NZ2024 - Leg 23, March 18 - Blenheim to Wellington

This morning was our last morning on the South Island, and although I was looking forward to seeing what the North Island was like, it was hard to leave so much beauty and peace that we had experienced over the past three weeks.  Has it really been 3 weeks already????

Because we were ready a few minutes early, our friend Bridget showed us around her garden, which was a bit tricky given it was laid out over a fairly steep hillside.  But it was worth it - Linda was able to give her some advice on some ground cover and other questions Bridget had (Linda is a gardening guru!).  One suggestion was to take a look at what her neighbours were growing and see what was doing well and what she liked.  Excellent idea!

Domestic flights in NZ don't require security checkins, and of course there is  no customs, so we were able to check our luggage and sit and have a coffee before boarding, even though we only arrived at the Blenheim airport about 45 minutes before flight time.  There are only 3 gates!  It reminded me of the airport in my home town, but sunnier, and with nicer accents.  

We said our "farewells" and shared hugs with our amazing hostess, as she had a tee time of 10 a.m.  So excited for her to be doing all the things she loves and being so active!  The flight over Cook Strait was short - only about 25 minutes - and such a delight over taking the ferry.  The ferry is fun - once - but the flight was only a few dollars more, and gave us back a couple of hours (plus I had already experienced the ferry twice).  Although seated on the side of the plane away from Queen Charlotte Sound, we still had some pretty amazing views.

    

    

Landing in Wellington is so interesting - both ends of the runway are at the edge of the island and straddle a point that juts out into the Strait.  So it doesn't matter which direction you're going, you come in over water, and the plane has to stop before it runs into water at the other end.  I took a video of it the last time I was in NZ, and still love to look at it from time to time.  This time it wasn't quite as interesting - it was a much smaller plane and a tiny bit choppier ride.

After picking up the rental car - again with an upgrade (from a Corolla hatchback to a fairly new Rav4!) we decided to try and find the hotel we had booked - the Naumi Wellington - which was easy enough, and in the perfect location - Cuba St., only a couple of blocks from the Market area.  Parking on the street was actually easier than I expected, and we walked up to find Fidel's, and had a wonderful brunch of Avocado toast and coffee.  

It seemed appropriate to check out the hotel, and learned that the room was ready for us early.  It was a very old hotel that had been turned into a boutique hotel, complete with glittery elevators, and fun wallpaper, and fantastic service.  The room was.... cozy, but comfortable and well-appointed, with a ton of complimentary amenities that we thoroughly enjoyed, including a bottle of 2019 Shiraz!  

After settling in, we drove out to Mount Victoria, which I'd heard had 360 views of the city.  It was another of those drives to be remembered, with hairpin turns, and houses on both sides, driveways coming out of nowhere, narrow streets - and people were parked along the street!  It was interesting to drive along without being able to see if cars were coming toward you around the curves, and have to move into the other lane to get around parked cars.  We survived.  Somehow!  The view was worth it.

At the top was a memorial to the adventures to Antarctica, and a sculpture that pointed directly toward the South Pole.  

Another point of interest to check out (there were soooo many to choose from!) to simply get a better view of this place called Wellington, was to go to round Miramar point, and check out the Scenic view of Great Harbour Way.  It was really just a little gravel parking area, but it was such a great view - we watched as the InterIslander ferry chugged past us, the seagulls flew around us, and the waves lapped up on the rocks.  

  

It appeared that I could drive all the way around the point from here, and hook back up to the city on the other side of the airport,  and on the way there were even more amazing sights to see - including an old hotel, a really old dock/pier, and more sights that couldn't be photographed while driving.

Upon returning to the hotel, it was getting to be dinnertime, and because there was so much on Cuba St. to be explored, and so many dinner options along that street, we opted to walk.  We found the market area that we had been so delighted with the last time we were here, including a side alley where there had been a street food festival we really enjoyed - and we were missing by a few days again this time.  Oh well.  The architecture and the vibe were still there, and it was great to be able to see it again, this time with fewer people.

  

We stumble across a place called The Ram for supper - the chalkboard sign out front advertises the special and it sounds too good to be true.  After checking out the menu (and me asking a customer if we can look over his shoulder to see it), it seems this is the one.  Inside, we find it very busy, but the host finds a table for us, keeps music going on the record player (seriously, they had a couple of shelves of vinyl music that was super cool, including Al Green), and dinner was just delicious.  I had the roasted pumpkin salad, with quinoa, whipped feta, aioli, and a bunch of other healthy delicious things that I can't remember!  And a really cool cocktail that used Creme de Violet - I need this in my life.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Te Papa museum, then up to Ohakune, where our next lodging is booked.  So far, the North Island is shaping up to be pretty good!