Okay, cheesy post title but after three full days of exploration, I'm getting a bit slaphappy! Our third cruise stop was in Wellington, capital city, port, and major commercial center of New Zealand, located in the extreme south of North Island.

In 1839, a ship belonging to the New Zealand Company arrived with officials who were to select a site for the company’s first settlement. The site chosen, at the mouth of the Hutt River, proved unsuitable, and a move was made to Lambton Harbor on the west shore. The settlement was named in 1840 in recognition of the aid given the company by Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington. It was made a borough in 1842 and a city in 1886. In 1865 the seat of the central government was transferred there from Auckland.

We began the day's explore by climbing up the hill on the Wellington Cable Car which has been operating for 123 years.

In order to provide both access to the new hillside suburb which was to eventually become Kelburn, the company decided that a cable tramway was the best solution. Backed by politicians, the line began to be development in 1899. The resulting Wellington Cable Car opened in 1902, but despite its name was a combined cable tramway and funicular system. Designed by James Edward Fulton (1854–1928) and constructed by Maurice O’Connor (1840–1921), the line traverses a steep gradient, passing through three tunnels and over three viaducts. And here it still is.

Today, it was our only way to get to our destination and oh man, what a fun ride.