There are so many great ways of exploring our capital city. So often we make just fleeting visits for a show or a ferry crossing. But on this 5-Day tour we’re dedicating time to experience aspects of the city that can only be enjoyed slowly. Here’s a summary of the tour;
Day 1: Our explorations begin before we even get to Wellington. North of the city, near coastal Paekakariki, are two remnants of earlier times for our capital. Until 1964 the principal way of getting around Wellington was by tram. We’ll take a ride on a restored Wellington Tram to the U.S. Marines Memorial. Here on the sandy paddocks of the Kapiti Coast 15,000 Marines were stationed during WWII. Then it’s on into town and our base for the next four nights. The wonderful James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel. Dinner tonight is at the renowned parliamentary restaurant, Bellamy’s.
Day 2: Today has a coastal theme as we first orientate ourselves with the citywide views from the top of Mt Victoria before following the eastern coast road through seaside Seatoun and Scorching Bay before we reach the remote Ataturk Memorial positioned on the southern coast because of its similarity to the hillsides of Gallipoli. We return towards town via Brooklyn and lunch at Zealandia Ecosanctuary where our native birdlife is thriving. This afternoon we take a guided tour of Wright’s Hill Fortress, a WWII long range gun battery where two 135 ton guns could fire shells 18 miles into Cook Strait.
Day 3: We start the day with a leisurely wander through the excellent Harbourside Market next to Te Papa Museum. There’s time to check out what’s new in there too.
We enjoy a High Tea lunch at the glamourous Hotel Intercontinental before crossing town to our Parliament Buildings for a guided tour of the seat of governmental power. One street over is the architectural wonder that is Old St Paul’s church where we’ll have a tour too. This evening dinner is on Queens Wharf at Shed 5.
Day 4: There’s an opportunity for a sleep in or to catch up with friends or family as the morning is your own. We come together for a fabulous Chinese ‘Yum Cha’ lunch at hugely popular Dragons restaurant. Waiters constantly bring around a myriad offering of different dishes which you can accept or decline. A fun family gathering time in the capital. After lunch we head to the home of our Governor General, the palatial Government
House, for a guided tour of this majestic place. Hope you saved a space from lunch because it’s Italian at Fratelli in Blair St tonight.
Day 5: We say farewell to the city this morning. But not before we drop in to Cars Inc. a stunning collection of vehicles housed right next to the old General Motors assembly plant in Trentham. We’ll have a cuppa here while we admire the beautiful cars on display. Then we continue our journey home with a lunch stop in Greytown on the way.
We’re very lucky to have secured access to some of the activities on this dive below the surface of ‘The Coolest little Capital City in the World’.
