Hideaway to Home

Another quiet start with no humanity noise seeping in from outside the hut. A little seedy from yesterday's activities however that was soon washed away by the crisp clean air. The pack up and cleanup went well. After nursing the groceries in we now had to nurse the rubbish and recycling out. Literally could not pack another item into the car, however we managed with the vehicle bottoming out on the gravel as we wound our way up and over the artist's palletted hills. All is quiet in these parts on a Monday morning with the only people spotted being the grader driver and a few Probis types in cars and on mountain bikes. Really keen they were to tackle these roads. Heading back into Greytown for a cuppa and browse the weather slowly turned. By the time we were heading back up the "hull" it was bucketing down and blowing a gale. With the steep sides looming above and disappearing below it is easy to see why they sometimes close this road. Motorbikes would be in serious trouble.

Adrienne did a fab job of negotiating it and getting back to T&H's to say farewell. Helsa and Paige then took us to the airport via the tooting tunnel. Great local joke/game. She scored an 8. We got a laugh, especially as we had seen it on Wellington Paranormal just a few days ago. One last blast of Wellie wind at the airport, more farewells from our Tikitour guides and onto the plane. Just occasionally you get lucky. In this case the only vacant seat was next to us...woo hoo! No cramped conditions so a very comfy trip home. Greeted at the airport with Izzy and Tai. Lou'd cooked dinner and thus the fam is complete. Great end to a great trip.

Tasting Martinborough

Waking to the sounds of bleating sheep is surely an experience us city slickers never really consider as a daily routine. Stuck up here in the wilderness with no internet, no phone access and (as we discovered) no car battery power it really did seem as if we active participants of the global society were marooned in a wilderness with no way out except to go bush Ricky Baker style. Luckily the owner of the joint (Ross -sans singlet revealling sunburnt neck) was happy to and thoroughly effective in getting the caboose going. Taking the advice of Ruth (the other half of our accomodators) we headed off to Martinborough via the local "shortcut". It's decisions and the subsequent consequences like this that make travelling so enjoyable. We wound our way over brook and dale, opening and closing gates, rounding up the sheep flashing their various coloured behinds at us as they raced along ahead.

The landscapes were a plethora of picture postcard craggy ridgetopped green hills with lush valleys creating leading lines of visual perspectives the type of which the professional photographers tend to wet themselves over. No stuffing around for us though, we didn't stop to capture every picturesque scene as we were on a mission. Martinborough beckoned. We just had find our way out of the maze of mountains that we'd managed to imbed ourselves in. It took a while, one instinctive wrong turn quickly overridden by the only other people seen all morning (which was lucky). Eventually the gravel turned to bitumen, the ground turned flat and the Taste of Martinborough Festival was duly consumed by us 5 Musketeers and 8000 others. It was a big day. The locale has a heap of vineyards, each of which sells their grappa, plus food, plus entertainment. Frequent shuttle buses move the happy crowd around the circuit. As the day goes on the crowd gets happier. Go figure. We managed to do half the circuit. Great fun. Pretty much a first world event with first world people being happily ensconced in their first world situation. If this is what our heroes in the wars fought for then good on them. Thanks guys.

There was plenty of merryment, lots of music (rhythm and melody), dancing, smiles on people's faces and a wonderful vibe permeating throughout. Suspect that the combined positive energy being created kept the threatening deluges away all day. We left on closing via one last hilarious bus trip and then thanks to our able driver Teresa we scampered out of there. Stopping at Greytown on the way (yes it is predominately grey and very likable) for a boost we then headed back up into the hilly, winding roads to eventually get back to the isolated, thoroughly welcoming abode that is our home for 2 nights. Your Blogger went for an exploration through the sheep track defined bush down to the river as the light faded away whilst the non bloggers cosied up on the couches in their PJs to watch an historically relevant DVD.

Everyone happy - except the disappointing ending. Unbeknownst there was a second disk lurking in the case. LOLs the next day when they figured that one out.

Over the "Hull" and into wilderness

Up early. Well only "early" for those not on holidays. In this case your blogger was up well before non-blogger to watch our young host play under 15s softball. Fabulous and exciting.

Watching Zach hit a home run, which subsequently the whole game really opened up was well worth enduring the strong cold wind that was defining the experience. The wind kept defining the rest of the day. Once we got our gear (and act) together five of us crammed into Adrienne's caboose and headed of over the real "hull". This hill is what the locals fondly refer to as a seriously significant roadway carved out of steep slopes over the top of big mountains in order to open up the lush green pastures of the east of the north island. On a windy day (which it was) you could almost hear the wicked joys of laughter from the wind spirits as they whipped past the avid listener on the peak knowing they'd be soon heading down to Mt. Victoria to pick up more unprepared tourists and deposit them somewhere in the Straight.

