The Wellingtonista

Random stuff about Wellington since 2005

Sky Dancer in the Capital E National Arts Festival

by Guest March 12, 2013

We’re grownups at the Wellingtonista, well, unless there’s a fart joke to be made, so when there’s a National Arts Festival for Children, we thought it would be good to get some children involved, so here are three reviews of Sky Dancer. Henry, age 11:  ”Sky Dancer was not like anything I have seen before. [...]

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Guest Post: Bike Everywhere helps you to bike everywhere

by Guest February 10, 2013

During the last week, I’ve been out on my very first multi-day cycling tour, and it was an awesome adventure, seeing all kinds of beautiful parts around the Wairarapa and the Southern Coasts of the North Island. Since I’ve been back a friend mentioned this great website, BikeEverywhere, whose Facebook page can be found here [...]

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New Year’s High Tea

by Guest January 9, 2013

Another guest post from Heather at Foodie Gems of Wellie, huzzah! I saw the James Cook advertising January high tea deals recently which reminded me of the myriad of high tea options in the city. And thinking what a good time of year January is for a leisurely afternoon tea with good friends to contemplate [...]

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Middle of Middle Earth Market and Movies

by Guest November 24, 2012

There’s a hobbit-abrewing in this wee city of ours. Today we’ve got another guest post from HeatherC from Foodie Gems of Wellington all about the markets going on. Get in quick!  If you’re a LOTR fan, you could do worse than get yourself down to Waitangi Park for 6pm each of the next three nights [...]

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Stuff our readers like

by Guest July 9, 2009

We have a guest post for you by the voluble Anna Jane Wilson who also likes hats, boots, coats and scarves.

My goodness, it’s already July – I can’t quite believe we’re halfway through our Roman calendars, but all evidence says – 10 July 2009. July, albeit cold and windy in this wonderful city, is going to be a large one.

The four main things that keep me warm in winter are jazz, walking, films, and dance. I’m new to Wellington, but apparently this city has a lot of jazz, thus, my soul will be kept very warm.

continues after the jump…

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WellingtonOnScreen

by Guest December 16, 2008

nz on screenIn a little office on Taranaki St, a small group of dedicated professionals (known as the NZ On Screen team) have been creating a website which celebrates and showcases television and film produced in New Zealand. A year in the making, NZ On Screen launched at the end of October and has over 300 titles available to view – many in full length, some with just excerpts.

For each title there’s also profiles of key cast and crew, as well as background stories, comments, photos and links to other related material. Hours can disappear when you start looking through the site – and it pays to have your broadband speed high and your cap fresh!

So take a look: www.nzonscreen.com   … let us know what you think, suggest titles we should add, tell all your friends and loved ones, and enjoy NZ On Screen!

But what does that have to do with Wellington you might ask?

Aside from the fact that the NZ On Screen team is based here … Wellington is well known as a bit of a hub for the film industry. Most people would say that’s all down to Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings. To be fair, he’s had a reasonably large influence.

But the Wellington has been the scene for film and television for a long time.  On the NZ On Screen site you will find some gems of Wellington-ness…

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One year on…

by Guest February 5, 2008

This posting brought to you by Sandy Mamoli (deeply honoured inaugural guest blogger).

Have you got something to say about Wellington? Would you like to guest on the Wellingtonista? Drop us a line and we’ll add you to the door list.


I discovered the Wellingtonista on day two after my arrival. It took them almost year to discover me …

In fact, it took them exactly a year. I celebrated my one year New Zealand anniversary last Friday with the contradictory emotions of someone who simultaneously feels like a true long-term Wellingtonian and a rookie who has just stepped off the boat.

I am still struggling with a wee bit of culture shock – complaining about Wellington’s provinciality and second-world infrastructure while marveling at the vibe, friendliness and genuine feeling of community one can only find in Wellington (I think).

Apart from being with a Kiwi partner who has been too long out of the country to remember anything useful and having read halfway through a travel guide I didn’t know much about New Zealand a year ago. And my former life in Vienna, Copenhagen and Amsterdam proved to be way too limited an experience of the world to shelter me from the surprises I was in for.

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