Moving with a 2 year old
 

Hi, my husband and I are moving to Wellington on 16th September with out two year old little boy. Does any one have any tips on mother and toddler groups and/ or meeting new friends. It's all very scary but also exciting :)

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

can't help with the child groups but I'm up the coast a little but would be happy to pop over to you once you're ready for a cuppa and a chat

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

Good luck with the flights :)

Plunket is a good place to start:

http://www.plunket.org.nz/
http://www.facebook.com/PlunketNZ

This one's the other side of Wellington to Haitaitai but has useful links.

http://www.facebook.com/toddlerintow

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

I used to live on that side of town. I had a friend with very young children and she used to take them to the Playcentre. http://www.wellingtonplaycentre.org....laycentre.html

I have also noticed mums with babies/tots after 9am meeting in the local coffee shops in large groups.

Don't be afraid (it is perfectly safe, crimewise) to walk down past Hataitai school to Oriental Bay with buggy, en route there is a play area in Roseneath and then a couple of others on Oriental Bay itself. If you engage other people with tots in playground in conversation you will no doubt gel with someone maybe even another expat as that is central Wellington for sure. BTW do not walk through the Mount Victoria tunnel, it is far too fumey. Easiest car park in Central Wellington to be sure of a space at anytime is the Reading Cinemas one.
Check out Capital E for kids activities (walking distance via Oriental Bay).
Kilbirnie swimming pool (WRAC) has a creche if you fancy going for a swim/gym etc.
None of the Cafes in Wellington will bat an eyelid at a 2 year old...so go have lots of coffees for me :rofl:
Kilbirnie also has a library and post office.
Best supermarket in your range is New World at the end of Oriental Parade but Kilbirnie also has Countdown and the dreaded Pak n Save.
Moore Wilsons on College Street (town centre) has a good toy dept on top floor(lift) and is also good for unusual foodstuffs. The other toy shops are Farmers (Cuba Street only) and Toyworld on Ballance Street.
Can also recommend Hataitai Medical Practice on Tapiri Street. We stayed with them even though we eventually moved across town.
Nearest softplay centre is in Newtown http://www.junglerama.co.nz/

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

It won't take long to make friends with a child in tow :) There are endless activities and playgroups to check out :) Start with your local library and plunket. Also, check out the playgroup in your local church or community centre - put yourself out there, it takes some work but it will come! I have a few tips on our blog - www.kidsintow.co.nz

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

Hi there, we live in Wellington, I have a little 10 month old boy who acts more like a 2 year old - lol! There is one mummies group in Wellington you can join with over 600 other mums in it with small babies and toddlers like you. If I remember rightly I have to add you as a friend on facebook then add you to the group. It's really great and someone often puts a post out for meetups etc and there's plenty of advice on there including places to go etc. I have a long, long leaflet with lots of things to do but can't seem to add attachments on here, so I've cut it down:
Let me know if you want a copy of it and I can scan it over to you.

CAFES
The main reason for suggesting these cafes is that they have enough room for buggies.

ASB Sports Centre cafe, Kilbirnie.
Easy to get the buggies in and out and plenty of parking.
Greta Point café, Greta Point.By the water on Evan’s Bay. Seating outside if you wish.
Little League, Newtown.Coffee and shopping under the same roof.
Gasworks, Miramar.Lots of room and kids activity page provided.
Cafés at the Zoo, Newtown.Two cafes, one by the entrance to the zoo and one inside the zoo with a playground for children.
Southern Cross, Abel Smith Street.384 908539 Abel Smith St, (off Cuba St) .
www.thecross.co.nzPossibly the most child friendly cafe/bar/restaurant you will find in Wellington. Check out the
website for a full range of activities and features from face painting to massage.
Jimmy’s café, Courtenay Place.The St James Theatre,
77-87 Courtenay Place.
No toys for the kids but loads of space for buggies for when the babies are tiny, plus the coffee,
food and bathrooms are great.
Café at Te Papa, City.Giant lego blocks and some toys to play with.
Clarks café.Wellington City Library, Victoria Street. Has a play area for the little ones.

