Things to do in Wellington you won’t find in the Guide Books!

I love popping down to Wellington, and each time I hunt for the best things to tell you about – some that you won’t find in the guide books.

If you’ve been here before you’ll have visited Te Papa Museum, ridden the Wellington Cable Car, visited Wellington Zoo and the peaceful and beautiful Zealandia, shopped along Cuba Street and Lambton Quay, eaten out and maybe taken a tour of Parliament.

So this post is for those of us who are looking for something a bit different. Some hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track things to do in Wellington if you’re kicking around here for a few days.

Wellington is a great place for a weekend away. The city centre is so easy to get around on foot and the waterfront is so accessible and walkable/scooterable.

You can walk the two kms from boho Cuba Street to the Beehive easily and see how the city changes – particularly in the conversations you’ll overhear!

And further away, there are no motorways running through the suburbs. You can’t beat Wellington on a good day, so they say. But the sign below shows that city is better known as Windy Wellington and I experienced both in a week!

But here are some things to do in Wellington that you may not know about:

Te Papa Exhibits

Don’t just see the free stuff! I visited the Dame Vivienne Westwood exhibition featuring her jewellery through the decades, last time I was in town. It was well worth paying the $30 to see. She was a lot more than punk and protest fashion.

The rest of Te Papa is free (including the awesome WWII Gallipoli exhibition), but make sure when you visit Te Papa, you check out the new exibits too. There is also a cafe on the ground floor, beside the gift shop, which is great for a coffee and a catch up with friends.

Have High Tea at QT

The QT Hotel is directly opposite Te Papa. The formerly Museum Hotel is filled with art work on the walls and sculptures and statues standing in the lobby. It’s worth popping in just for a look in the lobby, let alone for high tea!

On Saturdays and Sundays you can book a decadent high tea at Hippopotamus, with or without bubbles or cocktails. Three tiers of savouries (including a very tasty plant based sausage roll), sandwiches and sweets are delivered along with piping refills of your choice of tea. If you’re a scone and clotted cream kind of girl, sadly they don’t serve that.

But it’s the décor that will wow you first as you step into Hippopotamus and feast your eyes on the girly pinks and reds of the high back chairs and the view across to Te Papa and out to the harbour.

We had started off the week with a couple of nights here to celebrate a significant birthday for our cousin Kate: my sister Pip, me and Kate on a girls weekend staying at QT Wellington, in two adjoining rooms.

I will be writing a fun weekend post soon, but in the meantime you can check out their rates on Booking.com here if you want to come stay in the one of the best places in the city!

Rent an e-Scooter

I finally summoned up the courage and downloaded one of the e-scooter apps. You see scooters standing all over the city and we decided we’d try one.

Kate and I, with our shopping and feet that couldn’t be bothered walking along the waterfront, whizzed off on two wheels.

The app was easy to download and within minutes I was tentatively standing on it and accelerating with my thumb on the lever. It took all of two minutes to get my confidence, doing a couple of slow circles on the flat open space in front of One Red Dog, then off we set.

We stopped at the statue of the man about to jump off the wharf, then at the Wellington sign for the obligatory photo op, then over the little bridge towards Te Papa.

Warning: the bridge is made of wooden slats covered with anti-slip and the juddering nearly made my brain implode. Kate thought her uterus might fall out. But in the end we were just fine and braced for it when looping back.

Get a Photo on the Well_ngton sign

The new Wellington sign was installed in early 2022 and is temporarily here on the waterfront. The letter i is missing for a reason. You are the “I” who needs to put yourself “in Wellington” and get a photo. Hashtag #inwellington.

The intention is for it to be moved at some stage, possibly to other photogenic locations or events.

Drive Around the Peninsula

If you have a car, get it out of the valet parking for a few hours and go for a scenic drive and see some of the most beautiful places and beaches within cooee of the city.

Start by heading towards Lyall Bay and you’ll see all the houses jumbling down the hillsides as you make your way to the Spruce Goose Cafe.

This is where Kate and her medical flying crew hang out when they come here to pick up or drop off patients for Wellington Hospital. It’s a great place for plane spotters and made my day!

From here, if it’s a clear day, you’ll be able to see the top of the South Island across Cook Strait, as you drive around the coastal road past all the little bays and beachfront houses which likely won’t get insurance soon!

You can see the sand across the road in driveways in places where the buildings sit flat with the beach.

Miramar is cute little town in the middle, and on a lovely day you could easily pack your beach umbrella and a book and set up at any number of these beaches for an afternoon. Wellington on a sunny day is fabulous!

