{"id":3619,"date":"2017-08-20T11:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adventurousretirement.com\/blog\/?p=3619"},"modified":"2018-12-06T10:15:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T15:15:14","slug":"wellington-new-zealand-favorite-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventurousretirement.com\/blog\/wellington-new-zealand-favorite-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellington New Zealand \u2013 A Favorite City!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wellington<\/a>On a recent 7 week visit to New Zealand, my photographer husband and I spent a few days in Wellington, now our favorite city in New Zealand. Learn about the diverse experiences it offers, from wildlife to movie sets.<\/p>\n

Why visit Wellington<\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

Wellington is a small city with a fantastic active waterfront featuring all types of boating, yacht club, restaurants, office buildings, museums, outdoor free entertainment and even swim platforms to enter the water. Lonely Planet recently named it, \u201cthe coolest little capital in the world.\u201d \u00a0We certainly loved it!<\/p>\n

What Places are a \u2018must see\u2019 in Wellington<\/h1>\n

Harbour<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"Sculpture <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dragonboats <\/a> <\/div>
\"Band <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The Harbour is a major draw for so many reasons. \u00a0Walk along the water and watch all the boating activity. Check out the shops and museums along the waterfront \u2013 Wellington Museum (Museum of the City and Sea), and Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand). Find restaurants along the harbour with indoor and outdoor seating serving a variety of cuisine at all price levels; while you can find nearly every nationality of food, seafood is my \u2018go to\u2019 when by the sea.<\/p>\n

\"Girls<\/a>The harbour offers swimming with protected areas for diving and jumping in from various heights. All types of boating experiences are available \u2013 sailing, dragon boating, kayaks, and motor boating.<\/p>\n

On various weekdays in the warmer weather, you\u2019ll find free happy hour concerts and dancing on the waterfront. Restaurants serve their happy hour menus outdoors during concerts. We watched a band one evening and the crowd was salsa dancing, eating, and drinking.<\/p>\n

Te Papa<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"Eye-catching <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maori <\/a> <\/div>
\"Te <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa <\/a>is not to be missed! From the incredible architecture to the vast interior spaces and many galleries, it is one of top museums in my experience. Te Papa exhibits indigenous Maori history, Maori artifacts and stories, futuristic exhibits, and world history \u2013 all that are significant in New Zealand culture. There is so much to see that we went twice and still did not see it all. It deserves 2 visitsI<\/p>\n

Zealandia<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"Zealandia <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pied <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

At the top of the ‘don’t miss’ list is Zealandia<\/a>, a nature reserve and wildlife eco-sanctuary where 555 acres of forest have been restored to furnish a predator-free biodiverse natural habitat. Zealandia provides insight into New Zealand\u2019s native animals, including 18 species re-introduced into the area after 100 years, like the Takahe bird. Exhibits and environments include natural habitats, and education on live and extinct animals of New Zealand and its flora. As a reserve, animals live in natural habitats and most roam\/fly freely.<\/p>\n

Walk the paths through Zealandia, which is about a 2 hour walk, and maybe longer if you read all the signs and stop for photos. Zealandia is designed with paved and natural paths through the forest, and around the waterways with easy walking and wheelchair access. This enables visitors to get up close to the various animals.<\/p>\n

\"Kaka <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Guided <\/a> <\/div>
\"Green <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Choose between a self-guided visit, a daytime tour with a naturalist guide, or a guided night visit by torchlight to see New Zealand\u2019s nocturnal animals. Our tour was a daytime guided tour; I am so pleased that we were able to join a tour since they have limited spots. Our guide made the visit extremely informative and interesting. He knew which animals to look for in the forests and pointed them out in places we would not have seen them. Our guide explained that New Zealand has more lizard species than bird species \u2013 that\u2019s amazing since New Zealand has so many unique bird species. I strongly recommend taking the guided tour option. I would have liked to have taken the night time tour as well, but it was sold out.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s flora and fauna differ from all other large land masses on earth. Indoor exhibits at Zealandia are 3-D, video and audio that describe the evolution of New Zealand\u2019s land masses, animal species, flora, human and natural history.<\/p>\n

The Rata Caf\u00e9 is a restaurant surrounded by glass with stunning views of the park and treetop views of birdlife. Delicious food includes great healthy options. Rata Caf\u00e9 operates as a sustainable business, grows its own organic vegetables, and sources food locally. Be sure to try it; we enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

Transportation is easy from downtown; Zealandia provides a free shuttle to and from the cable car. We wanted to stay longer at Zealandia, but there were so other things we wanted to see and do in Wellington.<\/p>\n

While we were invited guests by Zealandia for a guided daytime tour, this is a totally independent and honest review based on our experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cable Car and Botanical Gardens<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"Wellington <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wellington <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

No trip to Wellington is complete without riding the famous Cable Car,<\/a> a funicular railway between Lambton Quay, the main shopping street downtown, and Kelburn, a suburb in the hills 400 feet above the central city. The Cable Cars offer easy access to city and harbour overlooks, to the Botanical Gardens, Carter Observatory, and the Cable Car Museum (free admission).<\/p>\n

The Botanical Gardens<\/a> are free and lovely to walk around \u2013 escape the City Center for a hilly suburban feel with international floral displays and flowers indigenous to New Zealand. Surrounded by 62 acres of natural beauty, enjoy the protected native forest. and special plant collections. Wellington Botanical Garden is a \u201cGarden of National Significance by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and is an Historic Places Trust Heritage Area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Monkey <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Black <\/a> <\/div>
\"Hydrangeas <\/a> <\/div>
\"Sundial <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Weta Cave\/Weta Workshop<\/em><\/h2>\n

Weta<\/a> is a special place, unique and amazing. Have you heard of Weta Cave? I hadn\u2019t until I read about this unique, artistic, technological workshop that supplies some of our most loved fantasy and science fiction movies with costumes and props. Weta Cave and Workshop is a world class, award winning, special effects, prop design and production company. \u00a0Weta invites the public to see their creations and how they design, develop and manufacture props and costuming for movies like:<\/p>\n