Wellington Tourism - Travel to Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It's a harbour city nicknamed the Windy City. It advertises itself as "Absolutely Positively Wellington".
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Greater Wellington Region
The Greater Wellington region is far bigger than just Wellington City. The old Wellington Province used to cover the much of the lower half of the North Island, and once included the Manawatu and Wanganui regions. Now the region commonly called Wellington includes:Adjoining Cities
There are 3 other cities that are so close to Wellington that they effectively form a single large urban area.
Understand Wellington Tourism
Wellington is not the largest city in New Zealand but is, for its inhabitants, undisputedly the best. While there is some friendly rivalry between the major cities, it is generally recognised that Wellington has a more interesting CBD and is not as spread out as Auckland.If you want to hear what's happening in Wellington then student radio is good to listen to. Active 89FM
Politics
Being the capital city, the New Zealand Parliament and the head offices of many Government Depatments and large businesses occupy the central city.
Geology
Much of the central city is built on reclaimed land that was raised up after a major earthquake in 1856. The original shoreline, as it was in 1840, is commemorated by plaques in the footpaths on Lambton Quay and several other streets. This leads to the odd strange street name. There are several Quays which are, now, nowhere near the harbour.Earthquakes have played a major part in forming the whole Wellington region. There are several major earthquake faults in the city. Building regulations have meant that most of the older city buildings have either been demolished or strengthened in the last 20 years or so. Earthquakes occasionally rock Wellington, so if the earth seems to move for you, it may not be just your imagination.
Get into Wellington
By Air
Wellington International Airport is located at Rongotai, about 5km from the central city. It sits on an isthmus between the Miramar peninsula and Mount Victoria. The southerly approach is over Cook Strait, while the northerly approach is over the harbour.Wellington is the busiest airport in New Zealand and is a major transit point for domestic travellers. There are frequent flights to Auckland, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Hamilton, Nelson, Blenheim and many other destinations. International flights from Australia arrive about twice daily, though the evening flight arrives after midnight when most facilities are closed.
Landing at Wellington Airport in a strong cross-wind can be an adventure and most pilots adopt a powered approach for landing. This tends to create a rollercoaster ride, so make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened.
There is a regular Airport Bus known as the Flyer that departs from the south end of the domestic terminal. Taxis and covered carparking are directly outside the domestic terminal.
Travel to Wellington By Boat
There are regular ferries between Wellington and Picton.
By Road
There are only 2 major roads into Wellington. State Highways 1 & 2.
Travel to Wellington By Train
There is a twice daily train service between Wellington and Auckland. There are daily commuter services from Palmerston North and Masterton and a half-hourly suburban commuter service to Johnsonville, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Paraparaumu on the Kapiti coast.
Get around in Wellington
Getting around the central city is easy on foot. The city is very compact.
There are also plenty of buses some of which are electric trolley buses. You can buy an all day central city bus pass for $1. If you take a bus trip into the city suburbs, it will cost you about two or three dollars.
The train is the best way to get between the city and the Hutt Valley or the city and Porirua. The easiest way to travel between the Hutt Valley and Porirua is to go by train via Wellington.
If you are driving into Wellington on the weekend, the Lombard Parking and the James Smith parking buildings are very central and free on the weekends.
Taxis cost $2 for flagfall plus $1.70 per kilometer. Executive Taxis has professional service and a larger cab at $1.80 per kilometer. There are sometimes budget taxis for cheaper rates. The taxi companies in Wellington aren't as useless as they are in other countries and they do tend to arrive more or less when expected.
See Wellington
- Mount Victoria. The best view of Wellington. It takes about an hour to walk up from Courtney Place. Many tourist buses go there but also a lot of the locals.
- Wrights Hill. More views, and WWII underground tunnels which are open to the public on public holidays for a small fee.
- Brooklyn Hill Windmill. Another great place to go to get an excellent view of the city, the harbour and Cook Strait.
- Massey Memorial An interesting place to go if you want to see a large memorial in the middle of nowhere.
- Frank Kitts Park. A great place to wander around, with inline skates and jet ski rental.
- Botanical Gardens are a nice place to go for a picnic. Karori cemetery (a.k.a. the dead centre of town) is also a great picnic spot. You can take the cable car from Lambton Quay but the cable car is really quite naff. The Caltex Towers building is next to the cable car and you can take the lift up to the Terrace and walk the rest of the way if you're feeling energetic and want to go to the top of the Botanical Gardens.
