Welcome Wellington
The world’s southern-most and coolest little capital is also rightly famous for creativity, cuisine and coffee, writes Sharon Stephenson.
One hundred and 80 years ago, two things happened in Wellington: the ship Aurora turned up, carrying many of the region’s first European settlers, and some bright spark discovered how to make a great flat white.
OK, I’m stretching the truth with the coffee story. But somewhere along the line, someone in New Zealand’s capital figured out the magical alchemy between beans and water, and now Wellington is arguably the home of Aotearoa’s coffee culture.
But muddy-coloured liquid isn’t all that Wellington is famous for: this is a city that knows good food and is filled with clever people doing clever things with it (as well as with film, craft beer, politics, and start-ups).
But when that infamous wind swirls around, disrupting hairstyles and plans, there’s an abundance of indoor attractions to while away your time in the world’s southern-most capital.
Eat Best coffee spot
This is a bit like choosing your favourite child. Personally, I’ve got a soft-spot for Prefab, a sprawling cafe shoehorned into an industrial space that’s a microcosm of Wellington, with students, public servants, important-looking people, and bearded craft-beer types discussing the day’s events over a range of beverages made with boiled water.
Owned by hospitality stalwarts Bridget Dunn and Jeff Kennedy, Prefab also serves great food, and has its own coffee roastery and bakery.
Best brunch spot
There’s no shortage of places dreaming up new and inventive avocado and sourdough combos, but there aren’t many that can boast of the gobsmacking views that Maranui Cafe can.
Perched at the end of Lyall Bay Parade, on a good day the South Island looks so close you could almost reach out to touch it.
This is where Harry and Meghan ate in 2018 and, if it’s good enough for them, then the fried eggs with hummus, wilted spinach and dukkah is good enough for us.
Afterwards, work off the carbs with a wander around the coast to the Taputeranga Marine Reserve at Princess Bay.
Best lunch spot
If you haven’t got time for a mid-week restaurant lunch, then get yourself to Welly’s most popular fried chicken joint, Lucky.
Carved into the shell of what was once a public toilet, and sharing space with the ever popular Tommy Millions pizzeria, small is big here: from the hole-in-the-wall premises to the compact menu (three burgers, one poppers, and fries smothered in gravy).
It might sound bonkers for a non-meat eater to swing by a fried chicken joint for lunch, but hear me out: the Lucky team also produce the best halloumi burger I’ve ever had – thick slices of deepfried cheese, wedged into pillowy soft brioche buns, with just the right amount of slaw, pickles and a special sauce I’d love the recipe for.
Best dinner spot
It hasn’t even been open a year, but all-day eatery Highwater really shines when the sun goes down.
It’s tucked into the lower end of Cuba St, just above what used to be the high-water mark of the harbour (hence the name).
Everything is carefully curated – from the mainly local wine and beer menu to the coffee and the food, which hums with innovation, including the tuna tartare with roast peach, and the yummy tomato and cumin baked eggs.
If it looks as though the staff are busy, that’s because they are – churning their own butter and making their own bacon, sausages and sauces.
But they still have time to be nice.
Play Families
Can you even call yourself a Kiwi if you haven’t visited our national museum?
Rated by Lonely Planet as one of the top
500 places on Earth, Te Papa should hover somewhere near the top of every New Zealander’s bucket list.
This behemoth on Wellington’s waterfront is, after all, the repository of our nation’s treasures, from the Mana Whenua exhibition and the Toi Art national art collection to ShakerMod, the earthquake simulator.
And don’t miss the staggering Gallipoli: The
Scale of our War exhibition, which follows eight ordinary New Zealanders through the Gallipoli campaign, using models 2.4 times human size, created by those clever clogs at Weta Workshop.
Couples
Since 1902, thousands of people have shuttled up and down Kelburn’s steep hills on the fire enginered cable car.
Mostly they’re commuters, students and tourists, but for romantics looking for a place to sit and gaze over the city, enveloped by native bush or hundreds of roses, then jump on the funicular to enjoy the slow trundle up the hill to the Botanic Gardens.
I can’t verify the accuracy of this claim, but friends tell me the gardens are a good place to pop the question.
Solo travellers
What most overseas visitors usually lose their minds over is the fact that Zealandia is only a 10-minute drive, or a short bus ride, from the central city.
If you want to see what New Zealand looked like before we arrived and started messing things up, this pest-proof urban island is probably the closest you’ll get.
I could tell you about the 140 rare little spotted kiwi or the tuatara or giant we¯ ta¯ , but you should really see them for yourself.
Last year, Time magazine named Zealandia one of the world’s top 100 places, and who are we to argue with Time?
Adventurers
Some would say remaining upright in a Wellington southerly is an extreme sport. But if you’re the sort who likes flinging yourself off bridges, then the capital has your back.
From bike tours and cross-country horse trekking to Lord of the Rings tours and kayaking, there are plenty of ways to expend your excess energy.
Or just run or walk up the many hills.
Best photo spot
I’m biased because I lived there for almost eight years, but Mt Vic is one of Wellington’s best suburbs. And its lookout is where you need to head for the best Instagram shots.
Rising 196m above the city, the Mt Victoria Lookout has stunning panoramic views of Wellington’s city, harbour and hills.
You can drive there or stroll along one of the many wooded trails in the Town Belt, the
425 hectares of land that some far-sighted city father saved from development in 1873. Take in a sunrise or sunset, watch the ships sail in or, if you’re a plane-spotter, fill your boots.
Stay Budget
The YHA Wellington hostel is clean and modern, with 320 beds, so you’d have to be pretty unlucky not to secure accommodation
Best of all is the location – just around the corner from Wellington’s entertainment strip, Courtenay Pl, close to the waterfront and Te Papa, and within strolling distance of The Beehive, cable car and Victoria University. Plus, there’s a New World supermarket across the road.
If you don’t fancy sharing a room, there’s also private en-suite accommodation.
Family
Close to Wellington Railway Station, and not far from the ferry terminals, is the Rydges Wellington, a family-friendly hotel with a range of rooms, including 19 apartment-style suites kitted out with kitchenettes, washer and dryer facilities, and killer views across the harbour or city.
If you’re in town for a big game or concert, it’s a short stroll to Sky Stadium, known affectionately as the Cake Tin.
Go the other way and you’ll hit Parliament, where you can wander the halls of power and see where the big decisions are made.
Location
The heart of New Zealand’s capital is just 2km across, which means you’re usually not far from the next place you want to be.
But, if location is as important as everyone says, then QT Wellington has it made. It’s near the dining/shopping/entertainment precincts of Courtenay Pl and Cuba St, across the road from the waterfront and Te Papa, and a short ride to the airport.
No-one will mind though if you cancel your plans and stay put: the rooms are so comfy and the art is so spectacular, you’ll find enough to thrill inhouse.
Luxury
If you think you’ve fallen through a portal and ended up in Europe, you’re not alone.
The Bolton Hotel is an oldie but a goodie, drenched in old-school European charm and fivestar decor that will calm after a day on the tourist treadmill.
Opened in 2005, it’s close to Parliament, the Reserve Bank and numerous Government departments (it’s not unusual to see politicians having serious conversations in the downstairs cafe or Artisan Dining House, up one flight of stairs). The Bolton’s High Tea is not to be missed – a classic experience as delicious and Instagramworthy as you’d expect.
Claim to fame
Legend has it that The Beehive was, in fact, designed on the back of a napkin as a joke.
The designer never thought for a moment it would be built, let alone still be home to politicians and their advisers half a century later.