Go Plane Spotting

If you’re looking for free things to do, this is it! I didn’t realise quite how excited landing and taking off planes made me until Kate took me to Spruce Goose, a cafe on the end of Wellington Airport runway.

It’s actually overlooking the beach at Lyall Bay and despite these lean traveling times, planes were coming and going at least every 15 minutes.

I met a young dad with his toddler in a pushchair, the little girl in earmuffs, to watch a military helicopter get ready to take off for diving exercises. This is their daily ritual and he told me there’s Facebook groups for plane spotters to know exactly when such excitement will occur.

I’ve since found the private group: Facebook.com/WellingtonAirportSpotters if you want to join!

Tour through Weta Workshop

Ok, this is in the Guide Books, but while my family were all shopping, I booked myself a tour at Weta Workshop out in Miramar, towards the airport. I grabbed an Uber and returned later to join them all for an early dinner before WOW (read my WOW tips here, and do book for next year!)

To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. The space itself is fun with monsters outside for a selfie, and an enthusiastic guide taking the group through. But I would have loved to see more of the making of things, instead of static pieces to look at – and yes, you can touch some things, like swords and helmets.

I think there are better showcases of Weta’s amazing work on their own Youtube channel. Have a look at this one below showing how they conceptualised Power Ranger suits. It’s amazing work. Just wish they’d shown more of this…

But if you’re a big Weta fan (and they have been involved in 180 films) check out this 90 minute tour >

Visit City Gallery

Another free thing to do in Wellington is soak in a bit of contemporary art.

The City Gallery Wellington was the building with the “Thing” fingers on the roof, which is a hint of what you’ll find inside. But as well the finger sculpture being removed, they are temporailty located in the National Library of NZ at 70 Molesworth St.

Wacky contemporary art pieces that I truly never understand (like the time I went to the Tate Modern in London), but still, I enjoyed wandering through.

Politician Spotting at the Backbencher

From about 12noon the Backbencher Gastro Pub opens its doors, directly across the road from the Beehive on Molesworth Street and from 4pm is heaving with civil suits and politician spotters.

Most famous for the political puppets, based on cartoons by Murray Webb and Jeff Bell, and created by Bryce Curtis that have been ever changing here for 30 years, I had to come and see them for myself.

I walked in and at the bar I asked if it would be ok if I took photos of the muppets. Genuine faux pas! Then sat down with a $14 Pan Head shandy and browsed the menu and the faces looking for politicians or media “stars”.

Alas there were none when I was in, but the Mallard duck pate looked yum. However as we had dinner reservations at Logan Brown for a three-course meal later, and I’d been saving myself all day, I just downed my shandy and left.

Get to WOW

The World of Wearable Art started in 1987 in Nelson by Dame Suzie Moncrieff, and moved to Wellington in 2005 when it outgrew the little South Island town. It is a highly acclaimed international fashion show/competition where innovative art fashion is the theme and over $200,000 in prizes are up for grabs for the designers.

But it’s more than just a runway show. Aside from the stunningly clever costumes sumbitted by designers from all over the world, the show is choreographed with music and artistry. It really is a fabulous event.

WOW runs for two weeks in September, but tickets go on sale around April and sell out quickly. See my post on my best tips for WOW – and don’t make the mistakes we did!

The annual Wellington Jazz Festival

The annual Wellington Jazz Festival happens in October with local and international jazz artists performing at various venues across five days. Sone events are free, some you can buy tickets for. If you love jazz, then you might want to time your Welly visit with this festival.

Wellington is indeed the coolest little capital – its official tag line.

Where to stay in Wellington

Wellington is a very walkable city, but depending on how close you want to be to the event/people you’ve come for, here are some hotels I’ve stayed in at various price points:

Ibis Wellington – this is cheap and cheerful and part of the Accor Group. It’s their most most budget level hotel at 3.5 stars, but for location, I recommend it. Don’t expect anything fancy, but you’ll get a clean room, a ground floor restaurant and bar, and you’re in easy walking distance to pretty much everything from shopping to the waterfront.

QT, formerly Museum Hotel – this 4.5-star hotel is located across the road from Te Papa Museum. It is filled with original pieces of art in the gound floor lobby, function rooms and even the bathrooms. In fact you must poke your head into both the ladies and the men’s loos! On the 3rd floor you’ll find Hippopotamus for dining, cocktails and afternoon tea.

Naumi Hotel – conveniently located on Cuba Street, this affordable hotel has a wonderful lobby bar and restaurant, filled with quirky design elements. This is a great location for the many dining options around here, vintage shops, boutiues, and a short walk to most other places.