Combo Tour - The best of Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast (2 days)

Day 1: Enjoy a 7 hour private guided tour of Wellington where you will be taken on a scenic drive around Oriental Bay to head up to one of Wellingtons premier viewing points – Mt Victoria. 

We then head around Evans Bay to view the Wellywood sign then onto Wellington’s slice of Hollywood – the suburb of Miramar, the home of several Post Production Studios and the famous Weta Cave and Workshop. We visit the Weta Cave where we embark on the Weta Workshop tour to get a unique behind-the-scenes look at how Weta Workshop helps to craft physical effects and create movie-making magic for some of the world’s biggest films. 

After your Weta Workshop Tour we come back to the Weta Cave where you can wander through the Cave to purchase a momento from your tour, have your photo taken with Gollum or the Trolls or check out the 20 minute documentary video which outlines the history of Weta.

We continue our drive around the Miramar Peninsula stopping at the magnificent Massey Memorial, the resting place of Prime Minister William Massey and his wife Christina. 

Our next stop is at the Eastern suburb of Seatoun where we visit a monument to the 51 people who tragically lost their lives on 10 April 1968 from the sinking of the Inter Island Ferry Wahine. In fact a further 2 people were to die after the tragedy as a result of injuries sustained on that fateful day.

We then head onto the south coast where we visit the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of the Republic of Turkey. The memorial looks out over Cook Strait and the site was chosen for its remarkable likeness to the landscape of the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. The memorial is particularly poignant for Australian, New Zealand and Turkish visitors who commemorate the ANZAC Gallipoli campaign during World War 1.

We now stop for a well deserved lunch at a local South Coast iconic cafe for a wine, a Wellington craft beer or another beverage of your choice with your lunch. After lunch we head back towards the city where we visit the Brooklyn Wind Turbine where we take in yet another majestic view of the city and harbour.

Our next stop is a brief visit to Pukeahu National War Memorial Park and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We then head onto Wellington’s iconic Cable Car where your guide will take you to the entry point and then meet you up the top at Kelburn which is the entrance to Wellington’s Botanical Gardens. We drive down to the magnificent Lady Norwood Rose Gardens (when in season).

We then have a brief walk around the Parliament grounds where your guide will point out the iconic ‘Beehive’, Houses of Parliament and the Parliamentary Library building. Just around the corner we come to Old St Pauls Anglican Cathedral. The Cathedral is one of the best examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the world. The Cathedral is particularly poignant for American visitors. A large contingent of the American Marine Corp were based in and around Wellington in 1942 and many Marines would attend Sunday services. The American Marine Corp flag and the American national flag of that time with 48 stars hang proudly inside the Cathedral.

We then head north to Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast for your overnight stay with Tom and Jill from Kaewa Tours arriving around 6pm.

In the evening we visit Ngā Manu Nature Reserve to experience Ngā Manu's "Kiwi Night Encounter". This is a unique opportunity where you will see Kiwi up close as they explore, feed and interact with one another. We start in the Ngā Manu Visitor Centre where your Ngā Manu Guide will give a presentation about Kiwi and Ngā Manu's involvement with the national captive programme. As night falls your Ngā Manu Guide will escort you to seating in their covered observation area in the outdoor Kiwi enclosure where you will have a fabulous 30-40 minutes immersing yourself into the nocturnal world of Kiwis which few ever get the chance to observe.

Dinner is at guests own cost. We will be happy to discuss options and provide recommendations for dinner in Waikanae or Paraparaumu.

Day 2: After breakfast we head south to the summit of Paekākāriki Hill for a majestic view over the Kāpiti Coast, Kāpiti Island, the top of the South Island and on a clear day we may see Mt Taranaki/Egmont and Mt Ruapehu. 

We then take a visit to Camp McKay at Paekākāriki where the US Marine Corps were based in World War 2 prior to heading up into the Pacific campaign. 

We then head to the world famous Southwards Car Museum which is an automobile museum housing a collection of over 400 vehicles, as well as three aircraft. Southwards is one of the largest private motor vehicle collections in the Southern Hemisphere.

After Southwards we head up to Waikanae Beach for lunch at Long Beach followed by a visit to Ngā Manu Nature Reserve arriving in time for Eel feeding at 2pm (alternatively we may do the bird feedout tour at 11am instead). Here we can view Tuataras up close, walk through open native bird aviaries and a nocturnal house where if you are lucky you may see a Kiwi or 2.

Our last stop of the day is a visit to one of our Craft Breweries for a tasting or a coffee at one of our great Cafes on the Kāpiti Coast.

We arrive back to your selected drop off location in Wellington around 4:30pm.

Inclusions Day 1: 

Bottled New Zealand spring water, lunch, refreshments and entry fees.

Inclusions Day 2:

Bottled New Zealand spring water, lunch, Craft Beer tastings / Afternoon tea and entry fees.

Key points to note: 

• Itinerary subject to change.
• Weather conditions may result in change to the itinerary.  In the event of adverse weather conditions, a visit to the Museum of New Zealand-Te Papa Tongarewa or a tour of Parliament Buildings can be arranged in lieu of extreme adverse weather conditions.
  
• Combo tours are not suitable for cruise ship passengers due to the tour being multi days.
  
• An average level of fitness is required to view the Massey Memorial, Ataturk Memorial and Wrights Hill.
• If you have any special dietary requirements please complete and submit the 'Contact Us' form.
• Parts of the itinerary not suitable for wheel chairs and walkers. Our home is not suitable for wheel chairs or walkers
• The Kiwi Night Encounter experience at Ngā Manu Nature Reserve is only available on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.