Outside the Archives, Wellington

The National Archives are located in downtown Wellington. A restaurant, The Thistle Inn, across the street was built in 1840. There are modern buildings next to old ones.

The archive building has 5 levels. The top floor has the break room, where you can look out over the harbor. Much of it is industrial, with freighters getting loads of timber to haul to other ports, container ships, and 2 ferries, which operate between the north and south islands. One nice day, we wandered across the street and walked to the entrance to the Westpac Stadium, which hosts many concerts and large sporting events.  While out, we took some photos looking back toward town and the archive building. It is on the far left of the photo, with the red brick top, and gray under. In the lower middle, the small building with a peaked roof, and red/maroon edge, is a Maori Marae, or gathering place.  Look it up.

We watch these freighters being loaded a lot. The logs are brought in via rail and truck, then are stacked by size. Picker type forklifts then carry several up close to the ship, where they wrap a cable around them and lift the logs in with one of the cranes. When the ship sits low enough in the water that you cannot read the name on the side of the ship, it is loaded and ready to go.

The blue boxy looking ship in the center right is one of the ferries that make 3 round trips a day to the south island. Cars and trucks drive right in, then the ramp closes. Containers and trucks also can drive up onto the deck. More after Christmas, when we have ridden it.

The building with the flag on top is called the Beehive, and is the Parliment Building. The photos below are just other views from across the street near the wharf.