Oriental Bay, Wellington: A Local's Guide

Oriental Bay is the crescent of beach and waterfront apartments on the eastern edge of the CBD, ten minutes' walk from Courtenay Place and a million miles away in atmosphere. On a sunny Wellington day the beach fills up, the queue at the gelato spot snakes along Oriental Parade and the whole suburb turns into the best free outdoor room in the city. It is also the finish line of most waterfront runs, the backdrop to dozens of postcards and a textbook good idea for a long evening walk.

The Vibe

Oriental Bay is Wellington at its most polished. The long sweep of Oriental Parade traces the waterfront for over a kilometre, backed by rows of art deco, mid-century and modern apartment buildings, with a handful of original wooden villas still hanging on in the side streets. Palms line the footpath, Norfolk pines stand sentinel along the strip and the whole waterfront faces directly into the northern sun.

Behind the waterfront, the suburb climbs steeply up towards Roseneath and Mt Victoria, with narrow streets, heritage houses and the landmark brick tower of St Gerard's Church and Monastery watching over the bay. Weekday mornings are all runners, dog walkers and commuters cycling along the seafront. Weekends are for beach towels, a gelato in the sun and one of the easiest swims in central New Zealand.

A Quick History

Oriental Bay gets its name from the Oriental, one of the New Zealand Company ships that arrived in 1840 — landowner George Duppa renamed the bay after the ship in 1843. Through the nineteenth century the bay was a rockier, shingle foreshore used for swimming and boating, not the sandy crescent you see today, and a handful of the historic wooden boatsheds that still line the parade date from that era.

In the early 2000s, the council barged in around 22,000 tonnes of golden sand from Wainui Bay in Golden Bay, at the top of the South Island, and built the two crescent-shaped beaches — Oriental and Freyberg — that you swim on today, with small retaining reefs at the eastern end to hold the sand in place. It was controversial at the time. Two decades on, almost nobody complains. The Freyberg Pool, opened in 1963 and named after Lord Freyberg, is the other landmark that defined the bay in the twentieth century and still pulls lap swimmers through every season.

The Beach & Promenade

The main beach is genuinely good: shallow, sheltered from the prevailing northerly, and clean enough that you will regularly see locals swimming before work. It is a calm harbour beach rather than a surf beach, so it is an easy, safe swim — the water is cold but manageable from December through April, and the lanes marked out for lap swimmers each summer are a nice touch.

Out in the middle of the bay, the Carter Fountain shoots a plume of water up to sixteen metres into the air on most warm days, drifting spray onto anyone who swims too close. Donated by local businessman Hugh Carter, it has been there since 1973 and is one of those small Wellington oddities everyone quietly loves.

Oriental Parade itself, the seafront walking and cycling strip, is probably the most-used piece of public space in the city. A full loop from Te Papa to the far end of the bay and back is about five kilometres, it is almost entirely flat, and it works equally well as a run, a pushchair walk or a slow sunset amble. The band rotunda near the Freyberg end is a classic meeting point.

Things to Do in Oriental Bay

Swim. Run. Walk the dog. Read on the grass. In the cooler months, swap the beach for a session at the Freyberg Pool and Fitness Centre, a 33.5-metre heated indoor pool right on the waterfront with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to sea. It is one of the best-value public pools in the country.

Walkers can stitch together a long afternoon by following the waterfront west from Oriental Bay along the Wellington Waterfront promenade, past Te Papa, Frank Kitts Park and the sculpture walk, all the way to the railway station. It is the city's signature walk and never gets old.

For more options, our things to do in Wellington page keeps a running list, and we flag beachside events each summer on the Wellington events page.

Food & Drink

Oriental Bay's food strip is small but well-loved. Beach Babylon is the retro all-day beach cafe right on the parade, with Pomelo Kitchen & Bar upstairs for evenings. Lola Stays does relaxed indoor-outdoor dining with bay views, and Coene's Bar & Eatery has one of the best waterfront decks in the city. For a smarter dinner, One80 at the Copthorne Hotel looks straight out over the water.

Kaffee Eis, the beloved gelato spot at 236 Oriental Parade, is a Wellington institution and the perfect reason to end a swim by walking ten metres. For more of the city's eats and drinks, see our Wellington restaurants, Wellington cafes and Wellington bars pages.

Living in Oriental Bay

Oriental Bay is one of the most expensive suburbs in New Zealand, and — home to only around 1,400 people — one of the smallest. The waterfront apartment blocks command serious prices for the views and the walk-to-work convenience, and the heritage villas up the hill in Roseneath and the upper bay are tightly held. The suburb attracts a mix of professionals, empty-nesters downsizing from the hills, and a smaller contingent of young renters sharing apartments for the view.

Transport is easy. The Wellington Waterfront walking and cycling path makes commuting to the CBD a flat fifteen-minute stroll, and Metlink route 24 takes the scenic run along Oriental Parade into town. Parking, as you might expect, is scarce, paid and tightly restricted.

One Last Thing

Oriental Bay is where Wellington goes to remember it is a harbour city. Swim, walk, eat a gelato, watch the ferry push out towards the heads at dusk. If you only have one sunny afternoon in town, this is where to spend it. For the wider picture, head back to our Wellington City guide, check the Wellington weather before you pack your togs, and skim the Wellington events calendar for this weekend's plan.

Know an Oriental Bay spot we have missed? Flick it to us at [email protected] and we will add it to the next update. Steve and Kirstie, WellyBuzz.