Day 10 - Wellington
We woke up in Wellington to beautiful blue skies and it felt like a good day. We timed the run to the showers perfectly well, giving those waiting a wry smile as we exited. We had our daily fix of granola, tidied up Kylie and hit the road, heading for the city. We drove all the way through the city, taking in the sights and sounds, watching people run, bike and skate along the promenade. A well scheduled U-Turn found us heading back, looking for a safe space to leave Kylie.
Bag packed, we left the bus and started walking along the promenade in 25 degree heat, heading for the popular Cuba Street. The calm waters were a brilliant turquoise and a few small beaches dotted the bay, with eager kids already splashing around. Once we found Cuba St, we headed for a cafe for a coffee/tea and the standard toilet break. Being Good Friday, most shops were closed and those that were open didn't interest us that much. This also applied to most of the restuarants, with only a few open. Our guide book informed us that we should try out Fidel's Mexican restaurant, it was 11:59 so we headed towards the end of Cuba St with the hope of finding a spot at the ever popular eatery. We arrived at 12:05 and every table was full, with a queue out the door...we promptly turned around. On the way up the street we had spotted another fine eatery that grabbed our attention, so we headed there and got the first table right in the window. The venue was Grill Meat Beer, and it did exactly what it said on the tin. Clarkey went for the special, a beef patty with brisket, pickles, mustard, slaw and fries. Holly went for a fried chicken burger with slaw, hot sauce, garlic mayo and spicy fries. Both burgers were utterly delish but please don't tell Joe Wicks.
Out plan after lunch was to head to the funicular, which took tourists to the top of the botanical gardens. The tour was akin to the magic tunnel under the river in Shanghai, overkill on the fairy lights before you leave the tunnel. The train took us to the top in a few minutes and the view from the top was spectacular, with views of the whole bay and promenade, surrounded by clear blue skies. The route down was via the botanical gardens, which was free of charge (take note Cambridge) so we headed downhill for the city centre and the Beehive, NZL parliament building. The winding path took us through various beautiful gardens, with flowers that we recognised from home and others that looked alien. We twisted and turned all the way through the gardens, then via an old graveyard and finally onto the streets. Just down the street we found the Bee Hive, a spectacular concrete building that funnily enough resembled a natural bee hive. Surrounding this very modern structure were spectacular examples of historic architecture, mostly from the Victorian/Georgian period, akin to many old buildings in New York or London.
From here we strolled in the blistering heat towards the docks and along the sea front, taking in tightrope walkers and singers from every genre. We stopped for an ice cream and some much needed shade and then continued to walk back towards the bus. The noise and buzz was intoxicating.
We decided that rather than waste a few hours waiting for the sun to go down and bars to open, we would hit the road and follow the sunshine to Napier, where we would wake up on Saturday. We got Kylie ready and Clarkey got behind the wheel and off we went towards the sunset. We had located a freedom camping site on the edge of a river outside Hastings, which boasted a 24hr toilet. We arrived and luckily grabbed the last spot, squeezing between two vans; most campsites were full and it appeared everyone had the same idea as us. We parked up and decided to investigate the promoted toilet....the description did not fit the bill...we spotted two cockroaches and the toilet was blocked, well and truly, no amount of flushing and waiting, and flushing and waiting, blocked! Clarkey was less then impressed so we headed back to the van. Having not needed the portapotty so far we had to check the instructions before we embarked upon that journey. And the less said about the experience, the better...