It’s incredible how much you come across when you’re walking around Wellington city, it reminds me of why I tend to love small, manageable cities that you can lose yourself in.
I’ve already talked about my love for Mt. Vic, and the fact that it’s a very popular place for tourists and movie mania folks alike, but I also kept hearing about another lookout on the other side of the harbor that was supposedly Mt. Vic’s rival for the best view in Wellington – Te Ahumairangi Hill.
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I had to check it out for myself to see if this was better than the spot I just named as my favorite place in Wellington.
We set off from the middle of the city and had a beautiful 45 minutes or so of walking through all sorts of settings to find the lookout.
There were a lot of stairs and hills involved, a rose garden, a hiking trail, and plenty of native wildlife to lead the way.
We traipsed through back alleyways, car parks, a memorial tomb and small graveyard, and plenty of places I’ve never been to before even though I’ve been living in Wellington since April.
In terms of comparing it to the Mt. Vic lookout, I can see why some people like Te Ahumairangi better. It’s on a higher hill, it gives a different perspective of the harbor, and it’s much quieter with no tourists in sight.
With that said, Mt. Vic still takes the cake for me. The aspect I really love about the Mt. Vic lookout is that it gives a 360 degree view of the city, something that Te Ahumairangi is lacking.
The positives to checking out Te Ahumairangi is the chance to see more native wildlife because it’s in a quieter and less populated area – I finally was able to see my first Tui bird! It’s also apparently a great place to watch the sunrise, although we were there during midday.
Similar to Mt. Vic, Te Ahumairangi is located on the town belt, and is at the edge of a good few hiking trails, one of which we took down to get back to the city.
My final consensus: If you’re short on time and you want a good view of the city, I would still recommend Mt. Vic over any other place in Wellington, but Te Ahumairangi is still worth checking out if you’re here for long enough.
I mean, is any day a waste when there’s a good lookout involved?
Mimi McFadden
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![The only thing that makes me happier than a California road trip? Writing a book about California road trips and sharing my favorite spots around the state with all of you.🤓
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I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE TODAY!!! My California Road Trip guidebook is officially for sale on my blog. [side note - I still can’t believe I get to write that sentence out, I’m an author heyooo]
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This book is my baby. It’s an accumulation of 24+ years of living in California in three different regions and thousands of miles traveled. Did I tell you that I even slept in a van for two months just to see as much of the state as possible? I’m excited to share my book with you, not just because of the hard work I put into making it, but because I really believe it will allow you to see California on another level. 🚗
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This book is almost 400 pages, covering 8 regions, 200+ destinations, and it includes a bunch of Golden State goodies like custom maps to help you plan your itinerary and printable checklists. If you’re ready to have the most epic California road trip ever - check out the link in my bio. I’m offering a presale deal of 25% off until Feb 1st to celebrate the official release date of my book on Feb 8th, 2020.
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Pop the champagne and cue the dance party, here’s to kicking ass and making good on your goals in 2020. More to come about my book soon. Peace ✌️](https://theatlasheart.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