- Oriental Parade. A new beach. However if you're not from somewhere really cold it's unlikely that it'll be hot enough for you to be in desperate need for a swim. There is a spa pool (jacuzzi) in Fryberg Swimming pool (on Oriental Parade) which is inexpensive if you enjoy "people soup".
- Te Papa. The national museum. It's worth a look if you're a museum kind of person. Free. http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/
- Karori Wildlife Sanctuary . A wildlife park that used to be a water reservoir. It can be seen from above from Wrights Hill.
- Plimmer's Ark. Under and in the Old Bank Arcade on the corner of Lambton Quay and Willis Street - near Plimmers Steps. A hundred years ago a Bank was built on top of a wrecked ship that had been used as a market. When they renovated the building they discovered the ship's timbers and preserved the remains in the building! Just take the escalator down through the bank vault doors.
- Parliament Buildings, the Beehive (or Executive Wing) and the Parliamentary Library. The Grounds of Parliament are open to the public. Known as the hill, parliament grounds are at the foot of Molesworth and Bowen streets, where they meet the start of Lambton Quay.
- Turnbull House on Bowen Street, just across the road from Parliament Buildings, this imposing brick mansion seems small and out of place amongst the surrounding high-rises.
- Government Buildings opposite Parliament at 15 Lambton Quay. This is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere and the second largest wooden building in the world. This restored wooden building is now the home to a University Law School.
- Statues and Sculptures appear in some intriging places around town. Famous prime ministers, memorials and works of art have all been erected in the streets of Wellington, including:
- Memorial statues to two prime ministers in the grounds of Parliament as well as a bicentenial memorial to Captain Cook's discovery of New Zealand.
- The Cenotaph on the corner of Lambton Quay and Bowen Street, just outside the Parliament Grounds, is where a Dawn Memorial Service is held every ANZAC Day (25 April).
- Behind Parliament, on the corner of Museum and Bowen Streets, is a small park with 3 sculptures in block.
- On the corner of Lambton Quay and Stout Street, the fallen column has not come off the near by building but is a Work of Art.
- On Lambton Quay, opposite Cable Car Lane, the two stainless steel monoliths with pimples are actually a poem in braille!
- Where Lambton Quay meets Featherston Street there is a wind mobile.
- The Bucket Fountain in Cuba mall - a real splash, for many years.
Do Wellington
- Circa Theatre. http://www.circa.co.nz/
- Bats Theatre. http://www.bats.co.nz/
- Downstage Theatre. http://www.downstage.co.nz/
- Beck's Incredible Film Festival. Incredibly strange, exploitation cinema and extra low budget movies.
- Festival of the Arts. February/March every two years. Next festival is 2006
- Comedy Festival.
- Fringe Festival.
- Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
Eat - Travel to Wellington
Wellington has a lot of restaurants and cafes. Malaysian food is surprisingly popular and available in most areas. You can also get good Lebanese kebabs anywhere in the city. Fish and chips is the best value food but you usually get better quality in the suburbs.More or less traditional:
- The Backbencher - opposite Parliament on Molesworth Street. Dine with the political figures of the day, who have a menu to match their misfortunes.
Malaysian:
- Cinta Malaysian Kitchen; 41 Courtenay Pl Wellington - try the chicken sambal or the beef rendang.
- Satay Village 58 Ghuznee St Wellington - these guys do a good curry laksa.
- Roti Chenai Cafe; Shop 5 120 Victoria St Wellington - very good Indian and Malaysian cuisine.
Cafes:
- Midnight Espresso - always open, and always has good coffee.
- Fidel's cafe - a popular destination for a dessert and a coffee.
- Expressoholic - centrally located but tends to have a lot of drunk people in the late evenings.
- Ministry of Food - just up the road from parliament, what else can you call the place where the civil servants go to eat.
Lebanese kebabs:
- Kebabaholic - Manners Mall
Multicultural variety:
- BNZ Centre Foodcourt - Go underground. There is a food court in the basement of the big black square tower on the corners of Willis, Willeston and Victoria Streets. There is Sushi, Indian, Greek, Turkish stalls, amongst others. Dine there or take away.
Fish and Chips: Every suburb in Wellington has a good fish and chip shop. You just have to know which ones are the best.
- Northland Fish & Chip Shop; 57 Northland Rd Northland
- Dennis Fish Supply; 103 Randwick Rd Moera, Lower Hutt
- Calypso Fish & Chips; 5 Waiwhetu Rd Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt
Events
Get out
The nearby Hutt Valley and Porirua have a number of interesting sights and beaches. Further afield, the South Wairarapa has become one of New Zealand's wine growing regions.
External Links for Wellington Tourism
