Thursday, December 2, 2010 – Lower Hutt – Since the weather was overcast and gray we decided to keep on driving from Masterton to Lower Hutt (outside of Wellington) to camp. By the way, I saw my first K Mart store here—there are others here in NZ but this is the very first one I have seen! We ate at a Fish n Chips place but had burgers and chips (enough fries to feed 4 people!) and then went on down the road! Our journey through the valley ended when we came to the Rimutaka Mountains and wound our way up and over (once again going up over the clouds at one point!). It rained a bit but the closer we got to Lower Hutt the clearer the sky became! A quick stop at the local Countdown store and we located the campground and set up things for the evening. Going to explore Wellington tomorrow! Love, S & G xo
Friday, December 3, 2010 – Wellington all day – After breakfast chores we headed out and the first thing was to find the AM International building where Geoff worked 29years ago! We did find it and he went inside to find out if any one he knew was still around and sure enough, the man (Ian) who recruited him years ago is still there although he was on his way back from a business trip from Auckland—Geoff got his cell number for later use!
We went on to Eastbourne (east of Wellington) and saw the gorgeous harbor—a very clear and sunny day..and Geoff pointed out that we could see snow on the south alps across Cook’s Strait and on the South Island! I just realized I have now been to the far north of the north island to the very south (Wellington)! What an extraordinary country this nation is!
After going as far via roadway as we could, there is a monument of the ship’s crow’s nest of the Wahine disaster (the ferry sunk in a severe windstorm—twice hurricane strength—and the monument is to honor those people who washed up on this side of the harbor—this is all per a friendly gentleman we met across the harbor while parked near a marina!). I will learn more at the huge museum we will go to tomorrow. We want to spend the beautiful day in the sunshine! Geoff says that on a sunny day there is no place more beautiful than Wellington—I have to agree! So around the harbor we drive and head into downtown Wellington—can see a cruise ship and the hourly interisland ferry (back and forth from north to south island) along with sailboats, cruisers and yachts in the harbor. The city is modern with hints of bygone days. It is very hilly in places and the houses and hills remind me of San Francisco! We drive past the civic center and museum and on around the harbor to where we can stop and have lunch in the campervan. I watch planes come into the airport and the incoming planes are all coming in over the harbor…just delightful. On our way around to the marina we pass Oriental Parade—all along the beach of the harbor—people having their lunch breaks and jogging, walking, bicycling or just enjoying the sunshine! Geoff used to spend his lunch hours around this area when he worked in Wellington proper. We have a nice lunch and then a chat with the older gent who is out walking. He asks lots of questions about the US and British economy. It was fun to chat with him.
We next head back towards the downtown area and then a sharp left hand turn and many twists and turns up the mountainside to reach Mt. Victoria—the perfect place to see the best view of the harbor and Cook’s Strait! I don’t know how to describe it except to say it was ideal for a 360 degree view of the area! And on such a clear day you could see forever!
Back down the hillside, along Oriental Parade, past the “beehive” (a roundish building that houses NZ’s parliament!) and then some other turns and I find us by the Wellington Botanic Gardens (and across the street from the Chinese embassy which looks very sterile and stern!). We walk up the roadway and the first thing we encounter is a huge rose garden—you can smell the rose scent before you get there—just like the rose garden in Rotorua! This garden is planted in a different pattern than the Rotorua garden, and has a big fountain near the center. The roses are past prime but very beautiful! We take photos (of course) and then go inside the buildings and see the inside greenhouse-like gardens that have giant versions of houseplants I have seen or tried to grow! Lots of flowers (orchids, antheriums, etc.) and just a lovely but humid place. We exit and walk up the mountain side along a great paved path…walking through a jungle of sorts, past sculptures and walk and walk and walk, up and up and up some more and finally reach the top where there is a different view—from the top of where the city cable car arrives every 10 minutes! What fun it would be to ride that to and from downtown to work each day—although I imagine its novelty would wear off after a while! We spent a bit of time looking around and down the mountain, so Geoff scoped out a different return path and we saw totally different sites and lots more gardens, plants, trees and shrubs—very lovely—so was the tree house that we took a few pictures from! Not your normal tree house but a larger version with a deck! We made it back to the van and then decided to park inside the gardens and have our dinner—another Chef Geoff masterpiece, I must say!
Drove down into town and parked the van and walked the streets of Wellington (past another former work location that is now owned by a different graphic arts company) along with hundreds of people (although it was not crowded)…there were obviously groups having their Christmas celebrations in some of the eateries. There are restaurants of every kind (Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Turkish, etc., along with Fish N Chip places) plus lots of pubs from Irish to you name it! I loved looking at all the places and seeing people of all ages out and about. Geoff had a great meal at a Turkish restaurant so we book a reservation for Saturday night—there is a belly dancer, too! I will find out if it is the food or the belly dancer that was so good! J We walked many blocks and ended up in an ice cream/coffee place and had what I call sorbet—I had passion fruit and mango, Geoff had kiwi fruit and caramel (they were both yummy). We walked back to the van and headed back to camp around 10 PM. It’s been a full day with lots of sun and views of a beautiful city and area! I love Wellington! Love, Sue & Geoff xo
Saturday, December 4, Wellington – We got up and it was another sunny and lovely day so after breakfast we did the wash and hung it out to dry. After lunch we walked to a local bus stop and caught the number 83 into downtown Wellington to go see the Te Papa museum. They have a great bus service and rather than worry about finding downtown parking, we decided to take the bus and leave the driving to “us”! The museum is really huge and is absolutely fabulous for all ages (they have wonderful hands on areas for children that we both enjoyed, too). I don’t know how to describe it adequately so will give it a try: it’s free, it’s the national museum of New Zealand (and I agree with Geoff that it should be in Auckland where most visitors arrive to get the history of the country first!, it provides lots of history about the Maori’s and their beliefs (there was even a group of Maori men performing when we arrived), the theories of how New Zealand came to exist, lots about the early explores, the flora and fauna that are indigenous to NZ, history of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (and a simulated earthquake house so you can “feel” and earthquake safely), Maori and other art (including an exhibit of Brian Blakes well known photos—he is a native NZ who passed away in 1988 but his wonderful worldwide photos live on). Information about the birds, Maori trees and their gum, the native shells (some of which I have found!), and just a bit of anything and everything you could want to know about NZ. A day is not nearly enough to see it all but we put a large dent in seeing what we could. We in one room where there is a large NZ map on the floor and it lights up square by square—the map is topographical so Geoff was trying to show me where places were and a Kiwi gentleman helped him out so, of course, we chatted with him a bit—he is originally from the south island and says there is no place better than Golden Bay (where he was raised!). It’s always fun to chat with a local!
