Wellington, New Zealand, Oceania
By Ryan Morris-Reade
Wellington is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, surrounded by rugged coastline and the towering Rimutaka
mountain Range, locally known as the Rimutakas. It is New Zealand’s capital city (also the southern most capital of the world), and it’s New Zealand’s second largest city, although with a combined urban population of roughly 395,000, it isn’t actually very large at all.
The best time to visit is in Spring, Summer and the beginning of Autumn, which run from early December to late March. Visiting in Winter isn’t recommended as the weather can be cold and miserable for long stretches, with torrential rain and driving winds. While the city is famously known for its strong winds, and it can get very windy at times, it generally isn’t so bad in most areas. The winds are at their worst in the CBD, where in the 1970s many of the tall buildings were built with little regard for designing wind breaks into the structures, resulting in tall smooth buildings that allow the wind to flow down unhindered, causing mighty gusts that tear away umbrellas and sometimes sweep elderly people and children alike off their feet.
Wellington City is the cultural and creative hub of the Wellington region, with loads of art gallery’s, trendy cafés and comfortable bars. One of the best places to start exploring is Cuba Mall, the pedestrian street in the centre of the city, just south of the CBD. Cuba Mall runs for a few blocks and is littered with restaurants, bars, cafés, gallery’s, buskers and street preformers, op-shops and fashion boutiques. A good place to come and have breakfast in the morning and watch the interesting and colourful variety of people flowing past. Many of the cafés make excellent coffee and offer New Zealand’s unique cuisine, a mixture of styles from around the world.
One of the great things about Wellington’s small size is the ability to get around easily. If you don’t mind walking, you can reach many places on foot, and the public transport is fairly decent, with buses running all over the city (a lot of them electric), and a few trains to
By Ryan Morris-Reade
Wellington is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, surrounded by rugged coastline and the towering Rimutaka mountain Range, locally known as the Rimutakas. It is New Zealand’s capital city (also the southern most capital of the world), and it’s New Zealand’s second largest city, although with a combined urban population of roughly 395,000, it isn’t actually very large at all.
The best time to visit is in Spring, Summer and the beginning of Autumn, which run from early December to late March. Visiting in Winter isn’t recommended as the weather can be cold and miserable for long stretches, with torrential rain and driving winds. While the city is famously known for its strong winds, and it can get very windy at times, it generally isn’t so bad in most areas. The winds are at their worst in the CBD, where in the 1970s many of the tall buildings were built with little regard for designing wind breaks into the structures, resulting in tall smooth buildings that allow the wind to flow down unhindered, causing mighty gusts that tear away umbrellas and sometimes sweep elderly people and children alike off their feet.
One of the great things about Wellington’s small size is the ability to get around easily. If you don’t mind walking, you can reach many places on foot, and the public transport is fairly decent, with buses running all over the city (a lot of them electric), and a few trains to
