Weta Workshop, the Roxy Cinema, three of the city's prettiest bays and an airport right on the doorstep. Welcome to Miramar, Wellington NZ's film capital and the peninsula suburb that surprises everyone.

Miramar sits on the peninsula east of Mount Victoria, connected to the rest of Wellington City by the Mt Victoria Tunnel and Evans Bay. Most international visitors see Miramar before anywhere else in the country, because Wellington International Airport is right next door. What they do not always realise is that the same suburb holds Peter Jackson's film empire, a string of excellent bay beaches, a coastal loop and one of the best independent cinemas in Australasia. For a lot of locals, Miramar is the sleeper hit of the Wellington suburbs.

JUMP TO:

The Vibe · A Quick History · The Film Quarter · Bays & Things to Do · Food & Drink · Living in Miramar

Miramar is quiet, mostly flat, a little bit suburban and a little bit movie-set. The central village around Miramar Avenue and Park Road has cafes, a greengrocer, a bookshop and the Roxy Cinema at its heart. A few blocks away you will find Weta sets being built behind industrial roller doors. A few blocks further and you are on a beach.

Out on the peninsula, Miramar has a reputation for a kinder microclimate than the CBD — locals will tell you it is often sunnier, a touch more sheltered and warmer in summer. Planes coming in to land sweep low over the bays, which is either charming or maddening depending on your relationship with jet noise.

Miramar — Te Motu Kairangi — was once a true island, cut off from the mainland by a sea channel. A huge earthquake around 1460 (the Haowhenua quake) lifted the land and joined it on as a peninsula, and the shallow central lagoon that remained was drained in the 1800s, partly by a tunnel cut through to Evans Bay. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake then raised the whole area again by a metre or more, lifting the low, tidal flats around Rongotai that the airport and its flat grid of streets now sit on.

The suburb grew through the early twentieth century as a middle-class residential area, then reinvented itself from the 1990s as New Zealand's film-production capital. Peter Jackson set up Weta Workshop and the visual-effects studio now known as Wētā FX (long called Weta Digital) here, and with them came Stone Street Studios, Park Road Post and a cluster of supporting businesses that have handled everything from Lord of the Rings to Avatar.

The headline attraction for visitors is the Weta Workshop Experience on Weka Street. Guided tours take you behind the scenes of the workshop, showing the weapons, armour, creatures and prosthetics from Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Avatar and more, and there is a separate miniatures experience diving into practical effects. Book ahead in peak season.

Around the corner, the Roxy Cinema on Park Road is an art-deco beauty owned and restored by a collective that includes Weta Workshop's Sir Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger and film editor Jamie Selkirk. It screens first-run films alongside indie, festival and repertory picks, has a proper bar and restaurant (CoCo at the Roxy) and is the kind of cinema where the popcorn is worth eating. A film here paired with dinner is one of the best nights out in the city.

For fans, a wander around the block hits Stone Street Studios (from the outside, an unassuming set of warehouses) and Park Road Post, where some of the world's biggest films have been finished. These are working facilities, not tourist sites, so it is very much a look-from-the-footpath affair.

Local tip: Pair a morning Weta Workshop tour with brunch on Miramar Avenue, a matinee at the Roxy and a late-afternoon drive around the peninsula. That is a full, easy Miramar day without having to hurry.

The Miramar Peninsula coastal loop is the hidden gem. Drive, cycle or walk around the edge and you string together some of the best swimming beaches in the city. Scorching Bay, facing north across the harbour, is sheltered, sandy and a genuine favourite for a summer swim, with a cafe right on the sand. Worser Bay is quieter and family-friendly, home to the Worser Bay Boating Club. Karaka Bay is small, rocky and atmospheric, and is traditionally associated with the Port Nicholson signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in April 1840.

At the tip of the peninsula, the Massey Memorial at Point Halswell is the marble tomb of William Massey, New Zealand's prime minister from 1912 to 1925. The short walk up gives you commanding views across the harbour entrance and out towards Cook Strait.

Shelly Bay, on the western side of the peninsula, is a slightly offbeat spot with old air-force and naval base buildings and a jetty that has hosted countless film-industry parties. A large redevelopment plan for the site was fought over for years and ultimately shelved, and the much-loved Chocolate Fish Cafe that once sat here has since closed — but the bay itself is still a lovely stop on the loop.

For more walks, swims and ideas, our things to do in Wellington page has the full list.

Miramar Avenue and Park Road are the main food strips. The Larder is a long-standing local favourite for lunch and dinner, Swimsuit Coffee keeps the caffeine flowing, and out at the beach Scorch-O-Rama at Scorching Bay is a summer classic for beachside brunch. CoCo at the Roxy is one of the best pre-movie dinners in the city.

For a drink, the Siamese Walrus and Gasworks cover the casual local bar scene. For wider city picks see Wellington restaurants, Wellington cafes and Wellington bars.

Miramar housing is mostly 1920s to 1960s weatherboard family homes, with pockets of newer townhouses around the shops and some genuinely impressive hillside modernist houses with harbour views. With a population of around 9,600, it is a real working suburb — and prices are generally lower than the inner suburbs, which is part of why it has quietly attracted film-industry staff, young families and commuters happy to trade a slightly longer drive for a bigger backyard.

Metlink bus route 2 runs between Seatoun and Karori via Miramar and the CBD, and the airport is right on the doorstep. Driving into the city is a fifteen to twenty-five minute run through the Mt Victoria Tunnel, depending on traffic. Schools serving the suburb include Miramar Central School, Worser Bay School and Rongotai College.

The one thing to be aware of before you buy is the flight path. Depending where you are on the peninsula, the planes can be a minor hum or a conversation-stopper, so visit at different times of day before committing. Wellington Airport publishes flight schedules and runs an overnight curfew if you want to check the detail.

Summer swim tip: Scorching Bay is the pick on a northerly, Worser Bay when it is southerly. Both get busy in January, so early morning or after 4pm is your friend. Towel, book, coffee from the cafe, done.

Miramar is the Wellington suburb that does a bit of everything: film-industry hub, village shops, a string of beaches, an airport, a couple of surprise viewpoints and some of the best pre-cinema eats in town. Go for a Weta tour, stay for a sunset swim, come back for a Roxy screening. Before you head out, check the Wellington weather and the Wellington events calendar.

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