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Summer in Wellington

You can’t beat Wellington on a good day!

With summer fast approaching, make the most of those good days by enjoying all that Wellington has to offer. When it‟s warm and sunny, get outdoors and

enjoy a scenic walk or a picnic dinner. We all know that NZ can have four seasons in one day, so we have included some indoor activities to keep you

busy whatever the weather!

We hope you enjoy your summer in Wellington!

Civic Square is a great place to sit, enjoy the sun and watch people going by. Don’t forget your sunblock!

Useful Websites:

www.wotzon.co.nz www.wellingtonnz.com

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Wellington Events Page 3 Summer City 2012

Gardens Magic Concert Series Approx Jan 9th – 30th

Chinese New Year Festival Approx 6th – 13th Feb

Asian Market – Chinese New Year Festival Day

Approx 6th Feb

Chinese New Year Street Parade Approx 6th Feb

Round the Bays Fun Run/Walk Sun 26th Feb

Newtown Street Fair Approx 6th March

Wellington Dragonboat Festival 17-18 March

Outdoor Activities Page 6 Oriental Parade and the Waterfront

Kaffee Eis Icecream The Enormous Crocodile Company Ferg’s Kayaks

Fishing

Swimming

Native animals

Day Trips

Indoor Activities Page 10

Te Papa Museum of New Zealand Movie Theatres Lanes Bowling City Gallery Katherine Mansfield’s Birthplace The Film Archive Cafe Culture

Wellington Map Page 12

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Wellington Events

Summer City 2012

The Summer City programme runs from the end of December 2011, into April 2012.

There is something to cater for everyone‟s taste, and most of the events are free. Here are some highlights!

While the full programme has not been announced yet, there are a number of annual events that are likely to be part of Summer City 2012. Stay tuned for confirmed dates and times!

Text in grey indicates that these dates are from 2011, so are only approximations for 2012.

Gardens Magic Concert Series Likely to be around January 9th – 30th

Each year as part of the Wellington Summer Festival, free concerts are given in the Botanic Gardens’ Soundshell. This wonderful annual musical outdoor concert favourite sees 22 consecutive nights of practically every musical genre you can name. Up-and-comers and established stars bring the Botanic Garden to life. As in previous years, the gardens around the Sound Shell will be transformed with striking multi-coloured lighting.

Walk or take a bus (#3 Karori Park) to the Centennial Entrance on Tinakori

Road, or take the cable car and enjoy a downhill walk through the gardens

Chinese New Year Festival Likely to be around 6-13th February, 2012

2012– Year of the Dragon

2012 welcomes the Chinese New Year of the Dragon with a week of celebrations including children‟s activities, a fashion show, a bustling marketplace, parade and plenty of local and international entertainment. Dates and event details will

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be confirmed closer to the time.

Asian Market – Chinese New Year Festival Day Likely to be around Sunday 6 February

The Asian Market will be jam packed full of delicious tasting authentic Chinese foods, traditional Chinese freshly roasted crackling pork, crafts and toys, merchandise, information stands, calligraphy and traditional painting, and much more.

Fabulous stage performances will entertain the crowd, including an an international Shaolin Kungfu performance and „barl‟ (roast pork bun) eating competitions. The festival will be held at TSB Arena on the Wellington Waterfront

Chinese New Year Street Parade Likely to be around Sunday February 6th, 2:15 pm – 3 pm

The Wellington Chinese New Year Festival Street Parade is not to be missed – the colour, excitement, cacophony, dragon dancing, beautiful costumed performers both local and international, little lions – this event has it all.

Follow the red balloon route, line the streets, grab and wave a flag, be prepared to point and smile, and enjoy the action. The parade starts at Cambridge Terrace and winds its way down Courtenay Place through to Taranaki Wharf on the waterfront, where it will kick off a Cultural Festival.

Round the Bays Fun Run/Walk Sunday 26th February, 2011

Join more than 10,000 Wellingtonians for a 7km fun run or walk or the half marathon, or take up position around the bays on the day to cheer the runners on! There is a festival at the finish line with free entertainment for all!

See http://www.wellingtonroundthebays.co.nz/ for more info.

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Newtown Street Fair Likely to be around Sunday March 6th

The Newtown Street Fair is the main event of the 10 day long Newtown Festival. A celebration in the heart of Newtown, the Street Fair is Newtown‟s community party to which all of Wellington is invited. Enjoy the smorgasbord of 6 music stages, a busking pitch, fairground fun, 300 stalls and international food in Wellington's festive suburb.

Visit http://www.newtownfestival.org.nz/ to get an idea of the music and events that will be on in Newtown during the festival.

