Wellington - Te Papa Museum

We continued to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It's known as Windy Wellington for the unrelenting winds and storms that hit Wellington year round. Luckily, we brought the good weather with us. We had an appointment to pick up our Self Containment sticker. It felt good to finally put it on, after our hustle to get the certification in Tauranga. And now we wouldn't have to worry about showing our papers anymore.

We had two full days in Wellington as we waited for the ferry to take us to the South island. We decided to check out the free Te Papa museum. In our opinion, this is the best museum in NZ. It has everything, on five floors. You could easily spend several days here learning about the most important aspects of NZ.

The first exhibit was about biodiversity. A huge collection of sea shells, models of birds and large marine wildlife gave an impression of the huge variety of life that NZ has. The most impressive was a preserved giant octopus, many meters long, in a clear display case. It was also interesting to learn more about the still alive and extinct bird species, such as the kiwi, dodo, moa and the giant hawk that hunted the moa.

A different exhibit talked about tectonic activity, and how that affects NZ. The damage caused by recent earthquakes was shown through interactive displays and pictures. It showed how NZ is part of the bigger picture, being on the edge of the Pacific Rim. But also how this has shaped the geography (specifically the mountain ranges) of the islands. One room gave a feel for the immense size and temperatures within the Earth. And rocks of different weights showed how much difference there is in densities of different layers in the Earth.

The most impressive floor demonstrated the impact that the arrival of humans, first the Maori, and later the Europeans, has had on NZ. It showed a lot of emotion at lost biodiversity, inspiring conservation. But it presented the events objectively and without judgement, not placing blame on specific people. Circumstances were different. Regardless, there is still a lot we have to learn. In particular, NZ used to be covered in forest. This was cleared and burned by Maori to create gardens for food. With the settlement of Europeans, greater exploitation of resources began. In 80 years, half the land was converted to pasture. Immigrant Herbert Guthrie-Smith called the destruction and disappearance of indigenous plants and animals as "a sad, bad, mad, incomprehensible business." Additionally, an overview of the farming lifestyle, change in production and the change in ownership from Maori to European people was discussed.

The final floor we went to was dedicated to Maori culture. We explored many beautiful wooden carvings, a large canoe and religious house. Traditions were explained and we could listen to Maori music. And the myths that explained the arrival of Maori from across the ocean were shared. Three symbols represent the Maori (people's) interpretation of "mauri" (life force).
1. The "ko" (digging tool) - symbolizes our connection to "whenua" (the land)
2. The "toki poutangata" (ceremonial adze) - symbolizes "tangata" (the people)
3. The "tauihu" (canoe prow) - symbolizes "korero" (the expression of stories)Read more