As our ferry crossing was at 8AM, we were up at 5:30 so we could shower and hit the road by 7 for the 30 minute drive to Picton, the South Island ferry port. The drive as well as the crossing were pretty much a non-event and we disembarked in Wellington with no problems. Paul had told us yesterday to find the first parking space we could once we got off the ferry and just walk to Te Papa to check out the museum. Downtown parking in Wellington is no different from any other government town, and we had to park at the museum itself.
Te Papa was vastly different from the museums in Dunedin and Christchurch, in terms of its modern design, layout, and exhibits. One of its highlights is the fact that it's built on very unstable ground in that it's very sandy. Due to the high water content, during an earthquake (which Wellington experiences frequently), the soil goes through a process called liquefaction where the sand basically flows like water. This greatly amplifies the waves of an earthquake, and New Zealand engineers developed special shock absorbers which isolate the base of the structure from the ground below it. This technology is now being used worldwide to secure concrete and steel structures in earthquake zones.
I'll be back later with more on the specific exhibits we saw.