Wellington Dragonboat Festival 17-18 March 2012

Wellington Waterfront

The Wellington Dragon Boat Festival is held on the Wellington Harbour waterfront, right in front of Frank Kitts Park, making it accessible and exciting for all spectators. Add to that food stalls, crafts, jewellery, face painting, Chinese lion dancers, jugglers, and sometimes even Army tanks, this is an event that will keep you entertained all day long.

Cheer for your favourite teams as the dragon boaters get set to battle once again. Wacky uniforms and loud chants create an electrifying atmosphere as the corporate and open divisions battle it out on

Saturday and schools take to their oars on Sunday.

The atmosphere is white hot with over 40,000 spectators turning up to cheer

on the pumped up competitors!

For more information on these and other events in Wellington, visit http://www.wellingtonnz.com/event

There are also great activities, events and lovely environs in the wider Wellington region. Check out:

http://www.thehuttscene.co.nz/ http://www.pcc.govt.nz/Visiting

Get on the train or take a bus and enjoy!

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Outdoor Activities They say that „you can‟t beat Wellington on a good day‟, and there are plenty of great things to do and places to go outdoors. So grab your chances when the sun shines!

Oriental Parade and the Waterfront

Oriental Parade and the Wellington Waterfront are bustling places on a sunny day. People come from all over town to run, swim, cycle skate or picnic in the evening sun. There are two safe beaches, one is popular with families and young children and the other with teenagers and young adults. If you want a treat, go to Kaffee Eis, they sell delicious Italian style gelato, and have many flavours such as raspberry or lemon which have no dairy products in them. The Enormous Crocodile Company next to the

Overseas Terminal hires out crocodile bike which have 4 wheels and can carry 2 – 4 people. You and your friends can hire a crocodile bike together and pedal along the waterfront and Oriental Parade.

Ferg’s Kayaks is the place to go to hire a kayak, bicycle or in-line skates. It is open seven days a week from 9 am until 8 pm. If you haven‟t been in a kayak before the harbour is a nice safe place for beginners. It is possible to take a course where you will learn basic paddling skills.

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Ferg‟s Kayaks have two guided trips. One trip is during the day and you will paddle to a beach. The other is in the evening to look at the city lights. The in-line skates cost $10 for an hour and $7 for half an hour. The waterfront is perfect for skating because it is flat which is unusual in Wellington which is a city full of steep hills. Address: Shed Six, Queens Wharf, Phone: 04 4998898, http://www.fergskayaks.co.nz/ Prices: Double sea kayak: $15 or $40 for an hour depending on the style of kayak. In-line skates: $7 for 30 minutes. $10 for an hour.

Fishing

Many activities in New Zealand involve being by the sea. If you like the idea of fishing you could take a fishing trip on a boat. The guides will take you to the place where hopefully the fish will be. Website: http://www.petelambfishing.co.nz/

If can borrow a fishing rod or have one of your own there are many places you can fish from the shore. One popular place is at the Scorching Bay Jetty. Bus Number 24 (Miramar Heights) will take you there. Bait is available from most petrol stations. It is kept in the freezers.

Swimming

A safe and pleasant beach for swimming is Island Bay. Although the water might be freezing! Take the Number 1 bus to the final stop. The beach is just across the road. Just follow the sound of the waves. On a fine day you might see Kaikoura Mountains on the South Island. Oriental Bay is also a great, central place for having a swim. Did you

know that the sand there is actually brought in from the South Island!?

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Day’s Bay/Eastbourne – take the East-West Ferry, see below. If it is raining, too cold or windy or all of these things then a heated swimming pool will be a far nicer place for a swim! Freyberg Pool and Fitness Centre. Address: 139 Oriental Parade. At this pool there is: aqua jogging, fitness classes, lane swimming, massage, spas and a sauna. The gym has views over the harbour. It is open seven days a week from 6.00am-9.00pm and on public holidays from 2pm-9pm. It is closed on Christmas Day. Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre Address: 63 Kilbirnie Crescent, Kilbirnie. There is a 25 metre heated pool. On Thursday evening between 6 pm and 8.00pm is only for women. Entrance price: $5. Leisure Pools – get out into the region: H2O Xtream, Upper Hutt (women‟s only nights Sundays) http://upperhuttcity.com/page/3/H20Xtream.boss

Native animals

Matiu-Somes Island Scientific and Historic Reserve Rats and other pests were eradicated from the island in the late 1980s. Now the island is a sanctuary for native plants, birds, reptiles and invertebrates. The world‟s smallest penguin-the little blue penguin/korora lives here. Visitors get their bags checked when they arrive to help keep Matiu-Sommes free of pests. How to get there: East by West Ferries provides a regular service from both central Wellington and Days Bay. Phone: 04 499 1282. Zelandia: The Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/default.aspx

