Friday, 26th January 2024
Sandra:
We awoke bright and early, in part due to the start of rush hour Wellington. Breakfast etc. consumed we set out for our day sightseeing round Wellington. Wellington, as I am sure one of the photos will show, is very compact sitting as it does at the bottom of a gulley by and large, so sightseeing is not a trek at all. We had a few places on the list to visit.
First up
was a return visit to the top of the Funicular Railway which runs from a high
up point overlooking the city right down to the CBD. We had visited it on Xmas Day but obviously
it was closed. Today it was a bustling
hive of activity and with cruise ships in port once again, coaches were
regularly bringing coachloads up to the starting point. We eventually, with the help of a kind customer
service assistant, were able to find out that the car park was payable for
everyone. On street parking for some
considerable distance around was resident only permits – understandable.
As an aside, there is a national car park company, privately run which seems to have the unfortunate reputation that similar private companies have in the UK. They are not at all good at making their payment signs clear as to who has to pay what. Hefty fines will result for minor transgressions – we have decided that unless it clearly says to the contrary, we will always pay if we have to use their car parks. Obviously, we avoid them if at all possible!
We had a look round the shop – which was actually of very high quality for such a location. No items purchased on this occasion but it was certainly a step up from many we have seen. We purchased our return tickets and as they ran every 10 minutes or so, opted firstly to have a look round the top of the Botanical Gardens – really more the Observatory than Gardens. The Botanical Gardens are on a very steep hill and not easily navigable. There is, however, a nice level stroll round the top with plenty of photo stops including some of the observatories and also a canon style gun which had been moved there to protect the harbour in the outbreak of WWII. An interesting exhibit of a human sundial both clever and amusing – the photos explain.
Returning to the railway, we found our seats and enjoyed a 10 minute or so trip down, there are a couple of station stops and you also go through two tunnels, both of which are lighted with LED lights.
Arriving at the bottom, it reminded me of many of the London Underground tube stations, albeit very small. It was a lovely hot and sunny day but the breeze kept the humidity to acceptable levels. We had arrived on the main shopping area and an oval loop of the high street ensued. Part way round we found a book shop – Whitcouls – think WH Smiths in the UK and it also had a very nice café with coffee and cake. We, of course, opted to do that first and then had a good wander round the shop purchasing some bubble wrap to protect purchases we had made.
We then made for nearer the front and arrived at a nice square with shaded seats to sit on. Richard went off to photograph some more historical buildings whilst I rested awhile. There was an old newsagent shop and a post box dating back to George V era, sadly it had seen better days and needed some TLC.
We then ambled the short distance back to the lower rail station and we were soon on our way back to the top. The weather continued to be absolutely glorious and the city beach was next on our list. It was a complete surprise for me – I had no idea that the city had a beach right in the centre of the waterfront – it was very pretty and a proper beach with lifeguards – the lure of a dip in the sea was very tempting indeed. It was certainly very well patronized.
This was certainly the busiest beach we’ve seen on our travels – and we’ve seen a few. One or two appealing torsos too…
Sandra:
By now lunchtime was approaching and our thoughts turned to lunch. There were a couple of cafes on the front but the first one we tried only sold very Spanish themed food – great I am sure – but not what we wanted for a snack. We tried the second one and we found two items which would suit us fine as lunch. Richard had a heaped plate of nachos and I had a stack of fluffy pancakes, maple syrup and a sliced banana on top. Okay not a traditional sandwich like we are used to but it was delicious and made a pleasant change.
We returned to the car and by now it was past midafternoon, so we made for our usual Pak n Save supermarket, filling up with fuel as we had a slightly longer journey the following day, on the plus side we ended up driving through some pleasant residential areas which are the commuter belt for Wellington city. Purchases made and fueled up we returned to the apartment and made our usual meal – an earlier night ensued as we were relocating tomorrow to Napier to start the run up the East coast and onto the Coromandel Peninsula.
Saturday, 27th January 2024
Sandra:
We were up bright and early as a longer drive – 4 hours in total, but we chop and change every hour or so, that way it does not seem that long and to be fair it really isn’t, not when you factor in coffee and cake stops and loo and lunch stops!!
The weather forecast was accurate and a good first half of the journey was in the wet. A fairly straight run out of Wellington heading northeast and through the Hutt Valley, this time on State Highway 2. It sounds grander than it is!
Soon though we hit the Remutaka Pass, cue yet more steep, twisting mounting hugging roads. Still an enjoyable drive but I was more cautious as it was wet. At its peak – at 555metres - there was a memorial featuring some soldiers. Foolishly we didn’t stop but were to learn later what it was all about.
Descent completed we came across the little town of Featherston. A purveyor of caffeine was located, a reverse ferret performed in the Elantra and we went for our fix.
This was a café with a difference, no cake but cheese – and lots of it, all locally produced. In addition, spices, sauces, rubs, and a wide range of biccies to accompany the cheese. It didn’t take much persuading from Sandra for me to make a purchase – it would be great to have an outlet like this near me at home – or maybe not. I’d be skint and in need of a heart bypass!
Oh and the coffee was good too – whilst imbibing we looked up the memorial we’d seen on the pass through the Remutaka Range. It commemorates 60,000 New Zealand troops who made the crossing between the military camp in Featherston and Hutt Valley between 1915 and 1919. Read more HERE. One can only imagine the conditions back then.
