Whatever the season, Wellington has much to offer the visitor by way of a vibrant and cosmopolitan city life and a variety of cultural and historical attractions.
As a harbour city Wellington should have much kinship with such places as Sydney in Australia and San Francisco in the United States.
WEATHER
Summer is pleasantly cool with an average maximum of just over 20 degrees C. The minimum winter temperature dips just below 6 degrees C.
Probably the best time to visit Wellington is between late spring and early autumn, but it really depends on what else you want to do and where else you plan to go.
WIND
One aspect of Wellington weather is the prevalence of winds, particularly, says Lonely Planet, as winter starts to arrive "when you've got a fair chance of experiencing some gale-force days." Not for nothing is Wellington called the Windy City, much as Chicago in the United States is called that in the northern hemisphere.
However. as someone who should know, Totally Wellington's Gretchen Leuthart said: "The windiest months are not the winter... in fact the winter here is when the harbour is at its most calm and serene and truly a thing of beauty. The trade winds blow through in April and October and recently with La Nina, our summers have been pretty windy too."
WAHINE
In fact the wind has been so strong on occasion that a Wellington-to-Christchurch car ferry called the Wahine (woman, in Maori) was whipped by gales into Barrett's Reef just outside the harbour in 1968.
Breaking loose from the reef, the Wahine was blown into the harbour, and sank. Fifty-one lives were lost.
WAITOHI
The winds of Wellington have not been so destructive since.
Take your time and enjoy your time in Wellington. If you plan to travel south, there will be time enough to catch the ferry to Picton, which once was known as Waitohi.
Next page: Wellington Fast Facts
