Wellington – the 3D city

Last week, my work took me to the capital of Australia’s next door neighbour: Wellington in New Zealand!

For a European, travelling to a new country is not something very spectacular – especially if your wife has a different nationality than yourself. Oftentimes, it’s a matter of a few kilometers by car until you reach a border. But for Australians, going to a different country involves a flight of several hours. Which is what it took me.The first impression you get when flying into Wellington is that it sits right on the edge of water and mountain peaks. Not like the fjords in Norway, where you have sheer cliffs of several hundred meters. It looks more like a mountain range that has sunk and been flooded by the sea. Quite breathtaking.

This impression is reinforced once you leave the airport and make your way to the city proper. The city is cut in half by Mount Victoria, which rises almost 200m above the sea level. And the only ways are either around it or through the one two-lane tunnel.

On the drive in we took the route along the beach, offering great views of the bay and the mountains across the water.

Since we were in town for a few days, I had the opportunity to explore the city on foot.

I really enjoyed my time here. The people are friendly, the food is great and the surrounding landscape is breathtaking. I cannot wait to get the family over here and explore more of this city and the surrounding countryside.