CharlesMacLeod

Well, the flights are booked and the hotel room reserved and so I am off on my recce/job interview visit to Wellington. I will be in the city from Saturday afternoon (when I will be so jet lagged I will be unconscious) until Thursday evening.

Apart from the usual touristy places to visit (Te Papa will be a must,as will the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary) can any of you helpful Wellingtonians / Huttites / Pouiruans suggest useful places for someone without a car to visit to get a real feel for the place? I was thinking of spending a day doing the rounds of the suburbs on the trains, calling in at a convenient Pak n'Save and checking out the costs, and visiting Dymocks and fainting at the prices of books.

Any suggestions gratefully accepted!!!

irnbru14

Hire a bike for an hour or so and go for a wee cycle rond the bays, wander along the front of the harbour, go to Molly Malones and the Welsh Bar (I should be on commission!), take the Cablecar up to the Botanic Gardens, explore Cuba St stopping off for a coffee at Fidels or somewhere random and cool, do the Parliament Tour, go to Macs Brewery to try the local beers, go to New World to compare to Pac'n'Shave, go down Kent Terrace to check out the price of cars and the range, down Lambton to check out all the shops (or lack thereof..) and make sure you visit the museum piece that is Kirkcaldy and Staines, go and experience Bricoes sale and well as a comedy visit to try and buy something in Harvey Norman, go to the Warehouse (where everyone gets a bargaaaaaaain), go to Hells Pizza, boat across the harbour to Eastbourne and back on a windy day, get a bus throgh the mount Vic tunnel....

All good, hope it goes well for ya

luvwelly

What Irnbru said is spot on and most of it is easily covered on foot.... I repeat again..Wellington is small.....much smaller than you are probably imagining right now. You could hop on and off buses if the walking is too tiring but I think walking around (especially if the sun is shining) is the best way to get a feel for the place ; and then either trains or buses to see the places up the Kapiti coast sounds good too.
All of central Wellington is safe to walk around. There are larger out of town type shops at Thorndon Quay and near the airport; and if you want a UK style shopping mall to get an idea, the one in Lower Hutt is bigger than the one in Porirua. I usually just stick to Central Wellington though.

Definitely check out New World at Oriental Bay or Thorndon - Pak n Save would be a bit depressing.....there is a New World Metro on Willis Street as well (like a tardis). Woolworths is also more upmarket than Pak n Save - always good to ring the changes.
I hardly ever go there but you could check out Moore Wilsons which is in the centre of Wellington (College Street) and is used by restaurateurs....lots of special occasion stuff can be found there including a kitchen ware dept and toy section.

There's also the Reading Cinemas complex (food court,shops) and The Lanes tenpin bowling to check out in the centre. Borders Bookshop on Lambton Quay has a nice cafe upstairs and is open very late every night.
ENJOY - are you staying centrally?

CharlesMacLeod

Yep, I will be staying at the Novotel on the Terrace. A bit more upmarket than I would usually go for, but I am not having to pay for all of it so I have pushed the boat out....

luvwelly

It's all within walking distance then so easy peasy.