Kates Place Martinborough

... as we drove north across the mountains through Tararua Forest Park. The mood in the car was, to be honest, grumpy, but what can you expect when you rush to get out the door on a Friday night? As an added bonus to that, I felt pretty nauseated for most of the journey through the twists and turns of the mountain road. <br><br>Our next challenge was actually getting into the house we had booked; unclear instructions and pitch-black ...

... not gracefully then with sufficient prowess to be offered a free jump. He accepted...but we only got the one video and set of photos. We had dinner in Ponsonby afterwards - a fashionable district of Auckland and, it seems, full of totty. This is what one finds out by sitting outside at a restaurant! Leaving early today we had an interesting flight to Wellington and sat next to a delightful chap called ...

A nice weekend took us out once again for some wanderings in the Wairarapa. Our target of the day was the Hai Nui wind farm, nearish Martinborough. Why a wind farm? Well, our friend Frank grew up in the town in Germany where the pylons for the windmills originated. What better reason could you want? Okay, so we went on the flimsiest of pretenses; we hadn't been before and figured it might be diverting enough. The familiar drive out there took us ...

... of the day: the Staglands Wildlife Reserve. Staglands houses a collection of native and non-native fauna in a very pleasant setting. It's arguably aimed at those with children, but Sheila and I are always suckers for animals (count us in for the petting zoo at the county fair!), and I think it was rather worthwhile as an adult. As are so many things in New Zealand, Staglands was well put-together. A figure-8-shaped track (of maybe 1-2 km in ...

... back alone and caught it perfect and glassy untill after dark. When i got out a guy watching from his truck gave me a "nice wave in mate" and so I walked over to chat with him. He offered me a cone and a cold beer right off the bat and then he even offered me a place to stay. He had rented out a cabin just up the hill with some friends who all gotten tied up at work and so there was plenty of space. I got a hot shower and good a breakfast the next morning. Jimmy and me ...

We got up a little late and had breakfast before we left. On the way to Wellington Rob spotted a place called Southward Classic Car Museum (It's on SH 1 not far after Waikanae). It was huge and there were so many cars that we didn't think that we'd get around it. We got chatting to one of the staff, he was going around polishing the cars. We asked him how long it takes to do them, he said it was an ongoing task that was never finished. He was a ...

... enjoyed the wine under the shade of an enormous tree. Lovely! We chatted with some British ladies who were spending three weeks wandering about NZ. We wish we had more time! We headed back to our pad to take a dip in the pool, which was very refreshing. We then rode our bikes into town to pick up some snacks for dinner. We enjoyed a glass of wine at the Martinborough Hotel. Then it was back home for snacks, wine and hot tubbing ...

... the easiest route, along the streambed path. However, it was actually really hard work, possibly because we didn't have boots on, only trainers, and possibly because it was really really hot! Next time, we'll do the bush walk that ends up at the top looking down on the pinnacles! After the pinnacles, we drove back to Wellington, via a stop for lunch in Martinborough, a little town in the Wairarapa.

... The kids napped, and we went to get some groceries. The highlight of the grocery trip was that while the kids slept, Gavin saw a group of late teens in the obvious employ of a pink pig mascot, handing out brochures to the passersby. No one else saw this, but it happened. Back at the camping ground, the kids ran around like crazy people on the play ground and on the 'jumping pillow' while Deb made dinner.

... filled the rest of the day with a pleasant drive down windy roads (sometimes gravel only and clinging to the coastal cliffs) to Cape Palliser. Here we were rewarded with the sight of lots of NZ Fur seals. We were able to just wander around in amongst the wildlife taking lots of pictures. Although Gavin did get too close and got growled at by a tired looking seal - a quick exit was then made.