When in Wellington, stand on Clyde Quay and gaze across the glassy harbour waters to glittery Oriental Bay. It’s that radiant sweep of brightly painted boatsheds that exemplifies Wellington’s perky, playful personality. As do the waterfront artworks. Yes, there’s the expected assortment of stone memorials exuding stately tradition, like the majestic Kupe monument, but a few steps on, your inner-child is titillated by the whimsy of the Water Whirler sculpture. After all, this is city that proudly boasts the Bucket Fountain, that still drenches unsuspecting and inattentive passers-by in Cuba Street.

Speaking of Cuba Street, Cuba Dupa barnstorms the streets in late March, as New Zealand’s largest free-access performance festival triumphantly returns to Cuba St and the surrounding laneways. Over 1200 artists and nearly 200 performances will transform the streets on March 25-26, in addition to the entertainment, street cuisine has become an increasingly alluring dimension to the festival. Cuba Dupa prides itself on its diverse, eclectic array of performance prowess, spanning the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Tiki Taane to Sam Manzanza’s huge 15-piece Mass Cuba St Afrobeat Band. After being grounded by Covid for the past two years, Cuba Dupa’s 2023 outing is destined to be an explosion of fun. Get amongst it!

Cultural pickings are thick on the ground in the Capital, but in contrast to the national offerings at Te Papa, for proud, poignant and hyper-local stimulation, make tracks to Wellington Museum, housed in the time-honoured Bond Store on the waterfront. Brimming with dark and beefy wooden beams, timbered walls and floors, the museum’s senior curator Ian Wards remarked to me that it feels like working within a big old sailing ship.

A recent innovation is the Te Whanganui-a-Tara exhibition, bursting with stories inspired by Wellington’s natural and cultural landscape. The floor space is bedecked with a gigantic photographic carpet of the city and harbour, so locals can literally pinpoint their home in relation to the wider city. The walls include a fascinating timeline, charting epic inflexion points in the Wellington story, like the Haowhenua quake in 1460 which created the strip of land the airport now occupies in Rongotai and turning Miramar from an island into a peninsula; to the ground-breaking Absolutely Positively Wellington campaign in 1991. The Wahine Theatre packs an emotive punch, with Gaylene Preston’s masterly take on the 1968 Wahine disaster. Don’t miss it.

Wellington Museum’s top floor space, fittingly named The Attic, is a cornucopia of parochial delight. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, exploring its stash of hands-on features. It’s stuffed with quirky and whimsical Wellington curios, like the taxidermied zoo lions, the chimpanzee tea party tables and chairs, film props, Dame Whina’s walking stick from the Great March, a wondrous UFO display and even a time machine, Ngā Hau, which spins and clanks its way through time, zipping you through Wellington’s evolution and recent history.

There’s an exhibit of Keith Quinn, draped in all his lanyards from global sporting events that he attended across his glittering career. Ian tells me an upcoming exhibit is in the works, immortalising Buzz O’Bumble, the beloved children’s character that was created and popularised by Wellington radio legend, Lindsay Yeo. Some items are deliberately placed together with hidden meanings. For example, an oerlikon cannon is placed next to a retired TV camera from Avalon Studios, because they both shot people. It’s all about the unusual and unexpected in The Attic. It’s free to enter and a bundle of fun.

Confession time – despite previously residing in Wellington and enjoying countless visits to the capital, I’d never taken a ride on the emblematic Cable Car, while living there. Sacrilege! New Zealand’s only operating funicular railway is a sweetheart, faithfully connecting Lambton Quay to the top of Wellington Botanic Garden, since 1902.

En-route, two tunnels have been pimped out with a trippy LED light show. Be sure to nail that iconic snap for the insta, at Kelburn Lookout. Just five minutes away from the hustle of the CBD, the nation’s oldest botanic gardens are a soulful oasis of calm and character, with an array of enticements like Begonia House and the Sundial of Human Involvement. You can see where the city’s pioneers are buried in the historic Bolton Street Memorial Park.

Strolling the shaded paths with heart-stealing city vistas, it’s a highly instructive reminder on how visionary it was for the New Zealand Company to create a Town Belt, a hillside garland of green space, after establishing the colonial settlement in 1839. Despite subsequent incursions, most of it remains intact. Before descending back down the Cabe Car, check out our newest digital planetarium, Space Place, which does a stirring job illustrating celestial navigation tales of early Polynesian explorers, while transporting you to the constellations above.

