February 25 to 28
Wellington to Paraparaumu
February 25
Wellington to Paraparaumu
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More rain overnight but it was dry and slightly sunny at breakfast time. Robert and I walked down the road for ten minutes to the Newtown Market. En route, we found some monarch butterflies on a bush. The market is very well patronised and offers a cornucopia of fruit, vegetables and lots of other things. Robert bought an assortment of them and I helped carry them as we walked back up the hill home. |
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I prepared myself for the afternoon party and wrote my diary for the last few days. The photos can wait until tomorrow. I also followed the cricket on the WWW. All was going well in reasonable sunshine.
After lunch, I caught a very crowded bus to the Railway Station. While the bus was crowded, the station wasn't. No trains on the Hutt Valley line so I had to travel on a rail replacement bus. This wasn't too crowded and worked well so I was soon at Petone, where Valerie & Brian loaded me into the car and drove me round the corner to the restaurant where Amber's engagement party was taking place.Assembled inside was a mix of Italian New Zealanders, Fijian Indian New Zealanders and an assortment of others. With lots of food and wine, it made for a very happy mix of people. We ate, drank and chatted for three hours before going our various ways. |
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The three of us set off in the car in increasingly heavy rain. Our target was the South coast of Wellington, where Valerie's sister and brother-in-law had arrived from Australia and were staying in a rented flat. We ate and drank a little more before the heavy rain made driving home a very unpleasant process.
February 26
Paraparaumu
After the excitements of yesterday, today was quiet. After breakfast we went to the local mall, where I tried to obtain some additional pills to make up for the ones that I had miscounted before I left the UK.
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This proved to be a vain errand. I must either see a doctor over here - normally a delay of about four weeks - or email my specialist in the UK to seek his advice. That was my chosen solution and his rapid response suggested that I would probably survive on a half dose for the duration of my stay. As I'm writing this, it suggests that he was correct!Left: Matilda stayed in bed |
After lunch, we took advantage of the drying conditions and set off for an hour's walk, starting in the grounds of the village and then going round the lake. We passed through a gate and ended up on the walking/cycling trail which runs alongside the new expressway. We returned home for dinner and a quiet evening.
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February 27
Paraparaumu
A major improvement in the weather. At breakfast time it was warm and almost sunny. The latter was soon replaced by some high cloud but it was still warm.
We drove to Coastlands to buy some stuff in some of the charity shops - I replaced the cap I left in John and Anne's car in Christchurch - and to visit the bank. This proved useless as they couldn't give me a new credit card ahead of time and no bank in New Zealand now sells foreign currency. We crossed over the road to the station and caught a train into Wellington.
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We set off along the waterfront, now a hive of hospitality outlets and smart new offices. The harbour looked as good as ever.
At Te Papa, the national museum, we met Yvonne and Trevor, and went to the old St John's Ambulance building for a very good lunch.
We did a little more shopping, caught the train home again - the last stop being on another rail replacement bus, this one extremely crowded - and had a quiet evening with not much food required.
February 28
Paraparaumu
There were some ominous looking clouds around when we left the house. Valerie drove to the osteopath's office next to the chocolate factory in Raumati and I disembarked there. I was good and ignored the factory shop!
After a couple of kilometres, I reached the centre of the village and stopped at the cafe for a not brilliant coffee. Standards have definitely slipped in New Zealand during the covid years.
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I crossed the road, photographed the cafe and the floral displays and crossed the railway line. This is a miniature railway and I don't think that it runs on Mondays. The footbridge led me to the beach, where I unzipped the legs of my walking trousers and set off.
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The beach was sunny but breezy, ideal walking conditions. I encountered a few dogs, a few people and a few birds. I walked briskly along the beach for a bit over 30 minutes and finally reached the small stream by the Paraparaumu Sailing Club and the vehicles which transport visitors to Kapiti Island.
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I made my way into the centre of the village, took more photos of the island and investigated the cafes.
I finally reached Valerie's after walking a little over ten kilometres. I had made good progress but was definitely a little tired. Lunch was called for.
I rested, then helped Valerie to trim a shrub. It had beautiful flowers but was growing over both the front door and the window.
I followed the exciting denouement of the cricket - New Zealand beat England by one run - and gave minor assistance to Valerie as she watered the garden. We then went to the allotment, picked beans and radishes and did some watering. After that, it was time for dinner.