Last Weeks in Wellington

Classes concluded on June 8^th.  For me, this day marked complete freedom to have fun as well as create my own schedule.  From June 8^th until July 5^th (the day I left New Zealand for Fiji), I had a lot of fun and did a lot of cool things.  I went to the Pinnacles which you can read about here and took a trip to Cairns which you can read about here.  During the time I also had to take finals; if you’re curious, you can read about how they are structured in New Zealand here.  The rest of the time was spent indulging in food, alcohol, and fun experiences with friends.  One of my goals before coming to New Zealand was to expose myself to a variety of foods.  I also had a list of restaurants that I had wanted to go to around the city, so I spent the last month in New Zealand indulging in food and going out to eat a lot.  It minimized cooking and cleaning quite a bit! If you’re curious about the food I tried, restaurants I ate it, and random day adventures I took, keep reading.  Otherwise, this may be a boring post for you.  I love food, and one of the reasons I love traveling so much is because of the food I get to eat and try along the way.

Lebanese: To celebrate the survival of my first final, Suzanne, Ashley, and I decided to go out for dinner and dessert.  I had discovered a Lebanese restaurant, Phoenician Falafel, while searching for the Harley-Davidson shop earlier in the semester.  We all ordered different things, but we all loved our food.  I ordered a Makanek, a Lebanese sausage.  I really enjoyed it.  Afterwards, we went to a restaurant known for its desserts called Strawberry Fare.  This restaurant deserves its own blog post, so stay tuned.

Our Lebanese food

Indian: Suzanne, Ashley, and I wanted to try Indian food.  If I remember right, Suzanne had finished with her finals so we wanted to celebrate.  There are tons of Indian restaurants around the heart of Wellington.  We decided on Great India because it was close to some places we were planning to go afterwards.  The restaurant was very fancy and I spent more on myself than I would have liked, but I definitely can say I like Indian food.  I don’t remember what I ordered exactly, I just know it was chicken-related.  We shared rice to go with our individual meals and the bread was to die for!  I could have just ate that and been satisfied with my meal.  Afterwards, Suzanne had a Lord of the Rings event to attend.  Ashley and I went to a bar called El Horno to share a pitcher of Sangria and watch the All Blacks rugby match in the bar.  It was quite the night!

Soul Food aka “New Orleans”: Suzanne, Ashley, and I went to an adorable southern themed restaurant called Sweet Mother’s Kitchen for lunch one day.  It was the first time I had BBQ sauce on a sandwich in months!  Talk about heaven to the taste buds!  It was an American style restaurant, so it may seem out of the ordinary, but a taste of home was just what I needed.  It’s a cute restaurant, and I recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Wellington one day.

My burger from Burger Wisconsin

Burger Wisconsin: That’s right!  There is a burger joint in Wellington, actually, it’s a chain restaurant around New Zealand, called Burger Wisconsin.  I often had many Kiwi’s mention it to me when they found out I was from Wisconsin.  My friends Ashley, Justin, and I had to take a bus to one of the locations because it wasn’t in walking distance from our flats.  It was kind of strange taking the bus somewhere because it had been a while since I needed to take the bus for anything.  My burger was delicious, but it doesn’t top Wisconsin burgers.  However, New Zealand puts a lot of interesting toppings on their burgers that make them unique such as aoli sauce, relish, and beet root.  I will miss their creativeness!

Hell Pizza: Wellington has three religious based pizza companies, but they are completely separate from each other: Heaven, Hell, and Wholly Pizza.  Sam, Cameron, Ashley, Suzanne, Kayla, and I all went to Hell Pizza one evening.  We all ordered our own personal pizza’s, and I have to admit, this was the closest I found to the pizza tasting like it was made in the states.  Pizza in New Zealand is just…different.  That’s the best word to describe it.  Anyway, my point is, the pizza there is delicious!  They have this “Russian Roulette” game there.  One slice of pizza gets a drop of their hottest chili sauce put on it.  You eat the pizza with more than one person and someone gets the hot slice unknowingly.  Trust me, it’s hot.  And it didn’t sit well with me either…in case anyone was wondering.

Last Meal: I left New Zealand on July 5^th.  On July 3^rd, my group of friends decided to have a nice last meal together.  We ate a restaurant called Osterio del Torro.  I ordered Pasta Cabronara, something I’ve become quite the fan of since being in NZ.  The meal was wonderful and we concluded the evening with drinks at The Welsh Dragon and dessert at Strawberry Fare.  This was also the night that a 7.0 earthquake rattled Wellington.  The earthquake was about 300 miles northwest of Wellington, so there was no damage to the city itself.  However, the 20-25 second earthquake caused quite the excitement amongst my friends and me.  Something so powerful right before I left made leaving a little easier.  In case you didn’t know, Wellington sits right on a fault line—something I didn’t know until after I was already there!

Everyone after our last meal together

Otari-Wilson Bush Walk: The weekend before our last week of classes, Kayla, Suzanne, Cameron, and I decided to escape the city.  Cameron had heard of Otari-Wilson through a friendly Kiwi she encountered who described this place as her “heaven on earth.”  I would say it was a pretty accurate statement.  I wish I had known about this place sooner because it reminded me a lot of hiking the bluffs in La Crosse.  It was wonderful to escape the city and see gorgeous sites while hiking.  I’m thankful I was able to go to this place once because it refreshed me.  I love the excitement of the city, but I am a country girl at heart.  Getting out of the city is something I will always need to do to recharge.

The crew at Otari-Wilson

Shinobi Sushi: The day before we left, Sam, Suzanne, and I decided to get sushi one last time before we left Wellington.  I have to admit, I’ve developed quite a love for sushi and I know I’ll really miss it once I get home.  I don’t think sushi in the Midwest will be quite the same as sushi in Wellington.  We went to for lunch to a restaurant recommended through National Geographic’s “I Heart My City-Wellington” and from my Kiwi friend, Adele.  I’m so glad we went here.  The sushi was made on the spot and it was mouth-watering!  I’m glad we went for one last minute lunch together, and fully recommend this place to anyone—it’s well worth the money!

The last month I was in Wellington was a very exciting one, with the exception of having to worry about finals.  I feel so fortunate that I was able to spend such a large amount of time really enjoying the company of the amazing friendships I formed while in New Zealand.  And I’m glad I got to eat tons of great food before I left!  There were a few places that we ate at that I didn't include in this post.  These were some of the highlights.  I'm also sick of writing about food.