Huddled between the hills and the harbour, Thorndon can feel like a page from the past, where history slaps you in the face at every turn. I popped into the National Library in Molesworth St to peruse He Tohu, a permanent exhibition of the three iconic constitutional documents that shaped our nation. The exhibition adjoins the Document Room, where you can eyeball the original Treaty of Waitangi, the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes and the Women’s Suffrage Petition.

The room is like a timbered cocoon, its design cue inspired by the shape of a waka huia or treasure container. Across in Mulgrave St, another warm wooden heart-stealer beckons, Old St Paul’s. This postcard-perfect Gothic Revival church was built in 1866, constructed entirely out of native timber and embellished with stupendous stained glass windows. Across the road, I called into The Thistle Inn, a true colonial survivor and proudly one of the nation’s oldest taverns.

Established in 1840, the first Thistle was a single-storey, gabled building which burnt down in 1866, swiftly replaced by the two-storey wooden pub you see today. Prior to the 1876 reclamation, the sea would lap at the pub’s front door and people walked, rowed or paddled here to slake their thirst. It is claimed that Te Rauparaha who was partial to rum, would beach his waka on the foreshore to whet his whistle in the Thistle. Another historic regular was Katherine Mansfield who wrote the Thistle into one of her stories, ‘Leves Amores.’

I roamed Tinakori Road like a frisky puppy, soaking up the egregiously gorgeous old villas and cottages that reach right back to Wellington’s early European settlement. Many proudly sport their heritage cachet and backstory, with a bronze plaque from the Thorndon Society. But few notable homes enjoy quite the acclaim as the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, birthplace of the venerated writer.

Ambling back down Hill St, the undulating velvety carpet of Parliament grounds looked a picture in the dappled sunshine – a striking contrast to the vile and violent ignominy that blighted our seat of democracy just over a year ago. I headed inside the Beehive to join one of the free guided tours of Parliament, that is led with great efficiency and enlightenment. Book in advance, because they are swelling in popularity with the return of international tourists.

My sixty minute tour was like a highlights reel of the precinct, whisking us through Parliamentary Library, the Banquet Hall and Beehive theatrette, and across the bridge into Parliament House, where we marvelled over the architectural finery of the Galleria, Legislative Council Chamber, select committee rooms and the Debating Chamber. It’s remarkable how the chamber looks so much larger on TV – there’s barely any wiggle room for elected members, tightly packed into their padded leather seats.

Within shouting distance of the Parliamentary Debating Chamber, treat yourself to a five-star hospitality experience at the sparkling Sofitel Wellington, gracing the top end of The Terrace on Bolton St. Wrapped in lush botanicals, in the shadow of the Botanic Gardens, this elegant property and its delightful staff embody the best of Sofitel’s French “art de vivre” brand, overlaid with effervescent, outgoing Kiwi hospitality. In a nod to the building’s former life as the Apple & Pear Board HQ, artful design elements subtly salute its past. The vintage gold and bronze tones that underpin the design motif throughout the hotel, exude glamour and grace. I fell in love with the richly detailed wallpapers.

My guestroom was a refined and spacious sanctuary of creature comforts and calm, beautifully-appointed with a modern bathroom, rain shower and French amenities. Sofitel’s famous ‘MyBed’ ensured I slept like a baby perfect, while the in-room tech toys included a work desk, personal espresso machine, Smart TV, complimentary WIFI, BOSE sound system with bluetooth connectivity and USB chargers. I enjoyed a typically indulgent breakfast at Jardin Grill, which also offers dining throughout the day in its lusciously designed surroundings. Spoil yourself with a stay at this champagne cork-popping hotel. Magnifique! https://www.sofitel-wellington.com/

Treat yourself to a wild and energising getaway in the Wellington region. Make your first port of call the official website, jam-packed with constantly updated trip inspiration. www.wellingtonnz.com

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I romped my way around Wellington in a trusty Toyota RAV4, courtesy of Ezi Car Rental. Kiwi owned and operated, the Ezi experience encompasses excellent vehicle choice, stringent cleaning practices, super sharp prices, and fast & friendly service. Ezi Car Rental operates an extensive network from 25 locations across the country. Head to www.ezicarrental.co.nz

Mike Yardley is our resident traveller on Jack Tame Saturday Mornings.