Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: April 2025
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is the southernmost city on the North Island. It’s a vibrant city that is known for its film and special effects industries. It also contains a lively waterfront, museums, and other opportunities to enjoy the surrounding scenery.
We took the ferry from Picton to Wellington yesterday. It was a long day and the ferry crossing was rough. So we had a lie-in and took our time to get ready in the morning, which included doing a load of laundry. After eating breakfast we went for a stroll to the Wellington Botanic Garden. On the way we passed the parliament buildings. The government offers free guided tours, but they were all fully booked online. We swung by in person to see if there were any last minute cancellations or if they held a few tickets in reserve for walk-ins. It turns out they had availability for the 3:30pm tour, so we snagged tickets for that.
Along our walk we passed by the Bolton Cemetery. It is the oldest cemetery in Wellington, dating from 1840. It was neat to look at some of the names and dates and try to read the carvings on the headstones.
The Wellington Botanic Garden is one of New Zealand’s oldest botanic gardens. It was established in 1868 and has since grown over time. It contains several paths and walkways through the different landscapes and seasonal displays. We entered near the rose garden. The North Island is generally warmer than the South Island and there were still quite a few roses still in bloom. We wandered around before taking a peak inside the conservatory, which housed some tropical plants and contained an impressive pond with lilies.
We followed the Northern Walkway (blue trail). The path wasn’t very stroller friendly and required climbing several flights of steps and stairs. But once we made our way up, we were rewarded with a beautiful view overlooking the rose garden.
We passed through the herb garden and sculpture garden. It was a steady incline upwards, but at least there were minimal flights of stairs. The path led us to the cable car entrance. We were fine to just enjoy the views from here.
We then followed the City to Sea Walkway (yellow trail) through a few more different sections for a change of scenery.
To get back to the hotel we opted to walk along the waterfront. Remember all those stairs we had to climb up? Even though we took a different route back, there were still lots of steps to climb down. With the stroller. But once we made it to the waterfront, the path was relatively flat and paved.
After eating a late lunch, we made an attempt to put M down for a nap. But after napping in her car seat over the past few weeks, M was having none of it. And so no one was in a good mood come the afternoon. But we set out anyway for our afternoon tour of the New Zealand Parliament buildings.
We were required to show up 15 minutes in advance at the visitor centre to pass through security. With our tour group assembled, we started with a short film that provided an overview of the New Zealand Parliament, how it worked and about the different buildings. Our guide then went into more details and showed us some of the key rooms, including the Press Gallery, Debating Chamber, Grand Hall and first floor foyer.
There are three main buildings: Parliament House (main building of the complex that contains the debating chamber, speaker’s office, visitor center and committee rooms), the Beehive (Executive Wing where the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers have offices; and where the Cabinet meets) and the Parliamentary Library (working library that provides research services for members and responds to requests from the public for information on any aspect of Parliament).
The tour lasted about an hour. And M had reached her limit. So we hurried back to our hotel, which was thankfully only a 10 minute walk away. We then made dinner and did another load of laundry. We might as well take advantage of the washer and dryer in our room as this would be our last convenient opportunity to do laundry on our trip.
Tomorrow we had a long day of driving as we were heading to Tongariro National Park.
L
Good that you managed to get tickets for the parliament tour Linda. That’s something that we always try to do when travelling as they can be so interesting. The Botanic Gardens sounds lovely too even if you had to carry the pushchair up and down flight of steps
We didn’t have high hopes as there were no tickets available online, but were pleasantly surprised to hear that they kept a few tickets in reserve for walk-ins. The buildings were beautiful and it was neat to hear how their parliament system works. The botanical gardens were pretty extensive and we certainly got a good workout exploring the grounds, especially with all those stairs!
Wellington has lone been a favourite visit for us as it is close to where our friends live. The botanic garden and waterfront are spectacular. I can’t say we have ever toured the parliament buildings so good on you. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful Saturday Linda. Allan
Wellington is very lovely. And agreed, the botanic garden and waterfront area are fantastic. I really liked how we were able to walk everywhere and take a break from being in the car. The parliament buildings are nice and it was interesting to get an overview of how their parliament works. Highly recommend the next time you’re there. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Linda
Lovely to see this – we were in Wellington in March but things ran late and we didn’t arrive until evening – and then were heading off the following morning – so we really only managed a bit of a walk at the harbour and something to eat….
It’s too bad your time in Wellington was cut short and that you weren’t able to see much. But glad to hear you managed to explore along the waterfront. It’s a lovely city. And it was nice to take a break from driving and walk everywhere.
