Catch the free shuttle to Zealandia, a fenced wildlife sanctuary with a 500-year plan to restore the valley where it’s located, wedged into a hillside not far from central Wellington, to a pre-human state. Visit Zealandia during the day for a chance to spot rare birds like tieke/saddlebacks, takahē and kākā, or at night for a chance to see nocturnal kiwi.
Round out any day of exploring in Wellington with a visit to one of the capital’s craft beer brewpubs. On the funky Hannah’s Laneway, a block over from Cuba street, you’ll find Fortune Favours spread across two stories of an old industrial building. Near the upper end of Cuba Street is Heyday, a pastel green brewpub in a former car battery shop. There are tables out the front, so on a fine day you can sit in the sunshine and smugly remind your present company—you can’t beat Wellington on a good day.
Where to eat
Wellingtonians are enthusiastic foodies. Dining out in Wellington often means trying cuisines you might never have considered before. Mabel’s for example, is a cozy restaurant bringing Burmese cuisine to Wellington. Opening on central Tory Street in January 2022, Mabel’s is named after co-owner Marlar Boon’s grandmother, who was a notable figure in the Wellington restaurant scene back in the 70s. Boon honors family recipes through innovative Burmese dishes like la phet thoke, a fermented tea leaf salad.
Just a few doors down from Mabel’s is Damascus, a Syrian restaurant that started off as a gazebo at Wellington’s food markets in 2017. It became so popular, Damascus found a permanent home on Tory Street in late 2022. Syrian-born chef Hasan Alwarhani serves up soul-nourishing portions of hummus, baba ganoush, and zahra, a dish of deep fried cauliflower.
A few blocks over is Cuba Street, one of Wellington’s great eating streets. Here you can find Kisa, a restaurant that started off as a Turkish pop up, but became so popular it’s now a fully fledged restaurant. The earth-hued interior is a warm and inviting space for savoring the Middle Eastern shared plates.
For a truly exceptional experience, nab a booking at Hiakai. Chef Monique Fiso started the restaurant as an avenue for exploring Māori ingredients and cooking techniques. Since its launch, Hiakai—which means hungry, or having a craving for food in Māori—has established itself as one of New Zealand’s most innovative restaurants, with Fiso challenging ideas of what Māori and Polynesian food culture can look like. Bookings are highly sought after, and released seasonally.
For cocktails, head to Kuikui Lane, a bar focused on manaakitanga, a Māori concept which loosely translates to taking care of people. Opened in December 2021, Kuikui Lane marries elegant cocktails with an unpretentious and relaxed environment, inspired by the hospitality of the owners’ grandmothers. Cocktails use exclusively New Zealand sourced ingredients, like Martinborough’s Reid+Reid gin infused with native botanicals horopito and kawakawa, and Kiwi Spirits Distillery Greenstone Gin, distilled with native Totara and Kahikatea berries.
