Political capital. Cultural hub. Creative center. Film powerhouse. All of these phrases can be used to describe Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. With a population of a mere 180,000 and a central location that affords a convenient jumping-off point for any sort of New Zealand adventure, Wellington doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It has no snow-capped mountains or white-sand beaches, but it does offer a lot of equally worthy sights. And just because it’s a world capital doesn’t mean that its worthy sights can’t be explored on a budget. Here, I’ve compiled a list of must-sees in Wellington that won’t break your wallet.

www.wellingtonnz.com

As a general jumping-off point, I’d recommend making a visit to Te Papa Tongarewa – The National Museum of New Zealand. Not only is a visit to Te Papa completely free, but it’s also a great way to get a feel for New Zealand’s history and character.

Located at the corner of Cable and Taranaki streets, this modern-looking museum offers visitors five unique floors of exhibits. Visitors can learn about New Zealand’s Maori heritage, its history as a British colony, its geological make-up and trajectory, its environment, and its unique flora and fauna, among other things. What makes Te Papa stand out from most museums I’ve been to is its design and set-up. It’s a visually appealing museum, and has a bunch of interactive facets to some of its exhibits that really enhance the experience.

www.tepapa.govt.nz

To really get a feel for Wellington, a panoramic view of the city and harbor is just the ticket. There are two options I’d recommend. The first is to catch a Go Wellington bus to the lookout at the top of Mount Victoria. Mount Victoria is a large hill – not actually a mountain – that sits just on the edge of downtown Wellington. You can hike to the lookout if you want to make an afternoon of it, but catching the Mt. Vic bus is both quicker and less strenuous. From the lookout, you can see the whole compact city, as well as the harbor, the airport, and a few suburbs. The best times to go are on clear days, in either the morning or early evening to avoid the tourist crowds. If sunset falls into the time frame when the buses are still running (check the schedules at any bus stop), I’d recommend that, too.

For a slightly different view at a spot that’s much less-visited, catch one of the (less frequent) buses to the suburb of Brooklyn, and then make your way to the Wind Turbine. While not an official city lookout, the spot still affords a stunning view out over the city and harbor.

Wellington is known for its culture and its creativity, and both of these can be observed in the sights and sounds of Cuba Street. Lined with boutique shops, pubs, galleries, and an array of international restaurants, Cuba Street is a prime destination on any day. If you’re hungry, one notable restaurant is The Matterhorn – an upscale bar/eatery that was recently named New Zealand’s best by Cuisine magazine. If you favor international flavors, the following are well-represented on Cuba Street: Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian), Indian, Turkish, French, Italian, and even Mexican at the Flying Burrito Brothers.

If food isn’t a priority, perhaps find a seat outside a café or pub, sit down with a Speight’s, and just take in the sights of Cuba Street. Part of the street (the Cuba Mall) is reserved solely for pedestrian traffic, and also usually attracts a number of street performers on a warm day. Many nationalities can be seen represented in the faces passing by – be they backpackers, camera-toting tourists, business men and women, or youths on skateboards – and some of the small shops have a certain quirky charm.

Anyone who knows Wellington will know that the city is often characterized by windy, wet weather. But let me be the first to tell you that, when the skies do clear up – because, I promise, they do – Wellington transforms. The sun (slightly brighter and hotter in this part of the world) makes everything looks fresh, and all the Wellingtonians come out to enjoy the weather. On a nice day, you can find probably half the city down by Lambton Harbor and Oriental Bay, and so you should try to make your way there, too.

Oriental Bay is Wellington’s small beach, where, on a spring afternoon, you can find many people rollerblading, walking dogs, and licking towering cones of delicious gelato. You may even be able to join in on a pick-up game of rugby or volleyball in the sand, if you’re adventurous enough. Further along the waterfront at Queens’s Wharf, you can rent kayaks to take out into the harbor, which is a nice (and inexpensive) way to see the city from a different vantage point. The real key to “doing as the locals do” is to simply go out and do! Enjoy the weather and what the city has to offer.

One of Wellington’s most well-known attractions is the historic Cable Car. The cable car has been in use in Wellington for over a century, and is still used as a daily mode of transportation by locals. You can catch the red tram yourself on Lambton Quay – right in the middle of the Wellington CBD – and ride it up the hillside to the Cable Car Museum, Skyline Restaurant, and Wellington Botanical Gardens. The views at the top drop-off station on their own are probably worth the $5 return fare ($2 if you hold a student ID), but I’d recommend taking a browse through the museum (it’s free), and also taking a walk through the gardens if the season is right.

www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz

If you’re already at the cable car lookout, why not take a short walk into the Wellington Botanical Gardens? The gardens house a variety of plants – both native and non-native – outdoors and in greenhouses. There’s also a small café and gift shop that you can stop at for a nice cup of tea in the rose garden.

