Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is a beautiful and attractive place for travelers. It is not for nothing that the inscription "excellent in location" flaunts on its coat of arms. What is the weather like in a wonderful city, how to get there and what to see? Read the article below!
Climate and weather in Wellington
The city is located in the southwest of the North island, in a bay of volcanic origin. The climate, which is subtropical marine, depends on this location. It can be called moderate, because during all seasons the city is not very hot and not too cold. In January, the thermometer usually holds at + 16 ° C, and in July - + 8 ° C.
About 1,445 mm of precipitation falls in the capital of New Zealand annually. In most cases, it rains, and it snows only in the mountains. The rainiest time is winter (from June to August). The city is very windy, with storm squalls, in addition, it is considered seismic hazard.
How to get to the capital of New Zealand - Wellington?
If you want to see the cherished New Zealand, then get ready for the long journey. There are no direct flights from Russia to the island state. And even with one change, you can’t get here. It’s best to closely search for tickets in advance. It is convenient to fly to New Zealand with connections in Dubai, Singapore, Sydney. Sometimes it turns out to find profitable flights with transfers in China. The option of buying individual tickets, rather than connecting flights, is possible, but in this case, have enough time for a transfer.
Another option is to fly to Auckland (with a change in the UAE or Singapore, and go to Wellington by train or bus. The transfer will take about 10 hours, and you can see two large cities of the country at once.
If you arrived in the capital of New Zealand by plane, take the bus or taxi from the airport to the city. To cover a distance of about 10 km by bus, you will pay almost 400 rubles, and by taxi - about 1,500 rubles.
Wellington Holidays: Meals and Accommodation
Tourists will have no problems with meals in the city, because Wellington accommodates more than 450 various cafes and restaurants. Especially a lot of them in the city center. Moreover, the price tag for lunch (with wine) is pleasantly surprising. The average restaurant bill is from 1,200 rubles, a cafe is 600 rubles. The capital of New Zealand has many amazing restaurants with cuisines of the world, but first, the traveler must taste the local cuisine.
Especially impressive are the Maori Aboriginal dishes - algae, honey, kawakawa leaves and purple potatoes. It is worth trying the bird "titi" and corn dishes. And the real local exotic is snails, scorpions and possum meat.
The capital of the country, New Zealand offers guests accommodation in hotels of various levels: from hostels to chic mansions. A night in a hostel will cost about 3 thousand rubles, and in a five-star hotel - from 10 thousand rubles.
Shopping in Wellington: what to buy?
Lovers of shopping in the city will definitely not be bored. If you want to buy designer clothes, then go to the Lambton embankment, and for outlandish ethnic things it is better to go to the Cuba area.
As a souvenir from New Zealand, it is best to bring wooden sculptures and jewelry from shells of the Maori people. Also pay attention to products from alpaca wool and New Zealand sheep: clothing and bedspreads. This canvas is unusually soft and pleasant to the touch. Good and local natural cosmetics from herbs. Get a few bars of soap and aromatic oils.
Tourists go to the city market for groceries. Here you can buy New Zealand cheeses, sausages, spices and wines. You can find exotic fruits.
When planning your shopping trip, it is worth remembering that in the capital and major cities of New Zealand, almost all stores are closed on Sundays. This does not apply to the market, which is just unfolding on this day.
Wellington Attractions
The city, surrounded by mountains and standing on them, looks very picturesque. The architecture of residential buildings and churches looks like English. Some travelers are very surprised at this fact.
What can you look at in the capital of New Zealand - Wellington? Be sure to go to the town hall - the most beautiful historical building in the city. This symbol of the country was built in 1904 in the Roman style. Initially, it was decorated with a tower, but for safety reasons (due to the threat of an earthquake) it was dismantled.
St. Paul's Cathedral was built at the end of the 19th century and is located in the historic district of Thorndon. Today it is no longer acting on the orders of the authorities, but is a place of pilgrimage for many tourists.
Wellington must visit the St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church, the City Art Gallery, and the Houses of Parliament.
Museums in Wellington
In addition to the beautiful nature and significant architectural monuments, Wellington has museums. The most famous of these is the National Museum on Kable Street. Its exposition tells the story of the colonization of New Zealand, life and lifestyle, the traditions of the Maori. One of the most famous exhibits of the exhibition is a squid weighing almost 500 kg, caught by local fishermen off the coast of Antarctica.
The Wellington City Museum talks about the tragedy that happened in 1968 on a ferry. It also hosts creative evenings and meetings, excursions for schoolchildren.
The Colonial Cottage Museum, located on Nern Street, opened in 1980. The cottage was built much earlier, in 1857.
The Wallis family lived in it, which later moved to more spacious housing. They wanted to demolish the cottage, but later it was decided to open a museum in it.
New Zealand is the dream of many travelers, the land of magnificent nature and a rich excursion program. In this article, you learned which city is the capital of New Zealand and how to spend time in it.