Just had a bit of a brainstorm....
Maybe we can set up threads for our areas of the country and tips for what to do while in travelling to that area.
Anyway, on with the topic at hand. A friend just asked me what there is to do in Welly besides Te Papa and the Cable Car.......so here are my recommendations:
Driving around the bays is really nice.
The Wellington City and Maritime museum is very nice as well (and free). It's about a 7 minute walk from Te Papa (going North/West).
Mount Victoria has a nice view....and if you go on one of the trails you'll see some LOTR scenery.
Drive through the Mt Victoria tunnel and honk your horn to any tune you like. It's ok, everyone else does it to.
If you want to see some seals, head down to Red Rocks (which is near Island Bay.....this wouldn't be a typical tourist thing to do).
Cafe's of course ;) Fidel's, Havana, and Eclipse are all nice ones. But if you really want a treat, go to the Chocolate Fish Cafe. I'm pretty sure everyone knows where it is and somoene can direct you to it (it's near Seatoun...which is NE of the Airport).
http://www.wellingtonnz.com/Restaura...+Fish+Cafe.htm
Courtenay Place has most of the bars...and there's a good selection of them. On Cuba Street (which has lots of bars as well) is Matterhorn, which was voted the best NZ bar (there's a link for it on the link above, at the top right).
Oh yeah, and don't forget chatting to Blanket Man on Courtenay Place "brother". And why not give a coin to "Juggling Man"....
and get a local to tell you what Juggling Man's 'big' secret is. (muwhahahahaha)
Also a good link to check out is -
http://www.tikitouring.co.nz/wellington.htm