Wild south coast beach, a protected marine reserve, a century of Italian fishing heritage and one of the best village high streets in town. Welcome to Island Bay, Wellington NZ's southern edge.

Island Bay is where Wellington ends and the open ocean starts. Stand on the beach on a southerly day, look out past Tapu Te Ranga Island, and the next real landfall is thousands of kilometres of Southern Ocean before Antarctica. That rawness is a big part of the suburb's charm. So is the century-old Italian fishing community, the village strip along The Parade, a marine reserve teeming with fish, and a social calendar that still revolves around the annual Blessing of the Boats. Island Bay is unlike anywhere else in Wellington City, and locals will tell you that with some pride.

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The Vibe · A Quick History · Beach & Marine Reserve · Things to Do · Food & Drink · Living in Island Bay

Island Bay has a proper village feel that survived the expansion of the city around it. The Parade, the main north-south street, runs for well over a kilometre from the northern end down to the beach, with a strong cluster of cafes, a bakery, a brewery taproom, a bar and a handful of little shops on either side. It is flat, walkable and lined with cabbage trees and kōwhai.

The beach at the southern end is the soul of the suburb. On a still morning it is glassy and almost tropical-looking with Tapu Te Ranga Island sitting out in the middle of the bay. On a southerly it turns into a whitewash boil. Both are great, just bring the right jacket.

The bay takes its name from the island that sits in it — Tapu Te Ranga Island, the small rocky island just offshore that was a significant site for mana whenua, including Ngāti Ira and the wider Taranaki Whānui of the south coast. From the late 1800s and especially through the 1920s, Italian fishing families — many from Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands and Massa Lubrense on the Sorrento peninsula — settled in Island Bay, bringing small wooden boats and a style of inshore fishing that defined the suburb for most of the twentieth century.

You can still see this heritage everywhere: the fishing boats moored in the bay, the annual Blessing of the Boats down on the waterfront, and the Italian surnames that still fill the local letterboxes are all part of the ongoing Italian-Wellington story. Newer waves of migration, especially from the Philippines and the Pacific, have broadened the suburb's community without displacing its older character.

In 2008, the Taputeranga Marine Reserve was established along this stretch of coast, protecting about 855 hectares from Princess Bay in the east around to Quarry Point near Ōwhiro Bay in the west. Fishing is prohibited inside the reserve, and after more than fifteen years of protection, the marine life has bounced back in a big way.

The result is genuinely world-class snorkelling a twenty-minute bus ride from the CBD. On a calm day you can see blue cod, butterfish, spotties, blue moki, crayfish and acres of kelp forest. There is a marked Island Bay Snorkel Trail off the beach, with an information panel on shore explaining what you are likely to see below. Wetsuits are essential most of the year — Island Bay Divers (also trading as Go Snorkel) hires out everything you need.

Surfers also love the bay. It is more of an intermediate reef break than a beginner spot, but on the right swell you will see a dozen locals out enjoying a south-coast wave. Shorland Park, the grassy reserve behind the beach, is the community's living room, with a rebuilt playground (pirate ship, big slide and a flying fox), a band rotunda and plenty of space for summer events.

Swim tip: The sheltered eastern end of the beach, closest to the boat ramp, is the calmest swim spot. For the snorkel trail, head to the marked entry off The Esplanade. Keep an eye on conditions and the surf before you go in.

Walkers are spoiled. From Island Bay you can pick up the South Coast and walk east past Houghton Bay and Lyall Bay, or head west to Ōwhiro Bay and pick up the famous Red Rocks coastal walk. That track starts from the Te Kopahou visitor centre at the end of Ōwhiro Bay Parade — a flat, wide 4WD route of roughly two to three hours return to the Red Rocks themselves, with the male fur seal colony hauled out a little further on at Sinclair Head, best in winter.

The Island Bay Festival in February fills the waterfront with music and food, and the Blessing of the Boats — held as part of the festival — is a truly lovely afternoon: fishing boats decorated with flags, a service, and a procession down to the water to bless the fleet. Check our Wellington events page for this season's dates.

Down at the beach, the Island Bay Marine Education Centre — the old "Bait House" — is a small aquarium and touch-tank well worth a look with kids. For a bigger city-wide list, head to our things to do in Wellington guide.

Island Bay's food scene is a proper village-strip one, not a trend one. Betsy, a cafe-deli on The Parade, and the Island Bay Cafe further along cover the day-to-day coffee and brunch, and The Grocer's Shed on Reef Street does grab-and-go near the beach. Double Vision Brewing on The Parade is the local brewery taproom, and the Island Bay Bar handles the after-five.

For a wider spread of dinner options, most locals head back up The Parade towards Newtown and Berhampore. Cross-reference our Wellington restaurants, Wellington cafes and Wellington bars pages for the current picks.

Island Bay housing is a mix of 1920s and 1930s weatherboard bungalows, mid-century family homes and a small number of apartments and townhouses near The Parade. It has traditionally been more affordable than the prestige northern inner suburbs, though the beach and the village have steadily pushed prices up over the last decade. Families, retirees, surfers and an artsy contingent of Wellington lifers all call it home.

Transport is simple. The Metlink number 1 bus starts at the Island Bay terminus by Shorland Park and runs straight up through Newtown to the CBD and the Railway Station — a high-frequency route, roughly every ten minutes most of the day. Driving in takes about fifteen minutes off-peak, longer in rush hour. For schools, Island Bay School and the Catholic St Francis de Sales are the local primaries, with South Wellington Intermediate and then Wellington High, Rongotai College and Wellington East Girls' College for the older years.

The active Island Bay Residents' Association has been a loud voice on everything from the long-running Island Bay cycleway saga to local planning, and is a good window into the suburb's community life.

Perfect day: Bus 1 from the city, coffee at Betsy, snorkel along the trail, a wander through the Marine Education Centre, then west to Ōwhiro Bay for the Red Rocks walk and the seal colony, and back to The Parade for a beer at Double Vision. Bring a towel, togs and a warm layer.

Island Bay is the Wellington suburb that still feels like a seaside village. It has the wildest coastline of any city suburb, a marine reserve that you can snorkel before work, a shopping strip with more personality than most towns and a community that genuinely shows up for itself. Pair it with a walk to Red Rocks or a lazy morning on The Parade and you have one of the best half-day trips in the city. Before you go, check the Wellington weather, glance at the Wellington events calendar and throw your togs in the bag just in case.

Know an Island 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.