Hosting, Roasting, Coasting and Toasting

First of all, a little catch up on the subject of barbecues. Though these photos didn't fit into the narrative arc of previous blogs, they are important nonetheless to my time so far in Wellington. 

Tom hosted us at his house in Kelburn for a delicious BBQ a few weeks ago, the day before we tramped the Mt Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit. I am almost certain we wouldn't have made it to the hut without that big feed. Tom remains a firm top of our friend list.

On the Friday afternoon ahead of our Mt Taranaki trip my team at Meridian hosted a BBQ on the slim balcony that runs round the third floor of our building. Our head of department (External Relations) Guy went diving for paua the night before and made his famous paua fritters, which were far and away the best things ever to grace a BBQ. His t-shirt reads:

RENEWABLE ENERGY
I'M A BIG FAN

But now to the weekend just gone, and our first house guest: Oxford medical student, ex-Downing natsci and now temporary Aucklander James Bradley-Watson. Keen to show off Wellington's superior foodie and cultural scene we went out for artisan wood-fired pizzas on Cuba Street followed by contemporary, even post-structural, ballet at the St James Theatre (part of the New Zealand Arts Festival). Then heads buzzing with meta-narratives, cacti and green spandex, we treated ourselves to Kapiti sorbet on the walk home.

You may have heard of Weta Workshop for their work on Lord of the Rings or King Kong, or more recently District 9. The Workshop tour took us through the research, design, physical creation and use of the myriad of props, models and prosthetics Weta build for a film. The small tour space was crammed full of examples, including life-size models of Uruk-hai, robot police from Chappie, an alien 'prawn' never used in District 9 and a small size King Kong yak-hair model. The cabinets of props belonging to various members of the Fellowship of the Ring were particularly absorbing. 

Unfortunately James and Roger wanted to go mountain biking so we couldn't stay all day at Weta. At Makara wind farm just outside Wellington we warmed up on a long uphill ride then found a great green (easy) track down the mountainside, to gain our (my) confidence. In the 'skills park' Roger mastered the undulating board walk, James caught some air on a jump, and I went round and round a donut to practice tight corners. Galvanised, James and Roger tested themselves on a blue run and I coasted down on the green.

Top Friend Tom came over for roast pork and brought freshly brewed Garage Project, meaning James also sampled some famous Wellington craft beer. The gastronomic tour was completed the next day with brunch at Loretta's (but not before Roger had introduced James to running up Mount Victoria). With the sun unexpectedly out in full force we headed round the bays to a toasty Scorching Bay, beyond Miramar on the peninsula, where James' old schoolfriend Tim and his girlfriend Sophie joined us. Icecream, bat-and-ball, an aborted bush walk, a swim with jellyfish eggs and sand everywhere made for a perfect New Zealand afternoon at the beach. 

Roger with his second Kapiti ice cream
of the weekend

Dropping James at Wellington airport was not too sad a goodbye, as he's coincidentally turning up in the same Tongariro hut as us in ten days' time! And then we're hanging out in Northland over Easter. And then doing the Abel Tasman in April. Watch out Top Friend Tom.

Next time: the big Dragon Boat Regatta, 5th March 2016.

Up to the bar, over the water and Round the Bays

View from rooftop. Dora's having so
much fun she can't keep her eyes open

Dora’s mum had kindly provided me with enough money to take her daughter out to ‘dinner with a view’. On Friday ‘The Arborist’ met this criteria, with an optimistically tropical rooftop bar and a tapas-y restaurant beneath. Some craft beers and New Zealand pinot later – a painkiller for Dora’s legs after her first football training with Wellington United – we meandered home.

The boat-owners had made their
 minds up in the upcoming flag
referendum

Saturday brought with it the Somes Island-Eastbourne ferry trip, made more interesting by the tendency of the small boat to turn its (metaphorical) nose up at the idea of a serene cruise and turn its (real) nose down into oncoming waves, which soaked the huddled tourist masses on the viewing deck. Eastbourne itself is a nice place, such that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if your sat nav directed you here instead of Eastbourne UK. It has less people (about 4,600 compared to 99,400) but more knick knack shops for Dora to spend hours in (one compared to none) inspecting things you never knew you needed, like a complete set of lead soldiers and a 1920’s Coca Cola bottle.

After a swift-but-delicious wood-fired pizza we headed on to Somes Island, which has fulfilled various functions over the years. These include a Maori Fort, an alien internment camp during both World Wars (for Germans, not aliens), a human quarantine station, an animal quarantine station, an artillery bastion, and most recently a very dangerous place to be a mammal. This lattermost characteristic stems from its designation as a sanctuary for native New Zealand wildlife such as various types of bird and the horrid Giant Weta.

A poor helpless creature in need of
 protection?