PLAYGROUNDS
Mt Victoria, Pirie Street.Fenced. No toilets. Parking easy.
Mt Victoria, Elizabeth Street.Small playground but quite fun.
Roseneath, The Crescent.Fabulous views. Great equipment. Huge Slide. Grassy area.
No toilets. Parking not that easy. Find it by the bus stop that has a seagull painted on it.
Hataitai, 112 Waipapa Road.Fully Fenced. Great equipment. No toilets. Parking is easy.
Hataitai, Treasure Grove.Entrances also from Kainui Road.
Nice views. Huge Slide. Large grassy area. No toilets. Parking easy.
Hataitai, Alexandra Road.Also accessible from Hepara Street. Nice views. Equipment a bit tired. Large grassy area. No toilets. Parking easy. Find it by looking for the green sign on Alexandra Road, a small distance from Lookout Road.
Oriental Bay, Freyberg Beach.Climbing frame, slide etc.
City, Waitangi Park.Swings, slides and climbing equipment. Water play equipment.
City, Frank Kitts Park.Swings, slides and climbing equipment.
City, Cuba Mall.Basic slide but fun all the same.

PLAYGROUNDS
Houghton Bay, Houghton Bay Road.A playground with great equipment. Good for crawlers. No toilets. Parking is easy.
Breaker BayAcross the road from the beach. Nice views. Great equipment. No toilets. Parking is easy.
Island Bay, Shorland Park.Lots of equipment. Part of the playground is fenced. Toilets. Parking is easy.
Miramar, Chelsea Street.Great equipment. No toilets. Parking is easy.
Brooklyn, Central Park.Fantastic flying fox. Toilets. Parking is easy.
Strathmore, Monorgan Road.(behind Scots College).
Metal play helicopter, climbing frame.
Seatoun, Churchill Park, Dundas St.
Several different structures for different ages. Includes a jungle gym and an anchor with a chain that kids like to play with.

INDOOR PLAY
TinytownKilbirnie Recreation Centre. Ph
387 1491.
Active fun for under fives with a bouncy castle, ride-on cars and playhouses. Mon - Sat, various times. For children aged 0-5yrs $4 (with Community Services Card $2), under 1 free.
Kilbirnie Recreation CentrePh 387 1491. Saturdays and
Sundays, also School Holidays.
Bikes, Scooters, and Wheels.
Bring your child’s bike or scooter and ride indoors – great for wet days. Small charge applies.
Capital E, Civic SquareFree children's playground in the middle of the city. Parents room.
JungleramaWellington Indoor Sports Complex, Hall Street, Newtown.
www.junglerama.co.nz. Open 7
days, 9.30am - 5.30pm.
Admission charges apply, but free admission for adults & children under 1.
ASB Sports Centre, KilbirnieDuring the week the kids can kick a ball around on one of the courts (for $1.60 and you can hire a ball for $2.50 or take your own) and there is a cafe with a good fenced-off play-area.

PLAYCENTREPlaycentre is a parent-run cooperative providing preschool
education for children from birth to school age. Information evenings are held each term for people interested in finding out more. Waiting list applies.
Hataitai Playcentre72A Hamilton Road.
Ph 386 2560.
Miramar Playcentre23 Crawford Green.
Ph 388 1498.
Houghton Valley Playcentre84 Houghton Bay Road.
Ph 387 7614.
Newtown Playcentre3 Harper Street, Newtown.
Ph 389 3475.

PRE-SCHOOL PLAY
Hataitai Playgroup
112 Waipapa Road. Mon, Wed & Fri 9am - 12pm. Also Tues 1pm to 3pm. Group size 25. For enrolment contact Miranda Douglas at the playgroup.
Babysteps
Thistle Hall (upstairs), cnr Arthur and Cuba Streets 10am-12pm on Thursdays during term time. $2 per family, per session For more information call Lily: 3862433 or 021 0220 4635.
Wellington City Salvation Army First Steps Playgroup
92-94 Vivian Street, City. Thursdays at 9.30am - 11.30am. Morning tea is provided for the parents/caregivers. Phone 801 9278.
Kilbirnie Salvation Army Playgroup
175 Onepu Rd, Lyall Bay. 387 3917.
Brooklyn Playgroup184
Ohiro Road, Brooklyn. 801 8238.

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

Hi living in welly, thank you so much for your response. It's fantastic! The last few days have been very scary and your response has made me feel so much better. If you wouldn't mind added me to the face book page that would be great. Emma Needham, with a profile picture of drinking a glass of champagne.
We are going to check out the library tomorrow and attempt to get our bearings.
Thanks again and enjoy the rest of the weekend

Re: Moving with a 2 year old
 

No worries Emma! Glad to be of help. I'm really keen to meet other mums from England as I do sometimes miss home.....It's really easy to get into groups here and meet other mums and people from Wellington are very friendly generally. There's a post on the facebook group I'm going to add you to, about a meetup for us English mums Friday 5th Oct. I'll join you in on the conversation. I see you are in Hataitai, which is right next to me, I'm in Kilbirnie:)