Wellington looks beautiful! The Botanic Gardens are so pretty as is the waterfront. I wasn’t sure what was going on with the naked man statue for a second – I thought he might have been having a wee wee in the sea – but then I realised he was probably about to dive in! Visiting parliament must have been fascinating. I’ve visited Scotland’s in Edinburgh and Australia’s in Canberra and they were very interesting, particularly in Australia as I got to sit in during Prime Minister’s questions which turned into a bit of an Aussie slanging match! It was a good laugh!
I couldn’t help but laugh at your comment about the naked man statue! Wellington is a very lovely city and we enjoyed being about to walk everywhere (even with all the stairs and the stroller). The tour of the parliament buildings was interesting. Typically when we visit a city we see if there’s a botanical garden to visit. We’ll have to add parliament buildings to this list too. It’s neat that you’ve been to a few others, including Australia’s and even got to sit during the Prime Minister’s question period! Politics isn’t always boring.
The gardens look beautiful. I am very impressed that you walked through some difficult terrain with a stroller!
We visited a lot of botanical gardens in New Zealand as most cities have one and they are typically free to visit. The one in Wellington was one of our favourites, even if there were a lot of stair and steps! Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment.
If I take the same ferry like you did, I guess the next day my brain will still struggle to believe that my feet are already walking on steady ground. I wasn’t aware that the cable car can be accessed via the botanic garden (and what a lovely garden it looks!). How neat that you got to visit the country’s parliament building, and the beehive structure is such an eye-catcher!
After all that driving and surviving the rough ferry crossing it was nice to explore Wellington on foot. The botanic garden was very extensive. We could have easily spent the entire day there. We probably would have if we didn’t snag last minute tickets to tour the parliament buildings. It was neat to hear about how their parliament works in comparison to ours. And agreed, the Beehive is such an iconic and visually appealing building.
You did all of this with a stroller! You have excellent endurance.
It was quite the workout! But even with all the stairs, I think the stroller was the better choice over the baby carrier considering how long we walked for. I couldn’t imagine doing that again now though give how much bigger our (not so) little one is now.
New Zealand never disappoints! Very beautiful. 😍🇦🇺
No it doesn’t. It was tough to leave the South Island behind, but we were excited to explore more of the North Island. Wellington is a very lovely (and hilly) city.
I’d love to see it! ☺️❤️
And I’d love to see it again! Too bad NZ is on the other side of the world. But maybe that’s part of its charm!
The time change would get me badly!
Oh yah, there’s that too! They say it takes a day to adjust for every hour of time difference.
Wow, that’s a two week adjustment!
Thankfully it didn’t take us that long to adjust to the time change. I think it helped that we flew into Vancouver a couple days beforehand. I always find it harder readjusting coming home when all the excitement has worn off!
Wow, our internal Clocks are amazing! 😂🤙🏻
Now, we are very interested to read about Wellington. We have already committed to NZ for our ‘26 travel and will be going north to south, via Wellington. Interested to read more. Hopefully you found it an interesting and stimulating city.
How exciting!! You’re going to love New Zealand. How long are you going for? And yes, we enjoyed our time in Wellington. We were only there for a day, but we felt like we saw quite a bit. The botanic garden and waterfront are lovely spots to go for a stroll.
We’ll be there for a total of about 5 weeks, including attending my nephew’s wedding…😀
We were there for 5 weeks too. We didn’t have a wedding to attend but we were travelling with our little M who was about 15 months old at the time, which meant we had to go a bit slower and work around nap times. Happy trip planning!!
PS Hobbiton hosts weddings. You should tell your nephew to look into it!!
Some gorgeous pictures, Linda. It sounds like it was an enjoyable day with good weather but also a bit trying with all the steps and a tired little girl. The NZ parliament looks so much like ours – no surprise!
It was nice to be able to leave the car behind and explore on foot, even if there were a lot of hills and stairs. We were all pretty tired by the end of the day though! And yes, NZ’s parliamentary system is a lot like ours.
You had a great hiking adventure! You also did more activities other than hiking. I bet you had a full day!
It’s always nice to shake things up. We enjoyed our time exploring Wellington, especially since we had such beautiful weather. The botanic garden was a real highlight.
I can see that M is changing her sleeping habits now. The city looks clean and vibrant and the parliament building looks so grand inside. This New Zealand series posts show how many places you’ve been to that you enjoyed very much. Amazing, Linda.
Thanks so much for your kind words Hazel. Our little M has always been a terrible napper. But we got into a good rhythm with nap time being on the road. So it was tough for her to nap when we weren’t driving. We were all pretty tired by the end of the day and ended up going to bed early that night.
