World of WearableArt Show – Wellington

We will collect you from home this morning (from within the Tauranga city boundary, or enroute) and begin our journey to Wellington.  We travel over the Kaimai Ranges and very soon will be arriving at Hamilton railway station where we will hop on board the Northern Explorer train bound for Wellington.

Sit back and enjoy spectacular scenery as you pass through middle earth New Zealand, with short stops in Otorohanga and National Park. The Northern Explorer train offers extensive vistas from its large windows as you traverse through the country.  The National Park area is a highlight of extremes and surprises of snow blanketed mountains, ancient lava flows and dense Beech forests. The train passes over 25 major bridges and through 14 tunnels, before traversing the engineering masterpiece that is Raurimu Spiral just north of National Park. Capture amazing views from the open-air viewing deck, or through panoramic sky view windows in the air-conditioned carriages. Sit back and relax with their delicious food and beverages from the licensed-on board cafe and listen to GPS triggered at-seat commentary as you journey through some of NZ’s most stunning scenery.

Once you arrive at Wellington Central station, we will whisk you to your accommodation for the next couple of days. The Novotel Wellington is in the city centre and walking distance to shops, cable car and many other Wellington attractions.  The hotel boasts a full dining restaurant and a casual lobby bar with a wide range of food to choose. This evening we will dine in house.  Afterwards, you can choose an early night or a night out on the town – the choice is yours.

Accommodation:  NOVOTEL WELLINGTON – 2 nights

Breakfast is served in dining room between 6.30 & 9.30am. Full buffet breakfast is inclusive to your package. After breakfast again the choices are yours. There is so much to see & do in Wellington city, you will not fit it all in. First there are the shops. I am no shopper but I have to confess the shops in Wellington are something else. They have an amazing choice of products and apparel which we just don’t see here in Tauranga.

Free things to see and do.

• Te Papa Museum – always new things to see and to add to your knowledge.
• Educational tour of Parliament Buildings and the Beehive – Bookings essential. There is usually a 10am Sunday tour.
• Visit Government House
• Ride the Wellington cable car up to the scenic lookout and check out the Cable Car Museum. The cable car ride is FREE for Gold Card holders on weekends. If you take it just one way, It’s a nice walk back through the Botanical gardens.
• Art Galleries – City Gallery in Civic Square, or Bowen Galleries or Manky Chops on Cuba St if you are into quirky exhibits.
• Visit Old St Paul’s church if you are into 19th century Gothic Revival architecture. It’s beautiful.
• If you enjoy panoramic views then Mt Victoria is the place to go, where you will see all the sights of this beautiful city.
• Maybe you wish to do a walking tour. Wellington is a compact city, and you can easily take a Welly Walk – just ask me for the maps.
• If you are a writer, then you can take a Wellington Writer walk around the waterfront where you will find many talented writers who made Wellington their home at some point in their lives. You can even visit the birthplace of Katherine Mansfield.

Like to spend a little money to see and do something?

• Check out the amazing Wellington shops.  Not everything will be open on a Sunday, but there will still be plenty of places willing to take your money!
• The Space Place at Carter Observatory (Located at the top of the Cable Car)
• If you are a coffee & café connoisseur, then you must go up Cuba Street and sample some of the great Wellington coffee.
• Maybe you prefer high tea:  Check out Martha’s pantry on Cuba Street – ‘serving the best high tea in Wellington since 2007’
• If you like animals, then a visit to the Wellington Zoo is a must.
• If your heart is for conservation than a visit to Zealandia – The Karori Sanctuary Experience is worth the visit.
• For Lord of the Rings or Peter Jackson fans, a visit to the Wētā Workshop Experience is a must. Learn about the making of movie effects and props.
• NB: This must be pre booked. Please advise if you wish to attend this and we will arrange (additional cost) 

I am sure you will fill in your day without any trouble, but do give it some thought prior so that you do not loose anytime and your day is full. Please let me know your choices and I will assist accordingly.

