About Capital & Coast

Wellington’s location at the centre of New Zealand won Wellington the role of capital in 1865. Today, Parliament and the Beehive building alongside it are national icons. Wellington is approximately 8½ hours from Auckland by road, about an hour by air. The South Island is a three-hour scenic ferry ride away across Cook Strait.

Wellington itself is built on dramatic hills surrounding one of the southern hemisphere’s largest deep water ports. The Wellington region takes up the southern end of the North Island. Most people here live in the four cities at the south western corner - Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua. The Wellington region consists also of the Kapiti and Wairarapa regions. For now, the region has 3 separate District Health Boards: Capital and Coast, Wairarapa and Hutt Valley; although they work together to form 3DHB.

Wellington City is wedged between steep hills and the sea. Rugged mountain ranges (the Rimutakas and the Tararuas) are beyond the harbour. The diversity of natural resources means within 10-15 minutes, you can be walking or mountain biking in native bush or kayaking around the coastline.

The capital's location has created a walkable central business district that encourages a now-famous café and craft beer culture. The creative, IT, education and government sectors combine in a way that means it always does feel like there’s something going on. In 2011 Lonely Planet called Wellington the world’s “coolest little capital”;

Within the Region:

• Weta Studio Tours. Weta Digital is the digital visual effects company that made the Lord of the Rings such a great movie.
• Zealandia. Set around a picturesque reservoir, Zealandia is home to some of New Zealand's most rare and extraordinary wildlife.
• Te Papa. NZ’s bold and innovative national museum.
• Wellington Zoo.
• The Remutaka (Rimutaka) Cycle Trail. One of New Zealand’s Great Rides, and a part of The New Zealand Cycle Trail (Nga Haerenga)
• The Wellington Cable car which runs from downtown Wellington to the picturesque suburb of Kelburn and Wellington Botanic Garden.