Myself and a few others who are new to our company were given a tour of some significant sites around Wellington/Pōneke recently.

I had just arrived back from catching up with family, friends and students in Auckland, so was feeling quite run down prior to the trip. I knew that we would be out walking most of the day, so was a bit apprehensive about going.

Before we left, we were given a brief lecture on the history of Wellington and how it came into being. From the early arrival of Māori to the history of The New Zealand Land Company, it gave us much greater context around the establishment of the city we work in. Many of the streets I work near are named after the original directors of The New Zealand Land Company (such as Willis Street, Lambton Quay, and so on).

After the lecture we went on a bus tour around a few different sites. We visited the Cable Car Museum, Space Place, Karori Cemetery, and finally Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. The latter was probably my favourite place, where we were given a tour of their plant nursery which housed rare species of native orchids and celmisia. It was incredible see that such a beautiful sanctuary for native flora and fauna exists so close to the city.

All in all I was really thankful for the opportunity, and was glad to have gone on the trip.