Wellington City - North Island, New Zealand

Wellington is not just the capital of New Zealand but it is also the cosmopolitan cultural capital of New Zealand. It is a modern thriving sophisticated city with an incredible cafe life and a dynamic art and craft scene.

The Te Papa Museum bears testimony to this fact as New Zealand's largest and spectacular interactive museum. The Parliament of New Zealand is located in the Parliament District of Wellington.

Wellington International Airport, handling visitors from Australia, is located 10 kms to the south east of the city centre. It is the nerve centre of domestic operations with connections to 20 airports.

Wellington City Transportation

There is a city bus service from 7am to 8pm on weekdays running half hourly to the city. Taxis are available for a run into the city. In addition, there is a shuttle bus service from the airport to the city.

Wellington has a good public rail network, with the hub located at the Bunny St station providing commuter services to the Kapiti Coast and the Hutt Valley. All inter city buses end up here.

If you are using private transport, SH1 (State Highway 1) through Porirua and SH2 via Lower Hutt both lead to motorways that in turn lead to the harbourside and the city.

The Wellington Visitor Centre is located at the corner of Wakefield and Victoria Sts, adjoining the Civic Centre with a cafe. You can get all train and bus information in the Wellington region here. The Department of Conservation (DOC) office is in the Old Government Buildings on the corner of Lambton Quay and Whitmore St. This is where you can get hut tickets and permits to visit Kapiti Island.

If you are staying in the city centre, walking is the best way to see the main points of interest. The Metlink Explorer offers unlimited bus and train travel throughout Wellington region from 9am on weekdays and all day long on weekends. Weather permitting, an excellent way to look around is by renting a bike.

The Wellington City centre has a lot of attractions within a 2 km radius and viewable by foot. The city area covers the train station in the north and extends to Courtenay Place past Kent and Cambridge Terraces.

The Central Business District is comprised of The Terrace and Lambton Quay which is the shopping paradise of Wellington. The eating, drinking and entertainment centres are concentrated along Courtenay Place, Cuba St, Willis St and the Queens Wharf waterfront.

Wellington City Activities

Starting at Civic Square at the centre of Wellington, the southern side has the Te Papa Museum, the shopping and entertainment centres and an excellent lookout on Mount Victoria along Oriental Parade. To the north of the Civic Centre, Jervois Quay runs past the Museum of Wellington City and Sea and through to the Queens Wharf.

A few blocks to the interior, the Lambton Quay forms Wellington's central business district. The Lambton Quay runs to the Parliamentary District, which houses the New Zealand Parliament, the Archives New Zealand and Katherine Mansfield's birthplace.

The beautiful Botanic Gardens leads west to the Town Belt where you will find the haven for native birds in Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and the last surviving virgin bush of the Otari-Wiltons Bush.

This area contains a lot of good walking trails and some excellent lookout points with stunning views of the city. The Wellington Zoo is to the south of the Town Belt. To the east of the Town Belt lie the beautiful beaches of Miramar Peninsula.

The Visitor Centre is located at the Civic Square, an open space filled with interesting sculptures and popular for outdoor events. The Central Library is a majestic building of steel, stone and timber built by New Zealand's famous architect Ian Athfield.

Next to the library is the Art Deco City Gallery built in 1939. This hosts works by both national and international artists. Attached is the City Cinema, which shows works relating to exhibitions in the Art Gallery and home to many specialist film festivals.

There is a lovely cafe opening out on to an external terrace. Across the Civic Square, the City to Sea Bridge connects the downtown area to the waterfront.

The Te Papa Museum on Cable Street is the number one attraction in Wellington. It is a custom built 5 storey building on the waterfront which opened to the public in 1998. It takes half a day to explore this amazing museum on everything that is New Zealand. It is aimed at adults and kids with state of the art interactive displays.

There are guided tours at regular intervals through the day. Each level provides incredible information about nature, New Zealand's environments, Time Warp Zone rides with time rides into the future and the past, excellent displays of Maori art and culture and a changing roster of works on paper, oils and sculptures.

To the north of Civic Centre Square is Frank Kitts Park. Next to it is the Water Whirler designed by Len Lye. Almost every hour it erupts into a sequence of energetic gyrations with jets of water spouting everywhere. Past this lies the Queens Wharf, in existence since 1862, bustling with activity in the form of restaurants, shops and a skating rink.

At the entrance to Queens Wharf near the Events Centre is the Museum of Wellington and Sea revealing Wellington's social and maritime history. The Wahine disaster is a prominent feature among the exhibits showing the sinking of the ferry Wahine in April 1968 in which 51 people lost their lives.

Next door is the Plimmer's Ark Gallery. Located at the entrance to Queens Wharf are the Academy Galleries displaying regularly changing exhibitions of Kiwi artists.

Lambton Quay forms the heart of the central business district. This leads northward to the Parliamentary District. The Old Government Buildings is located at the northern end and beyond it is the 1937 built impressive Wellington Railway Station.

