The Coolest Little Capital in the World

I’ve been back in Wellington for about two and a half months now, and I have to say, it’s been pretty damn awesome so far. Admittedly, some of that has been down to the weather – New Zealand has been having an unprecedented summer and if I had a dollar for every time someone’s told me that I chose the right summer to come back, I’d have about $10. It’s been amazing, but as the summer starts to wind down and I head off for five weeks holiday to procrastinate winter a little further, I’d like to reflect, and brag a wee bit, on some of the cool stuff I’ve experienced being back in Wellington.

Wellington has a number of fantastic festivals throughout the year – the Arts Festival and the Fringe Festival were both on recently, and the Comedy Festival and Film Festival are both coming up. During the Fringe I went to what I can best describe as an interactive performance on bikes, Wheels of Justice, where you cycle around with a ‘cop’, actors perform as characters at certain locations and you collect clues to solve a murder mystery. It was so much fun - and who hasn’t always wanted to chase a hooker down an alley on a bike? 

Lucky for me, I have a few friends who have access to bachs - for all you non-Kiwis, it’s pronounced ‘batch’ and it’s basically a beach house - and I’ve spent a couple of weekends away on the Kapiti Coast this summer, where I’ve eaten bbq food, drank, played games, quad biked on long stretches of beach, swam in the sea - as late as the end of March! - and just generally had fun times with good people in gorgeous spots.

Kapiti Island

Martinborough in the Wairarapa, is another really lovely place that is easily accessible from Wellington so I’ve been over there to visit some family and enjoy some good food and wine in the sunshine. Being able to drive less than two hours to places like the Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast, and feel as though you are somewhere totally different is such a luxury – if I were still in London, I could drive for two hours and still be stuck in traffic somewhere in the city.

There are a plethora of quality restaurants and bars here, and due to my love of all things consumable, I’ve managed to frequent a few new places since being back. I enjoyed some ceviche at a great Mexican place in Miramar, delicious sashimi, tuna and I-could-die-right-now-and-be-happy chocolate mousse at Ortega Fish Shack in the city, some cheap and cheerful Japanese and BYO wine at Ozeki; and I have a pretty decent list of others places I want to check out during the cold winter months. And don’t even start me on the coffee and sushi here – I could live off those alone and be pretty content. Bars are open until the wee small hours here, unlike London where everything is done and dusted by 1am – although this can be a little dangerous as before you know it, it’s 4am and you've had way too many $5 Jaeger shots. At least I don’t have to catch night buses home anymore – shudder.

A friend asked me recently how I was finding the ‘slower pace’ being back in New Zealand, and I must admit, I haven’t found it to be all that slow. It’s different to London of course, but you can be as busy here as you want to be and there’s always things on - like the 25km Bike the Trail along the Hutt River I took part in a few weeks ago, or the play, Perfectly Wasted at Downstage, performed by young people about different experiences of nights out in the city; or the Wellington rapper Tommy Ill, I’ve been a fan of for years, and finally made it to a gig of his at San Francisco Bathhouse.

Being by the water is something that just makes me happy – Red Rocks, Oriental Parade, Owhiro Bay, the Botanical Gardens.....all great places to soothe the soul, refresh and relax, whether I am walking, running or just sitting and enjoying the view. There have been so many moments since I've been home where the awesomeness and beauty of Wellington and the other places I have visited has really struck a chord with me – just last Friday, I took my lunch down to the waterfront on a calm and sunny day and sat overlooking the water, eating my salad, while a dude played the trumpet nearby. You can't beat that.

Karaka Bay

Wellington just has such a good vibe – which I really felt at the Newtown Festival last month. It was a beautiful sunny day, bands performed, community groups did their thing, almost every kind of food you could imagine was on offer, kids had their faces painted, the sun shone and you could just feel the happiness, community spirit and general good vibes from everyone.

I have been reminded just how much of a cool little place Wellington really is, and I can only hope my love affair continues when winter rolls around. And as a pretty great permanent job sort of just happened, it looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while. So thanks New Zealand for putting on an excellent show since I’ve been back – job well done in the convincing me to stay stakes. Stay tuned for a couple more travel blogs as I am about to head off for a couple of weddings and general good times in Australia, Bali and Vietnam, before I continue my endeavor to resemble something like a real grown up....with the first step being to move out of my parents house.