Locals drinking beers whist driving and experiencing the same moment in time may have missed the nuances of the situation. They will find their own fate. Once down on the flat green lowlands we headed over to Martinborough to checkout the morrows layout as well as brunch, gift and vittals shopping. With the car even more loaded (by now everyone had supplies on their laps) we went into an exploration into nowhere land. The landscapes were fabulously articulated with high rolling green hills, pretty valleys, sheep, cows, wierd scarecrows (competition underway) and the sound of dueling banjos starting to resonate in one's head. And so with all comms to the outside world lost we arrived at our absolutely fabulous accommodation in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Surrounded by braying sheep from nearby steep hills, big trees, bright green pastures. Yes there are fences. Give it a year and they'll start to be rustic. It was renovated a month ago so practically brand new. Miles and miles away from the wine festival but an amazing place to land nevertheless.

Hamburgers for dinner and more stories of first world problems with the occasional reference to 3rd as well just to make sure we are grounded. Oh yeah....and more wine in order to make sure the truth is spoken.

A day in the museum

Waking in Waikanae it was a leisurely start to another sunny day. Before too long Helsa arrived to take us back down to Wellington where luggage was off loaded and a trip to the museum was in order. Being the main PC activity of the day it was many hours well spent and will leave an indelible mark on all participants as we continue our journey forward.

Lest We Forget is three simple words with so much power and meaning. The Gallipoli exhibition explores how this message can continue to be passed on through the generations.

Before that one though Paige and Taine guided us geriatrics through the standard local pieces which were simply outstanding. The highlights being the volcano, the earthquake house and the confetti room. After a 2nd refreshments stop in the cafe for lunch we ploughed into the Gallipoli extravaganza (possibly the wrong descriptive) which was amazing, depressing, exhausting, exhilarating and most of all highlighting. Highlighting the fact of how sheer stupidity can result in such far reaching consequences. The 7 key sculptures are twice the size of reality yet with such fine detail that when that detail is examined closely the emotion being experienced by the subject is also conveyed. The chronological story of the folly is told on the way through and by the time we stumbled out of the place it was hard to express what we had experienced. Lest we forget.

Well done to our Kiwi mates for bringing this to life so vividly. After a hop back up to home Todd generously took us back into town and watched the Musketeers gorge into food and wine whilst he had to resist. More heroics greatly appreciated. Sending him off home we hung around the cool trendy parts of the city, enjoying lots of ambience combined with laughs, reserved table snatching and struggling with hidden doors that allow one to exit from libraries converted into bars. Needless to say the taxi ride home was pretty funny.

Around Waikanae

It's really nice to be imposing in other people's lives (ie their houses) as they are generous enough to let you sleep in whilst they continue with their daily routine. No pressure. You're on holidays. Welcome to NZ. Relax. Enjoy. Even if the whole household is sleeping in different beds.

Our first outing was off to a private olive farm which is accommodating Adrienne and Mike's caravan (too longa story for this blog). Really interesting to see a budding enterprise with cute little lambs running around their mums underneath the olive groves. On the way back we stopped at THE local celeb chefs home based farm/cottage/entrepreneurial enterprise. The place was absolutely choc-a-block with a bus load of Probis members enjoying the beautiful surrounds of the glasshouse tea rooms, magnificent coffee and Ruth's special treats. So this is what the well-off retired get up to whilst the rest of the world is busily trying to keep the economy going... Justifying our presence by being on holidays (!?) and a generation younger (?!) we also soaked up the ambience and then strolled around the herb garden, taking obscure snaps of olde-worlde fences that have that particularly special characteristic of being in the country.

Back home to collect the kids the tribe then headed off to a local conservation park in which dedicated souls are trying to preserve a small slice of the local wetlands flora and fauna. We actually saw a real kiwi which was a highlight, although so dark no clear pictures were possible. Whilst the eels were not pretty to look at they have a fascinating life story of which the local human invasion is totally disrupting.

Afterwards we sped over to the local mall for a spot of shopping and a late lunch before back home again for pre's. A delightful dinner at a nearby tavern with the fam and afterwards swapped stories and music before collapsing into a blissful slumber.

Driving Around

We spent the day on the road checking out the surrounds of the Greater Wellington Region courtesy of our Tikitour guide Helsa. First up was across the top of the sound and up over the "hull" just to turn around and come back over to stop at the view on the top. The day was subject to a northerly breeze. Up here it was strong enough to turn umbrellas inside out and yet still Mary Poppins the holder to a destination somewhere in the Southern Antarctic ocean. Luckily it wasn't raining so the brollies stayed in the car.

