The Wellingtonista

Random stuff about Wellington since 2005

Alan Macdougall

Public transport nirvana

by Alan October 20, 2018

<rant> Imagine if you could download an app and tap a few onscreen buttons to create a Tap and Go public transport payment card that lived inside your phone. Then imagine that you could add some dollars to this card with a couple more taps. Now you’re using it on buses, trains, in convenience stores, […]

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Project Glow on the Runway

by Alan August 17, 2017

A few weeks ago we previewed the garments and accessories created for Project Glow, a fashion competition for reflective gear. Last Saturday evening we attended the Wellington show (the Auckland show is on Saturday 26th, tickets here). Right now it’s hard to compete with all those luscious burger photos here on The Wellingtonista, so we think we […]

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Bike share comes to Wellington

by Alan August 15, 2017

Around town in the last few weeks you may have noticed some small black and green bikes with signage on them. These turn out to have been set free on the town by Mighty Share (a.k.a. MTShare), Wellington’s (if not New Zealand’s) first dockless bike sharing scheme. These kinds of bike-sharing schemes have gotten very […]

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Preview: Project Glow

by Alan July 11, 2017

At a possibly not-that-secret location in the heart of Te Aro, The Wellingtonista was invited to preview the entrants for this year’s Project Glow. We had to tap on the window to gain entrance, and while there only managed to take the blurriest of photos. That’s because the judges were busy at work; and we […]

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Everyone’s Adventure

by Alan December 15, 2016

At the Wellingtonista, we mostly like to try the experiences we talk about before we talk about them. However, it’s that time of year when every timeline compresses in on itself, and maybe all you really want to do is curl up in a ball and wait until 2016 ends. So we didn’t quite get around to […]

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Dinner at Giddy-Up

by Alan October 15, 2016

The Wellingtonista got invited along to try out some of the dishes and have a beer at the Giddy-Up Mussel Bar, tucked away on Manners Street opposite Arty Bees bookshop. It sounded like a nice place to try out for a Friday evening dinner, so I took up the invitation and went there with my […]

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A night at the Bolton Hotel

by Alan September 21, 2016

Back in August, our editor Jo attended the Bolton Hotel‘s Wellington on a Plate event and enjoyed it mightily. In the ensuing interplay on Twitter, the Hotel invited one of us to stay the night so that we could experience their hospitality more fully. I quickly took up the offer on the behalf of the […]

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the return of Cactus

by Alan July 7, 2016

Famed NZ designed-and-manufactured clothing and outdoors equipment company Cactus are opening a new store at 241 Thorndon Quay this weekend. It’s something of a homecoming – the company started in Wellington before relocating south many years ago to be closer to larger mountains and more convenient snow. But they’ve remained a favourite of Wellingtonians and […]

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The Open Space Plan

by Alan June 12, 2016

While the shape of this city is a curse for transportation planners, it is a blessing for anyone who even just occasionally wants to get outside, because the city’s edges are close by and full of opportunity. We don’t all take advantage of this though. There’s lots of good and bad reasons why people don’t, […]

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Kākā cam

by Alan October 2, 2015

With more and more kākā spilling out of Zealandia and spending their ne’er-do-well days rioting in the neighboring suburbs, there are now nests outside the fence. So the council has set up some nestboxes to keep the new families safe, and in one, they’ve set up a live camera. Today, the five chicks are only […]

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