indigenous people (Maori) as well as some other exhibitions. Six floors of amazing historical and contemporary exhibitions.
Before we left we went up to the roof of the museum and had spectacular views across the water.
We then did a walk around the city of Wellington (my feet killing me as I had worn shoes that caused blisters) but I soldiered on!! We did stop off at the famous Cuba Street which is known for its bars, cafes and restaurants and funky clothing stores.
We found Fidel’s Cafe that Jane had read about and popped in for a cool drink. But it smelt of old fat used for deep-frying so we didn’t even finish our drinks and left. It was a bit funky inside but the smell was too much for us to stay and look at all the revolutionary posters and photos on the walls.
Then it was time to go back to our hotel (by taxi due to my painful feet) and get ready to take our shuttle to the airport to return to Canberra.
Must say… I loved Wellington and am looking forward to returning to New Zealand some time soon; perhaps next time to the south island.
Little Miss Traveller said:
Those extra large sculptures in the museum are amazing. We didn’t visit Wellington on our trip some years ago – would definitely like to tour round South Island as well one day. You’ll probably get there before me so I’ll look forward to picking up some tips from you! M.
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joliesattic said:
How amazing. Thanks for the tour. At first I thought those statues were wax, like the wax museum in California, but actual statues. So lifelike. You can almost feel their pain. Love it!
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CrazyChineseFamily said:
Those sculptures are really interesting, especially due to their size. So far I have only seen 1 to 1 “replicas” or smaller sized sculptures
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carentaylor said:
What an amazing and emotional trip through the museum! Wellington looks and sounds to be a fantastic place to visit 🙂 Hope those shoes have become kinder than they were back then?!
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Amy said:
Thank you for the stories and touring, Sue! The lifelike sculptures are so moving.
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runawaywidow said:
What an interesting museum. Your blog is great!
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sileas said:
That was an interesting historical insight, I actually never heard about that! Gosh, the sculptures look real… And yes – shoes that cause blisters are the worst during a city trip
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Aquileana said:
A wonderful post and great photographs… Che Guevara has become an icon worldwide, despite the end of certain ideologies
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks Marion. I am looking forward to going back. Wineries are supposed to be gear on the South Island. Yay!!!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Gear comment. Thanks so much for stopping by.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Sometimes you see something that truly is amazing and these statues were just that. Thanks so much for always stopping by.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ha ha. Haven’t worn them again Caren but don’t want to throw them out until I try one more time.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes Amy they were. Thank you fir always stopping by.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oh what a lovely comment. You have made my day. Thank you!!!!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Hi Julia. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you so much. Yes he certainly has.
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Wendy said:
Gosh those sculptures are just amazing.. Even looking closely they just look like real people. What a fabulous trip! x
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carentaylor said:
My good advice to you Sue(after similar experiences over the years) get some olive oil and a hammer and beat them into submission before another trial 😉 Wishing them and yourself further happy trails! 😉
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Lignum Draco said:
Fascinating museum. A dedication to Fidel in Wellington? Interesting. 🙂
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much Wendy.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oh thank you very much. Great advice. I am going to do this. Much appreciated Caren.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes strange really. Who would have thought a street named after him in small Wellington.
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America On Coffee said:
Most interesting! I love museums, especially as this New Zealnd’s travel share, highlights and compliments their culture over time.
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Wendy said:
You’re very welcome! x
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much. I love museums too.
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vinneve said:
I was just about to ask you about your trip to NZ when I see this and gladly read 🙂 We used to visit Te Papa every year as it has a different theme every time we come back so my son & I love going back but alas too far now to do it 😦
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Such a beautiful country and Wellington is lovely. Thanks for remembering Vinneve. Shame you can’t get back as much due to distance isn’t it.
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vinneve said:
We plan to visit this year so watch this space 🙂
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Looking forward to your posts. Yay!!
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Debbie said:
What a shame Fidel’s cafe proved to have such oily food.
Gallipoli is burned into all Australian’s psyches, one way or another.
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JoHanna Massey said:
Oh I thank you for this post. My lack of knowledge of the history of World War 1 is shameful. Thank you for being part of my determination to remedy that.
And about Fidel’s. Isn’t it amazing how the sense of smell knows best!
All my best to you, Sue T. 🐞
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
All my best to you as well JoHanna. I am like you a bit short on history so very glad I learnt a bit too. It helps me.
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sidran said:
Interesting history lessons,Sue.The statues look so real and their stories must be heart breaking.
Amused to see Che Guevara there.
Sorry for popping in late.Cheers.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ah it’s ok. Thank you as always for stopping by. Yes it was very sad to hear and read the stories. These men and women were so young.
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Dina said:
Lovely tour of the museum. Very nice photos of the statues! 🙂
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much Dina.
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