A coffee break at an extraordinary eclectic cafe on the waterfront was so retro the retro was retro. An original coffee roaster was actually in full production amidst the hustle and bustle of relaxed locals of Lower Hutt. Off through the city to the southside we circled the headland with mount Victoria lookout on the top. The 360° panoramic view is spectacular, as was the wind picking up the tourists and depositing them in the Cook Straight. The scenic route around the waters edge revealed rock lined coves with pristine waterways with rugged mountains framing the horizon.

Ever more houses perched on cliff tops and waterfronts showing a significant number of locals are living the life that is to be the envy of the majority of the planet. Photo stops aplenty. Around the waters edge we drove and then back up the top of a yet even more impressive mountain with a seriously vertigo inducing wind turbine perched up there. The swooshing blades in the hurricane like breeze made one feel like decapitation was a mere heartbeat away.

After giving a lift to a couple of weary hikers back down the hill we stopped at an avant' guard cafe for refreshments before heading back up the west coast to Waikanai for a sleepover at Adrienne and Mike's. Another fun evening proceeded another fabulous dinner, rounded off by some hilarious local TV black comedy.

Walking around

Potentially the best weather day of the week was made the most of by being out and about by foot ably directed by our Tikitour guide Helsa. A lush green canopy below the spectacular abode covers the steep slopes all the way to the water far below.

With modern day houses perched on the crests above, the canopy hides a wonderland of ecosystems, nicely linked by recently made paths that make exploring the area very accessible. Helsa showed us around the area by plowing downwards into the greenery below her house and we gently lowered ourselves over and through the vegetation following roughly defined tracks and we were subsequently in awe of the effort people have gone to over the the years in order to carve their own little piece of history into the hillsides. And then ever so quickly nature comes along and erases it all. The trek through the forest and beyond revealed a myriad of vistas out over the waters and to the high mountain peaks beyond. Skirting the steep hillsides we kept popping up into yet another new estate perched on the top and eventually wound our way back over to home. An amazing back yard anyone would love to have.

We then piled into the car with Sam and picked up Paige (ex English exam) on the way into town. The walking tikitour continued as we explored the sight, sounds, steep hills, smells and other sensory soak ups of downtown Wellington. Dumplings for lunch with disinterested staff were great and then headed up the hill via a freeway disrupted cemetary, botanical gardens, sculpture park to the observatory covered hilltop and then a splendid cable car back down into the heart of the city.

Cuba street is full of eclectic people and shops. We refreshed ourselves in Fidel Castro's cafe before wandering down to the waterfront for a relaxing drink on beanbags whilst watching the local kids learn how to row in the inner harbor surrounded by art, sculpture, architecture, waterscapes, landscapes, blue skies and a warming late afternoon sun. Needless to say this was a memorable experience.

As the sun faded over the distant hills we headed back up to the palatial abode to have an all in cook up which was dutifully devoured as the waters of the sound below shimmered in the still evening air. No idea why they call the place windy....

Looking around

A bit of a sleepin helped catching up on the horrendous jet lag one experiences when crossing the ditch. Well that's the excuse anyway. After a brecky of vegemite on toast (think about it) we headed to the other side of the island, expertly chauffeured by our Tikitour guide Helsa.

The aim was to get out of the persistent rain as well as check out the local sights around southern west coast north island. SWCNI as locals refer to it...not really, but they should considering they use SWY to abbreviate "speedway" on their road signs. Collecting Adrienne from her wonderfully located abode in Waikanae we headed further north to Oktaki to do some shop grazing whilst the rain stopped and the sun started to win its never ending battle with the clouds. Interesting that a small sculpture of a sheep costs more than a real one.

A commando style stop at a lavender farm for a quick photo shoot was followed up with lunch at the local favorite pizza shop/bar/restaurant at the beach side escape locale of Waikane. A short stroll on an incredibly photogenic beach followed.

We then drove around the area taking in the sights and local playgrounds like the swimming hole in the river. Way too cold at the moment to even consider such activities. Shortly after we were rocketing back down the highway and back up to Newlands to cook a curry, have some laughs, discuss the world (when exams are on) and watch the light slowly fade over the calm waters of the sound. Fabulous.

Off to the land of the long white cloud

An easy uber to the airport with the only stress being the huge traffic jam dropping people off. Wierd. You'd reckon they'd have worked that out by now. Anyway, all good with the flight so short the latest Tarantino movie didn't even get to finish. Wellington is wet. Just like home. Actually catching the same cold fronts that go over concreted flat Melbourne. Wellington is windy and the roads are windy. Met at the arrival gate by our fellow Musketeers (Adrienne and Helsa ) we were driven through windy windy Wellington and headed up to the spectacular abode of Helsa and Todd (& kids) to soak up the awesome views across the bay and out towards Cook Straight.

We had a great night catching up as the rain steadily got heavier and overnight it torrented down. Unbeknownst to us, back across the ditch NSW was being blackened. The world is getting weirder.