I've uploaded more pictures to the photo album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RnXU5aLSzSbuAmmZ2Here's Saturday and Sunday's travelogues to go with the pictures:
Wellington, Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th We slept about 9 hours so caught up on a bit of the lost sleep from the previous two nights. Then it was a lazy start to the day. Breakfast was in the room this time, so lighter and possibly more healthy. I then showered and eventually we headed off.
First stop was to the waterfront ferry to remind ourselves where it and the ticket office were. We would need that the next day.
Then we walked along the waterfront. Last time we were here in Wellington the weather was pretty nasty most days. It was a lovely walk along and we got to see this great slide. There's little scale in this picture but I saw an adult on the middle level and the top window was 2x his height.
On Saturdays there is a craft market that pops up in an covered parking lot and so we wandered through that admiring the crafts. I was sorely tempted by a number of items but refrained except for a very small (used) gift for Malcolm.
We then walked down to the information site to get a map (our hotel didn't have any out and while we have data on our phones, I like getting the big picture from a map.)
It wasn't where it was 4 years ago. Instead of a big welcoming place, it was a cramped hole in the wall. The old location was in one of the buildings damaged by the November 2016 earthquake. It was then we realized that the construction around the waterfront wasn't new build but repairs (or in some places getting ready to demolish.) The damage was extensive, especially to government buildings, whole departments have had to move.
I needed some lunch so we walked to a grocery store that was recommended but it didn't have what I wanted. So I went back to a branch of the same chain from the rail station and picked up a salad and some chips. We then sat for a very long time listening to a very good guitarist street musician. A very long time - I think we both would have been happy to stay until he stopped. He was an interesting character trying to make money as a model, film extra (he's in the Hobbit) and as a musician. I checked him out online as I listened to the music!
Eventually we moved on and took the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens. We enjoyed the cable car museum and then walked down to the city through the gardens. At the museum there was a video on the private cable cars of Wellington since many people live up steep, steep slopes (hold that thought until the next travelogue!)
The flowers were fascinating:
The walk down was very difficult on my knees and feet despite me having on my walking shoes. So it was a very slow walk back.
As soon as we were back in the hotel, we called for ice to be sent up and I set our two upholstered chairs up as a recliner and iced my knees and feet for quite a while. That did a good job at easing the pain.
Then we headed back to the waterfront for dinner at a German Restaurant. It was fine but the schnitzel is much better in MF's town up the valley. And cheaper. Everything here is between 1.5 and 2x as much as home.
We were in bed reasonably early because Sunday was to be another big day.
Sunday was one of those perfect travel days. This is why, as much as I hate flying, as much as sitting for 15 hours in one plane in nuts, I still do it. Since we don't have to work every day, there's always the chance of a day like last Sunday.
The day dawned sunny, promising to be hot and humid. My knees and feet didn't hurt when I got up which was a relief since this was hiking day.
We were at the harbour by 9:40. We bought one-way tickets for the first ferry of the day. There were lots of people mulling about but the ferry wasn't overfull when it left.
The harbour was smooth and it was a lovely run over to Somes Island, the destination for the majority of the people on the ferry. Just before we arrived at the Somes jetty, there was a ripple of surprise and excitement from the people on one side of the ferry. Dolphins! Lots of dolphins. Quite quickly, the announcement was made that there were dolphins off the right side but PLEASE DON'T move to that side or the ferry will be unstable. Thankfully, one group of dolphins heard the announcement and swam straight for the ferry diving under it so those on the other side could see the show too.
No clear pictures, you'll just have to trust us that there were dolphins under the water of this shot. The white water in the photo gives you a sense of how close they were to us before diving under the ferry.
On the way from Somes Island to Days Bay, a jet skier played in the wake of the ferry. His jumping, while impressive, was nothing as exciting as seeing the dolphins!
Our friends Juerg and Marcita met us on the jetty and drove us up into the hills to an excellent hiking spot. There had been a lot of discussion as to whether or not I'd be able to handle the hike.
