You may be aware that I no longer live in Hamilton. I won't explain any further (your mad theories will be far more interesting than the reality anyway), but I now live in Wellington.
My first five weeks here I spent staying with my Auntie Cheryl - BIG INTERNET UPS TO CHERYL. We had a great time, no homicide or anything, but it was always my intention to move a bit closer to the city.
So, yesterday I moved into a flat in Wadestown, which for some reason has no entry on the Suburbs of Wellington Wikipedia page. EDIT: a Wadestown website.
Today I tested out the walk to work, so here it is (of course, click for big):
I start by heading north along the road:
Mere metres from the flat is this graffiti, which is something of a different class to that which I am accustomed to:
There is an illustration of "ur mama's hairy balls" next to it, which I didn't take a photo of.
A bit further down the road, this is the view to the left:
Those houses underneath the pylons are Chartwell - was Chartwell someone important in NZ history or what?
A little further along, also on the left, is Wadestown School:
Presumably the kids abseil in.
This is the other side, Tinakori Hill:
I need to climb over it. To do so, I go up Wade "Street":
This is Wellington's version of a street. If you look carefully to the right of the corrugated-tin garage, and the left of the little yellowish hedge, that's it. Wade Street. If you make the picture huge you might even be able to read the "street" sign.
It's not really for cars.
In fact, it's just barely navigable on foot. There are a lot of hairpin corners like this:
I don't know how many, as all my body's resources were diverted to my lungs at that point, nothing left for counting.
This hairpin has a water feature:
After a while, it turns into an actual street, with cars on:
My guess is that the cars are purely ornamental, as there's no way they could have been driven there.
I'm over the crest of the hill by now, and I can see some water:
I need to get down to near where that big ship is, but how? It says NO EXIT:
Ah no, just to the right of the NO EXIT sign is another one letting me know that there's some more Wade "Street", again, not really for cars.
Just at the start of that bit, I can see where I'm headed:
Just to the right of centre is a chimney, and just to the right of that is a greenish square. That is the building in which I work. Still a way to go then, although this point is only about twenty minutes' walk from the flat.
Just to prove that these are my photos, and I actually did this walk:
A bit further down and I'm on Wadestown Road:
I'm sure there was a city around here somewhere ...
Ah, there's the stadium, through the trees:
Wellington names a fair few of its steps - these are the Wadestown Steps:
The tree at the upper right is obscuring a building which some of you may recognise:
Some of you may even own parts of it.
Now, across Molesworth Street, over the motorway:
Looking back over my shoulder from the other side of the motorway:
That massive green thing in the background? I've just walked over that. Half an hour or so in now.
This is Thorndon now:
Old Saint Paul's:
I think they mean the church is old, but it could be that Saint Paul is old and that's what they're getting at.
At the end of the road (I think it's still Molesworth Street) is the Railway Station, a nice building:
I've been here for after-work drinks once, I'd go again:
On a work day, I'd cross the road from the Thistle, and go up these steps:
... which lead up onto the massive concrete concourse above the station, leading to the stadium, and also my work:
The top of the building I work in is just visible to the right of centre.
Behind all this, the Beehave (thanks E0n!) watches over us:
Last shot is of the inside of the railway station. It's no Grand Central, but it's still nice:
It's made even better by having a New World Metro inside it, which is one of the best things ever.
So, I will miss taking trains to work for the next little while, but I think the walk's pretty good too.
Tell/show me about your walk/bike/bus/train/drive/plummet to work.
