Wellington Waterfront to Miramar
The route between the Wellington Waterfront and the Miramar wharf follows the award-winning Tahitai separated walking and shared paths, taking you along several lovely bays. This is one of Wellington’s most scenic and accessible urban walks and rides, suitable for all ages and abilities. Cobham Drive is the last section before Miramar wharf and has a number of interesting wind sculptures.
Distance: 10Km
🚶 Average walking time: 1½–2 hours
🚲 Average cycling time: 30 – 45 minutes
Surface: sealed paths
⛰ No hills
🚌 Easy bus access
☕ Various cafes
🚻 Good toilet and water facilities
Various swimming beaches
Route Map
This route can be started at the Wellington waterfront or from the Miramar Wharf (or started from or ended at the Wellington Airport using the feeder route described further below).
Route Sections
You can start or finish this 2km section at any point. The Wellington Waterfront Walk is very popular, so just follow the crowds. It is a shared pathway, so people on bikes and scooters need to slow down, give priority to walkers, and be especially mindful of kids and dogs.
This route along the waterfront is also known as Ara Moana (the path of the water). And part of it is also the Wellington Writers’ Walk, which has a number of sculptures.
2 kilometres
🚶 30 minutes to walk. Shared path
🚲 10 minutes to bike. Shared path.
⛰ No hills
🚌 Easy bus access
☕ Various cafes
🚻 Good toilet and water facilities
The museum has four floors covering the history of Wellington
The New Zealand Portrait Gallery / Te Pūkenga Whakaata tell the stories of New Zealanders through the art of portraiture.
Right next to the Wellington Museum, this gallery has a display of NZ artwork from contemporary artists
A Māori-owned, family-run small business proud to promote both traditional and contemporary Māori arts
“The waka house of Wellington” is an award-winning building that houses a beautifully carved single-hull waka (Māori canoe).
These Kina seashell forms relate to the mounds of the old Kumutoto Pa (Māori village) that was located here
A man-made lagoon popular with rowers but also stingrays that can be seen gliding through the water
Also known as the Naked Man, depicting a figure leaning into the sea and the city’s strong winds
Be the “i” in Wellington. A popular place to have your photo taken at this colourful sculpture
A range of different tours provide a wonderful indigenous Māori cultural experience for visitors to Te Whanganui-ā-Tara (Wellington)
A free, self-guided typographical tour featuring 23 sculptural quotations from famous New Zealand authors embedded along the waterfront
Black Dorris cafe
24 Lady Elizabeth Lane
Google reviews: 4.4 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 7am-3:30 (not Sunday)
Shipwreck cafe
39 Jervois Quay
Google reviews: 4.7 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 10am-4pm (not Sunday)
Te Papa cafe
L1, 55 Cable Street
Google reviews: 3.7 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 10am-4pm
Raglan Roast
Chaffers Dock, 22 Herd Street
Google reviews: 4.6 stars
Price per person: $1-10
Hours: 8am-5pm
Switched on Bikes
15/22 Herd Street
Google reviews: 4.9 stars
Hours: 9am-5:30pm
| Bus | The Wellington Central bus station is a short walk from the north end of the harbour front (by the Bluebridge Ferry terminal). Cross to the railway station and use the underpass inside the station to reach the bus station. There are bus stops at the corner of Cable Street and Oriental Parade, a short walk from Herd Street. |
| Train | The Wellington railway station is a short walk from the north end of the harbour front (by the Bluebridge Ferry terminal). |
| Ferry | You can catch the East by West ferry to Eastbourne from Queens Wharf. |
See metlink.org.nz for bus and train services information.
This section of the Wellington Waterfront to Miramar Wharf route follows the beautiful scenic Tahitai path from Oriental Bay to Evans Bay. Tahitai is the Māori name for “one tide, one journey”. Bring your swimming gear if the weather is nice, as there are some lovely beaches along the way.
6 kilometres
🚶 1-1½ hours to walk. Separated footpath
🚲 25 minutes to bike. Separated bi-directional cycle path.
Various swimming beaches
⛰ No hills
🚌 Easy bus access
☕ Various cafes
🚻 Good toilet and water facilities
Oriental Bay Beach
A very popular beach, close to the city. The golden sand gets shipped in from Golden Bay each summer.
Balaena Bay Beach
Large sandy beach and shelter make this a popular beach. The shallow water makes it safe for kids
Hataitai Beach
A small but sheltered picturesque gravel beach that gently grades into sandy Evans Bay.
Beach Babylon cafe
232 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay
Google reviews: 4.3 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 8am – 8pm
Uncle Leo’s French Bakery
305 Evans Bay Parade, Hataitai
Google reviews: 4.9 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 8am-3pm
Greta Cafe
32 Evans Bay Parade, Hataitai
Google reviews: 4.7 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 7:30am-4pm
Bus
To get to the start of this, the #14 or #24 bus can drop you off at stop 7514 at the beginning of Oriental Parade.
To get back to the city, get the #24 bus at stop 6552 at the end of Evans Bay Parade, just before Cobham Drive.
This short section follows Cobham Drive from Evans Bay to Miramar Wharf. Check out the wind sculptures along the way. And keep your eyes open for dolphins and orcas in the bay.
1½ kilometers
🚶 15-20 minutes to walk. Separated footpath
🚲 Up to 10 minutes to bike. Separated bi-directional cycle path.
⛰ No hills
🚌 Easy bus access
☕ No cafes
🚻 No and water facilities
The dynamic mast-like structure graphically marks out the strength and direction of the prevailing wind with an elegant swaying motion.
Artist: Phil Price
All the trees in my city had been cut down, so we made urban trees from all sorts of wood, strips of cloth, broken pieces of glass and iron we found on the street.
Artist: Leon van den Eijkel
Migrating into or out of the sea, this sculpture has windsock and birdlike associations. The cones light up with wind power, swivel with the wind direction, and spin with the wind speed.
Artist: Phil Dadson
Tower of Light is a machine that uses wind speed to convert it into light using very simple technology. The stronger the wind speed, the more neon rings are lit.
Artist: Andrew Drummond
Bus
#24 bus gets you to stop 6552 at the end of the Evans Bay Parade, just before Cobham Drive
#4, #2, and #18 buses get you from stop 7080 along Miramar Avenue, close to Miramar Wharf, back to the city
This map shows the walking and cycling route between Wellington Airport and Cobham Drive, where it connects with the Great Harbour Way. You’ll have the excitement of crossing the airport runway, but luckily, you can use the underpass.
2½ kilometers
🚶 30-40 minutes to walk. Separated footpath
🚲 Up to 15 minutes to bike. Shared path underneath the airport runway. On-road cycling after that.