Kids love Wellington Zoo – it’s a great day out for all the family

2 Great Child Friendly Things to do in Wellington

Find out why Wellington Zoo and Zealandia are the two best outdoor kids activity & adventure centres in New Zealand’s capital city. These 2 activities are guaranteed to excite, educate, exhaust and inform your children. Wellington, we know, has more than enough to keep your kids entertained but if it’s a universally sure bet you’re after we have some of those too. It just so happens that both Wellington Zoo and Zealandia are great morning or afternoon destinations, so bring a picnic with you. Alternatively, meals, snacks, beverages and ice-creams are all on-site for your family’s convenience.

Wellington Zoo

A trip to the zoo can slot in well with a 2 day Wellington child friendly itinerary. Set within 13 hectares, Wellington Zoo is home to over 500 animals representing more than 100 species from every corner of the planet. You will find the zoo located not far from the centre of town in the green belt area just beyond the suburb of Newtown. Wellington Zoo offers some extra special up-close animal encounters too at an extra cost which allow privileged entry to dedicated enclosures. Here you and your children will get the opportunity to hang out with a mob of meerkats, stroke a silky lemur or hear the rumbling tones of a cheetah purring.

Wellington’s Zealandia

If natural and native are more your family’s scene then our recommendations come no higher than the magnificent micro-cosmos known as Zealandia. Just 10 minutes driving from Wellington’s centre brings you to this 225 hectare, world-pioneering eco-sanctuary. Zealandia is located in a valley made up of forest, stream, wetlands and lake in which we can guarantee you’ll feel as far removed from the city as possible.

Wellington Zealandia Kaka – just one of many rare and beautiful birds to discover

Zealandia’s expert team are a passionate not-for-profit group of individuals. The staff dedicate themselves to conserving some of New Zealand’s most magnificent and rarest species of birds, reptiles and insects. Zealandia has over 32km of walking tracks that are suitable for both adults and children. This means you are able to wander this paradise and marvel at a multitude of creatures in their natural habitat. Keep your eyes peeled for Jurassic-age tuatara, they can be found even without binoculars. Set yourself the challenge of trying not to laugh at the antics of the cheeky and loudly chattering parrots. You can also take a boat which drifts you across the lake to view cave weta in the Morning Star Mine.

Other Zealandia Highlights

You can sign up for one of the four-daily free tours or collar one of the roaming guides who will answer all your questions and point out the best sighting spots. To get acquainted with the flightless and iconic little spotted kiwi which live here, the undisputed star-of-the-show, you can sign up for a night tour.

Also on-site is a wonderful indoor exhibition facility which you should definitely visit . There are many kids things to do at Zealandia including state-of-the-art interactive displays and life-size models. There is also a giant movie screen which will take you on an 80 million year journey through time. Educational – yes, but you’ll hardly notice that when you’re having this much fun.

Nowhere can be deemed truly child-friendly unless there are facilities for keeping the hunger gremlins at bay and no worries on that score – Zealandia has its very own café – the Rata.

Zealandia is set-up so you and the kids can pop in for a quick fauna-spotting meander in this superb sanctuary-by-the-city or alternatively immerse yourself fully for hours on out-of-the-way trails. But be warned…..we’ve seen many kids come and never want to leave so trying to drag your children away from here too soon may result in tantrums. Worth mentioning but unlikely to be a problem – the best places to take the kids are those you won’t want to leave either. This is one of those places.

Zealandia reservoir tower – also a great spot for private weddings & parties