With travelling, family visits, and most recently, poor internet access, it has been a while since my last posting, so we have some catch up to do.
Tuesday of last week was our last day in Nelson, so we had one last walk in Queens Gardens, a last visit to River Kitchen Cafe and a last walk on Tahunanui beach in the evening. Outside River Kitchen there is a unique bicycle repair station, which includes a hand pump and all of the tools that you might need to repair your bike, attached to long wire ropes (to prevent theft). Makes me wish that I had a bike here, just to try it out.
 |
| Bicycle Repair Station |
Wednesday was a travel day, so we returned the rental car (no damage noted) early, and lazed around the airport cafe, waiting for our flight to Wellington. It was a great day for flying, and the pilot flew east to Picton and then north to Wellington, all at 11,000 feet ASL, giving us great views of the Marlborough Sounds and the miscellaneous water craft between Picton and Wellington. There was no wind in Wellington, so I think it was my smoothest Wellington landing ever (usually we get tossed all over the sky on approach to Wellington).
The following 4 days were very focussed on visiting with my sisters and my nephew Adam and his family. Adam and Colleen have almost finished major renovations to their house, so we were fortunate to be able to enjoy a relaxing dinner with them, and see the latest in kiwi-style building. On Sunday, after a long walk along the Hutt River, we ventured into Wellington with my sisters, and visited Te Papa (The Museum of New Zealand). Tricia wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibit, and Fredda and I opted for the Gallipoli exhibit, while Margaret and Marlene had a waterfront walk. The Gallipoli exhibit was produced by Peter Jackson (think Lord of the Rings), to commemorate the allied (mainly New Zealand and Australian troops) landing (and later evacuation) in Turkey in WWI. Some of the displays are larger than life models of the soldiers, complete with blood, sweat and flies. It was well worth the price of admission (free), and a great way to pass a few hours in New Zealand's capital city.
 |
| Display in Gallipoli Exhibit |
 |
| Wellington Harbour From Te Papa |
When we woke on Monday we were greeted by the first real rain since we left home, so a good time to be heading out of town. We checked out of our motel, picked up my sister Tricia, and headed north to Napier. The first stop was in Featherston to drop Tricia off, and then continuing north, we left the rain behind at Masterton. The plan was to stop for coffee in Pahiatua, a small farming town, but being Monday, the best cafes were closed, and so we continued on to Woodville. After our coffee (and scone) in Woodville we didn't really need our packed lunch, but made a nostalgic stop just south of Waipukurau, at a road-side rest area, to eat our sandwiches. My sisters and I were reminiscing the day before about always stopping at this spot when travelling to Napier with our parents, so I just had to do it. The rest area did not look any different than it did 50 years ago.
 |
| Road-side Rest Area |
When we arrived in Napier and stepped out of the car, we were hit with a wall of heat. It was only 28 degrees, but the heat was very intense. Our motel room is on the third floor, which gives us great views of the kids' bike playground and ocean across the street (excellent location), and if we open the front door and the balcony door, we get a nice breeze through the room (we do have an air conditioner, but when we run it, it does not smell very inviting - thinking maybe an animal peed on the outdoor unit on the balcony?).
 |
| View From Our Motel Room |
In our two days in Napier we have shown Fredda all of our favourite places, including where we will be staying for the next 4 weeks, had several walks on the waterfront (Ahuriri, Napier and Haumoana), and visited with my cousins, Maureen and Denzil, who are in the throes of building a new house. Hopefully they will be in their new house before we head home, but there looks to be a lot of work to do yet.
Tonight we had dinner at my favourite restaurant in the whole world, The Mission Winery. In years gone by, the Mission was a seminary for Catholic priests, but with declining enrolment, the seminary closed several years ago and the associated winery is leased out, including the restaurant. We sampled the bread with dips, salt and pepper squid appetiser, fish of the day (grouper) for Marlene and Fredda, lamb shank for Jim and a side dish of seasonal vegetables. The food was excellent, and we lingered over our coffee, not wanting to leave.
 |
| Dinner is Served |
 |
| Mission Winery |
Tomorrow, we head back to Wellington, to put Fredda on the plane home, spend the weekend with my sister Margaret, and then we will be back up to Napier for the next four weeks. The time is going by all too quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment