An aborted attempt on the Tararuas due to bad weather, then down the Kapiti coast to Wellington, the halfway point and the end of the North Island.08. Wellington
An aborted attempt on the Tararuas due to bad weather, then down the Kapiti coast to Wellington, the halfway point and the end of the North Island.Best Fish & Chips yet?
I was enviously eyeing Cookie’s decision when it came in. I don’t know what came over me when I picked lentil burgers off the menu…? Maybe some kind of urge to eat some healthiness and get some nutrients in after all our super light weight dehydrated pasta and noodles ;) Either way, this fishy looked the business.
Cod at last and an interesting variation on the classic – fish was fried in cajun spices rather than batter and not a mushy pea to be seen amongst all the tasty salads. Also wasabi mayonnaise and thin French fries, yum :P Thougherly enjoyed at the Ambiance Cafe in Paraparaumu.Paraparaumu to Raumati Beach
Para-Para-Ooo-Moooo ? Or Paa-Rappa-Row-Mu ? A fusion perhaps… Para-Parh-Oooh-Mooo … God knows how you pronounce this one! I think Cookie and I tried about 10 variations on Paraparaumu, but I’m not convinced any are on the money! Totally need Maori lessons.
We picked away along the thin strip of raised sand thinking it was the only bit on show as the tide was in. Turns out the tide was actually out in this picture! We’d find that out shortly enough ;) Heads down, we battled towards our goal – Half way Wellington!
Not much of a beach along this stretch, becomes very narrow after Paraparaumu. After Raumati there were more broken slabs of concrete and rusting bits of sea defenses than actually sand..
Great views across to Kapiti Island though, I suppose that’s why there are still plenty of expensive looking houses along it.
Raumati Beach & Steak for Elevensies
It was while walking along here that Cookie and I spotted a cheeky cafe offer of Steak and a Stella for a tenner. We were having a bit of a crap day, so even though it was only 11am we thought, well, you can’t pass that up!
The simple life is all about food, booze, views, and a comfy place to sleep. Three out of four on offer here. Bargain!
Steak & Stella for Elevensies? I could make a habit of this! It actually reminds me of a show I saw that reckoned the traditional English breakfast only became commonplace about 100 years ago, before that Beef & Beer was the standard breakfast of choice, so maybe not such a bad idea?
I certainly feel fueled up to tackle this man-made beach that’s being battered by the waves.
Smash!
SPLOSH! Right in the chops! A big comedy wave smacks us straight in the face. That’ll learn us for standin around takin pictures ;) Waves were hitting the side and bouncing back, colliding with incoming waves, occasionally producing a surprise bad boy, smacking the side walls behind us with such force it left a perfectly dry Nicky outline where I’d masked the spray. Damn it! I’ve just washed my hair for the first time in five days and it’s immediately laden with salt and seaweed, and I’m looking like that octopus faced fella put of Pirates of the Caribbean… Bugger! … Only 4 more days till I can wash it again :)Whoops, got the camera a bit wet taking this shot.. Surprise wave much bigger than expected, thankfully most of it went over my head and smashed Nicky against the back wall ;)
The Canon 5D has taken a few soakings so far this holiday, it’s held up pretty well in the wet and never failed me, but don’t want to push it too far..
Queen Elizabeth Park
Some more less-than-stunning Coastal Park to get through today. And all we could think about was where to find a toilet after that pint of Stella… All we can think about now is just getting to Wellington as fast as we can. Half way is closer than it’s ever been, but still not close enough.When I saw on the trail notes that we passed through a park, I had had visions of lush green grass for lying about on, shadey trees, maybe even a band stand or duck pond. Queen Elizabeth Park had none of these, well half way through there was a bit of grass, and a miniture train, but not quite a ‘park’. This didn’t really matter because the only feature we were interested in were it’s toilets hidden within.Kapiti Coast
Bail out! Onto the sand. Not sure how much beach we’ll get on the South Island ( I’m expecting mostly mountains! ) so we thought we’d get some lungs full of salty air and breeze while we could.Halfway through the park (after we found the toilet) we decided the beach, which is much wider here, looked much better than following the meandering park path.Shells on Paekakariki beach
So many shells on this beach it’s impossible not to step on them. They make such a loud and satisfying crackling crunching sound as you’re stomping across… MmmwwwaahahahahaaaarrrrAfter traversing the shell mountain we headed into Paekakariki for snacks and boozey supplies before the busy centennial highway section. Nice little village, wood fired pizza was on offer from a nice looking cafe, but we had road walking to do.Sunset at Pukerua Bay from Stealth Camp
Very rarely do we pop up in a town and realise there’s no where to stay. In fact this was the first time. We’d hoped for a campsite, or a stealthy patch of grass, but the google maps didn’t look promising. And the B&B was shut. This called for a Stealth Camp! This was going to be tricky. Right by the motorway, over looked essentially. Houses dotted along the path like guard turrets… Finally we found a little corner to hide away in. Set up the tent, had a glass of wine and dozed off to the sunsetting. Phew!Busy road walk from Paekakariki brought us to a patch of grass by a little waterfall just outside Pukerua Bay. The huge fire pit with drift wood seating scattered around had ‘stealth camp’ written all over it. Strangely peaceful considering it was only few meters away from the main road out of Wellington.View from Pukerua Bay
Saw a sign announcing nesting penguins around here somewhere… I’m keeping them peeled! Some birds in the distance lounging on the rocks. But they did some flying for us, so nope, no penguins yet… Unless.. They’re special flying penguins… ;)
This big ol’ island in the background here apparently has some wicked parrots on it. I’d love to nip over and check them out, but the urge to get to the half way line is strong, especially after our weather hampered mountain expedition forced us to double back, and loose a week :( We. Must. Keep. Waaaaaalking!
