I work as a volunteer in Zealandia, an urban wildlife sanctuary in the heart of Wellington, the 'coolest little capital' in the world. Here you can follow some of the things that I do, such as nest monitoring, feeding and talking about one of the rarest birds in the world or showing visitors the wonders of this amazing little valley.
When not in Zealandia I spend a large part of my time enjoying the wonderful outdoor environment Wellington has to offer. Biking, running, roller -blading, swimming and dragon-boat racing are some of the pleasures to be had amongst the tree clad hills, the winding roads and the ever changing harbour.
Living in Te Upoko O te Ika (the Maori name for Wellington meaning The Head of the Fish) is never boring with its wild climate and rugged terrain. I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I will enjoy describing this amazing place and its animals to you.

Thursday, 27 February 2014

Wellington's Cable Car.

The cable car with Wellington City in the background


The city of Wellington is in the shape of half a bowl if you get what I mean. It curls around the harbour and rises steeply away from it. The university is situated at Kelburn, a steep rise from the city. The easiest way to get up to this suburb is to use the cable car. It has been running for 112 years and is of the funicular type. As one cable car goes up another comes down. They act is a counter balance to each other.    For more information check this link:    Cable car information
Early days for the cable car

An early cable car is now in the nearby museum
 I remember it in the good old days when you could ride on the outside. It was a lovely start and end to the working day to be perched on the specially designed seats and looking out over Wellington as you trundled along, disappearing into tunnels at regular intervals.
If the weather was right, travelling on the outside was a pleasure in the seventies
 Nowadays everyone is stowed carefully and safely on the inside, protected from the weather. At the top the views over the city are incredible. The Botanic Gardens are to one side and Victoria University on the other. The Cable Car Museum is situated at the top as well as a restaurant which makes the most of the brilliant views.

At the top
Ready to climb on board. Note the funicular cable system
View from the cable car

At the moment Wellington's Arts Festival is running and the cable car has got into the action. My visitor and I went for a ride as it was a beautiful day and we wanted to experience the cable car and its Arts Festival addition. It was pretty cool.We got on quickly and sat up the front to get the best view. There are several tunnels and one was done up as a light display which was great fun for everybody. As we went through the tunnel lights flashed different colours in a psychedelic pattern. Only one tunnel was lit up though - we wanted all the tunnels to flash and dazzle.
Once down we did not get off and rode up again for the fun of it. Very, very cool!

The tunnel lit up for a light show
Lights changing colour and flashing
                            


































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