NZ14:Days 15 & 16-4th & 5th Dec~Stuart's to Plimmerton & Christchurch via Paraparaumu & Wellington

Day 15 ~ Dec 4th: Stuart's to Paraparaumu & Plimmerton

Although the alarm hadn't yet gone off, I woke at 0635 to a hoolie blowing outside.
Stuart was up & about, & did me bacon & eggs for b/fast, with coffee to wash it down.

Rusty doing a Pteppic

He was (still?) in his woolly jumper, socks & shorts.
Over breakfast, Stuart continued to regale me with tales of life on a New Zealand sheep farm, bemoaning the wet sheep, & the fact that he may have to get someone in to give him a hand with the shearing.
During the washing up ~ when I tried to pay him for my night's B&B&EM, he said it was on him, & that he enjoyed the company.
Gollygosh!
An amazing quad bike ride, a tasty spag.bol., an interesting evening, & 2 cute ginger cats, all gratis.
Cheers, Stuart. You're a darlin' :-)
To be honest, I felt a bit guilty that I had nothing to give him in exchange for the Coonoor experience, but maybe I'll be down that way in the future, & I'll take him something suitable.

Ready for the off as the sun rose to the east of
1584 Coonoor Rd., Pahiatua, NZ

I made a note of my mileage, said a final Goodbye to Stuart, & set off at 0729 to Planet Pit.

It was all still very scenic, & I stopped a few times to take photos of the greenery. So beautiful.

The Makuri Stream from Pori Rd

This may be looking north from the bridge on Pori Rd?

The road stayed fairly close to the Makuri Stream for quite a way as it went SSW from Stuart's. Eventually, at Makuri, it became the Pahiatua-Pongoroa Rd., & after about 25k, it took a big right-handed sweep towards the NW. While on the P-P Rd I came to a straight, and stopped by the entrance to number 1719's drive, having seen this tree-stump carving. I have just been on Gmaps, & even though the road is very deserted (2 cars made a traffic jam-cum-rush-hour), someone has obviously driven along with a 360 degree camera, & I've just seen it again.
Ah, the wonders of technology :-p

An easy-chair on the Pahiatua-Pongaroa Rd.

I was very pleased to find the chair on Gmaps, & wonder if anyone sits in it while they wait for the Postman etc. ;-p





After about 42k on the little back-woods road, I eventually got to the SH2 between Pahiatua & Woodville, & went right & virtually north towards Woodville & the next junction. By Woodville I'd driven about 55k, but Stuart's farm was across the hills, about 25k SE, & I'd driven 2 sides of a triangle.
At Woodville I turned right towards town & a coffee/loo stop. 
I found the coffee at a coffee kiosk on the main road, run by a bloke called Alan (great coffee :-q), & there was a loo nearby.
Next it was west along the SH3 which seems to start in Woodville. The SH2 goes through Woodville: north & east to Napier, or south & west towards Masterton &, eventually, Wellington.
But I was now on the SH3, headed west towards the Manawatu River gorge. But I didn't know that at the time.

Looking NW along the SH3 up on the left,
with the Manawatu Gorge down on the right

It was an amazing drive along the gorge. The road runs along the southern side of the river, & a railway line runs along the other side.
Looking at Gmaps, the train line runs between Napier & Palmerston North & onwards, & is probably the same line I'd driven along the previous day.

Looking SE

I'd found a little track which went under
the road & followed it to get this pic

Seeing a lay-by with some Tourist Info boards at the top end, I pulled over & walked back to get a shot of what looked like a rail tunnel.
It was. 
It's just behind the white blob in the center of the pic.

Just after taking the close-up of the info-board, the camera battery died ~ again :-/



So I got back in the car & carried on to Paraparaumu.
At Ashhurst, the SH3 goes NW to Bulls & Whanganui, runs to the east of Taranaki ~ eventually hitting the coast again at New Plymouth. It continues along the coast to Awakino, before heading inland to Hamilton. I would like to drive it one day. 
However, this day I turned SW onto the SH57 which by-passes Palmerston North (Err? What happened to Palmerston South? ;-p ). 
Just south of Leven the SH57 ends, & I went left & south on the SH1 to Paraparaumu on the coast.
It was raining & blowing & deserted when I got to the boating club, so I made a call to the number on my voucher. No reply.
Making my way to a mall, I found a camera shop, & the bloke behind the counter offered to charge my battery for free. 
Awesome, mate :-)
Aren't New Zealanders amazing?! xx
It would take about an hour, so I went to the library to go on-line, & there was a great cafe next door ~ Cafe Novella, with mega cakes. 
I was served by Marina who told me she knew the Tongan chef, Kake, on Kapiti. When she heard I was due to spend the night on the island, she said to say "Hi" to Kake, & served me up a hot chocolate & a Mississippi Mud Cake. Yum. 
Apart from Stuart's eggs & bacon, I'd only had fruit since I got up, so I was ready for some calorie intake.
Back at the boat-house I called Kapiti Island Tours again, & they confirmed the trip was off. I guess I may meet Kake in March '16? 
Watch this space!
I decided to have a walk along the beach before going on-line to try & get a bed between Paraparaumu & Wellington, so grabbing some outdoor gear out of the boot, off I went.