We stayed until it closed and then walked along the wharf/harbor. There were lots of people out on this beautiful day—some having Christmas celebrations, wedding receptions, or just enjoying friends and family. There are lots of pubs and restaurants along the harbor and I enjoyed seeing the different buildings and all the people. It was nearing our dinner reservation so we headed towards Cuba Street and made it with plenty of time so slipped into J. J. Murphy’s Irish Pub and Geoff had a pint of Murphy’s Stout and I had a half pint of Monteiths Radler—it tasted great on such a warm day. Geoff said here he was, in New Zealand, at an Irish Pub, watching Australia play England (cricket game on the TV), with an American woman—I said that he is just a cosmopolitan man! We finished our beer (and Geoff found that there would be live music later) and I thought the place had a lot of character—wood panels and Geoff showed me that there were several semi-enclosed booths that you could sit in and enjoy a beer, dinner, music or all of the above! We headed to the Turkish restaurant “Istanbul” and it was not nearly as packed as when we went inside the evening before to get a reservation. It was very busy but we picked the right time to have our dinner…there were groups of people all around us. Our waitress was from Argentina and quite helpful. We shared an appetizer (Turkish bread with several hummus based dips) and then we had lamb shish kebab and shared a bottle of Two Tracks Chardonnay—I was stuffed and so was Geoff! Between the appetizer and the main course, the belly dancer came around and she was pretty good (so I think it was BOTH the food and the dancer Geoff enjoyed the last time there!).
She came around to all the tables twice and at some the of the groups, encourage one or two of the parties to dance with her! It was quite entertaining and I like the whole experience! The restaurant started filling up and we were done so we left and headed back to J. J. Murphy’s Irish Pub and sat and had a drink waiting for the music. We never did find out the band’s name but they were very good! They played and sang a lot of Beattles and Stones’ music—it was all great. We left to catch the 11:50 PM bus back to Lower Hutt and only waited 5 or so minutes before our bus arrived. It took a different route back and picked up some young people who were returning from the Bon Jovi concert near the harbor. We got back to camp around 12:30 AM, claimed our clothes off the clothesline and called it a night! What a glorious day and night we had in Wellington! Love, Sue & Geoff xo
Sunday, December 5, 2010 – Tongariro National Park - Whakapapa campsite – 10 PM – We woke up to a windy and overcast day and headed north out of Wellington. Geoff is right, we had the two best days in Wellington and now it’s time to get out! We drive a short distance to Tihati Bay (where Geoff lived 30 years ago and where Graham was born). We found the house they owned and it was quite windy on top of the hill (just as he had described on windy days!). He had a view of Manu Island and Tihati Bay from that house—a spectacular view for sure! It was fun to see where he lived and I think he liked seeing the house again! We stopped in the town (it’s not so small any long, per Geoff) and picked up a few provisions and I saw my first “Denny’s” restaurant since I have been in NZ! Funny to see it!
We headed north (part of the time along the coastline and I also saw Kapiti Island where the Dept of Conservation uses the land to work with endangered species), then through the town of “Bulls” and “Foxton” and stopped at a roadside rest area along the way to have lunch and a bit of a rest. The wind was kicking up quite a bit and you can feel the campervan pull against it at times. Geoff doesn’t seem to have any problem handling it, however. We get to Wanganui and stop in the town center to check things out. The weather seems to have cleared up since our late lunch stop so he decides that we should head for the National Park while the weather is good. We drive and I see more breathtaking, indescribable views of rolling mountains, rivers, creeks, farms, sheep, horses, etc. We stop to take pictures at Raukawa Falls along the roadside! We continue on and then Geoff says “Look, the volcano!” and I see the snow topped volcanic mountain, Ruapehu!
It is beautiful and must have a huge crater because it doesn’t have a peak like Mt. Rainier does! It is dormant but Mt. Tongariro that we are camped near is still active although nothing is happening right now (4 years ago Geoff’s kids were warned about a Lehar but they did not have to evacuate). There is also a 3rd volcano, Mount Ngauruhoe which appears to be dormant right now. The Maori legend is that the 3 volcanoes speak to each other!
So we see just lovely, lovely hills and valleys all the way up here and arrive at the National Park and the first thing you see is The Chalet (a huge hotel that has been here a long time—guess I will find out more history tomorrow at the visitor’s center). We settle into camp, have a special dinner by Chef Geoffrey and then walk down to the local pub for a drink and Geoff tries, again, to explain the rules of cricket to me since that is on the big screen! I still don’t quite “get it” but do have a bit more understanding about how it goes! Now we are back in the campervan just chilling before bedtime. What will tomorrow bring? Always something new for me to see and experience! I love it….love, Sue & Geoff on the NZ trail xo
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