Whilst in Wellington, I had the lucky fortune to actually live on the side of Mt. Victoria. As a country that values its high seismic activity as an asset, it is not surprising that even the capital city makes way for a number of hills, the most prominent and well-known being Mt Victoria, to ... Read review
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Advantages: unbeatable panoramic views of the capital Disadvantages: bit of a climb if you walk up
Whilst in Wellington, I had the lucky fortune to actually live on the side of Mt. Victoria. As a country that values its high seismic activity as an asset, it is not surprising that even the capital city makes way for a number of hills, the most prominent and well-known being Mt Victoria, to the East Side of the City.
It stands at 196m in height, and it is a must-see for anyone interested in getting a great view of the city centre, ... ...and roseneath regions of the city, and indeed, the very scarily positioned aiport!
I made a number of trips to the summit, both in the daytime and at night, and there is a nice manmade viewpoint with telescopes, a cannon and a giant sundial sculpture. On a clear day you can see to the south island, and if the sun is shining the twinkling blue waters of the harbour next to the shadowed bumps of the hills make a picture postcard view. ... more
Whilst in Wellington, I had the lucky fortune to actually live on the side of Mt. Victoria. As a country that values its high seismic activity as an asset, it is not surprising that even the capital city makes way for a number of hills, the most prominent and well-known being Mt Victoria, to the East Side of the City.
It stands at 196m in height, and it is a must-see for anyone interested in getting a great view of the city centre, the beautiful harbour and adjacent rolling hills, the lesser-known haitaiti and roseneath regions of the city, and indeed, the very scarily positioned aiport!
I made a number of trips to the summit, both in the daytime and at night, and there is a nice manmade viewpoint with telescopes, a cannon and a giant sundial sculpture. On a clear day you can see to the south island, and if the sun is shining the twinkling blue waters of the harbour next to the shadowed bumps of the hills make a picture postcard view. Children and big kids alike will love watching the airplanes making their dangerous ascent and descent between two ridges of hills one way and two sides of water the other way!
As Wellington is a small and well designed city, you can pinpoint buildings and tourist attractions from the top of Mt Victoria, such as the stadium, te papa, the terrace and courtney place.
At night, the view is replaced by a beautiful landscape of twinkling lights in the hills in the distance, and the buzz of the city centre below. Again you can pick out the aiport, main streets and harbour, but in my opinion the best thing to do at night is stargaze and admire the beauty of this capital city.
When i was there, there were placards showing newplans for development of the viewpoint, so maybe by now there will be even more facilities available. Access is by road if you have your own car or you can get a bus to the summit, but you can also walk, either directly up one of the streets perpendicular to kent terrace, or take the longer but more picturesque walk from oriental bay- a section of the larger 11km southern walkway from oriental parade to island bay.
In my opinion every visitor to wellington should get to the summit one way or another, as it offers unparallelled views of the whole city, which has so much to offer- a harbour, hills, buzzing city centre and beautiful hidden bays. Its also a free activity, so a great cheap day out for everyone. So make the trip!
Advantages: Too much for this tiny space. Disadvantages: The wind and hills!
overhead, taking a walk (and eating a lot of seafood - try the mussels!) on Queen's Wharf, (speaking of the Queen...she stayed at the Hotel Waterloo in Wellington, which is now a really creepy green backpackers!), seeing the ugly architecture, as well as the old wooden buildings (One being the 2nd biggest in the world - A temple in Japan being the first). You can also climb MountVictoria (amazing views) check out Oriental bay, go visit my University (Victoria University of Wellington), take a ride out to the Kapiti Coast, catch the ferry to Eastbourne, or the InterIslander Ferries to the South Island.
Wellington also is quite lively after dark. There are many pubs and clubs and coffee houses that stay packed until the wee hours of the morning. After drinking a bit too much, you'll probably be hungry..but unless you always want a Turkish ...
Advantages: Friendly People, Cheap while there, Too much to see Disadvantages: Long way away, Expensive flights
(North Island) the following day. We stayed for 1 night in their "top10" campsite (very nice facilites, warm pool, clean toilets, etc.) Before we boarded the ferry we managed to squeeze in a few hours in the town. Our shopping bags were starting to pile up. A very nice quaint little town, a high Maori population. First thing in the morning, we set off to the port, it was a very organised procedure, with no confusion or complication. The trip across the Marlborough Sounds (like fjords, stunning views) was smooth with a shop and restaurant on board.
Our arrival in Wellington (the capital of the country) meant we drove straight to the campsite, to book ourselves in and get some advice on where to park in the big city. Our evening there consisted of going up MountVictoria (stunning views over the city of Wellington, and only a 10 minute ...
