Glenorchy is a beautiful little town, familiar to the hiking crowd and Dart Stables is a great addition.

The cost is affordable, without being a bargain or overly expensive, and the staff are relaxed and experienced, and perhaps just as laid back at Glenorchy itself. The horse, "The Jazzman", was capable and a little cheeky, but took direction well and was certainly safe. The ride was beautiful, along the river and around the surrounds, but perhaps moreso as the focus wasn't on some movie made nearly a decade ago now.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

A nice ride to put into context an earlier age of Wellington life.

The actual ride is relatively unexciting outside of the historical sense, and but a few minutes in the process, but the museum at top is well worth a visit. It can be reached for free by walking, or by-passed entirely if one wishes to explore the (arguably average and poorly sign-posted) Botanical Gardens. It is well worth the visit, with the history of the cable car development, Wellington's expansion and an insight into the society of the time. Parasols 'n stuff. A stock tourist staple of a visit to Wellington. Hardly life changing, but one would be lacking for neglecting it in a visit.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

A local bus will take you to the base of the Gondola, which soars up to a lovely mountain vista.

From the top, you are able to explore as you see fit, with a number of lovely walks traversing down to the city or beyond. Indeed, you might like to skip the Gondola entirely and simply walk up, taking up to an hour uphill. The adventurous can even mountabike down, via a third party hire company that is both cheap and without time restrictions.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

Another bustling little museum with some slightly long-in-the-tooth installations more than made up for by the displays of indigenous Maori artifacts, historical displays and a very respectable collection

of, well, stuff. Come for a minute, stay for a few hours, and nod with a "not likely" smile to the usual gift shop on the way out.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

Helpful staff, and a lovely building, but the "special" exhibitions during our visit were uninspiring and a little embarrassing.

Made up for by the static, historical displays, such as portraits of early Maori men and men, if not the typical "ye olde english paintinges" one can find hanging wearily on any Commonwealth gallery wall. Visit it for a quick glimpse at the culturally relevant paintings, to snicker at the post-modern attempts at art, and escape the cold for a few minutes. Or, you could just visit the gallery to use the bathrooms. Which in itself is a post-modern act of performance art.... sigh...

Reviewed over 15 years ago

Beautiful setting and one of the most affordable.

However, the freefall is very short, though the view makes the experience wonderful. I was bundled through quickly as the staff were due a "safety break" due to the stark Winter morning temperatures. Despite that, they were very friendly and the experience was worth every cent. Safety isn't even a question, these are the professionals. As to the photos and video, they are hilariously overpriced but plenty of tourists purchase them. The only criticism with this form of souvenir sales is the method of pre-packaging them to tempt the customer, which invariably leads to a large quantity of waste, as the printed photos are being thrown out more often then purchased. Not quite environmentally responsible, but thankfully without a great deal of sales pressure.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

Clean, efficient, pretty.

A nice tradition of Christchurch, though perhaps priced a little towards the upper end of what the service represents, as a short circuit going slowly around a walkable area. On the other hand, the cost maintains a truly lovely tram infrastructure, makes for jobs for typically lovely staff and retains some more charm of a charming city.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

It looks ridiculous.

It really does. You catch a lovely gondola up to a beautiful view, dodging the typically terrible "lookout cafe" with its typically terrible coffee, and you see a luge. Why? Well, for tourist money. But... it looks a bit... fun. And, it is. Fun that is. A lot of fun! We bought two tickets each and wished we bought three. Any more would be diminishing returns, but seriously, its a kind of stupid, pointless fun that so often makes for an unexpected laugh on holiday. Give it a try : ) As usual though, ignore the tacky overpriced photos and souvenirs.

Reviewed over 15 years ago

Dwarfed only in magnificence by the Hooker Valley glacier walk nearby, but no less impressive for it's "you're walking to a glacier!!!" splendour.

If you can ignore the desire to shortcut "up and over" the walk around the hill, before the descending approach to the dirty Tasman glacier, you will get a nice bit of exercise in the process. Shorter than the Hooker Valley, but as essential for the visitor.

Reviewed over 15 years ago