Oriental Bay is a pretty coastal suburb on the eastern side of half-moon-shaped Lambton Harbour. It’s a modest walk from downtown Wellington and below Mount Victoria. The bay was initially called Duppa by Europeans. But Duppa himself called it Oriental Bay after the ship the Oriental he arrived on, which stuck. Initially, the bay was so remote that it was used for medical quarantine.
From Te Papa Museum, walk east past the small marina and blue boat sheds into the bay. Highlights include the mix of Victorian villas and modernist buildings pressed up against Mt Victoria and the attractive (man-made) beach in the bay. You also can’t miss the orange/brown brickwork of the Saint Gerard’s Catholic Church and Monastery above the bay.
If you continue on past the end of the beach, you will find the Southern Walkway that heads to the top of Mt Victoria.
