A few weeks ago (gosh, I think it was over a month ago...time is flying!) Stacey and I decided to explore the Wellington's Town Belt Walks, a network of paths that criss-cross all over hills around the city.
We started the walk on the path near Aro street, near Te Aro school (the colourful buildings, above). We walk through the neighborhood every day, had noticed the signs for the walking tracks (paths) and made a note to explore them sometime.
The paths take you through all sorts of terrain, up and down hills and past creeks and bridges. Sometimes it's so quiet you forget you are still in the city. Occasionally you reach a peak and get great views of the harbour and the city beyond. The walkways are not difficult or steep, but it can be confusing sometimes when it comes to finding your way. Signs are often hard to spot and you really have to look for them.
Speaking of getting lost, of course we did just that. It turns out there are lots of paths with different names that comprise the town belt walks. We were clueless. We ended up on the City to Sea Walkway, which takes you all the way out to Island Bay. We were lost, but were having fun exploring, and walked quite a while before finally deciding to get off the path. We ended up catching a bus back to town from Newtown.
The paths take you through all sorts of terrain, up and down hills and past creeks and bridges. Sometimes it's so quiet you forget you are still in the city. Occasionally you reach a peak and get great views of the harbour and the city beyond. The walkways are not difficult or steep, but it can be confusing sometimes when it comes to finding your way. Signs are often hard to spot and you really have to look for them.
Speaking of getting lost, of course we did just that. It turns out there are lots of paths with different names that comprise the town belt walks. We were clueless. We ended up on the City to Sea Walkway, which takes you all the way out to Island Bay. We were lost, but were having fun exploring, and walked quite a while before finally deciding to get off the path. We ended up catching a bus back to town from Newtown.
And now, speaking of Newtown where it's located, we take a short tour of the Wellington Zoo! It's has been a while since I've been to a zoo. Wellington zoo is small in comparison to some others I've seen, but seems very well run (at least from what little you can tell on the surface). One indicator I use to gauge a zoo's character is how the animals are behaving. Do they seem happy and active? Are they healthy looking? Are their enclosures clean and well-designed? I would say that Wellington zoo's inhabitants scored high marks on all of the above.
A Meerkat and an Australian Pelican (he was HUGE!)
Wellington Zoo has the funniest signs. Almost all of them feature a cartoon person being assaulted by one of the animals, a direct side effect of some inappropriate behaviour. The way the signs are worded is explicit and leaves no room for misinterpretation. There is no mistaking what will happen if you break the rules. "If you lean over the fence, you will fall in and the lions will eat you." OK, maybe I'm exaggerating about being eaten, but it's almost that funny!
The signs may have been clever, but they did not appear to keep everyone in line. We observed as an annoying woman showed her brat how to poke at an Emu bird through the fence using a rolled-up zoo map. Stacey suggested to the woman that she was not being a good role model, but the words fell on deaf ears. I wanted to grab her hand and stick it through the fence and let the Emu bite it!
The signs may have been clever, but they did not appear to keep everyone in line. We observed as an annoying woman showed her brat how to poke at an Emu bird through the fence using a rolled-up zoo map. Stacey suggested to the woman that she was not being a good role model, but the words fell on deaf ears. I wanted to grab her hand and stick it through the fence and let the Emu bite it!
A baby roo with momma
It was while watching the Emu lady that I remembered one of the main things I don't like about going to the zoo. I can't stand the people. Either zoos attract the lowest common denominator or we all are taking stupid pills when we walk through the gates, because people in zoos exhibit some of the worst behaviour. Why is that? Who knows. At least most of the enclosures at Wellington Zoo are very large and provide plenty of hiding spaces for the animals. When the animals have had enough of homo sapiens, they can get out of the spotlight.
4 comments:
Great account! I love your telling of the Emu woman. We went to that place in Florida where the Manatee's swim into the river and Molly and I were beside ourselves at the bad behavior of the patrons.
Regarding zoos, I just stumbled onto this new podcast called Radio Lab, a show done on public radio in NYC. That had this great episode about zoos. You should check it out.
Ken
Enjoyed your walk to the zoo tale, and your comments.
I did not realize that the zoo was that close to the CBD!!
Ian
Hi Ken & Ian - Thanks for the podcast tip! I'm downloading it now. I like to listen to them on my i-pod when we walk in the morning. It keeps my mind off the fact that I am exercising (and that it's so cold!)
Yes, it's actually really close to town. The chimpanzees have a great view of the city, in fact. If we end up moving to a different apartment (which is starting to look likely...) then Newtown was one of the neighborhoods that is high on the list. We might have to get a zoo membership and go over there and bonk stupid people more often.
Podcasts are the best. I think it is the only way I can trick my body into exercisign!
Ken
Post a Comment