From here you can take a scenic ride to the suburb of Kelburn and the upper section of the Botanical Gardens on the Cable Car with cars departing every ten minutes from Cable Car Lane off Lambton Quay. There is a Cable Car museum on Upland Road.

The suburb of Thorndon about ten minutes north of the Parliament of New Zealand is famous for Old St Pauls Church, the finest European timber church in Aotearoa. Built in 1866, its interiors are beautiful reflecting English Gothic architecture. It remains a popular spot for weddings.

The St Pauls Cathedral built in 1998 is the modern version of the Old St Pauls Church. Thorndon is also the birthplace of Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp, New Zealand's most noted short story writer. The Katherine Mansfield Birthplace is a modest wooden house on Tinakori Road and this is where Katherine spent her childhood.

The Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is 3 kms west of the city centre. It is an ambitious project to preserve the native birdlife population, which has been declining due to the accidental arrival of non-native mammals over the years. Set on 253 hectares of urban Wellington, the area has been weeded and restocked with native trees.

The excess of native birds that are so well preserved on Kapiti Island are introduced here. Some of the species of birds found here are kiwi, weka, saddleback, kaka, tutara, morepork, tui, bellbird, whitehead and North Island robins. This ambitious project initiated in the 1990s will be complete in 500 years when the forests have matured.

Already there are 35 km paths that can be walked to the accompaniment of amazing birdsongs. There are guided tours available both by day and night lasting up to 2 hours.

Otari-Wiltons Bush, 6 kms northwest of the city centre is the ultimate place for a glimpse of original New Zealand native bush. This 80 hectare area is made up of original podocarp northern rata forests.

At the entrance, you will find a map of the walks. The hundred metre Canopy Walkway leads to the Native Botanic Garden with collection of plants from all over the country. The Nature Trail is a good informative introduction to New Zealand forests and plants.

The Wellington Zoo is 4 kms to the south of the central city with a great collection of animals. There are buses to the zoo from the train station and Lambton Quay. Some of the other places of interest in and around Wellington are the Wellington Harbour, Maitu/Somes Island, Days Bay, The Hutt Valley and Rimutaka Forest Park.

Wellington is famous for its tempestuous weather and the activities are mostly weather dependant. Walking along the waterfront, especially along Oriental Parade is a delightful experience. The Town Belt area provides tougher tramping terrain. Bikes are a great way to get around town. The Wellington Harbour provides great sailing, windsurfing, kiteboarding and kayaking adventures.

You can take a ride to the Maitu/Somes Island and Days Bay on the ferry. There are tour operators who offer group sailing trips. Lunch and dinner cruise options are available.

Kio Bay, to the east of Oriental Bay is the hub of windsurfing and kiteboarding activities. In pleasant weather conditions, kayaking along Queens Wharf waterfront is a beautiful experience. Kayaks can be hired. There are also guided trips. Scorching Bay Tour is another spot for a paddle.

Skating is another fun activity you can enjoy at Frank Kitts Park and around Oriental Parade. Skates can be hired. The Hang Dog Indoor Rock Climbing Cavern at Lower Hutt is a very popular indoor climbing wall and has New Zealand's highest wall. You can also enjoy pool jumping, water sliding, riding a flying fox and abseiling down a waterfall or canyoneering.

Wellington has fantastic biking tracks. Inland rides are rugged but coastal rides are a great way to enjoy the city. You can head east from Te Papa towards Oriental Parade and keep going past the airport and right up to Miramar Peninsula and Scorching Bay.

Mountain biking or offroad riding is a popular activity in Wellington. The coastal road to Red Rocks is a good start. The Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park is an area of forest on the 412 metre Makara Peak, 10 kilmetres west of Wellington city. There are 40 km tracks suitable for all ages. Bikes can be rented for this activity.

Wellington has an array of great walks on offer. The Visitor Centre has information on all the walking trails. The Town Belt area surrounding Wellington offers fantastic walks with great views of the city. If you walk along the Southern coast, you can see seals along the route. Some of the popular walks are the Red Rocks Coastal Walk, The Southern Walkway and the Northern Walkway.

Wellington, dubbed the coffee capital, is home to some of the finest restaurants in New Zealand. The city centre abounds in cafes, restaurants and drinking places. There are numerous ethnic restaurants.

Food courts in the city offer budget meals in the daytime. The city has a vibrant nightlife with terrific late night cafes, bars and clubs with frenetic activity from Thursday to Saturday. The arts scene is strong with several theatres and amazing festivals.

There are four professional theatres in Wellington, as well as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and other dance and opera companies. The Visitor Centre has more information on the theatre scene. The city plays host to orchestral performances, local and international shows. There are also a variety of arthouse cinemas.

Wellington is an amazing place to have a great time with your family/friends. Looknbook can offer you the best Wellington travel experience and arrange your Wellington accommodation and Wellington activities to give you an amazing insight into the cultural and official capital city of Aotearoa.