Hi from Wellington!
Last week, our class of Year 8 went on an amazing trip to the windy city – Wellington (or Welly for short)! We had to be up nice and early in the morning for airport security scans, check-ins and boarding the plane. Most people arrived at 6 am, the time we were told to meet up. For me, I overslept a little and woke up at 5:30 am, resulting in a very tight schedule and almost missing my flight. Luckily, the plane hadn’t departed yet.
Going to Welly
As a group, we boarded the plane on time. It wasn’t my first time flying, but it was my first time on a Jetstar flight. It was also my first time travelling from Christchurch to Welly, in fact, my first domestic in New Zealand ever. That made me excited and happy, especially going back to the air for the first time in around six years. I remembered the quiet and peaceful cabin during cruise in mid air, the nice free foods, the entertainment screens, and the spacious, comfy seats, when on international flights. I was expecting the same, but I overestimated the reality of Jetstar’s budget domestic flights.
We got on the plane. The engines were on standby and not yet running, so the cabin was still a welcoming and peaceful atmosphere. A genuine smile was given by the flight attendant, who stood at the entrance of the plane and checked the boarding passes as everyone entered the plane. We found our seats. They were quite cramped and packed together.
The engines started and we were given the briefing for what to do in case of an emergency. The engines rumbled, growled and vibrated significantly. It was quite loud, but not yet too bad. As the plane began rolling, the noise got worse. Even when we finished taking off, the noise never left. I ended up needing to block my ears with my hands on the whole flight. 
Arriving at Welly
Finally, after what felt like at least an hour, we arrived at our destination. The airport was stylish, with clever artworks, like the end of the word “Wellington” seems being blown away. Walking in Welly airport, I ran into my friend who was not part of my class but happened to travel on the same flight as us. It was surprising to see a friend randomly outside of our hometown, Christchurch.
The View of Welly
Some of us snacked on food as we waited for others going to the toilet then and for the bus to come. After the short break, we left on the bus and headed for Mount Victoria, which is also known as Mt Vic. There, we had a breath taking 360° view of Welly, seeing townhouses to high rise buildings. Our teachers snapped lots of photos of us, like when we posed on the cannon. It was such a great place to be but unfortunately we had to leave very shortly due to quite a tight schedule.
The Church
Our first indoor stop was the National Shrine of St Mary of the Angels, where we started our day off with some prayers. On the way there, we drove past the rainbow crossing on Cuba Street. It was cool, having the 6 colours of the rainbow instead of the universal white and grey.
At St Mary of the Angels, we were greeted by the priest, Father Ben, and led to the inside of the church, which was amazing. There were lots of cool arts, from stained glass windows, to paintings, to sculptures. I learnt that this church, like a lot of other churches, was first built plainly. As time went on, donations helped make things happen, such as those stained glass windows made in Germany. It has such an awesome collection and history. Shame that we had so little time to explore the church further.
Parliament Visit
Next, we went to the Beehive and gathered outside. There, we met Helen, our parliament tour guide, who gave us an introductory briefing. Then we went through security and entered the building. We regathered in a room and met Reuben Davidson, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch East. He talked about how Parliament worked, how the debates operate, examples of a debate topic, and described what he does for his job. After the talk, we explored the various spaces around Parliament. Helen informed us the function and history of each room as we went in. Thank you, Helen!
The time was up for the tour inside the Beehive. It was a very interesting place and a fantastic learning experience. We hung outside the Parliament, playing around and eating the snacks that Reuben gave us. Thank you, Reuben, for the snacks as well as your talk!
Since the tour, the boys in my class started calling “Christopher Luxon!” to every bald person they saw because Mr. Luxon is our current prime minister and Parliament is where he spends most of his working time. The boys must’ve been very excited and eager to find Mr. Luxon. It was quite hilarious though a bit annoying and eventually they got told off by our teacher. 
