New Zealand is well known for its love of the great outdoors, but the weather doesn’t always suit. Luckily, the capital is well-equipped for a rainy day. There are plenty of fabulous indoor attractions in Wellington to keep everyone happy, such as…
Te Papa
Wellington’s crowning glory, Te Papa is also known as the Museum of New Zealand and the quality of the exhibitions matches the unique (and rather expensive) architecture. It’s possible to spend days wandering through and not see it all, while it has successfully avoided the usual museum trap of putting a load of old coins and knives in glass cases.
For the grown-ups, there’s a good range of temporary exhibitions, while the permanent highlights include Awesome Forces, which explores the earthquakes, eruptions and weather patterns that have formed New Zealand’s landscape.
Te Papa also houses an excellent art collection.
Wellington proudly boasts that it has more cafés per capita than New York City, and the cultural scene is strongly linked to the sheer wealth of places where you can sit down and have a chat over coffee. For hanging out with movie types, the place to go is Chocolate Fish on Karaka Bay Road, while Cuba Street has an excellent selection of vibey little coffee shops
Wellington’s most distinctive building is the Beehive or, as it’s more officially known, the executive wing of the parliament complex. It’s mostly ministerial offices, but it’s also home to the parliament’s Visitor Centre.
Movies are a big business in New Zealand – apparently some reasonably successful flicks called Lord of the Rings were filmed here – and Mediaplex is the place for film buffs to head to. Part of the New Zealand Film Archive, this attraction has its own private screening room, and on Wednesday and Thursday nights, highlights from the archive are pulled out for a viewing. Better than heading to a soulless multiplex and catching the latest bit of fluff starring Matthew McConaughey any day.
Get arty
In case it hadn’t been drilled in yet, Wellington is something of an arty city. There are a host of galleries – some public, some run by dealers – throughout the city. The visitor information centre has maps and brochures about where to find them all, but the two big hitters are City Gallery Wellington and Academy Gallerie
Museum of Wellington City and Sea
Wellington’s history is inextricably linked to seafaring, and this excellent museum is the place to go to in order to find out about how New Zealand’s capital grew up on the water. It goes back to the times of Maori settlement and extends to the present day, and has all manner of odd exhibits including chunks of ships and a great big lighthouse lens.
Watch Netball
Believe it or not, New Zealand isn’t all about rugby union. In fact, in Wellington, netball is the biggest participation sport. So why not go and watch a game while you’re there? The Shakers are the big team in Welly, and play games throughout May and June at the TSB Bank Arena. It’s the city’s largest indoor venue, and forms part of the Wellington Convention Centre complex.
There are few places in the world where the tattoo has as much importance as it does in New Zealand. Body art plays a large part in Maori culture, and the National Tattoo Museum on Abel Smith Street explores this. There are thousands of examples on display – particularly of Maori moko (facial tattoos) while those feeling brave can enter the studio and go under the needle too.
