Wellington, New Zealand – 1 Day Trip

Leaving from Picton on the South Island I’m headed to Wellington by way of the Ferry. I upgraded to first-class to see what it was like, and it was worth it. My cost for a one-way ticket was NZD 65 (non-refundable) and then an additional NZD 50 to upgrade. First-class had all-you-can-eat food and drinks (alcohol included). The ferry was with Interislander Ferry, booking in advance does save money, but there was no price difference in the upgrade to first class.

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I stepped outside a few times to get some photos and then once we were out the south island fjords, I worked the rest of the ride. Going to Wellington I had nothing planned, I was more looking for adventure stuff on this trip so I had only planned a day. Wellington is also expensive to stay and I was trying to cut costs.

Day 1 – Explore Wellington by Foot 02.13.2020

Arriving in Wellington there was an issue on the Ferry so I got to sit on the Ferry for another two hours but was also kicked out of first-class so that sucked. I took an Uber from the harbor to my hostel. The cost from the Uber to Wellington Central was NZD 7. I stayed at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers and the cost for one night was NZD 40 for a private room, shared bathroom.

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After I checked in I walked to the train station which is across the street from the hotel. I looked at the map inside and didn’t see anywhere worth going by train and decided to do the rest of the day by foot and lime scooter. I walked over to the Wellington Waterfront, which is a nice walking path along the ocean and has overlooks of the city skyline.

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I looked up on TripAdvisor something free to do and the botanic garden popped up and then I also saw reviews of people taking the cable car up to the top. Using my GPS it showed the entrance to the cable car was down a small ally and I thought that couldn’t be right so I then walked around the city more and couldn’t find it. I eventually gave up and walked up the hill until I was next to the cable car tracks, eventually realizing that the cable car does go into that Ally.

I walked back down and got my round-trip ticket for the Cable Car. The cost was NZD 9 return NZD 5 one-way. One thing that made this experience unique was it was still being used for transportation by the locals. I had thought this would just be a tourist-type experience but people were getting on and off at certain stops up and down the track.

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Once I got to the top I walked around the botanic gardens for an hour and then headed back down to call it a night. On the move again tomorrow, off to Lake Taupo.

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