Hataitai

Hataitai is a popular family area, with good primary schools, plenty of buses and a wide range of housing options.  Hataitai’s microclimate means great sun; it’s close to the inner city and offers a terrific range of walks through the Town Belt and around the coast.  Its shopping centre has a wide range of takeaway options and one of the city’s best chocolate shops, Bohemein Fresh Chocolate in Waitoa Road.

The area was initially just hill pasture used for breeding horses until the Hataitai Tunnel opened in 1907 (for trams only, now buses), followed by the Mt Victoria tunnel in 1931 (the first road tunnel in New Zealand to be mechanically ventilated and air conditioned).  Mt Victoria tunnel is used by around 40,000 vehicles each day; it’s known for the ‘tooting game’, when motorists respond (sometimes rather noisily) to the tooting of other drivers.  A duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel is planned as part of the third phase of the Wellington Northern Corridor programme.

The suburb commemorates the Maori name for the whole peninsula, Whataitai and many of the streets are named after native trees.

View across Hataitai to Wellington Airport