Gift Spring Gift Fair magazine, September 2013 | Page 18

F E AT U R E

cool
capital
Article | Gary Bowering
It’s called many things: Windy Wellington, Cultural Capital, Wellywood,
Harbour City or just Welly. The City’s tourism promotion slogan is
‘coolest little capital in world’, and in 2011 Lonely Planet’s top city in
the world to visit list had it at number four. Whatever it’s called, the
locals love it (confession: I moved to Welly 20-plus years ago so am
probably one now). First-time visitors come away finding there’s more
to Wellington than they expected, and those who’ve never been
here can’t understand what the fuss is about.
Our capital city really is one of those places that, as the cliché goes,
you really do have to experience for yourself. For the record, Lonely
Planet’s top three in 2011 were New York, Tangier and Tel Aviv so New
Zealand’s seat of government does pretty well. Kiwi cities often do
well in the list – this year Christchurch was in at six.

and obliterating hairdos. It also lies on a major fault line. And
negotiating the inner-city one-way system is like the Krypton
Factor on acid.
“But don’t be deterred. ‘Welly’ is a wonderful city, voted ‘the coolest
little capital in the world’ in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel (2011). For a
starter it’s lovely to loo k at, draped around bushy hillsides encircling a
magnificent harbour. There are super lookouts on hilltops, golden sand
on the prom, and spectacular craggy shores along the south coast.
Downtown, the city is compact and vibrant, buoyed by a surprising
number of museums, theatres, galleries and boutiques. A cocktailand caffeine-fuelled hospitality scene fizzes and pops among the
throng.”
Yes, it might be the home of red-tape, but it’s also where many of our
national institutions are based. Everyone knows Te Papa, but there’s
also the Ballet, Symphony Orchestra, National Library, Film Archives
and more. And there’s a local kid called Peter Jackson who’s made
a few home movies that people seem to like, as we like to modestly
put it.

Best in Travel 2011 described Wellington as “Cool-with-a-capital-C”.
And it’s not a one-off. To quote from the Lonely Planet website:
“A small city with a big reputation, Wellington is most famous for
being NZ’s capital. It is infamous for its weather, particularly the
gale-force winds wont to barrel through, wrecking umbrellas

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With fewer than 200,000 people in the city and 490,000 in the entire
region you might think that Wellington’s not much of a shopping
destination. But with that arty, cultural vibe and the country’s highest
per-capita income, there’re retailers that are among the best in the
country. But don’t be fooled – they’re competitive too because the
place is so small you can easily compare – whether price or service is
the thing you value most.
The capital city retail key to success is to be great at everything you
do, no matter where you are in the greater city. A fine example is
Trends Homewares in the hill suburb of Johnsonville.

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