Yeah, I observed that children love sleeping when traveling. My pleasure always, Linda. Enjoy your week ahead.
Adults too! There’s so much newness and excitement while travelling that it’s good to get lots of rest! Enjoy the rest of the week as well.
I agree. Gratitude always, Linda!
So Great photos and explanations are very interesting 🤔 my cousin sister and my another niece also living here , they also sent some photos to me 🌷❤️👍🏻 very beautiful and peaceful Places , Beauty of Parliament building , beauty of botanic garden , coastal view of beauty, peaceful Cemetery 🙏 there harbour are really awesome 👏 🤗
Thank you so much for sharing my dear friend and Be Blessed 🌷🙏❤️🌷
Thanks so much for your lovely comment. There’s a lot of history, character and charm in Wellington. We lucked out and had beautiful weather for wandering around. It was also really neat to take a tour through the parliament buildings and learn more about their parliamentary system.
🌷🙏❤️🖖🌷 so welcome my friend 🤗
The Botanical Gardens look beautiful, and offer great views from the top. I remember seeing the Beehive years ago, but didnt go inside.
We visited a lot of different botanical gardens in Nee Zealand as every city and town seemed to have one. The one in Wellington was one of our favourites. We got a lot of steps in that day! If we didn’t manage to get tickets for the parliament tour we likely would have spent more time there.
How lovely, the Botanic Garden looks lovely, and the cable car seems to give some incredible views. Poor Baby M having none of it with a nap – I can imagine it made for a bit of a grumpy afternoon bless her.
We visited a lot of different botanical gardens in New Zealand (you would love it there for that reason alone), and the one in Wellington was one of our favourites. No wonder little M was so reluctant to go for a nap afterwards!
🧡💛
Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment. We had a delightful time exploring Wellington.
You had me at botanical garden; they’re my favorite places to visit while traveling. Looks like it has a good collection of plants and spectacular views too. Sounds a bit challenging with the stroller though. The parliament building tour sounds interesting too. Lovely photos as usual!
Thanks for your kind words. I’m such a fan of botanical gardens too. One our favourite things about New Zealand is that most cities and towns have a botanical garden and that they are typically free to visit. The one in Wellington wasn’t exactly stroller friendly, but given how much walking we did we’d still pick the stroller over the baby carrier, even if it meant having to carry it up and down several flights of stairs.
Crazy amount of stairs with a stroller but what a view! Their parliament building looks very unique. M is a trooper but sometimes enough is enough hey!
Apparently there was an accessible path, but it was on the opposite side to where we were. Even with all the stairs, the stroller was the right choice given how much walking we did. Our poor backs would have been sore if we brought the baby carrier instead. You’re right, M is definitely a trooper. She lets us know her frustrations much easier now that she’s two!
I bet she does!!!
The botanical garden is beautiful. The day can be very unpredictable when the nap is different! Glad you got in on the Parliament building tour. It’s always interning to see different governments.
We had a wonderful time exploring the Wellington Botanical Garden, even with all the stairs. And you’re right, the day can be hit or miss if nap times are messed up or missed! Needless to say, we all went to bed earlier that night!
It’s always nice to come across a botanical garden in a big city – and the views from the cable car entrance are lovely. I think it must be quite a challenge to explore new places with a little one – it seems you guys (and Baby M) did well on this trip!
Very true. Every city should have a large green space for everyone to enjoy. One of the things we loved about NZ is that most cities had a botanical garden and that they were typically free to visit. I’d say it’s a bit harder to explore new places now that M is walking. She’s only down to one nap time, but it can take us three to four times as long to walk or hike 1km! But it’s a good reminder to slow down and enjoy the journey.
Enjoyed learning more about Wellington from your post. You’ve found some interesting sites besides Te Papa.
Thanks for your lovely comment. We had a delightful time wandering around Wellington, especially through the botanical gardens and along the waterfront. We were only there for a day, but I’m happy with how much we managed to do. And it was nice to just walk everywhere.
I could imagine it would be really tough going up all those stairs with a stroller. I’m glad you found some paths that were paved. The fact that the cemetery held stones from the 1800s reminds me of some of the cemeteries here. It is neat trying to read the words. The ones that make me sad are the family headstones with the kids. The gardens look beautiful ❤️
Those stairs are giving me flashbacks! And it would typically be several staircases in a row. But given how much walking we did, we’re glad we had the stroller with us. We weren’t expecting to come across a cemetery on our walk to the botanical garden, but it was a pleasant surprise. That being said, I might have felt differently if it were at night!
