Journals #16 and #17: Wellington
3/17/16-3/18/16
Cover Photo: “Give the World a Show”
Sheep Spotted: 0(!)

So I finally made it to New Zealand’s Capital! Wellington is a very scenic place- the entire city wraps around a large Ocean bay and is full of modern buildings and green hills. Unlike poor Christchurch, Wellington has not been that affected by the earthquakes, so thus it has lots of large brand new buildings along the waterfront.

There is also a lot going on here- today I accidentally walked into a large competition downtown between two different Fireman units- they were doing a relay race of sorts where they did everything from sprinting with people on their shoulders, uncoiling (and carrying) long fire hoses, running up narrow staircases, and (of course) knocking things down with their axes. It was very entertaining- although one team thoroughly dominated the other.

Wellington is also the first city that I am not renting a car-which appears to be fine as long as you’re willing to take the bus or walk (I prefer walking, although in full disclosure I logged about 18 miles today). Similar to other large cities, there is not a lot of parking outside of expensive parking lots- so if you do decide to rent a car when you visit here (which you absolutely should!) then keep in mind you’ll likely be paying for parking most of the time.

The downtown area is fantastic- tons of bars, restaurants, and live music. My favorite bar so far is a small dive bar called “Goldings”- it’s a bit hidden, but they serve awesome craft brews and pretty decent food (I had the Kiwi version of a Reuben Sandwich). Interestingly enough, I was referred to it by another craft bar (basically I complained to the bartender so much about the quality of beer in New Zealand that she ended up taking me to Goldings).

Also downtown is the fantastic Te Papa museum (pronounced TeeePahpuh) (if you haven’t noticed already- Maori words always emphasize the “e” sound and multi-word names are usually pronounced as one word). It’s a 5-story modern museum full of exhibits about New Zealands origins, its current state, and most recently an entire exhibit dedicated to the creation of Dreamwork’s movies. The main museum is free (which is awesome) but the Dreamwork’s exhibit costs about $10 US.

Finally- last but certainly not least- I drank a lot of beer. Here is the review for the 7(!) beers I’ve drank since the last blog:

1) Black Dog “Kiwi Unleashed” IPA: Just when I thought all was lost; this beautiful beer saved me from Hop deprivation. Running only about 6.5%, it has a huge hop hit up front with a smooth, flavorful finish. An excellent beer.

2) Yeastie Boys “Pot Kettle Black (PKB)” Porter- I know that I’ve largely ignored dark beers in these reviews and the reason is that most of them had been so pathetically low in alcohol (Under 4%) that I refuse to order them (in defense of my taste buds). This beer however clocks in right above an American Porter at 6% and is 100% excellent. Full of dark chocolate notes with a solid hop finish; this beer is an awesome dark beer for both food pairing and happy hours.

3) Kereru “Resonator” IPA: Full of delicious hop flavor. A legitimate American IPA at just under 7% alcohol, this beer brings its ‘A’ game. Starts and goes down biter- this beer is excellent.

4) Mac’s “Hay Day” Farmhouse Ale: I need to make a confession: I love Farmhouse ales, and thus I will always (unapologetically) rate them super high. That said, this one didn’t quite do it for me. It is really low in bite at 5% (a recurring theme) and although it has the sweetness of a Farmhouse Ale, it lacks the signature punch that I love. All things considered- still a good beer, just needs stronger flavor.

5) Black Dog “New Zealand Pale Ale”: Smooth sweet tasting pale ale- as a reminder, since in NZ most IPAs would qualify as “sessions” in the US, the pale ales are closer to light beers. That said- great, fresh tasting beer- just not a whole lot of flavor.

6) Mac’s “Great White” Unfiltered Wheat: I’m not sure how to rate ‘Wheat’ Beers in New Zealand since the name usually refers to the American take on a Hefeweizen, which is a heavier, less sweet version of the German style. This is also the first Wheat beer I’ve seen in 2+ weeks in New Zealand- so I’m guessing the style has not quite caught on here. Anyways- this looked and tasted like a standard Hefeweizen: The color was beautifully gold and the taste light and sweet.

7) Monteith “Black” Lager: Decent beer- compares favorably with a German Bach beer. I had it with a burger and it worked perfectly – dark enough to pair with the meat but not heavy enough to overwhelm the meal.

That’s it for now- tomorrow I’m doing a tour of the actual production studio for the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit!

-MB