Wellington

Despite the setback of the indie night being a week later, we had some recommendations on where to go out from Hamish who is from there. What a great night out. There were loads of places we went to with plenty of variety. After a few snakky b's at the hostel we went to a bar round the corner called The Establishment. It was a very swanky place so we almost didn't go in, but once inside it was clear what the difference between Wellington and Auckland is - people actually enjoy themselves in Wellington. No one was stood around just out to be seen, it was only 9pm yet people were up dancing and having a laugh.

From there we must have been to about 10 other places with the highlights being Good Luck Bar where the review on the link can describe it better than me. But it felt like a real northern england venue. Other highlight was a bar which looked like a strip club or brothel or something. It was barely bigger than someones front room but the walls were totally covered in mirrors and there was a big pole in the centre of the room. The barmaids assured us it was nothing dodgy, probably slightly offended by the question, and it was surprisingly good.

Waking up in the hostel tv room at half time during the Germany Portugal game was amusing, especially for the couple of people in there for the football.

Summary - 2 of the best nights out I've had in New Zealand have been in Wellington (albeit separated by 2 years). Just walking around the town the next day put it straight to the top of my destination list should I leave Auckland. It's clean, people are friendly, loads of great restaurants and bars and there's plenty to do. Only negatives are the weather being a bit Auckland like and the prospect of the earth swallowing the entire city in a huge quake at any time.

And it's got an English bar. By the way, for those who know that I only ever drink lager, it's all changed. I've developed a bit of a taste for Boddies and Tetleys bizarrely enough. I presume it's an old man thing.