Getting Cultural in Wellington

The best things include a day at the Te Papa Museum, taking a ride up in the cable car and then strolling down through the royal botanical gardens, and heading out to Courtenay Place for a drink and a boogie. Other walks include heading out to Mt Cook for great views of the city and country.

Quick Tips:

If you can stomach the crowd, head to the basement of Base Backpackers or Sports Cafe in Courtenay Place for cheap drinks.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around is to walk. Most of the city is accessible by walking. The local bus is another great way to get around. Driving is a pain since parking is hard to come by. Taxi is the way to go at night. Wellington is a great place to rent a car if you plan to explore other parts of New Zealand. You can get a better rental deal in the major cities.

Base Backpackers is one of those chain hostels without a soul. Sometimes you have to wonder if the people who designed the Base in Wellington have traveled at all. The rates are less than competitive with the rest of the hostels in town. Rates for large dorm rooms start at NZ$25 a night, hardly the budget of the backpacker hostels in town. For a multi-level hostel that holds 325 beds, the kitchen is a joke. A small cubby space to store your food, only two refrigerators, a lack of counter space to prepare food, a precious few pots and pans, and only about eight burners make this kitchen one of the worst hostel kitchens I've seen. The kitchen spills out into the eating/common area, and that spills out into the TV area. Those in the open TV area struggle to hear the TV over the noise of those socializing in the kitchen, so they push the volume button up. It’s a vicious cycle that could have easily been avoided when building the hostel. The two elevators kept breaking meaning. I had to hike it up to my seventh-floor room each day and night.

There is a bar in the basement serving cheap drinks and featuring theme nights each night of the week. This is great for those who want to party close to their bed, but for those who want to sleep after a full day of sightseeing, the noise that drifts up through the floors is hardly relaxing.

In fact, the only positive for this hostel was its location. However, with three other hostels located around Base, you have the option for a much better night's sleep.

Editor's Note: Wildlife House has been renamed Wellywood Backpackers.

As the big backpacker places in the city center go, this was my favorite by far. Location is its biggest asset, as it's located only blocks from Courtenay Place, Te Papa Museum, and the supermarket. The kitchen, while not extremely well equipped, was large and spacious. It gave us plenty of room to prepare our meal and plenty of space to store our food.

The beds were comfy and the noise level was relatively low. None of the rooms are en-suite, but each shower has its own room. Some of the perks include was free, 24-hour Internet access, and they give you 2-for-1 drink tickets to Sports Café. Off-street parking is hard to come by, but the hostel does a deal with one of the nearby garages for all-night discounts.

The Te Papa museum is the ultimate must if you are visiting Wellington. Entry is free, but you'll find a donation box as you walk in. The museum showcases some of the best cultural works in New Zealand, along with an in-depth history of the Maori people. You can check the museum website for special events, such as readings, dance shows, and new exhibits. The museum is open every day.

The Magic Bus is one of two hop-on-hop-off tours that travels around the whole of the north and south islands of New Zealand. The other has been nicknamed the big green f*** truck. Wellington is one of the major cities you can jump onto this bus tour. Magic prides themselves on being the "independent travelers" choice.

If you don't already know, this is how it works: You buy a bus pass valid for a certain amount of time, in this case a year, and then you are allowed to hop-on at certain points (towns) around the country. The service just covers transport but they will arrange for accommodation if you would like (but it's up to you to pay for it).

The nice thing about this choice of transport is they take you to all the "major" sites and have a guide (the driver) to explain why that place is so great.

The good thing about Magic is the clientele tends to be a bit older, the bus service is Qualmark endorsed (meaning the buses are nice and clean) and their "recommended" choice of hostels are usually pretty quality places. They can also book you into activities and get a discount.

The bad thing about Magic can be applied generally to these types of transport. They can be over crowded (although Magic guarantees you a seat if you ring through 24 hours ahead of time), the bus driver doubles as your "tour guide" and they get kickbacks from taking you to certain "interest points" that might not be interesting at all. And they rarely go off the "beaten path" meaning you'll have to do that on your own.

Prices vary on the route you want to take. If you want to do the whole north and south it will cost NZ$923. Where as Auckland to Wellington one way is only NZ$160. They also do discounts for YHA and other hostel card holders.

It's not a bad option if you have limited amount of time, or fly into one city and out of another, or are just shy and need an excuse to meet people while traveling. They have a website that explains all the different routes and add ons. Alternatively tourist centres should have information on hand.