Paraparaumu beach & Kapiti Island under low cloud

The weather got progressively wetter, but I walked south for about a mile & had a paddle in the sea (which was on its way in), before heading back to the car. The beach was full of driftwood, nice stones & lots of shells. There were dead things too, including a monstrous looking fish which stank to high heaven, even in the brisk breeze. 
I picked up some for souvenirs (ie: shells, driftwood & stones, not dead fish ;-p ), & washed the sand off in a stream.

The long one is a great shape,
but the grain is clearer on the other two.
There was another shell, but it didn't make
it beyond Makarora. See Dec. 7th blog!

What I thought were nice, round, black stones, turned out to be charred lumps of wood. 
You can see the detail of the grain in the 3rd pic.

My driftwood dragon claw

Wood

I was particularly pleased with the dragon claw, but the stones made of wood were cool too :-)



Putting my new treasures in the boot, I went back to Cafe Novella, got a strong coffee, & googled for accom using the library wifi. Cheeky, or what?

On-line, I found some phone numbers for the Seaview & Petone area near Lower Hutt. They were all full or too expensive, but one suggested 'Last-Minute', so I used that & found a hostel with room for a single female in Plimmerton, about 20k down the coast. It was only $36: ie <£18, so I was sorted.

Before I left for Plimmerton, I went to Pak'nSave & got some steak for tea, some more milk, & some ginger beer.
There was a traffic jam near Pak'nSave, so I took the scenic route out of Paraparaumu.

Lonesome Pine on the Esplanade,
 south of Paraparaumu.

Shame I cut the top off :-/

I tried to keep the sea in view as much a possible, & on the way south I saw this Norfolk Pine in splendid isolation above the beach, & the merest glimpse of Kapiti Island in the murk beyond.

Hopefully, the weather in March '16 will be kinder, & I'll get to visit the island and see some Kiwi.

I rejoined the SH1 from Poplar Ave., & the yellow road sign said it was 48k left to Levin & 48k right to Wellington. I turned towards Wellington & kept my eyes peeled for the Zip sign I'd seen in 2009.
It had been where two main roads merged, & the sign showed an image of a 1/2 open zip, & the words "Merge - like a zip". I wish I had a photo. It's a typical NZ road sign: giving advice, but adding some humour :-D
In Plimmerton I discovered the hostel was right on the promenade, so dumping a night bag in my dorm, & my food in the very large kitchen, I had my 1st cup of tea all day :-q

Moana Lodge kitchen

Although I was fairly hungry, it was too early to eat, so ~ as my camera battery was now good to go, & as the rain had stopped, I went looking for sunset shots.

The view south from the lounge

I was quite lucky & got some of the lambent sun on the sea :-)

I also found a porthole in someone's fence & got a bit arty-farty ;-p

The tide was on it's way out again, so I guess the seagull was hanging around for some titbits left on the beach by the ebbing tide.


Back indoors, it was time for some steak, & because I was very hungry by this time, I ate both of the rumps I'd bought at Paraparaumu. 
There was one avocado left, so I had a high fat content dinner washed down with some Ake Ake.
In the lounge I got chatting to the owner, Danny, & his wife, Lois. Their sons, Justin & Mario, were still up & playing with a marionette, & I noticed they were bilingual ~ Korean & English.

The American guy in the lounge at Moana Lodge

Also in the lounge was an American guy who was working nearby. I didn't get his name.
I'd been up early & driven >200k, so I went to bed just after 10 to find all the others in the dorm were German, & they were all on 1 bed watching Gravity on a laptop.
It didn't disturb me in the least, & after about 5 minutes of sudoku, I was ready to sleep. 

Day 16 ~ Dec 5th: Moana Lodge to Wellington & Christchurch

The Moana Lodge loo

I woke before my 0830 alarm & had a great shower. These can be hard to come by in hostels, so make yet another reason to return to Moana Lodge one day. The views, the home comforts, the lovely kitchen & the handy location are other reasons.
It was sunny, so I dressed in shorts & left at 1020 with 4830 on the clock.

