Wellington and points north

We drove off the ferry in a heavy rain, and into afternoon rush hour traffic. Wellington is a very old city, and the downtown streets are very narrow and twisty. And some are one-way...always the wrong way. And steep...there were times I wasn't sure our little Nissan Sunny could make it up that hill. We knew where we needed to go, but you just can't get there from here. Eventually, nerves frayed but still in love, we parked the car in the extremely awkward tight parking lot at the hotel, vowing not to move it until we blew town. And we didn't - Wellington is a pretty walkable city. Next day dawned sunny and "fair", as they say here, and we fell in love with the town. Great meals, coffee, scenery. Saw the world-famous Botannical Gardens, reached by way of cable car, comedian Billy Connolly was fun, we had very good runs (found flat spots) and B swam at a great waterfront pool. We'd both go back.



Drove north to Palmerston North, had a nice visit with an ultra-distance cycling friend of Brian Leier, then on to the Hawke's Bay region, where we are now. The town of Napier was absolutely levelled by a 7.9 earthquake in 1931, and it was rebuilt in the Art Deco style that was hot then. We wanted to see that, but we didn't find out until too late that there was a huuuge art deco festival on - hard to find a place to stay. Very crowded, but we enjoyed it a lot. Nice to see a town that values the past.



Tomorrow, we're off to a very backwoodsy wilderness park for a 4+ day walk. We'll be staying in huts, so no need to feel sorry for us.