Blown away by the windy city

First impressions count for a lot and at first, I couldn't help thinking of Wellington as Melbourne. Since we spent less time there than we have here, first impressions are pretty much all I have and might well end up counting for too much. Whatever: both are infectiously cool places and miles better than their rival cities, as far as I'm concerned.

Some great cities have a real focal point, like Granada's Alhambra or Barcelona's Sagrada Familia; others have none, like Welly and Melly, and despite some earnest efforts in association with big name architects, the thing that leaps out at you is the attitude of the people who live there - way bigger than any bridge or tower.

This is a pretty cool city, a bit run-down and a bit full of itself, but ballsy enough to turn all of its faults to its advantage. Just like Melbourne; great food, amazing bars and cafes, big-hearted and mildly bohemian. You could easily forget that this is the capital, it's so laid back and does the boho chic thing so effortlessly... not giving a flying fart what anyone thinks is both how it works and why it's so appealing. It's also very windy. I asked a bloke I met if it was always so. "Ask an Aucklander," he said, "and they'll say it's always this windy. Ask somone from Wellington and they'll say, 'what wind?'"

The sun came out this afternoon and lured us up to the lookout at the top of Mount Victoria, overlooking the city, which was making a good job of looking impressive and important. Looking the other direction, an Inter-island ferry criused into its vast harbour from the infinitely more vast ocean to the South. It was still very windy, but somehow none of us seemed to notice...

Tomorrow: Nelson and the South Island. It's the high point of the trip but the surprise so far is looking forward to getting back & having another look at this wild and wacky city. More pics soon.