The first issue is my heart/breathing. I'm waiting for my cardiologist appointment (end of Feb) to find out the results of all the testing I had done over the fall. Fortunately my family doctor met with me after the bulk of the tests and said that nothing critical was appearing although one test was halted due to high heart rate (that was the one that finally mimicked what I experience when walking up short hills or stairs.) He was sure asthma was part of the issue so changed my inhaler to a different style and stressed that I should use that 30 minutes before heading out walking (even the slight hills in our neighbourhood leave me breathless although I can walk for hours on flat surfaces.) With it being winter, I haven't been out walking that much but so far this trip I sense things were better with the inhaler.
I took the inhaler before heading off for the day and the others were willing to go as slow as necessary on the uphill section so that first issue was handled.
The second issue would be my knees and downhill since what goes up must come down. Given the previous day, I was quite concerned but had my hiking poles. For general walking they provide balance so the knees don't have to work as hard, on the uphill they help provide lift and on the downhill they spread the pressure to my arms as well, providing a bit of a break to the knees. As well, I had on my hiking boots instead of my walking shoes. They offer a lot more support of my feet.
The final issue is heights. I'm afraid of them but live with them because that's where the wonderful views are often found. Still, I can become frozen with fear if the walking track is too narrow and I'm close to a drop-off. Juerg assured me that would not be the case on this hike which was up a dirt road and then up fields along a fence line with no drop-offs near by.
I've included a google map in the photos for a rough idea of where we hiked. The lighthouse is the Baring Head Light. Up and back was roughly 5 km (3 miles), total elevation was 166 metres.
The hike went very well. My heart rate never went too fast and I only had one time towards the end (inhaler wearing off) when I experience the fluid on the lungs that warns me to stop and rest.
One thing about hiking along the top of a sloping meadow is that there is no shade so I was thankful for my hat and sunscreen. I missed one part of the back of my arm, though, so that did get burned. After 10 days in the southern sun, I finally have a demarcation line at my neck but no burn there.
The views were stunning all the way.
Once we left the dirt 'road' we were hiking along the fence line of a field where sheep were grazing.
Sheep were everywhere as were their droppings!
We made it to the top, a geodetic marker and abandoned WWII bunkers.
We took a break at this point and had wonderful homemade granola bars.
The vegetation at the top was very coarse needing to stand up to the wind and weather the ocean throws at it.
My poles worked for me on the way down and I made it without any pain.
Along the way down Ken noted the wool caught in the fence had been spun into yarn by the wind. I immediately thought of Nancy and the other crafting SHEs when I saw that.
Back at the car we had long drinks of water while the opened up car cooled down enough to get inside. Then we drove a few minutes over to the coast where the Orongorongo River meets the sea.
From there we drove into one of the nature preserves to see the old growth forest. Just a few miles from the sea, the hills are lush with growth.
We could have hiked there, it certainly would have been cooler, but we would not have had the views that we had on our hike.
There was another quick stop at a scenic look-out over the harbour and Lower Hutt and then we were back to Juerg and Marcita's home.
They live on the side of the hills overlooking the harbour and Wellington. The hills around the harbour are full of walking trails and from the look-out to their home would be about a 20 minute walk (as opposed to a 6 minute drive down to sea-level and back up into the hill.) It takes about a minute to drive up their shared driveway and then it is 46 stairs up to their home from their parking spot.
Juerg is Swiss and he has built a lovely home that evokes the feel of a Swiss Chalet but is completely modern. To get it built, the frame of the house was actually brought in by helicopter since trucks could not get up (or down from the ridge) to the building lot.
The personal cable cars I mentioned in the last travelogue are something that they might consider when they can no longer physically get up to their home. Or they will have to move. There are some of them already installed in this area.
We rehydrated and cooled down a bit before changing into our swim suits and walking down the steep driveway to 'their' beach (it is used by all the neighbours along that part of the road.) It was high tide so the water was up to the retaining wall but it was a lovely swim.
Finally we walked back up (that was hard for me because I had forgotten to take my inhaler again, plus I was plum tired!), showered, and then had a lovely dinner. The sun sets late here (almost 9) so it was too hot to eat the main course outside on the sunny deck but we enjoyed a dessert of fresh fruit there while watching the beautiful sunset over Wellington.
It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.