I loved windy Wellington. The little city had such a cool and quirky vibe to it. It was sort of a cross between Brighton, Shoreditch and Malibu; all kitsch cafés and cocktail bars, hillside residences, stunning beaches with people paddle boarding offshore, live music and hipsters.
Here's how we spent our few days:
Day 1
We headed to Wellington for Labour Weekend, which is a bank holiday in New Zealand. Accommodation prices were up and buses were booking fast, so we were sure to book ahead. We booked our accommodation through nakedbus because it was the cheapest we could find. At $23 per night we found ourselves in a 6 bed dorm at Base hostel, which is located at the end of Courtney Place (one of main party strips in town.) The hostel was huge, the beds were squeaky, the showers communal and the residents long-term. People come to Wellington and stay in Wellington, and it's not hard to see why. The three other travellers in our dorm were long-stays, with Craig entering his 7th week in the same bunk bed. The huge communal kitchen and eating area were a bit of a draw, along with the happy hour prices in the downstairs bar, which put g&t's at $4 from 8-10pm.
Nights out in Wellington start late. We headed out at 10ish and weren't pissed enough for the local Friday night crowd. We were also really under dressed in our vans and hoodies, but our choice was pretty minimal considering the sub-zero conditions. Nonetheless we headed to Mishmosh, ordered the $10 cocktails and danced on the coldest dance floor in the history of the world. It was a cool bar, and is definitely one of the busiest on the Courtney Place strip. We found ourselves in a strange club until 2ish (I was carried there by a Kiwi), and stumbled home in time to wake the whole dorm up with my mini torch and our incessant giggles.
Day 2
Walk along the promenade and through Oriental bay. It's beautiful and will remind you of Malibu or California or somewhere really warm.
It's worth doing the hike up to Mount Victoria. The sun was shining for us and the 30minute walk to the top, (there's a small chance we took a wrong turning) caused Lou to get a SULA and us all to be pretty pleased we'd opted to be scandily clad tourists for the day. The view is bloody great.
We headed to Cuba Street for lunch, to Southern Cross, a highly recommended pub the far end of the hipster hangout.
Southern Cross
It had one of the best beer gardens I've been in and decor that wouldn't have been out of place in Brixton. A huge jug of coffee cost just $3 and we got toasted wraps for $8 each. With live music at the weekends, free BBQs on Fridays and Saturdays and an array of other events running throughout the week, Southern Cross is my top recommendation for this city.
Lunch!
Take your time to stroll down Cuba street and visit some of it's awesome vintage shops, as well as it's arty boutiques and craft stores. If you've an eye for a bargain you won't be disappointed.
We ate dinner at The Laundry for $20 a head. Try the gumbo if you ever visit; the African style fish rice stew was amazing.
For cocktails we headed to Good Luck bar, where the cocktails were BOGOF so we got 6 between us for £7 each - not bad though the place lacked atmosphere and you might be better off paying more and going to the famous Matterhorn which is two doors down.
Live music at Southern Cross topped off our night, though you could party til the early hours on this town if you're pockets were full and you were fully tanked before heading out.
Day 3
The Sunday market is a definite must do, mainly for the cheap fresh fruit and veg on offer but also for the whitebait fritters, great coffee and the best dumplings I've ever eaten. Head inside for the House of Dumplings stand and follow the crowd for the $2-a-parcel gourmet parcels of gorgeousness.
If you have time, visit the Te Papa museum. We didn't and we should've done because everyone raved about it.
For brunch, head to Sweet Mothers Place on Courtney Place. The small cafe with outside seating was constantly busy and served up a great South American inspired menu complete with thick milkshakes, black bean nachos and huge toasted wraps.
Moving on... If you're staying at Base or YHA, there is a shuttle bus that runs from outside the latter to the ferry terminal for just $3. Get on it, because the walk is so much longer than you think.
We're crossing the channel on the interislander ($52 pp), so next you hear from us we'll be in the South Island!
Hello hangover.
L, L & A. X
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