The Sanctuary is protected by an 8.6 km fence, designed to keep out non-native mammals like hedgehogs and possums. This makes it a safe place for some of New Zealand‟s most endangered animals like the little spotted kiwi and the tuatara (a large lizard). The animals are living free in a natural environment only minutes from

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the down town. The sanctuary is open between 10 am-5 pm. The last visitors are admitted at 4.00 pm. If you want to see some night birds you can take a tour. They will try hard to find a kiwi. The following bus services will to Waiapu Road which is close to the entry. Tell the bus driver you are going to the Karori Sanctuary and the driver will tell you where to get off the bus:

# 3 to Karori Park (every 15 minutes at peak times)

# 22 and # 23 to Mairangi (every half hour)

# 21 to Wrights Hill (hourly Monday-Friday)

# 18 to Karori Park via Victoria University (every half hour, Monday-Friday)

The outdoors is one of the best things about New Zealand. There are many amazing places close to Wellington that are both beautiful and have an interesting history. For some more ideas of places to explore go to the Department of Conservation and Wellington Regional Council websites: http://www.doc.govt.nz/by-region/wellington/parks-and-recreation/

http://www.gw.govt.nz/parks/

Day Trips On a sunny day a fun day trip is catching the ferry to Days Bay. The ferry leaves from Queen‟s Wharf and takes 20 minutes. It costs $8. For the timetable look at their website: http://www.eastbywest.co.nz/

This will take you to the Eastbourne village. From here begins the beautiful walk to Butterfly Creek. There are four different tracks that go there. Kowhai Track is the easiest. It takes one hour to reach Butterfly Creek. The hike is not too strenuous and goes through a bush reserve on well maintained tracks. You will be happy you walked there when you see the lovely picnic area. Days Bay in Eastbourne is also a wonderful beach to swim from during summer months.

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Indoor Activities Once you‟ve lived here for a while, you‟ll realise that although the saying is that „you can‟t beat Wellington on a good day‟, this city has its bad days too! If the weather isn‟t looking good for outdoor activities, there are plenty of things to do indoors too. Te Papa Museum of New Zealand Te Papa‟s displays and exhibitions tell the stories of everything and everybody who has lived here from the beginning to the present day. Open 10am–6pm daily, until 9pm on Thursdays. Christmas Day and New Year's Day: open 10am–6pm. Address: 55 Cable Street, PO Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand. Phone: 04 381 7000 Entry is free apart from for special exhibitions. Movie Theatres There are a number of different theatres in Wellington showing everything from new releases to specialist films from all over the world. Their screening times are available on-line and also in the daily newspaper.

Readings Cinema (central Courtney Place).

The Embassy (end of Courtney Place).

The Paramount (Courtney Place).

The Empire (Island Bay?).

The Penthouse (Brooklyn).

http://www.flicks.co.nz/ has the screening times for most movie theatres. Lanes Bowling If you like bowling then on Wakefield Terrace there is The Lanes. It is open from 9 am until late. It can be busy so you may need to call and book your group. Phone: (04) 801 7036 City Gallery The City Gallery is located in Civic Square. It hosts a wide range of travelling exhibitions. The Gallery currently features A Mobile Library, a sculptural exhibition fusing maori myth, light and shadow, and contemporary New Zealand Art. These will be featured until February 12th. See their website for more information about the current and upcoming exhibitions. http://www.citygallery.org.nz/

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Katherine Mansfield’s Birthplace

Katherine Mansfield is one of New Zealand‟s best known writers. She was born in 1888 and died in 1923. This house is where she was born. Even without knowing her writing it is an interesting place to visit as it shows how people lived in the late 1800‟s. Here you will see how a home and garden looked in those days and also find out about the writer‟s life and the stories she wrote.

Address: 25 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand Open: Six days a week. (Closed on Monday) How to get there Number 14 bus “Wilton” stops nearby in Park Street Price: $4.50 Students The Film Archive The Film Archive has an excellent collection of mostly New Zealand films and videos from 1895 to the present day. In the collections are feature films,

documentaries, short films, home movies, newsreels, television programmes and film and television advertisements. The Taonga Māori Collection is a collection of images with significance to Māori. It is open from Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. Address: 84 Taranaki Street

Cafe Culture Wellingtonians love their coffee! You need only stroll through Cuba Mall on a fine day to see how many cafes and eateries are packed into Wellington City. Most Cuba Street cafes have an outdoor area where you can sit, chat, soak up the sun and watch all the interesting characters of Wellington walk past. In no particular order, here are some popular Cuba street cafes: Plum (great view of the mall), Ernesto (big windows, nice on a breezy day), Mr Bun (cheap food options, watch out for pigeons!), Fidels (amazing food and lovely sunny courtyard), Midnight Expresso (open late), Espressoholic (has a “secret” courtyard!), Olive Cafe (perfect for brunch).

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