Full Circle

Day 144: Wellington, North Island

Auckland, New Zealand
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Auckland - 'City of Sails'. More pleasure boats per capita than any coastal city in the world.

'Another day in Paradise!' chortles the D-J from station More FM after a forecast that temperatures may rise as high as the twenties. Considering it's mid-summer and we are on the same latitude as Barcelona, this sounds like a good joke. But in Wellington, New Zealand, days like this don't come very often. Storm systems seem fatally attracted to the nearby Cook Strait and the high winds that funnel up the harbour are part of Wellington folklore. Aucklanders laugh at Wellington's windy weather, but as they say down here: 'Wellington blows, Auckland sucks'. Unfortunately this sudden tranquillity has rather wickedly coincided with a Festival of Wind taking place this weekend. Paragliding and kite flying displays may not get off the ground.

Wellington, with a population of 330,000, may be smaller than Auckland (where almost one in three New Zealanders live) but it is the capital and from what I can see from a walk around the streets it seems determined not to be stuck with an inferiority complex.

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PALIN'S GUIDES

Series: Full Circle
Day: 144
Country/sea: New Zealand
Place: Wellington
Book page no: 199

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