Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Four Days
Shake and bake the two-day itinerary, then decorate with the following: a seal-
spotting safari along wild Cape Palliser, followed by a wine tasting or two around
Martinborough
. The next day, head to
Paekakariki
for an ocean swim and ice
cream before wandering through the dunes of
Queen Elizabeth Park
next door.
Mt Victoria Lookout
LOOKOUT
The city's most accessible viewpoint is on the top of 196m-high Mt Victoria, east of the
city centre. You can take the Roseneath bus some of the way up, but the rite of passage is
to sweat it out on the walk (ask a local for directions or just follow your nose). If you've
got your own wheels, take Oriental Pde along the waterfront and then scoot up Carlton
Gore Rd. If this whets your appetite, ask a local how to get to the wind turbine or Mt
Kaukau - both higher, better, blinkin' marvellous.
Wellington Botanic Gardens
GARDENS
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
The hilly, 25-hectare botanic gardens can be
almost
effortlessly visited via a
cable-car ride (nice bit of planning, eh?), although there are several other entrances hid-
den in the hillsides. They boast a tract of original native forest along with varied collec-
tions including a beaut rose garden and international plant collections. Add in fountains,
a cheerful playground, sculptures, duck pond, cafe, magical city views and much more,
and you've got a grand outing indeed.
Cable Car
CABLE CAR
(
www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz
;
adult/child 1 way $4/1.50, return $7/2.50; departs every 10min,
7am-10pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-10pm Sat, 9am-9pm Sun)
One of Wellington's most famous attrac-
tions is the little red cable car that clanks up the steep slope from Lambton Quay to Kel-
burn. At the top is the Wellington Botanic Gardens, the Carter Observatory (
Click here
)
(
www.museumswellington.org.nz
;
admission free; 10am-5pm)
, which evocatively depicts
the cable car's story since it was built in 1902 to open up hilly Kelburn for settlement.
Take the cable car back down the hill, or ramble down through the gardens (a 20- to
60-minute walk, depending on your wend).