We could have diverted east to Martinborough – considered the hub of the wine region here – but we still had a fair way to go, so we continued on the SH2, Sandra now at the wheel.
Along a reasonably straight stretch of the SH2 there were a number of small towns, the first of which was Greytown, which was much more appealing than it sounds thanks to its abundance of well-preserved Victorian architecture. It also has the accolade of being NZ’s first planned inland town.
Further north were Carterton, then Masterton, both well kept towns, I’m pretty sure Trev and I stayed at a motel in the latter of 1999.
We continued north, the rain coming and going, the scenery – by New Zealand standards – was nothing outstanding, but the road was pretty straight and flat. Lunch was taken at Pahiatua – what guide books would term a ‘service town.’ It was a Saturday and there was very little sign of life but it would do for a break. The packed lunch went down well and we swapped driving duties again.
The weather began to improve and it was bright sunshine by the time we decided to turn off to have a look at Norsewood – the promise of loos and a café sealing the deal, the Scandi-esque name piquing our interest. With just one main road the café was easy to find, we parked up and were greeted by these three:
Sandra:
It was certainly a very interesting and historical place – the ship Northwood had brought a group of Norweigian and Danish settlers over in 1872 and they eventually settled in the area. The farming area would have been much flatter than what some of them had at home. We had a look at several history boards and the café in which we sat outside had seen its role as a bakery, bank and home and more latterly a café. I think they were a little surprised to see us as we had to make a deliberate detour to get there – we were glad we had done so. There was also a garage and a museum, unfortunately shut on that day.
We pressed on, the weather improving slightly as we arrived
in Napier. This motel was on the start
of a causeway between downtown Napier and the residential area where we
were. The motel was very pleasant and
had the benefit of an indoor swimming pool.
Stop 24 | Marineland Motel | Napier | 2 nights | NZ$179/night
We sorted ourselves off and then set off for a quick drive around – ending up at a lovely lookout point overlooking the port and Napier town – it was certainly a corkscrew road but Richard managed very well and the car, by now fortunately empty of luggage, made easy work of the climb.
There was a lovely nature area up at the top with views in pretty much every direction. The sun was starting to set so the coast took on a magical atmosphere. There had been gun emplacements up here too, similar to Wellington, but they had been moved to a nearby museum and information boards were in their place. The place also had Maori significance too and it had been renovated and was clearly kept clean and tidy after a period of disturbance in the 1970s.
We made our way back to the motel – it had been a longer day but two nights here would be just fine. The rain, however, had other ideas and continued on and off most of the night. Our plans to sightsee the next day may have ended up being very short and from the relatively dry and comfort of the car.
Todays journey:
Sunday 28th January
Sandra:
We awoke to see, very surprisingly, that the weather had cleared up and it was bright and sunny although more inclement weather was forecast for after lunch. We set off bright and early and drove past the port and to the compact main city area. Napier has one major claim to fame – it is New Zealand’s Art Deco capital – and boy does it deserve its title. In 1931 a major earthquake almost flattened the entire city. That date was kind of spooky too, it was the year before my Mother was born! To their credit when they rebuilt the city they remained faithful to the Art Deco theme and there are some spectacular buildings, preserved but being used still, I will leave Richard to talk about the detail and photos.
The city centre is a delight, everywhere you look there is another façade worthy of a lens click. The two most famous are probably the old National Tobacco Company and Daily Telegraph buildings:
But there were plenty more to look at alongside some bronzes too:
The day had started bright but it had gradually clouded over and by the time we returned to the motel for lunch there were spots of rain in the air – and by the time we’d finished lunch there was a full on downpour. Fortunately this would not interfere too much with the afternoons’ planned activity – wine tasting.
Sandra was keen to get some more wine as gifts and I, well I don’t need an excuse. There are vineyards all over the place here and we identified two that were only a short drive away, the first being Church Road wines.
It’s clearly big business here and they were quite busy – it’s not just about wine tasting now – many offer a full menu too and things like food pairings – all for quite a few dollars. However I just wanted to try the Merlot and Syrah and our server – a pleasant young man by the name of Xavier – was happy to oblige.
Both were delicious and a bottle of each were purchased – the Merlot for me and the Syrah for Sandra.
Next up was the Mission Wine Estate – the oldest winery in New Zealand.
A wine ‘flight’ was offered for NZ$10 which consisted of four wines – thankfully including the two varieties we were after. Again, superb and another purchase made. It had been a most enjoyable afternoon despite the rain! Needless to say, Sandra drove back to the motel!
Sandra:
We decided to try out the indoor swimming pool later that afternoon. When we picked up the towels we were advised that it was not heated – no problem in the grand scheme of things you would think but given the weather we had been having in the last few days, the temperature of the pool was considerably cooler than we had anticipated. Richard bravely dipped his foot in – one look at his expression told me all I needed to know – it was too cold. If it had been the temperatures I am currently sitting in as we write this episode of the blog, (30-32C) in Tauranga, it would have made a pleasant change but not when the outside temperature was 17C and tipping down with rain!! We returned to the apartment and even now I am glad we didn’t get that cold for no good reason. Another meal, TV and bed beckoned.