Oh man ! I could imagine it would be a whole different world at night .. spooky! I’m glad you guys enjoyed yourselves though. Hopefully the next place you venture will have less stairs
Ha! It did! Except we did a lot of hiking and traded in stairs for steps! But this time we left the stroller in the car!
The gardens look beautiful. Such hard work sometimes with your little one. In years to come you’ll be showing her the photos xx
The botanical garden was beautiful and very extensive. We didn’t even walk all of the different paths. Our schedule revolves around our little one, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s way more enjoyable to travel with her.
Wow, what a trip, it just feels like you’ve been away for a long time! Wellington looks like a scenic coastal city with such great views of the water! The botanic garden is beautiful! And I hear you on travelling with a stroller. It will be so freeing once that requirement goes away – then it’ll be a different kind of tired and fun! 😊 Look forward to seeing your next stop!
We were gone for six weeks in total with five of them in New Zealand. And it’s taken me well over six months (and counting) to post about our adventures! Once we returned to the North Island we only had just over a week left before we had to head home. Wellington is very lovely and very walkable (despite all the stairs). M rarely goes in the stroller now and much prefers to walk everywhere. We spent the past few days in Arrowhead to celebrate her birthday and had her in the sled for the first time, which she seemed to enjoy. That made hiking much easier for all of us, although the sled really only works when the path is wide and flat!
Hope you’re all ready for the holidays! And hopefully you can work from home today. It looks like we got quite a bit of snow overnight and we’re supposed to get more this morning.
Happy birthday to M! Another year just flew by. Celebrating in Arrowhead is wonderful.
I’m looking forward to having some time off later this month. 🙂 I had to go in the office today. The commute was not fun! Hope you got to stay home. 🙂
Enjoy your time off. I imagine T is getting excited for Christmas. I’ll be working over the holidays, which I don’t mind as it’s typically quiet and we get to mostly work from home. I’m not a fan of the cold, but I’m hoping the snow stays until Christmas.
I’m working till Christmas Eve. Those three days that week have zero meetings in them. 😊
Enjoy the quiet too!
Amazing!! It’s unreal how much time in a day is spent in meetings!
Those views from the top of the gardens are really wonderful. I’m definitely enjoying your tour, photos, and writing from this trip, I don’t want it to end… 😊 And I love how you add ‘normalcy’, travels are not only about the fantastic views, it’s also about naps, and laundry, and timing, and not always perfectly happy moods… But your sweet family always makes the best of it. 💞
Thanks Rose. Sometimes it’s worth it to climb up all those steps (with a stroller!) to enjoy the views from up above. Our trip to NZ seems like a lifetime ago, but it’s been nice to relive the moments and memories by writing about it. I only have a few more posts left and then I’ll be onto our next adventures. Travelling is much more different for us these days, but I must say, it’s been nice to take things slow.
You got some incredible views of the city! The botanic garden looks really lovely. Also, that is the most unique exterior of a parliament building I’ve ever seen. I bet the tour was really interesting.
Wow, the views from up there are incredible! Really appreciate you sharing this whole experience with us—the pictures and your words paint such a vivid picture
Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely comment. We had a wonderful time exploring Wellington. And it was nice to enjoy some beautiful weather.
I would have liked to visit the Parliament, I don’t think I knew it was even possible when I visited Wellington, poor research on my part. But I spent some time on the lawns around it, drawn to the unusual shapes of the Beehive.
Tours are only held during the weekdays, which might explain why you didn’t know about them. It was a last minute decision to visit and I’m glad we managed to snag tickets.
We loved Wellington too but didn’t have time for the Parliament building, great to see about it here.
Visiting the Parliament buildings was a spontaneous decision. I’m glad we managed to snag last minute tickets. It was neat to hear a bit more about how their system works and to see so many similarities with ours in Canada.
Wellington remains my second home, even so many years later. The parliament building is so beautiful. I haven’t had a chance to go inside, and oh my words (!!!) how stunning! Definitely not missing out next time!
We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed our time in Wellington. It’s a lovely city. We certainly got a good workout from walking up all those hills and steps! Visiting the Parliament buildings was a spontaneous decision. I’m glad we were able to get last minute tickets. It was very interesting and neat to see how their system compares with ours in Canada. Plus the architecture is beautiful.
Ths botanic garden is really nice and the view of the city is stunning. The marina looks lovely as well.
It was a lovely day to walk around and explore the sites. Even though it was rather hilly, the Wellington Botanic Garden was one of our favourite botanical gardens that we visited on our trip.