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Published: March 5th 2015
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Well today we have been on a walking tour around the city of Wellington and our guide was actually a Glaswegian! She has lived in NZ for over 40 years but has still kept her accent and was a bit of a feminist to say the least! Very knowledgable and very fast paced. We nearly ran round the city but it was very informative and interesting. Saw all the government buildings, theatres, harbour and lots about the history etc. New Zealand is such a new country that none of the buildings really date back much before the 1890's but there are some really beautiful ones's although a lot of them are closed now due to earthquake damage from the Christchurch earthquake and they have to go to the expense of making all the old building earthquake proof which means more or less underpinning all the older buildings, some they have just had to take down which is sad. Later in the day we went on the little cable car up to the top of the hill overlooking the city. It's not actually a cable car more a little train and was built by a gentleman who wanted to build houses on
the hillside and it was the only way to get people to live there. Nice little trip and we walked back through the Botanical gardens which were lovely and in full bloom. Wellington has over 100 parks and dedicated green belt areas so there is always somewhere to escape the city and eat your butty in nice surroundings.
Well the day of the cricket world cup match had dawned, off we went to the deli that we had discovered across the road, mega fab but a totally drooly experience! So armed with our gourmet picnic, England flag, tickets and excitement we headed off to the stadium. We walked along the waterfront with about 10,000 Sri Lanken fans all wearing their colours, yellow curly wigs, face paints and waving their flags. The mood was a very happy one and what a very nice convivial race of people they are. There were just over 18,000 spectators and the England side was definitely not as well supported as the blues and yellows of the Sri Lanka team however there were some very colourful characters dressed up and as you would imagine some had come for the beer as well as the cricket
so the barmy army songs were being sung constantly. England won the toss and opted to bat first, Baz was out of his seat every two minutes, very excited and with a couple of inflatable batons that he was given proceeded to give all the scores just like the umpire!! he was very enthusiastic with them and I had to keep re inflating them due to his over eagerness. He was thoroughly enjoying the experience and then the England innings were done, all in for lunch and then the Sri Lankens came out to bat!! The mood went somber pretty quickly as they could obviously play the quint essential English game better than us!! Not being a cricket fan, I was interested to see if actually going to watch a live match would alter my opinion. Quite honestly after a numb bum, a warm wine and too many barmy army's songs in my ear as well as a painful 8 hrs 24mins and 13secs loss of my life I can hand on heart say never again will I fall for that one!! Last comment: the Senior's play better cricket on the beach in Anglesey!
Well I don't know if
it's down to the aftermath of the cricket but we have moved into the wine area called Wairarapa. We are staying in a little town called Martinborough which is lovely and we have booked what I can only describe as an idyllic retreat. It's a two bed roomed vicarage, the neighbours are quiet and it's just lovely. Four nights here but it's so nice we may never move.
Today we had an amble through the town, liked the area so have booked another three nights here. Did coffee, checked out the hire bike shop and saw a tandem, thought this would be a good idea to do the vineyards, don't think you can be drunk in charge of a tandem!! Bit different. Jumped in the car and headed to a place called Cape Palliser where there is a seal colony. It was a drive along gravel roads, spectacular scenery and a lighthouse at the end. Saw loads of seals, if fact as they blend into the rocks so well you had to be careful where you were stepping in case you trod on one. Mostly they didn't bother if you were there or not, the males gave you a
bit of a grunt if they thought you were a bit close but on the whole they just opened an eye to watch you walk past and then carried on sleeping. We walked up the 254 steps to the lighthouse which was actually very hard work as they were really steep but the views of the ocean and the seals swimming out to sea were worth it. On the way back we spotted loads of seals all swimming and porpoising in the water and pulled over to investigate. We had stumbled across the nursery so we actually saw baby seals and sat on the rocks and watched them playing at the waters edge as they were still a bit afraid of the water. The adults were keeping an eye on them. There were four guys in wet suits who got in the water and swam with the seals, think this must have been an awesome experience however we go back to the big white things with lots of sharp teeth. Baz had packed his trunks and I unpacked them telling him that he was not getting in the water with shark food!! On the way home we called in at
a place called Lake Ferry, there is nothing there apart from a few house's and a hotel but we stopped and had a couple of scoops in the bar and watched the sunset over the ocean. Chatted to a couple from further up the coast and got some pointers on the South Island. Back home for a Bolgonese, totally awesome day.
Well I said we were in the wine region so today we hired a tandem and set off to visit some of the vineyards. firstly I was given a helmet which made me look like I was about to be fired out of a cannon!! Looked liked a total numpty so after a couple of other try on's agreed on a flashy blue effort that still made me look like a bit of a knob but hey oh, safety first! Baz obviously looked dashing in his! Armed with map off we set, this was 11am and the vineyards opened at 11.30am. You would think it is too early for wine. nonsense!! The sun was shining it was actually 30 degrees and very unseasonably hot for New Zealand but with us pulling a cool 15mph on the bike the
breezes rushing through our helmets it was a fantastic day. We very quickly got in with a young couple who were on their honeymoon and had hired bikes at the same place. They were a good laugh and we ended up at the same places all the time, they actually got there faster than us as Baz was in charge of steering, gears and the speed. They actually called the tandem a marriage maker or breaker as numerous people come back arguing after a trip. All I can say is God I am a very patient person!! I think Baz managed to find and use all 8 gears in the first 15 seconds of the ride. Don't think he ever did his cycling proficiency, and I think perhaps he never should!! So apart from all the operational difficulties we managed to fit in 6 vineyards, I have to say in our defence they were all very close together and you only got a very tiny weeny bit of wine to try so although we thought we may have wobbled all the way back we were actually very upright, Mum you would have been proud of us!! *****#####!!!!
We really
like this town and have opted for a few nights more, there is a big fair on on Saturday and horse racing on the beach. Will keep you posted, all for now.
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