Cheesecake :-)

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The 6^th or maybe 7^th pair of flip flops finally gave up the ghost on the walk from the hostel to the car park this morning. It wasn’t even as if the car park was on site – in Wellington, you’ve got to park the car in a public car park, the nearest of which (that doesn’t cost an arm, a leg and 20 pairs of flip flops) is a 10 minute walk away. This, when clutching the contents of your food back, your overnight bag, your laptop bag and your washing bag, is a nuisance in itself. Minus shoes and walking along the main road, you just end up looking like the bag lady. Unimpressed.

I set about to find the cable car. Wellington has a traditional cable car that is pretty much a little train that carts you to a scenic point above the city for you to gaze down on the buildings below you. Not that I planned on catching the cable car – that money is safely assigned to the new flip flop fund – however figured I’d get a good view of the city from the broad bean up there.

The next half an hour was spent, in a scene worthy of Norman Wisdom, driving around in circles looking for the damn thing. I kept on ending up underneath it but nowhere near its start or end points. Hopeless. There wasn’t anywhere for me to stop on these winding roads, nor a suitable spot to take a photo of the city below (houses in the way). I threw my toys out of the pram and headed for Plimmerton.

This evening, I was meant to be staying in Plimmerton, beautiful little place surrounded by water just north of Wellington, with Mimi after going out for a few birthday/farewell drinks. Sadly, the agenda has had to change as I have realised the car needs to go back on 21^st and not 22^nd, leaving me too few days in which to get to Auckland and part with the bean. However I still have a card and a little present which won’t find its own way to Ed and Mimi so I took a detour via their old place to drop it off. Hopefully the bottle of wine is still there when Mimi gets back this evening…I did look a bit dodgy hunting for a suitable place to hide it…

Headed cross country and onto the route to Napier, clutching at the notes Ed and Mimi had prepared for me when I was in Christchurch. First stop – cheesecake shop (found it with ease, Ed – and the cheesecake was to die for! Great shout!). I know, meant to be sightseeing and all that but it came highly recommended (and rightly so!).

Onwards and upwards, avoiding Hastings, and onto Napier. The route was again, field lined, with the odd set of roadworks thrown in for good measure. Decided to cause a bit of a scene with my first driving mishap of the adventure (heading up the wrong side of a set of cones in the roadworks, much to the frantic alarm of the workers stood ahead of me. Broad bean was sent in reverse, back to join the queue of traffic stopped at a red light which I thought was a line of parked roadworkers vehicles in need of overtaking…).

Driving along today felt a bit like I was in a time warp. There were hundreds – and I mean hundreds – of vintage 1930s cars on the road, all immaculate and all doing on average 30mph. I did a fair old bit of overtaking but it made for a very interesting drive checking out all these oldy worldy vehicles.

It was only when I got to Napier that I realised what was going on (didn’t read my Rough Guide before arrival). Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 – this I knew – however what I didn’t realise is that it was rebuilt totally in the Art Deco style around at that time and has been preserved that way to this very day. The buildings are stunning – even the signwriting is all in the 1930s style. It’s like you’ve been thrown totally back in time – until you see the glimmering green, white and black of Starbucks on the corner of the road (damn corporations!). This is the reason I’ve seen all the cars today – once a year, Napier celebrates Art Deco weekend. Everyone from miles around (UK included, judging by the man checking in at reception tonight in his suit and hat) that’s into the 1930s turns up, dressed up in their picnic suits and flapper girl dresses, and celebrates all things Art Deco. Like when the cowboys and Indians turn up in Brean in September. Brean Sands, UK meets Napier (no sand), New Zealand. Except with far more sophistication here than you get with those cowboys…

I headed off to Ocean Spa to relax afterwards. The place houses a series of open air pools and jacuzzis, steam and sauna rooms, on the ocean front, where for a cheap as chips $9, you can lounge around while your face freezes but your body boils. Oh and your hands burn like hell, because they’re all salt-chlorinated and my hands, as per, are covered in invisible nicks. Ouchie…

Anyway, continuing in the luxury feel, I have a double bed in my dorm room tonight. Not like previous doubles seen in Noosa and the like where you have to share with someone else, preferably that you know beforehand but not unheard of that it’s a total stranger. This double is all mine. Yippee! Roomies seem nice, if a little jealous. One showed her total disdain by farting loudly and violently, apologising as she sprinted out of the room. I soon smelt why…

Final thought for the day. Cookie’s birthday! Happy birthday Leanne! Hope it’s been a fabulosy day for you lovely, will bring you back a prezzie in 6 weeks’ time. x

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