We now arrive to the last step of our North Island journey, in Wellington region, home to the same named capital. From there we will take the ferry to Picton on the South Island to begin the second part of our New Zealand adventure. Once again, we invite you to share our little journey along the south coast but also to the capital heart.

Cape Palliser

We must complete the circle, that’s why after reaching the most notherly point of the North Island, namely the Cape Reinga  in the >> Northland <<, it is quite natural that we chose to orient ourselves to the southernmost point of the North Island, known as the Cape Palliser. Once again, it’s the eyes full of wonder that we meet this place. Pass pastures, then the pine forest, the white cliffs overlooking the turquoise sea and then push to the end of the road, where the asphalt becomes gravel, to finally climb the 250 steps to the cape lighthouse. Magical seaside landscape, where the view extends to the first snow-capped peaks of the South Island.

To add to the magic of the place, go to the the reserve parking area located 500m before the lighthouse. There, take the time to discover the rocks by the sea because it’s here that resides a pretty colony of wild seals. Here it’s hundreds of specimens that can be observed in the most naturally way, a fantastic show in a sublime decor what could be better ? We loved it !

Putangirua Pinnacles

Returning on the road from the Cape Palliser, fans of the Lord of the Rings, or simply geological natural phenomena, will not fail to stop on the Putangirua Pinnacles short hike. It’s here that we can find pretty needles of chiselled rocks, giant stalagmites forming friable points in the faults hollowed out of the white mountains. A really impressive phenomenon to see, that we can only advise even just by curiosity of the thing.

It’s an easy walk of 1h30, we take first the left path to go to the viewpoint overlooking the rock formations, to go down by the river bed at the base of these peaks.

For fans, know that this is the natural setting of the white mountains haunted by Dead Men of Dunharrow in the third opus of the Lord of the rings saga.

Kaitoke Park– Rivendell

An essential stop for Tolkien‘s books and P. Jackson’s movies fans, it’s in this park that we find the natural scenery of the Rivendell Elves forest, the one where Elrond resides. All that remains is a fictional arch and informative signs in the heart of the park, easily accessible. Anyway we understand pretty quickly that the special effects on green background were the rule for the movies.
Today it’s still a beautiful regional park crossed by a river where it’s good to swim, and offering many nice walks and hikes for all tastes.

Wellington city

Wellington Museum

t. A nice free entry museum which has nothing to envy to the paying ones. In addition to being interesting, the Wellington museum has staged various interactions with its visitors. We are faced with exhibitions and information but also, light games, sounds, hidden objects in drawers that entertain us and force us to look and grow curiosity instead of reading passively.

We really enjoyed our “participative” visit in this museum. We had a lot of fun, while we didn’t expect it, we can only recommend.

Te papa Museum

A gigantic space filled with an absolutely fantastic cultural wealth. Te Papa museum contains a mountain of information, exhibitions, treasures and history. On 6 floors, you can spend a good number of hours there to learn about New Zealand history and culture.

Admission is free, only guided tours are charged 12$ * per person.

What to say about this absolutely surprising place except that it fits as an inevitable in Wellington. There is so much for all tastes that you will find something to interest you even if you are not too “museum”. We visited it in two times, and were absolutely conquered.

We were particularly amazed by the ephemeral exhibition marking the WWI centenary on the Battle of Gallipoli, absolutely incredible !

The story of 8 soldiers who were frozen in action and sculpted at scale 2.4. Phenomenal status with breathtaking realism. Work done by the Weta workshop, a well-known studio because it created the special effects of lord of the rings, hobbit, king-kong, tintin etc. …

Victoria Mount

Take a short ride or drive on Mount Victoria summit to enjoy the view of the entire Wellington Bay and the city itself. It’s also possible to take various paths to enjoy small walks in the large adjacent park.
A must-see pilgrimage site for the fans of the Lord of the Rings, it was in this park that the first day of Lord of the rings filming has been done, it’s also here that the scene where the Hobbits are hiding from a Nazghul under the roots of a tree along the road in the first opus was turned. A word to the wise …

Cable car & botanical gardens

A great classic of the city is to borrow his famous cable car full of authentic charm.

Count 4$* one way or 7.5$* return for 2 minutes, tops.

We wandered through the botanical gardens at the terminus, but we confess that we didn’t use the cable car. On the other hand, we visited his small museum and entered by chance to the nearby perfume shop. This is where we had the pleasure to receive a small free class on classic perfumery methods. A pleasant and unexpected moment before continuing our walk in the gardens which, in our view, looks more like a big park in the middle of the city.

Parliament – Beehive

Between 10:00 and 16:00, every hour, the New Zealand Government Administration opens its doors to you for a free one hour guided tour free, in the famous parliament building whose architecture looks like a beehive.

Introduce yourself 15 mns before the beginning of a visit, and follow the guide that will lead you in the building and provide you with information on both the building itself and the current political system.

A presentation that was a bit long and tedious for us, I guess it depends of the guide too, it remains an interesting experience that you must not deprive yourself.

The weta cave

To all fans of science fiction and creativity, this tour is for you. These are the studios behind the designs and effects of big blockbusters such as King Kong, ghost in the shell, world of warcraft, ring lords, Tintin, hobbits …
We will not lie to you, only the visit of the shop with its mini-museum and its 30 minutesdocumentary, are free.

If you want to visit the studios it will cost you at least 25$* per person, the more you combine the visits the more it will be expensive, up to 145$* per person for the most expensive.

We have just visited the free part, which already gives a glimpse of the technical skills of these studios which are also at the origin of the Gallipoli Battle exhibition in Te Papa Museum, absolutely beautiful.

(* 2017 rates)