Today, having finally realized that I was at the ocean, I did what I'd usually do there and got up to watch the sunrise. There was a belt of cloud on the horizon, so I did not actually get to see the sun rise out of the sea, but the cloud colors were striking and it made a good start to the day. At 9 a.m., I walked down the seaside path in the other direction, away from the historic Art Deco district. The first place I encountered was Marineland of New Zealand. I had, actually, seen and investigated Marineland a couple of days ago; it's right across the street, diagonally, from the YHA. Marineland was closed indefinitely to the public in 2008. New Zealand's Department of Conservation objected to the keeping of dolphins in captivity. ... read more

I slept well, though with the aid of the very last of my Benadryl, and woke rather groggily at 7:30 a.m. I went out to walk by the ocean (for the YHA is across the street from the South Pacific), and when I returned I had a wonderful surprise. The lady I'd asked to pray for me had come to the YHA while I was gone, and left a package for me. It proved to contain a 2011 calendar, a keychain, and several postcards of New Zealand. There was also a friendly note, wishing me a happy stay in Napier and safe travels onward. I was delighted. Somehow it made the whole trip feel safe and happy again. I decided to go sightseeing. I had noticed a mention of Art Deco Walking Tours on my ... read more

Rather sadly, I said goodbye to Sue. It was time to leave; they needed the houseroom, but I was tired of travelling and homesick and I longed to go home. It had been good to be part of a family for a few days, even if it wasn't my own. There were 50-mile-an-hour winds all the way to Napier, and the bus swayed disconcertingly. It hurt my shoulder. We drove along the very edge of a steep gorge, with a lovely whitewater river in it. On the other riverbank, there were train tracks and the occasional tunnel. We stopped for lunch at a Country Cafe in Matamau, and I had an excellent lamb pie. Only two restrooms were available, and one was the restroom of a motel unit, opened up for use by the bus passengers. ... read more

I checked out of YHA Wellington with a sense of profound relief. Sue had been kind enough to offer me a ride to Palmerston North, so I'd cancelled my Wellington-to-Palmerston-North bus ticket. I just won't use that part of my bus pass. Sue drove me first to an impressive overlook in the Rimutaka Hills, and then to the Fell Engine Museum. Fell Engines turned out to be small steam locomotives used to provide additional horsepower on a steep grade. The two-story museum included models of the settlements at both ends of the slope, with the higher village, of course, on the second floor. An unusually good documentary film was shown as an introduction to the collection. It explained how the engines worked, and in particular how the trains were kept braked and in control on the ... read more

Mel of the Buccaneer Lodge had been kind enough to rearrange room assignments to let me stay in my room until 1 p.m.. Regrettably, it was pouring buckets, so I did not try to walk out to visit the bay or the blue footbridge one last time. I did go to church, at Picton Community Baptist Church. The first hour of the service was worthwhile. There was a lot of singing to a guitar, with the lyrics projected on a movie screen to encourage the parishioners to join in. I joined in enthusiastically, though the only song I recognized was "Amazing Grace." There was some excuse for this, as the oldest copyright date on any of them was 1993. Even "Amazing Grace" had been altered by the interpolation of a new chorus between each verse. ... read more