Wok City

Have you ever been to Wellington? Many people who've been to New Zealand have only passed through it. And they're missing out. But I'm not sure I've ever experienced a city built in such an anti-intuitive location.

The best way I can find to describe it is as though the city's been built in half a wok. The centre is fairly level, but in the immediate suburbs you're straight into really steep hills. In these hills, often unbelievably, people have built their houses. I'm living in one of these now.

After miles of suburban and rural NZ filled with one-storey weatherboard houses (and yes, I do understand to a degree why they're quite so prevalent), this Briton finds great pleasure and relief in being amongst more solid and more varied buildings. But they're on such steep hillsides!
I knew Wellington was hilly before I left the UK. What I didn't realise is that most of the houses don't evern have bendy hilly road access to front doors or garages. No no. You park your car in the street at the bottom of a staircase and then tramp up sometimes 100 steps or so to your front door. Not easy with a week's worth of groceries or your winter supply of firewood. (More wealthy Wellingtonians - around 400 of them currently - have had private cable cars built to allow easier access to the more inaccessible homes!)

The views are stunning from all these houses. I'm not sure if having to haul my way up the equivalent of Arthur's Seat every day makes it all worth it, though...