• Learn about the 1931 earthquake and resulting Art Deco architecture in Napier with a walking, vintage car or bus tour. www.artdeconapier.com

• Visit the Hawke’s Bay Museum and Art Gallery to explore the different exhibitions regarding art, art deco and the disastrous 1931 earthquake. www.hbmag.co.nz

• Enjoy an unforgettable Maori experience on a 15th century archaeological site. Share the culture, get to know the people and feel the power of the sacred native landscape. www.waimaramamaori.com

• Visit New Zealand’s oldest winery, The Mission Estate Winery which was established in 1851. Take a guided tour to learn about its history. Conclude with a tasting or dine at the winery restaurant.
  www.missionestate.co.nz

• Explore Church Road on a guided tour through the working winery and New Zealand's first wine museum, before enjoying a wine tasting or sumptuous platter. www.churchroad.co.nz

• Take a tour through New Zealand's oldest prison and hear stories of the prison antics and ghosts. See how the Napier earthquake affected the building. www.napierprison.com

• Pick up a Hawke’s Bay Art Guide from the local i-SITE Visitor Centre and spend a morning, afternoon or full day visiting galleries, workshops and home studios.
  www.creativehawkesbay.co.nz

• Take a leisurely drive along State Highway 2 following the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail signs

• Visit Tararua’s historic Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka marked by a high-rise Art Deco building surrounded by green pastures. The Tui HQ experience includes a brewery tour, museum, shop and café. If you don’t want to try the beer, the museum is free.
  www.tui.co.nz

• Further South is the Wairarapa region

• Drive an easy circuit through pastoral landscapes to outlying vineyard clusters and charming
  small villages.

• Explore Greytown, New Zealand’s oldest inland town with the most complete main street of original Victorian wooden architecture in the country. It is renowned as a boutique destination attracting visitors for it range of stylish and interesting specialty shops as well a great number of cafes
  and restaurants.

• The Maori legend of Maui tells of the South Island being Maui’s boat from which he hooked ‘Te Ika a Maui’, the North Island Drive to scenic Cape Palliser, mouth of this ‘fish’ with a picnic. Walk to the Putangirua Pinnacles and intriguing canyons. Discover the historic Palliser Lighthouse and call in at Lake Ferry.

• Visit Stonehenge Aotearoa, near Carterton, an adaptation of the mysterious 4,000 year-old monument on England’s Salisbury Plains, has been especially designed for the Southern Hemisphere. Learn how people of all ancient cultures – used the sun, moon and stars to devise calendars, work out the seasons for planting, hunting and other activities, and navigate across oceans.
  www.stonehenge-aotearoa.com

• Visit a garden of international significance – Richmond Garden in Carterton
  www.boxwood.co.nz

• Allow ninety minutes for the brief drive to New Zealand’s compact capital city known for its vibrant arts and cultural scene and rich heritage. The seat of New Zealand’s national identity, it’s also home to its stories of heritage and history.

• Discover at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa – five floors of treasured exhibits and interactive displays. It’s an entertaining way to find out about New Zealand, arguably one of the best interactive museums in the world.
  www.tepapa.govt.nz

In addition to Te Papa, there are a number of other museums and galleries to visit:

• Museum of Wellington preserves Wellington’s social history and maritime heritage.

• City Gallery provokes with dynamic contemporary art

• The National Cricket Museum is at the historic Basin Reserve cricket ground

• TheNewDowse in Lower Hutt showcases contemporary arts and design. Continue on and walk the Gallery Mile along Jackson Street.

• PATAKA in Porirua is a museum and art gallery dedicated to contemporary Maori and Pacific
  Island art.

• Follow the Writer's Walk around Wellington waterfront and read poems cast in stone, set against the stunning harbour backdrop.

• Catch the historic cable car from Lambton Quay to the Wellington Botanic Garden for great views and photos over the city. Check out the Tourism Award winning Cable Car Museum at the top.

• Take a free tour of Parliament and while you’re in the historic Thorndon area, visit Archives New Zealand to view an original Treaty of Waitangi, Old St Paul’s Cathedral and Katherine
  Mansfield Birthplace.

• Spend a full or half-day with Flat Earth New Zealand Experiences and get behind the scenes with local Wellington artists on a Capital Arts Tour.
  www.flatearth.co.nz

• Take the Day’s Bay ferry out to Matiu Somes Island in Wellington harbor – formerly a POW camp and quarantine station.

• Wellington is home town of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Dress up for a big night out. Or secure seats for a show by one of the many professional theatre companies in Wellington.