Tell me about Wellington

Dh has been offered a short contract in Wellington and I'm expecting to join him for about 3 weeks of that. I've not been to Wellington. All I know is it's windy, hilly and will be very cold in June, when we're going. He'll be working midweek but I hope we can have a couple of weekends away, maybe taking a ferry to the south island. How far south could we travel in a weekend whilst taking in sights?

Given I'll be on my own midweek days, 20+ weeks pregnant with SPD, what are the sorts of things I can do and see? I'm independent, so have no problem doing things on my own. However, I may have some physical restrictions.

How cold are we talking anyway?

Wellington is kind of like Melbourne only smaller...

Yes, it's windy and hilly... There are lots of cafes and shops and things.

Re going to the South Island - if you take the ferry and drive you could probably go as far as Nelson or Blenheim (which are warmer than Wellington).

Hope you have fun.

This season seems a bit freaky so far weather wise. I am in a central North Island ski town and from the sounds of it Melbourne is colder atm. We still have really nice days and the fire isn't even required most days. So I don't think that it would be that much colder in Wellington. Expect for the wind - when it blows in from the south it is really f***ing freezing!!
The central shopping city of Wellington is flat, it is only the suburbs that are hilly and there is a good public transport system so you wouldn't have to walk too far.

It would be very feasible to do a weekend trip to the South Island - you can get a morning ferry over and go towards Nelson via Queen Charlotte Bay for a night. You could probably get down to Kaikoura where they do whale watching tours too (beautiful spot, between southern alps and a rocky shore beach). If you didn't linger around too much you could make it as far as Christchurch, but the central city is still broken :( Or you could stay in North Island and go to Martinborough which is pretty and has quite a few wineries (possibly not that fun when preg though). I would suggest a day trip to Kapiti Island but it is a no-go with SPD. Or the Central Plateau! See some volcano's??

In Wellington you can go to Te Papa the national museum (bit of a let down tbh). There are also a lot of small production plays at Bats Theatre if you are into that sort of thing. If you are lucky you might see the guy that wears only a blanket sitting in Manner's mall.

It's beautiful Tahsybabe. My favourite (so far) NZ city.

Very hilly, very windy and yeah, chilly BBRRRR! Just take some warm warm warm clothes.

The Mac brewery is awesome - I know you won't be drinking but they do lovely food.

And yeah, the ferry takes you to the South Island. I think that there are early morning and late evening services. DH and I were going to do it when we were there in 2009 but we were too hung over :redface: For shame.

I hope that someone else can add some more.

Very jealous! Have a great time :)

Double post, but I will add that for the cost of the ferry you could get a flight and go a bit further afield. Look at grabaseat for cheaper flights, you could go to Queenstown/central otago or up to Auckland for a look. Or fly to Hamilton and go across to Rotorua to see the bubbling mud (but not sure how good the sulphur smell is when pregnant)

Thanks for all the info. We've been to Auckland and Rotorua. A trip to Auckland would mean spending most of a weekend catching up with rellies (most of whom are perfectly nice but it would mean missing out on other things)

What about Napier? I love art deco architecture, so I've always wanted to see it. Is it far or a worthwhile trip?

Anyone know the price of the ferry?

From memory the ferry is about $20-50 per person depending on the fare, and around $120 for a car to go across. The companies are Bluebridge and Interislander. Not much difference in either of them and they leave from the same place.

I haven't been to Napier but I hear it is lovely. It is probably 4-5 hours drive from Wellington.

Also look at bookabach for a place to stay if you are doing overnighters, comparable in price to motels but often a much nicer and more private setting

I won't beat on about the weather. Fingers crossed you get a lovely spell of weather - it'll be cold, but as long as it's not rainy and the wind isn't blowing then it will be great. Wellington is great for a quiet stroll along the water and has lots of nice cafes etc, plus a fairly good/interesting nightlife in terms of theatre etc.
Martinborough/Wairarapa is nice.
The top of the south island is lovely and if you get a nice weekend i think the ferry would be a great idea - the journey into the south island is gorgeous (just my humble kiwi opinion:))
The central plateau is fun in winter, but it might be difficult with the SPD. Taupo might be easier - there are little hot water springs etc around there too (not just Rotorua) which are great for tired bodies in cold weather.

Wishing you a great trip tashybabe.

Napier is gorgeous too. The buildings are awesome! It's a bit of a trek from Wellington though.