I would like to commence this post with a confession: Lexi is right. There. I said it. Well, I typed it. Don't give me that who-is-Lexi stuff, dear reader, here is a link to her work: avaycay.com and if you are not familiar with it - shame on you.
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| Random flower. Pretty. |
I thought we could do justice to the North Island of NZ by staying 2 nights in each place. Lexi always cautions 3 nights is better. I am always worried about getting caught with nothing to do and we had really limited time on this trip ... so 2 nights at each destination it was. We have just arrived at Napier, our second base and already I know it should have been staying 3 nights - I didn't really want to leave Wellington. Ah well, you live and learn. When I can convince Jayne to retire, we'll have all the time in the world. And no money.
Today was a travel day, so we packed up and left Wellington to head for Napier. As a direct drive it is around 4 hours, but we decided to take the scenic route and stop along the way. So it was a full day event.
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| Just outside the town centre |
Our first stop was Martinborough, just over an hour's drive from the capital. Theoretically this was my breakfast stop. We arrived about 10:45, found a parking spot on the square and headed for the OMG Café. Great name. The G stands for 'goodness' - wouldn't want to offend anyone, eh? The coffee was excellent. The service was great, but the time that elapsed before my toast arrived saw the sun move through several phases. I got so bored I logged into free wifi at the real estate agent across the street. This then came up on my FB which prompted people to ask why I was looking at real estate in NZ. The answer? I can't continue to live in a country where Morrison is the PM.
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| The real reason we come here |
Anyway, the coffee was worth the drive. The sourdough miche was not worth the wait. That said, Martinborough is a quaint little town and worth a visit. It has wineries, many of which are accessible on foot from the main street. Literally 10 minutes walk. There is also a wine centre in town if you CBF walking to the winery. Not for me though, we had to get to Napier.
The next distraction was Stonehenge. Yep. You read that correctly dear reader. No. Not on the Salisbury Plain, but somewhere between Martinborough and Carterton. The GPS was not kind on this journey and had us drive 6 km to turn around and head back to the correct turn off. Maybe it was some weird magnetic force.
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| Welcome to Stonehenge NZ style |
Stonehenge Aotearoa was smaller than the original and far less crowded, but no less out of the way. It was $15 entry per adult, but hey, I'd driven all the way out here. We had a chat with the woman on the desk and then went to the 11 minute video presentation - it was fascinating and I learned a lot about the structure. It's been a few years since we visited the original, but I learned more here. The acoustics are incredible. Jayne stood in the middle of the henge and I leant against the outside wall and we had a discussion at normal volume and could hear everything clearly. We would have been 20 metres apart.
The other key point of interest was the zodiac. I learned that I am not a Scorpio but a Libran (as are David and Cait while Dan is actually a Leo like Jayne). Well, at least we were the one star pattern initially. I'm not sure how I feel about the change. I've been lied to all these years. Apparently it is the fault of some Pope back in the 1200s - that makes eminent sense. If you dig deep enough, the Catholic Church and/or the British can be found responsible for most screw ups in this world. And probably the next. If it exists.
Following the Henge we headed for Pūkaha, a wildlife centre at Mt Bruce. The GPS lady steered us through Masterton and then just out of town announced that our destination had been reached. We were in the middle of nowhere. At that point I gave up. Reset the overly aggressive, shouty GPS to take us to Napier and about 30km down the road we came across the wildlife centre. WTF. I still have no idea.
We stopped. Well, we were there and it's not every day you get see a white kiwi and other assorted wildlife. Jayne amused the lady at the desk by asking if the walk was "up hill and down dale"? No, really amused her. She reached for a couple fo children's books that convert Australian colloquialism into plain Kiwi. Jayne's expression was not in there. Astounding.
Back in the car for the long haul to Napier. No more stops.
Reflections from the drive? New Zealanders love golf courses and agapanthus. Probably in equal number, they were everywhere. They don't like overtaking unless there is a dedicated lane. My aggressive GPS has a knack of issuing instructions way early or just a fraction too late. Despite that, we made it.
Again with the song reveal at the end of the post. I know, I apologise. The simple truth? Jayne's been trawling through titles while I finished the post. And in the end came up with Distant Sun by Crowded House. I'd be interested to hear from your interpretation as to why that is today's title.
Until tomorrow
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