Wellington

Today I'm here in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It's the end of June and so here in the southern hemisphere it's wintertime - today a seasonally fresh 10° centigrade. Although it's the capital, it's not in fact the largest city. Auckland in the northern island has almost three times the population, just under 900,000 according to the 2001 census.

I didn't know too much about this place before coming here but it didn't take too long for people to tell me all about it. You get the impression that those from Wellington are really proud of their city. It's the world's most southerly capital and the only one found at the 'roaring forties' latitude - this would explain the wind. It never seems to stop. If you remember seeing pictures of the millennium celebrations from around the world, you may remember that the first ones to come in were from Wellington.

Almost everyone lives within 3km of the coast which is hardly surprising when you see it. The beautiful harbour is surrounded by spectacular hills and the coastline just takes your breath away. It's rugged to say the least! If you've seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy you'll already be familiar with New Zealand's country, and with local director Peter Jackson.

This place is for outdoor people - walking, sailing, climbing, mountain biking - anything you like really. When you come here, make sure you bring suitable clothes - a raincoat at least. I was told that more people use public transport here than anywhere else in New Zealand - 28%, almost 10% more than in rival city Auckland. 11% even walk to work, although it's not that surprising when you think that the whole city covers an area of less than 300 km2. You can walk from one side of the city centre to the other in less than 20 minutes.

If you want to eat out you won't be stuck for choice - there's a bar or restaurant for every day of the year. In fact, there are more places to eat per head than in New York. Surprising eh? And like New York, you can't smoke in any of them.

There's just one thing I wish I'd done before my visit, and that's learn a little of the local slang. A lot of it I figured out from the context, but some I just couldn't get without asking. So for anyone who's intending to visit, here are a few commonly used local words in no particular order. Firstly the New Zealanders are known as 'Kiwis', after the indigenous bird. Someone from England is a 'Pom'. If someone invites you to have a 'stubby', it's in fact a small bottle of beer. If they then tell you that it's 'your shout' it means it's your turn to buy the drinks. After all that beer you'll probably want to use the 'dunny', otherwise known as a toilet. Be careful not to drink too much beer or you may feel a bit 'crook' the next morning - that is to say, ill. 'Cheers' is a word you'll hear a lot when you say thank you or goodbye. A long time is 'yonks' and a lot is 'heaps'. For example, it took 'yonks' to get here today - there was 'heaps' of traffic. No worries is said when there is no problem and to congratulate each other they say 'good on ya mate'. Finally the nicest I heard here was the word they sometimes use to refer to small children. Anklebiters.