A Petition starting outside
Some people were also waiting outside. Soon, more and more people gathered round Parliament. Our teacher asked one of the people waiting. The person said they were petitioning about something to do with the Treaty of Waitangi and horses. We waited around, believing that horses would show up very soon, as the person said. Unfortunately, we ran out of time waiting since we had to move on the cable car. We collected our sushi lunch on the way.
Riding the History of Welly
It was only a short ride, but the most remarkable thing I found on the ride were the colourful lights in the tunnel. They moved like waves, glowing brightly, coming out of the dark. The narration of Welly’s cable car history came out of the speakers. It was fascinating and impressive.
Exploring Space
Next, we went to the Space Place at Carter Observatory. Since the door was closed when we arrived, we ate our lunch nearby while waiting for its opening. The lunch was from a sushi restaurant and it was either something with chicken on rice or something with rice ball. I’m not fond of sushi, so I ate my own food.
When the Space Place opened, we were greeted by the wonderful Stella, who works at the there. First, we gathered in a briefing room and learnt about our solar system. Scaling down the sizes of the planets, Stella showed us the incredible distance between each planet from the sun. After learning the basics of the solar system, we started exploring the marvellous place itself by ourselves. Soon, we had to regather for the planetarium.
Space Snooze
Jordan, Stella’s friend and also a worker there, introduced the planetarium to us. The planetarium is like a cinema room, with comfy chairs facing up to a dome-shaped ceiling. Its shape makes sound bounce around and amplifies the quietest whisper. Therefore, we were recommended not to sleep due to the disruption snoring might cause. 
The animations were cool. They were hyper realistic at times, spinning around and making me a bit dizzy. I didn’t get a bad migraine though. Other times, it was very cartoon like. The only thing I disliked was the loud sound. To be honest, the noise on the plane was definitely way worse, so the planetarium wasn’t too bad of a deal. In fact, the seats were so comfy it was kind of hard to resist sleeping. I resisted by keeping my eyes wide open.
Afternoon Tea at a nearby Playground
After that, we went to the playground and had a break for fresh air. We vigorously played tag, releasing our pent-up energy. Our teacher had to call us in for a snack, before we dashed off again. Soon we had to leave for the bus, heading for Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Welly’s Museum
Te Papa was a nice place, filled with lots of history and artwork. We branched off into groups, exploring the exhibitions simultaneously. My group first went to the war memorial that said “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War”. I was curious in how they made such giant statues so realistic and the wounds lifelike. There was even sweat on the statues. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to touch the statues and there wasn’t much time to examine them more.
Next, we went to the Te Taiao Nature section. There were a lot more stuff that one could play and interact with, but I found the war memorial more interesting. One of the fun things in the Nature section was the earthquake simulations, where one could experience rumbles and vibrations of the ground. A mock house shook as a big screen displayed falling objects, imitating an earthquake. There is a button that one could press to build up pressure, and as one released it, the floor vibrated and the screen showed what type of volcanic rock one have made. These were some of the cooler things I found in the Nature section.
Last, we explored the Māori and Art sections. I thought some of the things there were cool, but not as cool as the other sections. It was edging close to tea time when we started. I relaxed and sat back, as some other classmates wanted to draw and create art in the front. Finally, it was time to get on the bus and head home.
Going Home
Once again, we gathered in the airport food court and ate our tea. While waiting for our plane, we ate subway sandwiches for tea. After eating, we played some games as well as chilled and killed time in the peaceful airport. It was fun to idly kill some time after all the things we did.
We got lollies as a treat from our birthday classmate, after we went through security. The trauma came back, with the uncomfortable seats of the plane and the loud noise in the cabin making the flight home suck.
On the plane, some people vomited and some cried. I ran away as soon as the plane door opened. I found my teacher quickly to say goodbye, then my mum to take me home. I rate this trip in Wellington a fun way to learn, but definitely do not recommend that cheap Jetstar flights to and from Wellington.