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Wainuiomata
Suburb in Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Wainuiomata

Wainuiomata is a large dormitory suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington metropolitan area in New Zealand.

Plan a trip to Wainuiomata→From Christchurch

Its population was estimated as being 20,450 as of June 2025, with a density of 1,600 people per km2. European settlement of Wainuiomata began in the 1850s with timber-felling and farming and began to grow in the 1920s. After World War 2 there was rapid population expansion, with Wainuiomata earning the nickname 'Nappy Valley' because of the large number of families with young children. From the late 1980s the economy slowed and the population decreased, but since about 2020 there has been a housing boom and corresponding increase in population. Wainuiomata is noted for being the origin of New Zealand's kōhanga reo movement.

How locals move

Getting around Wainuiomata the local way

  • Get inThere are regular ferries between Wellington and Picton in the South Island operated by Interislander and Bluebridge, connecting with buses and the train to Christchurch.
  • Get inHitchhiking from central Wellington is difficult as most traffic stays within the metropolitan area, and it is illegal to hitchhike on the motorway until the Hutt Valley (about 15 km or 9 mi northeast of Wellington) or Ōtaki (about 65 km or 40 mi north).
  • Get inIf you are intending to hitchhike, you are best to catch a train to Waikanae or Upper Hutt and walk to the main highways to catch a lift from there (the best spot for Upper Hutt hitchhikers is at the Caltex petrol station about a 3 km walk north from the railway station along Fergusson Drive).
  • Get aroundWellington has an extensive and well-patronised public transport network, with buses, trains and ferries serving the city and beyond extending into the Greater Wellington region.
  • Get aroundThe Kelburn cable car is a Wellington icon.
  • Get aroundThe Wellington city terminal is at the end of Cable Car Lane, just off Lambton Quay, near the intersection with Grey Street.
  • Get aroundThe Eastbourne ferry service, which provides regular services between Queens Wharf and Days Bay in Eastbourne, also stops at Somes Island most trips.
  • Go nextThey can be reached by car, bus or ferry.

From Wikivoyage: Wellington, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: David Thomsen (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.