New Zealand is for the birds
Despite the long flight, on which I finally watched Lord of the Rings, New Zealand was everything I hoped. I landed in the capital city of Wellington jazzed to spend the week. I resisted the urge to nap (17 hour time difference) and immediately went for a walk to shake out the cabin fever (17 hours in the air). A bus took me up to the Mount Victoria lookout, or more commonly called Mt. Vic, to catch the sunset, and I got an amazing panorama view of the city. Because of all the hills, I soon found out there’s a lot of amazing viewpoints in the city.
Gandalf in the Wellington airport.
The first night I walked over to the Lux Light Festival on the waterfront. It was a really cool and somewhat interactive display of lights, video, technology and water spread across a few neighborhoods. And there was a taco food truck, so it was pretty much perfect. I was surprised that even though it was a festival and there were lots of people, I never felt crowded – a stark contrast to festivals in Austin.
I heard about these glow worms in the Wellington Botanical Gardens, and it was definitely a highlight. It wasn’t a far walk to the Gardens from the CBD, or Central Business District, but I quickly learned most things are uphill. It’s early winter in New Zealand and the temperatures were pleasantly in the 50’s, with little wind. “Little wind” is not really a thing in a city nicknamed “Windy Wellington”, but it was a nice week and it stayed under 25 mph. The Gardens are free and have many beautiful trails, but you have to go at night for the glow worms. I followed the paths to a creek and turned off my flashlight. After my eyes adjusted, tons of tiny glow-in-the-darks spots were all around me. It was an incredible sight.
This might sound scary – alone in the woods at night. I was definitely thinking, “This is how every horror movie starts.” But Wellington, with it’s high education level and low unemployment, has relatively low crime and fun fact: it’s the number one least corrupt country. I read that on wikipedia, so you know it’s true. In case you are wondering, the US is 18th. So, if you are a female solo traveler, I’d highly recommend New Zealand.
I never felt concerned for my safety, people were quite friendly and I even met a handful of Americans living there.
Wellington is known for its numerous mountain biking trails and they did not disappoint. Makara Peak offered a swinging bridge and some nice smooth trails with lots of switchbacks, which were great after going straight uphill which seemed like forever. I rented a bike from the awesome folks at Mud Cycles, and even had a female American tour guide.
Another notable thing about Wellington is their large number of craft breweries. You can even pick up a map for the self-guided craft beer trail. I stopped into Fork and Brewer for a drink, and was surprised at the number of their brews. They offer flights or half pints if the selection is too overwhelming.
You can easily find the Weta Cave by the trolls outside.
And of course I couldn’t go to New Zealand without checking out Peter Jackson‘s Weta Cave. You don’t have to be a LOTR’s fan to appreciate the costumes, props and digital mastery that is created there. The tour itself was just ok, but you can always check out the Weta Cave’s gift shop to see some props, or even purchase a LOTR replica sword or the Sword of Boromir movie replica for only $9999.
My favorite day was hiking 10k of the Te Araroa trail. I took a train about 40 minutes out of the city to Paekakariki, the trail follows the railway, and spent the next three hours marveling at the amazing view of the Kapiti Coast. The trail is well marked, with steps that go up and up and up, and a couple swinging bridges. Not to mention all the sheep friends I made.
What about those birds, you ask? While New Zealand is known for the kiwi birds, them and many other species are on the brink of extinction. The country has many ongoing efforts to preserve the natural habitats for all the amazing wildlife, and you can’t help but hear the birds’ songs in all the parks. The city of Wellington has many beautiful earthquake-proof buildings, one thing I luckily didn’t experience while I was there.
I read an article by Alton Brown on his food journey in New Zealand, he said “On my way to the register, I make accidental eye contact with three total strangers, and every one of them smiles back.” That really summed up my experience also.
Flying from Auckland to Wellington, get a window seat so you don’t miss the volcanoes.
Tips:
- You don’t really need to change money. I used my credit card (one that doesn’t charge exchange fees) the whole time. There were a couple places that changed me a minimal transaction fee. Also, I hopped on a train without a ticket and they only take cash onboard, so buy tickets ahead of time if you want to use credit cards.
- You don’t need a car if you are staying in the city. You can walk, bus, Uber, or train almost everywhere.
- Explore the many trails by bike or foot, and you’ll be rewarded with excellent views.
- Check out the National Te Papa Museum, it’s worth every penny. Also, it’s free.
- Make time to hike the Te Araroa trail from Paekakariki to Pukerua Bay, this was hands down my favorite activity.
The larger than life display at the Te Papa Museum create by Weta for the WWI exhibit.