Our first stop on the North Island was Wellington and we were very excited to visit a city after two weeks of camping in remote places. Especially the thought of sleeping in a bed was very exciting to us.
The Beer Culture
One thing very appealing to me was the fondness of craft beer the citizens of Wellington have. So after a quick dinner at our accommodation, we headed to the city for a little bar hopping. We tried three different places, The Malt House, the Little Beer Quarter and the Rouge & Vagabond. Read more about our night out in Wellington here.
Exploring Wellington
After an amazing sleep in a proper bed, we started our sightseeing tour at the cable car. There wasn’t a huge queue so we got on the second ride up. On the top, we enjoyed the lookout over the city before making our way down by foot. It was a lovely path that led through the Botanical Gardens, past some rugby fields, through ancient cemeteries and finished at the parliament.
After this walk, we felt hungry and luckily we knew just the place to go. Our Airbnb host was a Chilean couple and he owned an authentic restaurant which, next to completos and churrascos, also offers vegan empanadas. They were delicious and the interior and the images of Chile shown on a TV screen made us a bit nostalgic. Read more about the Puro Chile and our vegan experience in Wellington here.
Te Papa Museum
Feeling refreshed, we started the second part of our sightseeing by walking along the waterfront to the Te Papa museum. On the way, we enjoyed watching kids jump from bridges and the official jump tower into the ocean.
The museum was one of our best experiences. We spent a lot of time only on the first floor where the history of New Zealand was explained.
Also, the newest exhibition about soldiers fighting in Turkey in the first World War was very impressive.
After that, we spent a bit more time at the exhibition on the Maori culture and the arrival of the English.
It was almost time to leave the city now, but not before trying another vegan restaurant. The Aunty Mena’s serves Chinese and Malaysian dishes, a lot of them with mock chicken. We shared dumplings as a starter before I enjoyed my Cho Mee noodles and Ale the chicken and vegetables in Kong Pow sauce. A really delicious way to say goodbye to Wellington.