Showing 1-21 of 21 results
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Academy Galleries
Part of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Academy Galleries is a contemporary, international space for fine arts. When the gallery isn't exhibiting Academy graduates' work it's available for hire and may have artists' work from around the globe.
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Beehive
Office workers swarm around the distinctive and well-known modernist Beehive, which is exactly what it looks like, and forms part of NZ's parliamentary complex. It was designed by British architect Sir Basil Spence and built between 1969 and 1980. Controversy surrounded its construction and, love it or loathe it, it's the architectural symbol of the country.
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Botanic Gardens
The tranquil, 25-hectare Botanic Gardens are easily visited in conjunction with a cable-car ride. The large gardens contain native bush and other gardens, including the Lady Norwood Rose Garden with over 100 rose species. There's also a teahouse, visitors centre and the NZ headquarters of World Wide Fund for Nature, with information and displays. The gardens are also accessible from the Glenmore St entrance.
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Cable Car
One of Wellington's prime attractions, the red Cable Car chugs sweetly up the steep hill from Lambton Quay to Kelburn. At the top are photo opps galore: the Botanic Gardens, Carter Observatory, Skyline Cafe and the small, well-presented Cable Car Museum (free) which tells the cable car's tale since it began in 1902. Central Welly is a stroll through the Botanic Gardens, or by a series of steps that interconnect with roads (a 30- to 40-min walk).
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Carter Observatory
In the Botanic Gardens near the top cable-car terminal, Carter Observatory has displays and videos about astronomy and you can view the night sky through the telescope (weather permitting). Some sessions are weather-dependent; call for times.
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City Gallery Wellington
City Gallery Wellington has regularly changing contemporary exhibitions ranging from art to architecture and design. NZ artists feature prominently, but there are also international exhibitions. Also here is a popular lunch spot, the Nikau Gallery Café.
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Dominion Post Ferry
Trips across the harbour to Days Bay are made on the Dominion Post Ferry, departing from Queens Wharf 11 times daily weekdays and six times daily at weekends. It's a 30-minute trip to Days Bay, where there are beaches, a fine park and a boatshed offering canoes and rowboats for hire. A 30-45 minute walk from Days Bay brings you to the pretty settlement of Eastbourne, with appealing cafes and picnic spots.
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Government Buildings
Opposite the Beehive building, at the northern end of Lambton Quay, stand the 1876 Government Buildings, among the world's largest all-wooden buildings. With their block corners and slab wooden planking, you have to look twice to realise that these aren't made of stone. The buildings have been restored and house various offices, including the Deprtment of Conservation visitors' centre.
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Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
The unique, predator-free Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is about 2km west of the city. It has an admirable programme of forest and wetland restoration, and the area is home to over 30 native bird species. There are plenty of walking tracks, roving guides, and a range of guided tours available.
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Katherine Mansfield's Birthplace
One of NZ's most distinguished authors, Katherine Mansfield is known throughout the world for her short stories and often compared to Chekhov and Maupassant. Katherine Mansfield's birthplace is a lovingly restored and maintained house with a restful heritage garden. The excellent video A Portrait of Katherine Mansfield screens here and the 'Sense of Living' exhibition displays photographs of the period alongside excerpts from her writing.
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Matiu-Somes Island
At least three Days Bay ferries per day call in at Matiu-Somes Island, a former prisoner-of-war camp and quarantine station. Now a reserve managed by Department of Conservation, it has walking trails, beaches and abundant bird life. Take a picnic lunch.
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Mediaplex
The innovative Mediaplex combines a film archive, library, cinema and research centre under one roof and has an extensive collection with over 90,000 titles of NZ film, TV and video dating from 1895 to this year's sitcom. From Wednesday to Saturday, the cinema shows treasures from the vault.
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Museum of Wellington City & Sea
Professional exhibits in this three-storey museum offer an imaginative and interactive experience of Wellington's rich maritime history and social heritage since Maori settlement. There's a moving documentary about the tragedy of the Wahine , an impressive lighthouse lens, and ancient Maori legends are dramatically told using tiny hologram actors and excellent special effects.
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National Archives
One block away from the National Library, the National Archives is the official guardian of NZ's heritage documents. It displays several significant national treasures, including the original Treaty of Waitangi, NZ's founding document.
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National Cricket Museum
Cricket aficionados will be bowled over by the historical memorabilia at the National Cricket Museum. There's an extensive range of videos, displays about cricket's arrival in the colonies, the first international test in 1894 and the original 1743 Addington bat.
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National Library
Opposite the Beehive, the National Library houses the most comprehensive book collection in NZ. Also housed here is the Alexander Turnbull Library, an early colonial collection with many historical books, maps, newspapers and photographs. The library regularly hosts cultural events, and the National Library Gallery (admission free) has changing exhibits.
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National Tattoo Museum
The National Tattoo Museum has thousands of examples of tattoo art on show, including Maori moko (facial tattoos), traditional and contemporary tools, and a tattoo studio in case the urge strikes. For dedicated ink-lovers only.
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Old St Paul's
Completed in 1866, Old St Paul's looks quaint from the outside, while the striking interior is a good example of early English Gothic timber design. It features magnificent stained-glass windows and houses displays of Wellington's early history.
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Parliament House
Three buildings on Bowen St form NZ's parliamentary complex. Office workers swarm around the distinctive and well-known modernist Beehive, which is exactly what it looks like. Next door to the Beehive is Parliament House, completed in 1922, and beside this is the 1899 neogothic Parliamentary Library building. Free, one-hour tours of Parliament House depart from the visitors' centre in the ground floor foyer.
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Te Papa
Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, is an inspiring interactive look at NZ's history and culture. Dominating the waterfront, the striking construction took five years to build (costing around NZ$320 million). Since opening in 1998 there have been over nine million visitors. The museum quickly gained praise for its innovation and is now a national symbol, celebrating the essence of NZ and its people.
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Wellington Zoo
The well-maintained Wellington Zoo has a commitment to conservation and research. There's a wide variety of native and non-native wildlife; outdoor lion and chimpanzee parks; and a nocturnal kiwi house, which also houses tuatara. Check the website for details of 'zoo encounters', which allow you to hand-feed giraffes or red pandas (for a fee). The zoo is 4km south of the city.
Showing 1-21 of 21 results
