Wellington Harbour located in the southern tip of North Island of New Zealand is a massive natural harbour which holds much significant importance when it comes to tourism. Wellington is the Capital of New Zealand and is located towards the west of the harbour. The famous Wellington Harbour carries an official name given as Port Nicholson and was used recently till the 1980’s when it got its current name.
Wellington is a place with perfect geographic phenomena for a natural harbor which is a protrusion from the Cook Straight and covers a land area of 70km2 having an entry way of 2 km width in between the Pencarrow head and Miramar Peninsula. The harbour has a Maori name as well which is Te Whanganui-a-Tara which means the grand harbour of Tara. The Wellington Harbour has a famous earthquake fault known as Wellington Fault and is a whole area of tectonic foundation which falls along the western shore of Wellington. Hutt River falls on the Northern end of the Wellington Harbour which is located along the earthquake fault. Towards the east of Wellington Harbour you will find many small inlets where many local communities have chosen to live in. Eastburne is the largest populated bay out of the many and is located in the northern most tip of Miramar Peninsula. In the harbour a visitor would find 3 islands known as Ward Island, Somes Island and Mokopuna Island. It’s good to keep in mind that the entrance to the Wellington Harbour could be risky because the Cook Straight is very rough towards the southern direction.
The harbour is in the vicinity of Barrett Reef which breaks down the water surface during low tide. There was once a very sad incident in 1968 where a ferry with passengers went down during a storm and cost the lives of 53 people. So travellers visiting the harbour should always be aware of the sea conditions before taking off. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ lay upon a range of Wellington hotels for New Zealand tourists who come on tour to the Wellington Harbour. To have a great holiday experience it would be a great idea to try out luxury New Zealand Hotels for a change.