Another place that could be of interest is the Wellington Zoo (also known as the Newtown Zoo). It’s easy enough to hop a bus into Newtown (there’s a stop right outside the zoo gates), and entry is between $10 and $15 for the day. While a smaller zoo than those you might find in larger cities, the Wellington Zoo has quality exhibits and a welcoming atmosphere. It’s been around for over a century, and has a great collection of animals, including some interesting native ones. The must-see at this zoo is the kiwi house, where you can catch glimpses of the nocturnal, flightless birds hopping around in underbrush. Try to time it so that you can attend the Kiwi Close Encounter with Tahi the one-legged kiwi. During this informative session, you can get an up-close look at a very special kiwi bird.

www.wellingtonzoo.com

If you’re just interested in the natives, however, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Wellington’s best-kept secrets. Just outside the city in the suburb of Karori, the sanctuary is just what it sounds like – a large protected swatch (roughly one square mile) of land where native flora and fauna have been allowed to thrive. Getting to the sanctuary is a bit tricky, as only one or two bus lines run out to Karori, but the trip is worth it. Wear your hiking shoes, and allow enough time to really explore some of the tramping trails that wind through the park. You can either get a map and go at it on your own, or you can join a guided tour. Along the way, you may get lucky enough to spy some native birds, tuatara lizards, and even giant wetas. If you visit near dusk, or go on one of the Sanctuary’s special night tours, you may even get to spy a spotted kiwi bird in the wild. When I went, entry to the site was $12 with a student ID, although the guided and night tours would probably run you a bit more.

www.sanctuary.org/nz

If these ideas get your juices flowing, why not go all out and do some serious tramping? It’s a national pastime in New Zealand; kind of like rugby. In Wellington, a good spot to start is Island Bay, the southernmost city suburb that hugs the coast of the Cook Straight, where you can then hike all the way to the fur seal colony at Sinclair Head between the months of May and October. You can catch the No. 1 city bus to either Island Bay or Owhiro Bay (the Owhiro Bay bus doesn’t run on weekends, however), and then hike the rest of the way. From Island Bay, the flat hike is roughly 10-11 kilometers round-trip, which sounds a lot longer than it actually is. On a clear day, you can glimpse the snow-capped mountains of the south island across the Strait, and visiting a wild seal colony is certainly something worth doing. The best part? All it costs is the bus fare.

Back in downtown Wellington, don’t pass up a stop at Parliament. This might sound like a really boring trip to anyone not enamored with politics, but it doesn’t have to be. You can take a guided tour of Parliament and learn how the New Zealand government works (hint: it’s a parliamentary democracy where they’re still loosely connected with the British monarch), and I’m told the tours are rather quick and not overly boring. However, just going down to see the buildings would be sufficient, too. There’s a reason the parliament building is referred to as “The Beehive.”

For the sports lover in the family, it might be worth it to try and catch a local game. Rugby (basically the national sport) and football (soccer to us Americans) are played at Westpac Stadium, and cricket is played at The Basin. Wellington, being one of New Zealand’s larger cities, often hosts some national sports games, with perhaps some of the most popular being All Blacks rugby matches.

www.westpacstadium.co.nz

The main street that runs through downtown Wellington – Lambton Quay – is the main attraction when it comes to shopping. Both Lambton Quay and Willis Street boast a number of stores, from affordable chains to high-end boutiques. Even if you’re not looking to buy anything, it can be fun to take a walk and look. On your way back uptown, stop in the Wellington i-site (basically an information hub) and gift shop for some ideas, and maybe a souvenir or two. While you’re there, be sure to check out the “fern ball” sculpture suspended in midair above Civic Square.

Sometimes dinner and a movie can be just the ticket to while away an evening, even while travelling abroad. In Wellington, I’d recommend Courtenay Place for such a night. Harboring a variety of restaurants, bars, and clubs, Courtenay Place has a lot to offer the palette. And the short street also houses two movie theaters – Reading Cinemas and The Embassy. I would personally recommend The Embassy, because it’s got a great story. An historical building, The Embassy theater was in jeopardy of being torn down years ago, until some local affluent Wellingtonians decided to save it. Among the members of the Embassy Theater Trust was director Peter Jackson. With his help, The Embassy was refurbished and revitalized just in time to host the world premiere of “Return of the King,” the last film in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Today, the theater shows both popular and independent films on its single screen, at prices often lower than what the flashy Reading charges. The inside of the Embassy is beautiful, too, complete with a bar and jazz club.

www.deluxe.co.nz

Along the entertainment vein, there’s much more Wellington has to offer. The Wellington Opera House and St. James Theater stage various productions throughout the year, from plays, to musicals, to ballets. The Royal New Zealand Ballet calls Wellington home, and I saw a good production of “Romeo and Juliet” by them when I was there. There are also smaller theaters to check out, and I found amateur night at the San Francisco Bath House (a comedy club on Cuba Street) to be very entertaining, as well.

www.stjames.co.nz

www.sfbh.co.nz

Wellington, in the past decade or so, has emerged as an international leader in film and digital effects. No small part of this has been thanks to Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which was filmed in New Zealand and put together right in what has been dubbed “Wellywood” by locals and foreigners alike. Many Wellington-based tours offer stops at film sites (a majority of them being “Lord of the Rings” locations), though you can often get a taste on your own if you know where to do. Some of the hiking trails on Mount Victoria, for example, are labeled with plaques denoting where certain scenes were filmed.

Recently in the suburb of Miramar (where the studios are), Jackson’s Weta Workshop (that worked on “Lord of the Rings,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “King Kong,” among others) opened the Weta Cave – a gift shop and gallery where visitors can watch a video about the Weta studios and view/purchase collectables and film souvenirs. This might be a budget-buster for the avid film fan, but it’s an interesting visit nonetheless. If nothing more, the free video gives some insight into where Wellington film could be headed.

www.wetanz.co.nz

(For some of my own forays into “Lord of the Rings” tourism – in Wellington and beyond – see my travel narrative at www.meetmeinmiddle-earth.blogspot.com )

This is hardly an exhaustive list; Wellington has far too much to see and do to be contained on a simple hub page. But, having lived in Welly for five months as a student, I’d like to think this is at least is a good start.

The rest is up to you to discover on your own.