The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington. It is a popular destination for people who like to travel to exotic locations and view unusual sights. Similarly, families and kids are in for a treat because there are numerous entertaining sights.
A weekend in Wellington with kids will allow you to explore amazing places. There is always something to do with kids in Wellington, whatever the weather might be.
So let’s delve into the top 10 things that kids can do in Wellington:
Sighting birds in Zealandia
Zealandia is an environmental paradise for New Zealand’s birds. It is easily accessible from Wellington’s city centre thanks to free shuttles.
Its remarkable 500-year ambition is to restore 225 hectares of the valley’s forest and freshwater ecosystems to their state before humans.
Furthermore, its interactive exhibit is one of the best in the country for learning about the intriguing natural habitat.
Zealandia features a network of simple walking routes for the whole family and strollers. These routes are with feeding stations where you may see kaka, takahe, North Island robin, tui, and more.
Visit Te Papa museum
The city’s most famous attraction is the Te Papa museum. It is free to enter and will fascinate both children and adults.
Te Papa museum is the national museum of New Zealand. Its social history, volcanoes, flora and animals are all on display.
Furthermore, it also includes entertaining family-friendly activities and exhibitions. Te Papa also includes a new nature and a really exciting environment zone.
This museum in the heart of the city will keep you and your kids occupied for at least a couple of hours.
Discover oriental bay’s golden sand beaches
Oriental bay, arguably Wellington’s nicest beach, is a short flat walk from the Wellington waterfront.
On a nice weekend day, the lovely golden sand hauled in from golden bay is a great area to take a dip. It’s also a great spot for sandcastles and a view of the bay.
On the beachside, kids will appreciate the water fountain as well as the playground.
There’s also a fantastic ice cream parlour. On the weekends, a large grassy space is great for kicking a ball around and getting some fresh air. During the summer, a swim in the pool is also a must.
High-wire obstacle course
Adrenalin forest is a great place for kids to have a good time. Just outside of Wellington city, this high-wire obstacle course gives hours of excitement.
Seven courses go through the pine forest, ranging in height from 1m (3ft) to 31m (102ft). To participate, kids must be over 1.45m (4.7ft) tall.
In addition, kids can scale the Viking ship, explore the tunnels, jump on the bouncy boards, and more for an unforgettable climbing adventure.
As they navigate the fascinating course, they will be gaining more key skills as well as using their growing minds to solve problems and overcome hurdles.
Windy Wellington sign
This is Wellington’s version of the Hollywood sign. The sign is part of the Wellington blown-away installation.
The windy Wellington sign can be found on Miramar’s hills. It can be seen flying into the city or from any vantage point with a view of Wellington harbour.
Check out Weta workshop
Visit the Weta workshop to see how films are made.
The Weta workshop offers a variety of fun all-weather excursions, including looking at props and special effects from movies they’re working on, as well as old and new ones.
They also offer workshops for children throughout the school holidays.
Wellington’s own botanic gardens
A wonderful spot to visit, with a good-sized playground that is always popular with kids. These gardens are remarkable in that they make you feel as if you are transported to another location, not in the heart of the city.
Other botanic gardens, on the other hand, offer magnificent flower gardens but are flat, perfect, and perhaps a little dull. It is quite different from them.
Gardens are steep and rugged, with some places resembling a forest. There are a plethora of trails to choose from and to be honest, we got a little lost.
But if you’re content to wander and see where the trails take you, there’s no problem. There are concrete and bush walkways, a lovely duck pond with a pavilion, and plenty of native birds to see.
Wellington Museum
The Wellington museum, located in the city centre, is another wonderful free museum. Within its majestic heritage building, the museum tells stories about the region.
The Attic is a place of mystery with displays featuring “Steampunk” inventions, Maori artwork, and more, while kids can believe they’re playing on the shorefronts of Wellington in the 1800s.
Visit space
Well, not in reality. The Space Palace, at the top of the Wellington cable car route, is a great place to learn about space, planets, galaxies, and stars.
It is a reasonably priced attraction for the entire family, especially kids. In addition, it’s also one of the few family-friendly things to do in Wellington on an evening.
There is an interactive display at the museum. The full-dome planetarium, on the other hand, is a fantastic method to learn new things about space.
You’ll also learn about the Southern Hemisphere constellations. The Space Palace is open until late at night, so you may have a look at the night sky with the vintage Thomas Cooke telescope and examine the stars on your own. Space Palace is only open during school holidays in New Zealand.
Animals at Staglands Wildlife
Kids who are animal lovers should definitely pay a visit to the Staglands wildlife reserve in Upper Hutt’s Akatarawa Valley.
The youngsters can encounter farm animals, as well as native birds as part of conservation projects, at this animal park. There’s also an on-site cafe where families can get together and eat lunch to get them through the day.
The farm animals will engage with the children, and they will have a good time with their furry companions. Also, don’t miss the fantastic café, which serves wonderful coffee and has a fantastic kids’ menu.
