A Miser's Guide to Wellington

New Zealand is an expensive place to get to, and the pain doesn’t stop when you arrive. Expect North American-level prices for most everything.

It’s only fair, as they have roads and social services to pay for, and want a decent living wage, just like us. This isn’t a cheap holiday in other people’s misery.

The sticker shock really hit home for me when I went down to the Visitors’ Centre and started browsing the brochures. As a life-long nerd, a Lord of the Rings tour was on my list of must-dos. Hobbiton’s too far away from Wellington, but I had heard there are many sites around the city where Jackson shot scenes from the movie.

The second-biggest Gollum I'd ever seen, at the Wellington airport.

So I was dismayed when I saw a day tour of LOTR sites would set me back about $200. Even a four-hour tour would set us back more than $80. Scratch Rivendell from the list, I figured.

Now, everything in the tourism business everywhere is geared to separate you from your money, which is understandable. But our goal is to go as far as we can, as slowly (and cheaply) as we can. After a little while, I started to find that Wellington could be experienced for nothing- or for less than the price of a coffee.

So here are some tips for the more miserly tourist:

1. National Museum

As in Europe, many of the great museums in Wellington are free. Te Papa is a striking architectural wonder on the waterfront. You can find plenty of info about it on the web, but if you are like me (ie too lazy to bother), research on a place is done when you get there. So I more-or-less stumbled upon the museum as I wandered the streets… and was amazed to find out there’s no charge to enter. Five stories of exhibits- admire 13^th century European art, drool over 1950s motorcycles, feel an earthquake, see a giant squid- there’s plenty to do there.

2. City Art Gallery

Just across the square from the visitor’s centre, another amazing free facility. See mostly modern New Zealand art, special displays and exhibits. A good way to get the feel of the country’s contemporary art scene. And again, free admission!

And don’t forget private galleries- Wellington has dozens of them.  Odd, unusual, eclectic, commercial, and at reasonable prices for consumers, I found many great little galleries, co-ops and art collectives within a few blocks of Cuba Street. Speaking of which…

Actor Elijah Wood took a piss in this Cuba Street
water statue. Classy, eh?

3. Cuba Street

You don’t have to spend money to enjoy the vibe of Cuba St. A dying shopping thoroughfare before someone had the bright idea in the 1960s to turn it into a pedestrian mall, the five blocks or so are alive today with buskers, hawkers and great shops, restaurants and services. The odd drunk too, which adds to the general 'teeny-bit seedy' feel to the place. All right in the centre of downtown.  Cuba Street is a great place to anchor all your other Wellington activities from, as many bus routes take you past it, and every local can point you in the general direction. Given that Wellington's downtown was designed with Victorian sensibilities (ie streets rarely meet at right angles, and change names several times over the course of a few blocks), having an anchor is a good way to orient yourself.

4. Botanical Gardens

Work with me, work with me...

Started as a Victorian garden, upgraded by the Edwardians, expanded by the George-the-Sixthians, and maintained by the modern Elizabethans…  the Botanical Gardens are an oasis in the city, not to sound too cliché about it. But really, when you can walk in the cool shade of massive Monterey Pines and groves of native silver ferns, stroll a rose garden or wander through the Dr Seuss- plants of the succulents terrace, it is a great break away from it all. Right on the edge of the downtown, just behind one of the busiest shopping streets in Wellington.

5. Museum Hotel

You have to pay to stay but before you get thrown out by the concierge, stroll through the lobby of this funky hotel, just down the street from Te Papa. The owner’s eclectic tastes in art and decorating are everywhere, and almost make you want to cough up the $200 for a night’s stay. Almost…

6. Visit the path to Rivendell

Elijah Wood stood here once, though it's not known
if he took a leak here as well

So you want to charge me to see the LOTR sites? Well, how about I just take an easy walk halfway up Mount Victoria (on the other side of downtown from the Botanical Gardens) and find one site myself? See where Frodo and the hobbits had their first encounter with a Dark Rider, just after leaving the Shire. Geeky but cool.

7. Weta Cave

I have to admit, I was a little underwhelmed by the Weta Cave, which really amounts to little more than a glorified gift shop in the movie studio’s industrial area, in a part of town called Miramar. They have a couple of maquettes from Weta productions (LOTR, King Kong, etc), costumes, props, and the usual T-shirt offerings. Still, getting to handle a ray gun was pretty cool.

8. Parliament Buildings

I watched about three MPs almost get tossed out of the NZ legislature in the 10 minutes I sat in the visitor’s gallery. Parliamentary debates are always a lot of fun (even if the particulars of the debate escape you) and the excitement of media scrums still itches in this old news hound. Like many legislatures, it also has great paintings, statues, and history in its bones. Don’t bother to bring your kids, but great for political junkies.

9. Walk the Harbourfront

Wellington has done an amazing job with its waterfront, and you can walk about two or three kilometers from the industrial port to an upscale residential neighbourhood, and still get sprayed by waves. 

While you’re at the waterfront, check out two other great (and again, free) museums. The Portrait Gallery, despite its stodgy name, has offbeat and interesting exhibitions. While we were there, the inevitable Hobbit-themed show was on. And our biggest disappointment was the City and Sea Museum- in that we ended up getting there just at closing time, and could easily have spent many long hours exploring the social history of Wellington. Next time, C&S!

And cheap-ish things to do:

10. Wellington Zoo

Let’s face it, what you really came to NZ for is see a goddamn kiwi. The flightless bird, the size of a small turkey, is quite endangered, and only comes out at night. You have two ways of seeing one in Wellington.

 Zealandia  is a noble attempt to sequester a valley in town from introduced species, allowing native species to rebuild.  It’s a huge project, massive in scale and scope. It’s also hideously expensive (I paid $60 for two day-passes, and saw a duck). If you want to see a kiwi, you have to take the night tour. That’ll set you back $150 for two people.

Then there’s the Wellington Zoo. Drop about $20 per person during regular working hours, and you wander beautiful gardens and see all sorts of great animals, in non-depressing enclosures. And, you go into a dark building, let your eyes get adjusted, and voila! A kiwi, which thinks it’s nighttime. Thanks, WZ!

11. Cable Car

A funicular trolley (that’s one run by cables, and runs on rails, rather like an angled elevator) operates right from downtown Wellington, taking passengers up the hill to the top of the Botanical Gardens, and for great lookouts over the city. It’ll set you back a couple of bucks, takes a few minutes, and gives you that very British, well-polished-wood feel of the Golden Age of the late 19^th-20^th-century. Well worth your time.

Across the harbour from Wellington, a gorgeous beach

12. Bus to Eastbourne- or anywhere

Wellington has a great bus system. For about $9, you can buy an all-day pass, and ride anywhere the system will take you, which is most of Wellington. We found it the best option for travel in Wellington, and easy to figure out. The drivers even still make change. How quaint!

You can really travel far with the bus routes. Take the 83 to Eastbourne, and it will take you all the way around Wellington Harbour. Walk on the beach, enjoy the upscale neighbourhood, and return in time for dinner!