Wellington - a mini adventure.Ruth, the Practice Manager, wanted a 'tikki tour' with me before she went off to Canada- so the pair of us headed to the 'windy city' for the weekend. We travelled over on the 'wee plane' from Koromiko airport just outside Picton. This was an amazing experience. This is the smallest airport I have ever seen and has a tiny 12 seater plane run by Sounds-air. The original check in room was like a large garden shed but they have expanded and have taken over the garage of a house at the end of the runway.The waiting room seats four. As in any airport, there are a series of clocks showing different time zones. Koromiko airport clocks show Picton to be 12 seconds ahead of Wellington with Nelson running a minute and a half behind!! There is one luggage trolley parked in the middle of a hydrangea bush at the front door. You can stand at the end of the runway and watch your plane come in. The pilot unpacks the luggage from the hold and refuels the plane himself. Nobody asks you if you have packed your luggage yourself or if you are carrying any sharp objects. Nobody cares if you are carrying liquids in bottles greater than 100mls. There are no x-ray machines and no metal detectors. The seats are booked but there is no squabbling over seat numbers- first come, first served. If there is a thirteenth passenger, they get to sit in the co-pilots seat, though I doubt if they would be allowed to help land the plane!! As the pilot looked got into his seat he looked over his shoulder and said 'you all managed to get your seat belts fastened, that's good, here is where the safety cards are, enjoy the flight. Thank goodness international terrorism has not yet reached Koromiko. What fun. I was reassured by the fact that the pilot was somewhere over 18 but under 80. He was dressed in shorts and short sleeved shirt and a baseball cap. His only badge of office was a pair of epaulettes on the not terribly clean shirt. If I hadn't seen him land the previous flight I would have been hard pushed to distinguish him from the rest of the passengers. I was sitting behind him on the flight and found it a little disconcerting when he spent time writing up details in his logbook or rummaging on the floor for something he had lost. I felt he ought to be looking where he was going at the very least. I guess on the big flights you are just not used to seeing what the pilots get up to!! We were flying a little lower than I had been used to and the views were fantastic as we crossed the Marlborough Sounds. 'It's a bit windy over Wellington' he says. Well, there's a surprise. We stayed high as he promised and the bumps were minimal.New Zealand is still in the middle of this amazing heat wave. In Blenheim it gets too hot in the middle of the day to be out and about, but the constant breeze in Wellington made it very comfortable. Ruth had done her homework and knew where the best cafes were and what was 'on'. She had booked a mystery hotel on the NZ version of 'lastminute.com' and we ended up in the Intercontinental Hotel for the price of a motel room. Lovely, elegant and very comfortable. We walked and wandered and browsed all day and all the next day. All interspersed with numerous coffee stops and the occasional glass of vino. The best of the cafes were old with old fashioned decor but fantastic food. There seemed to be lots of weddings on, all very casual, lots of places were 'heaving' with crowds of folk in fancy finery, the ladies with bits of froufrou pinned to their hair. We just walked till we found somewhere a bit quieter and had a wonderful Malaysian dinner. We spent most of Saturday afternoon in the Cuban quarter- just one street actually-Cuba Street. The shops were interesting but not exactly Cuban. There are lots of 'Retro' clothes shops- bit more upmarket than charity shops and second hand bookshops in among jewellers and gift shops. I could have spent the whole day in just one of the bookshops. I persuaded Ruth to buy one of a selection of Trisha Guild books on interior design and I bought an autobiography of Annah Stretton, a clothes designer in New Zealand who creates the most amazing garments. The 'December' photo on my New Zealand calendar from last year was a photo of an Annah Stretton ball gown that I saw in a shop window in Queenstown. I would happily have bought more books but my 20kg luggage limit keeps me in check.Sunday afternoon was set aside for Te Papa, the museum on the water-front. The top floor was the best-it holds a selection of contemporary New Zealand art and the roof terrace has pretty fantastic views across the city. The gift shop and book shop on the ground floor is almost as exciting as the museum. We left there aiming to pick up our bags at the hotel and head for the ferry. Close to the museum is a lovely art deco building that was once a St John's ambulance centre. The building was well kept but looked empty. I was getting closer and closer, taking photos of our reflection in the glass doors when suddenly a door opened and a waiter ushered us in. Inside was a very smart bar with many of the original art deco features. Of course we had to stop and have a drink. Ruth had a glass of Daniel le Brun 'bubbles'- a champagne made only a few miles outside Blenheim, and I had an absolutely delicious Australian sweet Riesling. So as we didn't look too posh we also had a plate of chunky chips- to keep hunger at bay till we got on the ferry. Actually New Zealand doesn't really do 'posh', it was all very relaxed.We got to the ferry in plenty of time. My eyes were stinging from having been out in the sun so much and I wondered why I was so tired. We had walked for miles up and down the city. I had hoped to get wonderful photos of the Marlborough Sounds in the evening light but it was cloudy and dull and I was very glad just to sit with my feet up and rest. It felt as if we had been in Wellington for a week instead of a day and a half, a sign of a good weekend.