New Zealand Travel – Wellington New Zealand

By Ankur Pandey - February, 14th 2019

The Cable Car in Wellington New Zealand departs every ten minutes from Lambton Quay. At the summit spectacular views are afforded of Wellington Harbour and city. After the ride up in the Cable Car, take a stroll back to the city through the Botanic Gardens.

The Wellington Cable Car Museum

The entrance to Cable Car Lane leads off Lambton Quay in the heart of Wellington’s business and shopping district. The car tunnels beneath corporate towers and climbs steeply past Kelburn Park and Victoria University. A five-minute trip takes passengers to the upper terminus and the Cable Car Museum.

The Museum is worth a browse for its reminders of the sheer hard work and entrepreneurial spirit that saw the tramway established in 1902. Prisoners from the nearby Terrace Gaol were put to work with picks and shovels to construct the system and carve out the tunnels.

Even without making use of the strategically placed telescopes, visitors will enjoy sprawling views of the capital city and Wellington Harbour. Watching faraway ships sail into port adds a sense of mystery and magic to the viewing. The Cable Car leaves from Cable Car Lane, 280 Lambton Quay every ten minutes every day of the year except Christmas Day. Adults: $3 return, children $1, family $14.

The Dominion and Carter Observatories are Historic New Zealand Landmarks

Well-formed pathways curve towards the Dominion and Carter Observatories just a short uphill walk from the Cable Car upper terminus. Built to track New Zealand standard time, the Dominion Observatory celebrated its centennial in 2007. Seismological observations have been recorded at the Dominion Observatory since 1916. The Observatory is unique in that it was constructed over the magazine of the Garden Battery whose underground bunker remains intact, nowadays housing seismological equipment. Several private companies now inhabit the Edwardian Baroque style building.

Carter Observatory is New Zealand’s longest serving national observatory. An exciting development for the observatory is a new state-of-the-art planetarium, opening on 27th March 2010. Visitors will discover the universe, walking virtually through space in a fascinating interactive multimedia space experience. The observatory curates and maintains three main telescopes and is open for public stargazing experiences and educational programmes. Telephone: 64 04 910 3140.

The Wellington Botanic Gardens comprise 25 hectares of diverse plantings. As well as drifts and masses of flowers, the gardens comprise New Zealand native forests, conifers and special plant collections. Some of New Zealand’s oldest exotic trees can be found in the Botanic Gardens.