I had a busy year, which shows in my poor post­ing record recently. Des­pite the man­i­fold reas­ons to be cheer­less, there were also plenty of good things hap­pen­ing in Wel­ling­ton: on the water­front, up Cuba St and all over town.

Tarana­ki Wharf Pre­cinct: While it took a while for Te Raukura (the offi­cial name of the Whare­waka) to house any waka, the build­ing and its asso­ci­ated land­scap­ing have been a huge boost for the water­front. The green lawns that step down to the water have proved tre­mend­ously pop­u­lar, and Karaka café has struck a mix of high-qual­ity meals and afford­able counter food that helps it engage with the space rather than col­on­ising it. Com­bined with the open­ing up of the karaka grove and the advent of free Wi-Fi, this has enlivened a vital corner of the water­front.

The reviv­al of upper Cuba St: The top two blocks of Cuba St have lan­guished in the wake of Karo Drive’s dis­rup­tion, but this year the life began to return. It’s a rel­at­ively boutiquey, gentri­fied life com­pared to the organ­ic pre-bypass messi­ness, but there are some genu­inely afford­able vin­tage treas­ures at Particles of Time and Aeon to go with the more cal­cu­lated whimsy of Emma and The Powder Room. My favour­ite new place is Arthur’s, with its hearty chap­pish food and cosy retro feel: tuck into some black pud­ding and bubble & squeak while eye­ing up the pith hel­mets in the shop win­dows across the street. 2012 may see one or two oth­er new cafés or res­taur­ants open up in the vicin­ity, so with luck the reviv­al will con­tin­ue.

Craft beer goes main­stream: We’re occa­sion­ally accused of being pre­ten­tious hip­sters, but on the con­trary, we’re some­times glad when our favour­ite things emerge from the under­ground. On the pub scene this year, beery stal­warts Hashigo Zake and Malt­house were joined by Hop Garden, the Brühaus, Tap Haus, Little Beer Quarter and the Fork & Brew­er, jus­ti­fy­ing claims of Craft Beer Cap­it­al status. Per­haps more import­antly, as it dawns on people that beer is actu­ally allowed to taste of some­thing, drink­ers will no longer put up with com­mer­cial­ised swill and will instead demand a bet­ter range in all bars and cafés. Oh, and just in case you are a hip­ster: HZ, LBQ and Hop Garden def­in­itely beat the more cor­por­ate vibe of the oth­ers.

Old favour­ites: We may have had occa­sion to mourn some Wel­ling­ton insti­tu­tions this year (Ern­esto, Cof­fee Stop, Off­beat Ori­gin­als), but in this fin­an­cial situ­ation we can be grate­ful that some old favour­ites are still around to provide essen­tial levels of caf­feine, booze and good times. Hooch keeps serving up rum-fuelled late-night debauch­ery; Pol­lux provides a more sed­ate vant­age point to enjoy a crisp Mar­tini while smugly watch­ing the post-work com­muters trudge past; and Duke Carvell’s may have tinkered with its menu a few times, but it’s still my favour­ite hangover haunt as well as a place to enjoy a few drinks while cer­tain people (who will not be named) make inap­pro­pri­ate com­ments about the delight­ful staff.