Across the water, between the rock & the tree,
is where I had my dip in the sea. See below.

Initially I went to the end of Plimmerton Bay & saw a group of retirees having a ramble.

Moana Lodge from the south

Then it was on to Porirua & right off the SH1 along Titahi Bay Rd.
I found a local bakers & got a few bits for a picnic, then I had a wander around the streets on the peninsula looking for somewhere to get in the sea, but the little bays & beaches on the west side of the peninsular weren't that inviting, so I headed north up to Kaitawa Point in Whitireia Park.

The right end of the shoreline
was where I'd seen the ramblers

After a quick session of the Left-Turning Game, I went to the end of Whitireia Rd at Onehunga Bay, & walked a bit further over the rocks to take some pics of where I'd started that morning.

A distance view of Plimmerton from the south

Then it was time to get wet!

My foot in clear water

Very clear water!

After lounging in the sea for a bit, I dried off, & stopping briefly at the loo & Info Point at Onehunga Bay, & grabbing a bite while watching some dog-walkers & a seagull (it was watching my pastie), it was then back in the car to try & get high enough up on the cliffs of the peninsula to see South Island.

Sadly, the road ran into private land before I could see it, so I did a uey at the cattle grid & went back towards the SH1.

However, with the South Island thought planted in my mind I headed south towards Wellington's outskirts.



I knew from my map I needed to be close to Cape Terawhiti, so turned off the SH1 towards Karori & Wilton ~ suburbs of the capital.
Wilton Rd was very long & I ended up in a valley near some mountain bike tracks. After a loo stop at the bikers' car park, I went back towards Karori & took a right down Makara Rd.
After quite a while ~ about 12k, I got to Makara Bay & found some nice driftwood.

Makara Bay looking west

Doing another uey, I backtracked through the Wellington hinterlands & at some point took a right, hoping it was 3rd time lucky.
Eventually I got to a sign saying Westwind Recreation Area & a small car park where I finally found my view.

My 1st view of South Island this trip,
across the Cook Straight

The 2 photos taken, I headed into Wellington proper as it was 1430, & the car was due back at 1600.
Driving through Thorndon & past the Botanical Gardens, I headed out to Miramar.
I ended up at the Seatoun junction where Faye lived, & turned left towards the Chocolate Fish Cafe (which had just closed for the day in Dec 2009~see blog). Sadly, once more it wasn't to be, as it had moved! 
I was ready for a brew, though, so I had a cake & a hot choc, & took a photo of the view from my table.

The bay across from the original
Chocolate Fish cafe

Continuing round the Miramar peninsula I eventually found the new CFC at the NW end in Shelly Bay ~ a bay with lots of shells?? ;-p

The bay across from the new Chocolate Fish cafe

I thought I'd eat some more & had a weird spicy thing and a pot of tea, then heading back the way I'd come, I stopped again outside PJs & took a pic.

PJ's house ~ no cyclist this time!
See the Dec 9 blog

 Back in Seatoun, I knocked at Faye's to say hello, but she was busy with a friend, so I arranged to telephone when I returned to Wellington for the Hobbit party on the 10th. I then topped up the fuel & got to the Hertz place at the airport in time. The guy was talking to someone, & just said to leave the keys in the dash. 
So I did*, & went into the airport building to find lots of Middle Earth models all over the departure area.

Gandalf on Gwahir at Wellington Airport

* It turned out he did not register the return of the car until 1830, & Hertz billed me for an extra day. Once I got home I told them what happened, & they refunded me. Too bloody right! 

You can see from this how big the eagle was

Gollum reaching for a fish ~ Precious

Before I checked in the big ruckie, I had to have a bit of a repack as the green wheelie was >7k. Drinking the rest of the ginger beer & eating 4 kiwi fruit helped!

These 2 are either Tom & Bert, Bert & Bill,
or Bill & Tom

I had a look at the LOR & Hobbit stuff & lusted after a few of the books. It was a good job I was at my weight limit or I'd've succumbed!
The flight to Christchurch was only 45 minutes, & shorter than the 50 minute bus journey from Christchurch airport to town. 
Gor blimey, it seemed to go all over the place!
Then I had a 20 minute wait at the bus station at 2230 before catching a bus out to the Jailhouse where I was to spend the night.
They had left a key for me, & I was in a mixed dorm. At least I had a bottom bunk & could charge the camera under my pillow. As was the norm, peeps were communicating with their loved ones across the planet, or watching movies on their laptops, even though the light was out when I got there.
I was in bed by 2315, & asleep fairly soon after.
Tomorrow I would be letting the train take the strain, & travelling from Christchurch to Greymouth on the TranzAlpine.
OAO