10 Years in Pōneke: Part One!
I’ve been living in Pōneke for ten years this February, and honestly – I can barely believe it. It certainly doesn’t feel like ten years have passed since I was left to fend for myself at Weir House, ready for my first year at university – but somehow, the time has passed and here we […]
Public transport nirvana
<rant> Imagine if you could download an app and tap a few onscreen buttons to create a Tap and Go public transport payment card that lived inside your phone. Then imagine that you could add some dollars to this card with a couple more taps. Now you’re using it on buses, trains, in convenience stores, […]
Zoom zoom Zoomy?
We wrote about Uber when they first came to Wellington so I’m not here to regurgitate the many cons (though this ‘game’ about the life of an Uber driver is worth a play, similar to Action Station’s Pick A Path). The obvious truth is that for passengers, Uber is super convenient. Now there’s New Zealand-based […]
In which we solve all traffic problems forever
In purely coincidental timing just before an election, the National Party is handing out new roads in an Oprah-like fashion. You get a road, and you get a road and YOU get a road. How we’re going to get a couple of billion dollars of new roads out of a budget full of holes for […]
Cruisy
Evidently, spending fourteen nights on board a luxurious floating hotel can be a little disorientating so every night at midnight a crew member goes around all the elevators on the ship and swaps out a little plaque on the floor with the correct day of the week. This is one of several fairly astounding facts this […]
À la carless – The progressive dinner by e‑bike
Wellington on a Plate is nearing it’s end for 2016 but there’s still a good weekend’s worth of time to get out and about and try the things you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t got around to yet. I was lucky enough to be able to do that on an electric bicycle and it’s one […]
Notional Significance: Yellow Earth
[See all Notional Significance posts] Wind-hurried raindrops pelt against the Shadehouse roof, which provides but meagre shelter as I wait out the passing shower. Cold droplets descend through green air into the expectant foliage, maintaining a humid atmosphere to feed a pteridomaniac’s wet dream. In a fern-fevered nation this is an orgy of patriotic symbols, […]
Victoria, What Do We Want From You?
Saturday is your last opportunity to make your voice heard on the future of…no, I’m not talking about the elections, but about something more specific to Wellington. In a very condensed consultation process, WCC is seeking your input on the proposed transformation of three blocks Victoria St, between Dixon and Abel Smith streets. And that […]
Uber Duper?
Plenty of Wellingtonians are getting excited about the arrival of the rapidly-growing quasi-taxi service Uber. They offer the convenience of a smartphone app, the potential for better service and flexibility, a promise to disrupt what is often seen as a monopolistic industry, plus fancy cars and All Blacks. For that, they’ve been rewarded with billions of dollars of […]
Notional Significance: Two Tides
[See all Notional Significance posts] The stream is now fully canalised, a tame channel running arrow-straight towards the harbour, as subtle as an engineer’s ruler. It once meandered across the broadening valley, softly folding into the estuarine flats. On its left bank, the colonial forces built Elliot’s Stockade to oversee the new road, but the […]