Wellington was a fantastic city to visit! It felt quite urban despite the fact it isn’t a super large city. I arrived on a Friday afternoon, 3rd of January, and departed on a Sunday afternoon, 5th of January, but I made good use of those 48 hours to explore as much as possible. I rode the cable car up from the central business district to Kelburn high above the city where I walked back down through the Wellington Botanic Garden to the New Zealand Parliament. I also hiked up to the peak of Mount Victoria, walked along the waterfront, and strolled among the busy city streets. Wellington is a little more gritty than Auckland, but also has many beautiful buildings, great neighborhoods, and gorgeous scenery. I think it has a little more "character" as well (it seemed to have more of an edgy vibe, though I very much enjoyed both cities).
Arriving in the city via a 5.5-hour bus ride from Napier. Along the way you can see one of the commuter lines extending through these northern suburbs. What a beautiful commute it would be!
Downtown off in the distance
I was dropped off at the main train terminal downtown (a few more photos are further down)
First order of business after checking into my hotel is a flat white
Then off to the funicular to check out the views of downtown from above and visit the Wellington Botanical Gardens
Heading into the Wellington Botanic Garden
Heading through the Seddon Memorial and Bolton Street Cemetery towards the Parliament grounds
Arriving at the Parliament grounds
After visiting the Parliament grounds I stopped by the Wellington Railway Station again to check it out
Now back in downtown
This coffee shop is in the front of the beautiful building shown above
Downtown waterfront
Saturday morning walk from downtown to the Newtown neighborhood
Basin Reserve/Cricket Wellington
Dominion Museum Building and National War Memorial grounds
Back into downtown Wellington
Time for a delicious flat white and tasty scone
Heading towards Mount Victoria
Heading up Mount Victoria
Descending down Mount Victoria into Roseneath
Into the Oriental Bay area
Heading back into the downtown neighborhood of Te Aro
Scenes from in and around Cuba Street in Te Aro
Elsewhere in the Te Aro neighborhood
Wandering around the Mount Victoria neighborhood
And that’s it from Wellington. I did go on a tour of the Parliament but photography wasn’t allowed inside the buildings. I had a great time in Welly as they call it and would definitely recommend others spend a few days in this city as well!