Wellington without a car?
 

So what's is there to do in the coolest little capital providing that we manage to catch it 'on a good day' for a change. Last time we were there it was anything but a good day and we spent the best part of two days in Te Papa hiding from wind and rain.

The previous Wellington thread is a little old and worn out; so thought we might start again. I am looking for ideas on what to do in Wellington for folks that have already done the obvious Te Papa, Cable Car and such like.

Any worthwhile beaches or places that are easy to get to beyond the CBD? Any attractions, wildlife, gardens and the like or where you can take a pleasant ride out on the train, a boat or a bus? Nice foodie pubs where you can sit outside and enjoy the view or watch the world go by?

Re: Wellington without a car?
 

Eastbourne is nice if the weather is good, catch a ferry from Wellington's Queen's Wharf, over to Days Bay. There's a Brew'd pub there, haven't tried it myself, but heard good things about it.
Do you like walking/tramping? Some of the Skyline walks are good, and not too strenuous, the leaflets are in the i-Site. My favourite is Botanic Gardens to Island Bay, and bus back to town, but you can hop off the track in lots of places if you want to make it a bit shorter.
Botanic Gardens themselves are nice, lots of Kaka flying around there now.
There's nice bars around the waterfront, where you can sit and people watch, or Cuba Street is always good for people watching.
Willis Street and Manners Street are good for shopping, and there's plenty of places to eat all the way up to Courtenay Place.

Petone is worth a look, there's a beach, and lots of cafes and boutique stores, and you can bulk buy Percy Pigs at the Dutch Shop. Get the train out there for a few bucks.

You can get the Waikanai train up as far as Pukerua Bay or Paraparaumu for beaches, or get the Wairarapa Service to Masterton, the views as you come through the other side of the tunnel are fantastic.

Hope this has given you some ideas.

Re: Wellington without a car?
 

:thumbup: that all sounds good - thanks!

Re: Wellington without a car?
 

Could get the bus out to Miramar for Weta Workshop
Or bus out to Brooklyn and walk to up Kowhai Park and where the wind turbine used to be (might be back as they were replacing it) and get some great views of the city if weather is good. Art Deco Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn too

Re: Wellington without a car?
 

The Days Bay ferry service from Queens Wharf is pretty good for a day trip out. Cobar is the place to go for lunch there. Bit on the expensive side but very good. The Chocolate Dayz cafe also very good next door if you aren't interested in going that posh. If it's a really nice day the Days Bay Pavilion cafe and ice cream place is pretty good and the kids can play outside in the grounds and run around on the grass. Toys and kiddies ride on's provided. Not much else there but you could have a stroll in to Eastbourne.

If it's a proper walk or bike ride you want then take a bus to the end of the Muritai Road to the Pencarrow car park, or as close as you can get. There's a Bike Shed there The Bike Shed - Pencarrow where you can hire bikes and buy refreshments for a bit of an adventure. You can walk or ride from here through the gate and follow the Pencarrow Coast Road all the way around the headland to the lower lighthouse or take the track just prior up to the big lighthouse. There's more tracks up at the top taking you around many loops around beautiful lakes, bush tracks and wetlands. The views from the top are spectacular. I did it on the MTB when I lived there and it was an awesome day out. Pencarrow Coast and Parangarahu Lakes Area | Greater Wellington Regional Council

If you catch Wellington on a good day Plimmerton is a nice place to go on the train (Kapiti line). There's a nice sand beach there, very shallow water for many metres and a few shops/cafe's/chippy/couple restaurants.

If you want to go further you could stay on the train to Raumati Beach (may have to get off at Paraparaumu and get a bus there ?) where there's a few really nice restaurants and an OK beach. There's a great park/playground there with a kids splashpad and choo choo train that goes around the grounds that you can sit on with the kids. Only operates on a Sunday I think. The Mac's Brewery pub there is pretty good for lunch and a decent pint.

Some really good eating places in Petone and a decent high street full of shops to browse and great access by train or bus.

Re: Wellington without a car?
 

Thank you :goodpost: