Wellington sits at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The city core lies along the west

Wellington ( Te Whanganui a Tara in Māori ) is the capital of New Zealand . The Windy City is built on the foreshore of Wellington Harbour and ringed by mountains, providing the scenic home of many of New Zealand's national arts and cultural attractions.
Surrounded by hills and a rugged coastline, the city boasts a stunning harbour. Wellington's charm is that it serves up a vibrant inner city experience with a slice of New Zealand kawasaki 500 vista cruise control scenery. kawasaki 500 vista cruise control And because of its compact nature, you can sample it all: boutiques, art galleries, trendy cafés and restaurants. Right on its doorstep is a network of walking and biking trails with beautiful wineries and vineyards just a few hours away.
Wellington is also known for its film tourism. It is the heart of New Zealand's kawasaki 500 vista cruise control film industry and main filming and production centres for films such as the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Avatar, Tin Tin and District 9.
The city promotes itself as "Absolutely Positively Wellington". kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Its motto " Suprema a situ " claims site supremacy, with some justification. Wellington was named as the fourth best city in the world to visit in 2011 by " Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 " referring to the New Zealand capital as the " coolest little capital in the world ".
Wellington Visitor Information Centre ( iSITE ), Civic Square, Corner Victoria and Wakefield Streets , ☎ +64 4 802 4860 or 0800 933 53 63 , [1] . A good place to begin your Wellington visit - they're able to book accommodation, activities and provide useful information about Wellington and surrounding areas. kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Their website contains the same information kawasaki 500 vista cruise control and is worth checking out prior to your visit. They are a member of the national i-SITE visitor kawasaki 500 vista cruise control information centre network ( i-SITE ). edit
Because it is the capital city, the New Zealand Parliament and the head offices of many Government departments and large businesses occupy central Wellington. This is especially true in the areas closest to Parliament kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Buildings - the northern end of The Terrace and Lambton Quay areas and the Thorndon commercial area.
Much of the central city is built on reclaimed land that was raised up after a major earthquake in 1855. More land has been reclaimed since then. The shoreline as it was in 1840 is marked by plaques in the footpaths on Lambton Quay (hence the street name). There are several Quays which are now nowhere near the harbour. The harbour's former name was 'Port Nicholson' and the smaller bay surrounded kawasaki 500 vista cruise control by the city is called 'Wellington' or 'Lambton Harbour'.
Earthquakes have played a major part in forming kawasaki 500 vista cruise control the whole Wellington region, kawasaki 500 vista cruise control the exposed face of the Wellington fault being prominent as the line of hills adjacent to the harbour between Thorndon kawasaki 500 vista cruise control and Petone. There are several major earthquake faults in the region, some of which slip a metre or more in one jump every few centuries. Building regulations have meant that many older city buildings have been either demolished or strengthened, or require such work to be undertaken. kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Small and moderate earthquakes occasionally rock Wellington; so if the earth seems to move for you, it may not be just your imagination. Take shelter from potentially falling objects wherever you are - beneath door frames or heavy tables.
There are some places in Wellington where damage from the 1855 earthquake is still visible. The most accessible is a large landslip on SH2 between Ngauranga and Korokoro (just north of Rocky Point where the BP petrol station is located) kawasaki 500 vista cruise control where the dramatic change in terrain is visible. Bush has overgrown the slip but it is still visible. However, most people are oblivious to the location of this landslip as they drive by on the highway.
Wellington is known as the Windy City . The prevailing wind is from the northwest but the strongest winds are southerly. The wind speed and direction can be seen by the flag being flown from the Beehive . A large flag is flown only on calm days, a small flag is flown when windy days are expected.
The temperature in Wellington rarely kawasaki 500 vista cruise control drops below 0°C (32°F), even on a cold winter's night, while daytime winter temperatures are rarely lower than 8°C (46°F). During summer, the daytime maximum temperature rarely gets above 25°C (77°F). kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Away from the seaside, in inland valleys, frosts of up to -10°C (14°F) have been recorded and snow settles on the nearby ranges in winter.
Wellington sits at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The city core lies along the western shore of highly-protected Wellington Harbour, with the city's suburbs spreading out in all directions. The city's primary kawasaki 500 vista cruise control urban core consists of the CBD and the adjoining 'city suburb' of Te Aro, to the south and east. A fairly dense zone continues south from Te Aro into the adjoining kawasaki 500 vista cruise control suburbs of Mt. Cook and Newtown, kawasaki 500 vista cruise control as well as Kilbirnie on the other side of the parklands of Mt. Victoria.
East from Te Aro, north-south ridges form Mt Victoria and, further east yet, the Miramar Peninsula, which forms the western kawasaki 500 vista cruise control side of the mouth to Wellington Harbour. These hills and the isthmus between are home to a number of suburban areas as well as parkland and beaches.
Several kilometres south of central Wellington is the rugged and stunning South Coast of the North Island, consisting of a string of small (and some large) kawasaki 500 vista cruise control bays, many with rocky beaches and interesting tide pools.
The harbour is the jewel of the city, on a bright calm day it is stunning from any vantage point. The harbour is almost a perfect circle with the city on the south western edge, Petone on the northern side and Eastbourne, a small seaside village, on the south eastern side and accessible by ferry from the city centre.
Wellington International Airport [2] is in Rongotai, about 5 km (3 mi) from the central city. It sits on an isthmus between the Miramar peninsula and Mount Victoria. The southerly approach is over Cook Strait, while the northerly approach is over the harbor.
Wellington airport is a major transit point for domestic travellers. There are frequent flights to Auckland , Christchurch , Palmerston North , Rotorua , Hamilton , Nelson , Blenheim kawasaki 500 vista cruise control and many other destinations. International flights from Australia ( Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane ) arrive about twice daily: the evening flights arrive after midnight when most facilities are closed. There are also seasonal flights between Wellington and Fiji.
Landing at Wellington Airport in a strong kawasaki 500 vista cruise control cross-wind can be an adventure, and most pilots adopt a powered approach for approach, followed by a full reverse thrust and hard braked landing due to the shortness of the runway. This tends to create a roller-coaster ride, so make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened, as is required anyway.
There is a regular airport bus known as the Flyer that departs from the south end of the domestic terminal until 9PM. Shuttle van services, taxis and covered carparking are directly outside the terminal.
When you get to the airport, call the Metlink hotline at 0800 801700. They answer very quickly and a friendly person will tell you what bus to take and even what special pass to buy (for example, if after the "Flyer" you are taking a train) if you say where you are going.
There are regular ferries between Wellington and Picton , connecting with buses and the train to Christchurch. Cruise ships from overseas often stop in Wellington. The ferry port is located about 2 km (1 mi) northeast of the railway kawasaki 500 vista cruise control station, and a $2 shuttle bus runs between the ferry port and the railway station (bus terminal next to Platform 9).
There are only two major roads into Wellington: State Highways 1 2. State Highway One follows kawasaki 500 vista cruise control the western coast to the north, and State Highway two heads north-east through the Hutt Valley, kawasaki 500 vista cruise control over the Rimutaka Ranges to the Wairarapa. Both roads are initially a motorway, but after approx 20 km (12 mi) turn into single lane highway as they negotiate difficult terrain. While local authorities are working on improvements, serious and fatal crashes are not uncommon on these roads: remember to keep left, maintain a reasonable speed, and use the passing lanes to overtake slower traffic.
Drivers using the Rimutaka Hill road must be alert to extreme wind and weather, especially in winter. The road can close several times a year due to snowfall near the summit. The descent down the Wairarapa side needs special care as there are many sharp corners and the road is quite narrow in places.
kawasaki 500 vista cruise control Hitchhiking from central Wellington is difficult as most traffic stays within the metropolitan area, and it is illegal to hitchhike on the motorway until the Hutt Valley (about 15 km/9 mi northeast of Wellington) or Paremata (about 20 km/12 mi north). If intending to hitchhike, you are best to catch a train to Waikanae or Upper Hutt and walk to the main highways to catch a lift from there. Using a sign will help in matching a willing driver and destination.
There is a train service between Wellington and Auckland. There are daily commuter services from Palmerston North and Masterton and a generally half-hourly suburban commuter service to Johnsonville, the Hutt Valley , Porirua , and Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast .
National bus carrier InterCity [3] operates bus services to Wellington from across the North Island. Daily services operate between Auckland, New Plymouth , Napier , Hastings and Palmerston North, as well as overnight services between Auckalnd and Wellington. All InterCity Wellington bus services depart and arrive at Platform 9 at the Wellington Railway Station.
Nakedbus offers a more limited national network and offers daily (and some overnight) services to most major destinations on the North Island.These depart from a bus stop opposite the Amora Hotel on Wakefield Street or outside the McDonalds on Bunny Street, right opposite the Railway Station.
kawasaki 500 vista cruise control It is easy to get around the central city on foot, as is very compact and pedestrian-friendly. In addition, New Zealand's best public transit network with buses, commuter trains, and suburban ferr