Excursions from Wellington

City sightseeing tours depart daily at 2 P.m. from the Public Relations Office on Mercer Street. You can take a scenic flight or a harbor cruise, or, if the day is pleasant, board a ferry for a trip across Cook Strait to Picton. The City Marine Drive offers a look at suburban beaches east and south of the city. To the north, you can explore the Hutt Valley, the Golden Coast, or the Eastern Bays. On weekends, motorcoach tours travel to beach towns along the Tasman, and to rugged Cape Palliser.

Discover suburban beaches

From the city center, the 39 km/24 mile City Marine Drive follows the harbor shore to nearby beaches. The route skirts Oriental and Evans bays on the inner harbor, then loops around the Miramar Peninsula past a series of attractive bays. Along the way you'll pass moored pleasure boats, fine swimming beaches, and surfing areas.

On the northern tip of Miramar Peninsula, the Massey Memorial offers picnic tables and a fine view of the harbor. Along the peninsula's eastern shore, the road curves past a series of inviting beaches at Scorching, Karaka, and Worser bays. Outer harbor beaches at Lyall and Island bays attract hardy swimmers and surfers. Island Bay is home for a small fishing fleet.

The Hutt Valley and beyond

Hemmed in between hills, the Hutt Valley towns sprawl along Highway 2 over alluvial plains bordering the Hutt River. In Petone, the Settlers' Museum on the Esplanade commemorates the first landing of settlers in Port Nicholson.

Hikers enjoy the rugged hills of Tararua Forest Park, an hour's drive north of the capital, where trails wind through the bush and along streams. Access routes to the vast reserve are signposted off the main highways.

Along the Golden Coast

North of Wellington, Highway 1 connects coastal towns along the Tasman shore from Plimmerton north to Otaki. Suburban trains link the capital with the larger beach towns, and Saturday shopping draws many weekend visitors to this region, dubbed the "Golden Coast." Many Wellingtonians have built beach cottages or retirement homes here.

If you're a fan of vintage vehicles, three museums await you here. At Paekakariki, the Engine Shed museum recalls the era of steam locomotives; the collection is open to visitors on Saturday. Trams, trolley buses, and an oldtime fire engine await you in the Wellington Tramway Museum in Paekakariki's Queen Elizabeth Park, open on weekends and holidays; you can also picnic and swim in the park. Classic cars take the spotlight at the Southward Car Museum, open daily in Otaihanga, just northwest of Paraparaumu.

Otakil 74 km/46 miles north of Wellington, has one of the country's finest Maori churches. Its plain exterior gives little hint of the outstanding interior The Eastern Bays

A pleasant excursion follows the harbor northeast through Petone to prime residential suburbs bordering the Eastern Bays. By bus, it's a 40 minute ride from the Wellington railway station to Eastbourne.

The road passes a series of sheltered beaches bordering Lowry, York, Mahina, and Days bays before reaching Eastbourne. Houses spill down the steep wooded slopes, and some hill dwellers have installed private cable cars to transport them between street and home. From Kowhai Street in Eastbourne, a signposted trail climbs over a hilly ridge with good harbor views and down to a peaceful valley at Butterfly Creek.

Rugged Cape Palliser

Cape Palliser, the rocky, storm wracked southern tip of North Island, has been the scene of many shipwrecks. Crowning a hill is the Cape Palliser Lighthouse, linked by a long flight of steps with the keeper's d welling below. Visitors can enjoy surfcasting here and can view seals at a nearby seal colony.