February 21 to 22
Paraparaumu to Wellington
February 21
Paraparaumu to Wellington
My bag feels heavier now than when I left the UK and I have left a load of stuff at Valerie's. It will be interesting to see what it weighs on the airport scales on Saturday morning.
Valerie drove me to the station, where I caught the train to Porirua, about half an hour away. From the station, I dragged my bags for about ten minutes to Pataka, the museum and art gallery.
I met Michael at a table in the garden and chatted for an hour in warm and sunny weather.
This day, for the most part, will go unphotographed because I was carrying two large bags and I had neither the time nor the inclination to play with my camera.
After Michael had left, I had a quick look at my old Camera Club's 50th anniversary exhibition. There was some brilliant work on display and a lot of names that I recognised.
I retraced my steps to the station and caught the train a couple of stops to Mana, where I walked to the pub and waited for the rest of the party to arrive. I tried photographing my coffee but the lighting was all wrong so I gave up and tried to bring my diary up to date.
 |
 |
|
|
Once the others arrived, we ate and drank - modestly - for the best part of two hours before heading in our separate ways. I was given a lift to the station, at least 600 metres, where I waited for the train, which was about ten minutes away.
The weather was pleasantly cool so that wearing a jacket wasn't a problem. The train took me into Wellington, where I joined a bus queue alongside hundreds of school pupils, all wanting to get home. I made it safely and reached Jane & Robert's almost on schedule, just after 16.00. We chatted for a while before Jane did some university work and I hung washing on the line. It was both sunny and breezy, good drying weather. I then started work on my diary.
We went out in the early evening to an Indian restaurant just down the road. The building was basic but the food, by New Zealand Indian standards, was above average. We walked home again to see that the sky over the hospital had turned a menacing shade of black. No rain fell, however, and we returned home without incident.Right: A menacing sky |
 |
Feb 22
Wellington
There was a little rain overnight but none when I awoke although the sky still looked threatening. I completed some tasks, including checking-in for tomorrow's flight, repacked my bag and set off into the city. The very light drizzle persuaded me to take the bus bit it was warm enough to wear shorts.
Once in the centre, it was breezy but dull and murky overhead. I walked to Civic Square, a favourite place and a wonderful modern open space, and spotted that the fern ball, removed for renovation when I was last here, had been re-hung. As public art goes, this is the top of the tree.
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Not far away is The Lido, one of my favourite cafes. It has always looked slightly down at heel, even though it has recently been subjected to major earthquake strengthening. It has a great view of the street and serves excellent coffee. I looked at the former and drank one of the latter.
I returned to Civic Square, where the Town Hall is being rebuilt and earthquake strengthened, and had another look at the fern ball.
 |
 |
|
|
One of the major junctions in town, Stewart Dawson Corner, named after a jeweller's shop, is being completely rebuilt with the old facade being maintained.
 |
 |
|
|
Behind the main shopping street is The Terrace, home to big offices and Government Departments. The two Parliament buildings, old and new, at the end of it make an interesting contrast.
Just off The Terrace is the old Bowen Street Cemetery, outside which was parked a wedding car. An interesting juxtaposition.
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
I met Jo for lunch in a dumpling house, we had a long chat and then departed in different directions. It was starting to spot with rain so I abandoned plans to walk back, did some shopping and caught a No 3 bus.
By the time I reached Newtown, the sun was shining but the drizzle blew in every so often. Once I reached the house, the sun vanished but the drizzle remained.
We whiled away the remainder of the afternoon, had dinner and, just after 18.00, went out into the damp - not actually drizzle - to catch the bus to Lambton Quay.
From there, we walked uphill, through the cemetery, over the motorway and into the rose garden. While this was past its best, there were some blooms still in evidence.
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
A fair number of people were already congregated on the lawn for the open air performance of Hamlet so we joined them.
After a quarter of an hour, one of the management team appeared and announced that the stage was too slippery for the actors to be able to perform in safety so that we could all go home. Shame!
The walk back was about three miles. We passed the bars and restaurants, then the waterfront and then found some interesting skies as the weather brightened. We made it home in about an hour, had cheese and wine and I prepared for an early departure in the morning.