How to spend a Saturday in Wellington

Had a great night out yesterday with the girls. Headed down to Cuba Street – one of the hippest places in Wellington. Found a pub called Duke Cavaller's which I swear had the weirdest cocktails ever. I got a Devonshire Mary – with a cucumber in it, some cherry tomatoes and spicy tabasco. It was kind of like Virgin Mary but way cooler... Johanna and I went back to the hostel sometime after 1am while Nina and Shir actually rocked the clubs until 5am!!!

Well, today unfortunately started a bit frustrating – at least for me. Johanna and I had planned to leave the hostel around 10am to enjoy a full day in the city. The other two girls were supposed to leave and join some other people on a hiking trip. Obviously that wasn't going to happen so we waited for them to get ready to head out together. It took FOREVER!!! And when we were finally about to leave Nina got a call from the hiking people saying they'd pick them up at noon.

By that time it was already 11.30am – and Nina and Shir still needed to get some money to pay me pack for petrol etc. To make a long story short – Johanna and I finally left the hostel at 1pm!!!!! More than half the day was gone. I was pretty pissed but what can you do. I had my money so at least that made me happy.

In the end the two of us still had a good day, we saw a lot, spend a lot of money and did lots of walking. We got a good idea of how the city feels like and I must say – I like it a lot better than Auckland!!! Wellington is full of vibes and music and cool places. You just can't feel bad here no matter if you're strolling along the waterfront or through the Botanical Gardens. It is beautiful!

Here are some things that I already would recommend anyone to do (more coming tomorrow):

1. On Saturdays go to Frank Kitt's Underground Markets. It's close to the Civic Square on Jervois Quay in an underground parking area. Here you'll find local arts and crafts, jewellery, clothing and some food and coffee stalls. It's not very big but still definitely worth a visit.

2. Wander along Cuba Street and enjoy the vintage stores, pubs and shopping opportunities. Also on Saturday the pub The Fringe on the corner of Cuba and Vivian hosts a little flea market.

3. Take the Cable Car ($3.50 one way, $6 return) up to the Botanical Gardens and enjoy the view over the city. You can either take the Cable Car back down or chose the 40mins walk back to the city center. You'll end up at the Parliament Buildings.

4. Walk up Hill Street to the Cathedral of Sacred Hearts (past the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul). On the left hand side opposite the nice looking brick church there is a tree of which one branch is completely covered in bubble gum. It was such a weird sight! We had no idea what it was until a woman came by and told us the story. Obviously when the girls of St. Mary's Junior College start their senior years they put a bubble gum on that tree as some kind of ceremony. Her own daughter had done it a few months ago. Johanna didn't tell her that she had wanted to contribute to what we thought was a piece of art by adding yet another bubble gum to the tree...

5. Stop at Duke Cavaller's and try one of their funky cocktails. They may sound weird and are a bit pricy too ($12 - $17) but it's something your mouth will not forget.

Plan for tomorrow: Visit Te Papa (New Zealand's most popular museum, admission free), go to the Sunday Markets next to the museum and see what else NZ's capital has to offer.