2024 World of WearableArt® (WOW) Show: DREAM AWAKE:

We will meet at the hotel foyer at 5pm and head off to the TSB Arena for the 5:30 pm show.  Just a very short walk (6mins) from our hotel to TSB. Collect your programme, settle in and prepare to be taken beyond your wildest imagination.  The show is a two-hour (non-stop) spectacle of world class wearable art, surrounded by music, dance, circus, performance and art. The show has incredibly high production values, with sophisticated lighting and stage technology, culminating in an event that is part theatre, part fashion spectacle, part art extravaganza, and a whole lot of “wow”

After the show, we will head back to the hotel for a WOW inspired dinner.

Accommodation:  NOVOTEL WELLINGTON 

After breakfast, it will be time to depart on our next journey.   We head over the Rimutaka Hill and into the Wairarapa.  Our first stop for the day is Greytown, with its Victorian wooden buildings housing cafes and boutique shops.  Grab a quick coffee or have a browse around the quaint shops. It is renowned for its shopping opportunities and the Schoc Chocolate shop.

Continue through the farming towns of Carterton and Masterton and pass through the farming communities of Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodville and Dannevirke – communities all carved out of the 40 Mile Bush and 70 Mile Bush in the 1870’s by hardy early settlers. Dannevirke (Danes Work) was settled by Danish and Norwegian families in 1872.  The railway arrived in 1884 and growth took off, with dairy and sheep farms quickly established.

Heading north, we enter the rich wine-growing areas of the Napier-Hastings district.  Our overnight accommodation is conveniently located along Marine Parade. Te Pania hotel with its unique style, is designed to complement its remarkable location on the edge of the beautiful Hawke’s Bay.  Our accommodation for the next two nights in Napier is one of the most recognisable hotels in the area.

Directly across the road is the wonderful Ocean Spa complex, with its heated outdoor pools, lap pool, sauna and steam room.

What a wonderful way to end a day’s journey.

Dinner will be in house this evening, so you can relax and enjoy your surroundings at leisure.

Accommodation: TE PANIA  HOTEL

Breakfast at leisure, then don your Art Deco gear on, as we immerse you into the local cultural theme. You will be collected in vintage cars and taken for an hour-long journey through the city Art Deco Precinct, then over to the Old port area of Ahuriri with a photo stop at the National Tobacco Building. Enjoy a short movie of the 1931 Earthquake – The day that changed the Bay.

The rest of the day is free for you to enjoy your surroundings. With our hotel strategically positioned within walking distance to the shopping centre and the Aquarium.

Maybe spend the afternoon at the Spa Complex or enjoy a self-guided tour of the sea wall murals.

If you are keen – you can hop on push bike and do a wine tour.

The afternoon is yours to indulge yourself.

This evening, we will dine together at the famous Art Deco Masonic hotel – you are all going to look great in your “flapper outfits”.

The hotel has a colourful history, which we like to embrace by offering genuine Art Deco flair to our guests’ experiences here in Napier.

The first Masonic Hotel was opened on the present site by Proprietor Joseph Gill on 14th September 1861. In 1875 the hotel was extended to cover the complete section, the proprietor at this time was Mr A Dalziell.

On May 23, 1896, Masonic Hotel was destroyed by fire. Tenders were called for within a month of the fire and the Masonic was rebuilt in 1897 by Mr C Fleming McDonald in what was to become the grandest hotel in Napier. The building was originally three storeys with a single storey building alongside housing the stables and in 1906 a two-storey extension was added. The extension had a promenade roof with an area of 18,000 square feet. It was one of the largest and most elaborate, up to date hotels in New Zealand at that time.

In the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake the Masonic Hotel was destroyed, mainly by the fire that followed rather than by the earthquake itself.

After the earthquake a temporary corrugated iron building was erected to serve the patrons while the new hotel was built. The 1932 Masonic hotel was designed by Wellington architect W J Prowse. It is a simple symmetrical structure, enlivened only by its elaborate upper storey wooden pergola facing the sea and it’s conspicuous “MASONIC” in Deco capitals of red lead light in the canopy at the entrance of the hotel.

The exterior structure remains basically unchanged from when it was first built.

Accommodation:  TE PANIA  HOTEL

After breakfast, departing Napier, we drive through the flood devastated Esk Valley, towards Taupo where we will stop for a lunch opportunity.

Repleted, we will embark on the final leg of our journey.