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NEW ZEALAND INFORMATION

Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand / Aotearoa. It is also the cultural, administrative and political center of the country. The directors of the New Zealand Company decided upon the name Wellington in 1840, in order to express their gratitiude to the Duke of Wellington who was a supporter of the company in England. Two aspects of the city that will immediately strike any visitor are the sprawling harbour and the dramatic, hilly terrain. Everywhere you go, the sounds and smell of the ocean hang in the air, and green hills and valleys wrap you in a bear-hug embrace. At night, Wellington offers up a spectacular, shimmering cityscape that is unlike almost anywhere else in the world. Even after seeing it for the hundredth time, it takes one's breath away.

Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara (in Maori for Wellington) is a vibrant, scenic, windy, cosmopolitan, diverse, eccentric, maddening and hilarious place. It has the some of the best museums, art galleries, restaurants, microbreweries, and coffee houses in the country. It is the storehouse for the nation's historic, cultural and artistic treasures. Being the first place European settlers arrived, it also boasts lots of historic streets and buildings. Wellington, has so much to offer. Set on the edge of a stunning harbour and surrounded by rolling hills, it's a city waiting to be explored.

CLIMATE
The city averages 2025 hours (or about 169 days) of sunshine per year. The climate is generally moderate all year round, and rarely sees temperatures rise above 26 °C (78 °F), or fall below 3 °C (37 °F). The hottest recorded temperature in the city is 31.1 °C (88 °F), while -1.9 °C (28 °F) is the coldest. The city is notorious however for its southerly blasts in winter, which may make the temperature feel much colder. The city is generally very windy all year round with a lot of rainfall. Average annual rainfall is 1249 mm, June and July being the wettest months. Frosts are quite common in the hill suburbs and the Hutt Valley between May and September. Snow is very rare, although snow was reported to have fallen on the city on July 17, 1995.