Things to do in ... Wellington

[jamesthecarman]

Just had a bit of a brainstorm....

Maybe we can set up threads for our areas of the country and tips for what to do while in travelling to that area.

Anyway, on with the topic at hand. A friend just asked me what there is to do in Welly besides Te Papa and the Cable Car.......so here are my recommendations:

Driving around the bays is really nice.

The Wellington City and Maritime museum is very nice as well (and free). It's about a 7 minute walk from Te Papa (going North/West).

Mount Victoria has a nice view....and if you go on one of the trails you'll see some LOTR scenery.

Drive through the Mt Victoria tunnel and honk your horn to any tune you like. It's ok, everyone else does it to.

If you want to see some seals, head down to Red Rocks (which is near Island Bay.....this wouldn't be a typical tourist thing to do).

Cafe's of course ;) Fidel's, Havana, and Eclipse are all nice ones. But if you really want a treat, go to the Chocolate Fish Cafe. I'm pretty sure everyone knows where it is and somoene can direct you to it (it's near Seatoun...which is NE of the Airport).

http://www.wellingtonnz.com/Restaura...+Fish+Cafe.htm

Courtenay Place has most of the bars...and there's a good selection of them. On Cuba Street (which has lots of bars as well) is Matterhorn, which was voted the best NZ bar (there's a link for it on the link above, at the top right).

Oh yeah, and don't forget chatting to Blanket Man on Courtenay Place "brother". And why not give a coin to "Juggling Man"....and get a local to tell you what Juggling Man's 'big' secret is. (muwhahahahaha)


Also a good link to check out is -
http://www.tikitouring.co.nz/wellington.htm

Awesome idea James!

So, you're a local, what IS Juggling Mans 'big' secret? We wont tell :-X

[MotherBear]

Yes, a good and helpful idea James. 8-)

So Taffy, you live near Hamilton, don't you?

Me? Er.. um.. No speekey de englaisy. Sorry muchly.

We'll come up with something ;)

[MotherBear]

? No speekey de englaisy.

Well, if you don't speekey de englaisy, how come you didn't have to pass a IELTS test to get into NZ?

Pure good looks and charm.

Yes, I sent in an actor to represent me :-[

[MotherBear]

While Taffy and WG are ?coming up with something' ::) , here?s a page with some likely activities in the Waikato . ?

You can also select other regions to see what?s on offer. Of course, it doesn't quite compare to having real live reports from these regions, but it's all I can come up with. :-/

[selchie]

In Welly I also found the botanical gardens to be wonderful. I'm a gardener, and can't gwt enough of gardens. They're up at the top of the cable car ride. The cemetery just below the gardens is also nice to explore - especially for fans of cemeteries (like me).

We walked all around the waterfront: interesting sculptures throughout the CBD, shopping, etc. Parliment is interesting, too.

We enjoyed going to plays at the Circa Theatre: on the waterfront near Te Papa.

[MotherBear]

Taupo at bursting point as fans prepare for A1 GP
Tuesday January 16, 2007
By Simon O'Rourke



The track is ready, the cars have arrived and the drivers are on their way.

Taupo is about to host New Zealand's inaugural round of the World A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport, with up to 70,000 people expected to attend the event over the course of three days, beginning on Friday.

Hotels in the tourist resort are nearly all booked to capacity on Friday and Saturday.

Warren Kettlewell, president of Taupo's chamber of commerce, said he understood accommodation bookings were being taken as far away as Rotorua and Palmerston North.

More here