The Best and Worst of Wellington

My time here in Wellington is nearly up. In a few days, I pack up all my stuff and shuffle off to the South Island for a little New Year's revelry, and then on to Melbourne. So, what to say about Wellington?

The Bad

There's no doubt that my time here has been, uh, challenging. Both of my personal computers, the one that sits on my lap and the one that rests between my ears, have experienced spectacular hardware failures. If only my bio-ware were as easily replaced as my laptop.

The weather has been disappointing too; even the local are complaining about the lack of a summer. But there's something to be said for high winds in a city full of women wearing skirts. Never let it be said that I fail to see the glass as half-full. Seriously, watching women gamely trying to hold their skirts from blowing over their heads is funny, funny stuff.

And as a base for digital nomadism, I can sum up Wellington in two words: "Don't bother." There are no coffee shops with free WiFi, period. What Internet there is, is sloooow and expensive. Want coffee with free refills? Ha! You can't even buy filtered coffee here -- espresso only, and it's pricey.

The Good

I feel guilty complaining at all about beautiful Wellington. Like when I went for a short jog up Mount Victora the other day...

 

It took only 10 minutes to reach this breathtaking view:

 

And it's only 10 minutes in the other direction to walk into town, where I've made myself a fixture at several local establishments. I can enthusiastically recommend The Malthouse, a beer-lovers oasis. And! And! They have free WiFi. I know! The staff are beer geeks (and computer geeks) of the first order. Ask for a bottle of Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale. Good stuff.

I've also become close with the whole staff of The Jimmy Cafe and Bar, the site of my little medical mishap. They made me promise to keep in touch after I leave, and I will.

For a cafe with serious hipster credentials, I like Midnight Espresso on Cuba Street, and Fidel's. In fact, all of Cuba Street is pretty darn cool.

And obviously, I don't hold Wellington responsible for my health and hardware issues. On the contrary, I couldn't have hoped for a more forgiving place to encounter challenges like those. I've learned a lot about how to cope without really ending up worse off in any way. So bonus.

I leave in a few days for the South Island, where I'll experience complete radio silence. My next post will probably be from Melbourne, in a new country, in a new decade. So until then...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And what a year it's been!