We were therefore frisked upon arrival in case we had any ants in our pants (literally) and advised not to DARE do anything that may interfere with the natural habitat. We stuck to this advice. (Dora: although Roger did make jokes about pregnant possums in a loud voice)

Sunny Sunday heralded the annual Wellington Round the Bays race, which lots of people do. I ran a 10k with some work colleagues, whilst Dora entered at the last minute for the 6.5k. It was good tiring fun, made more so by the headwinds that blow against whichever direction one is heading. Some retail therapy followed, in which we purchased mountain bikes – these will feature next week, along with a friend called James who is popping down to see us during his medical elective in Auckland.

The only other thing to happen today was our first ever noticeable quake (magnitude 5). Dora’s modern building wobbled around like an expensive jelly, whilst I just felt car sick.

Doger 1 - Dormant Volcano 0

Our first guests to dinner at the new flat were Trish and Andrew last Friday, after which we drove with them to the bach (i.e. basic holiday hut) at Otaki. Early the next morning Roger I hit the road and followed State Highway 3 out West: to Taranaki.

We were a little intimidated on first view of Mt Taranaki. For those who haven't seen it, the single peak rises directly from the plain in a volcano shape that might have been drawn by a child. It looks really tall (2518m). The North Egmont Lodge from which the summit track begins is at 900m and its carpark was packed with the sensible types who'd set out at 9am. We set out at 11.20am.

The first leg of the tramp is up a 4WD track that climbs steadily (bar a 100m stretch, "The Puffer" at the end) to a radio transmission tower and a loo with a view. After that a climb up a rocky gully and then several long flights of steps. Already the view was magnificent and you could see the curved edge of the national park bush, where it meets the patchwork farmland.

The scree slope, having reached The Lizard

At this point you can see your route to the top and little coloured dots of people (mostly coming down in our case) against the skyline of it. This clear path is misleading because the next hour is spent scrambling up a slope of pure pumice scree. Roger's technique: all-fours bursts. My technique: duck feet steady waddle. Further up on the rocky bit a careless descender sent a sizeable boulder jumping and rolling down across our path.

Humour just about intact we reached "The Lizard" - the stretch of rocky slope up to the crater. As we climbed it got tougher but the rocks got bigger and there were some French people in front of us to overtake. Finally we did a proper bouldering course over the precarious lip and into the crater, jumping down onto snow!

The summit now very much in sight, though the clouds were coming down, we scrunched across the snow and hauled ourselves up the last rocky scree, this time enthusiatically overtaking a child of less that ten years. Time check: 3hrs20. There were only a handful of others on the top: two children and their dad and dad's friend, and two staff from Auckland airport who'd done the climb though their other colleagues had pulled out.

We spent an hour craning to see a view through the racing clouds, posing for photos and mucking about feeling pleased. The highlight of the descent was scree-skiing, and taking a slightly longer route that hugged the ridges of the mountain's lower slopes, back to the carpark. This route was also packed with wildlife: a large female weta and two tuis.

The evening light on the little lake in front of our book-a-bach (like Airbnb) cabin set a romantic glow over our al fresco dinner. The next day we went for a Valentines kayak (me) / paddle board (Roger) on the lake, disturbing all the ducks and moorhens.

On our way back to Wellington we dropped in on Trish and Andrew, who'd been canoeing on the Whanganui River, and stayed for a delicious dinner of lamb chops.

Mt Taranaki in the sunset with its little cloud

Feet in the sand, heads in the clouds

After a hard day at work...

It's a little strange saying "bye, I'm off to the beach" at the end of a working day but I'm getting used to it. Dora and I have twice now taken our togs (translation: swimwear) to Oriental Bay for a late weekday afternoon dip in clear and refreshing Wellington Harbour.

The most exciting new experience of the past week, however, has been our trip up to the Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit for our first proper tramp (translation: hike). This included staying in a hut (translation: hut) on the Sunday night, Monday being yet another bank holiday. 

Roger walking into a cloud

The beginning of the tramp was a little wearing, being mostly uphill. The no-doubt-stunning views were obscured entirely by thick cloud, and even Dora's fetish for strangely shaped trees was wearing a little thin. However, as we neared the second summit of the day (fuelled by honey sandwiches and dark chocolate) flashes of blue sky were replaced with postcardesque scenery.

The Tarauas were on full display in all their glory to the west, with Kapiti Island clearly visible in the distance. To the east, rolling banks of cloud threatened to spill over the ridge line upon which we precariously perched, but kindly held off for us to take some photos. We diverted from our intended route to head up Angle Knob (pronounced ANGLnub to avoid childish jokes) and drank in our surroundings. 

Aside from almost getting very lost on our way back to the hut (cue gollum-like scrambling back up a ridge), the rest of the day went swimmingly. We found our hut, ate our dinner (courtesy of Charles and Lydia) and made some temporary friends, sleeping soundly despite the very loud snoring of a slightly stout fellow tramper. 

Scenic hut at sunset

The next day we plodded almost vertically down the mountain and headed back to Welly. We were greeted by our new flat, into which we've now moved. This post is proof that we've managed to sort out the internet. 

This weekend we're planning to go up Mount Taranaki. Apparently you get a good view from there 1 in 12 days, so fingers crossed that our good cloudless luck continues! We'll also update you on our Dragonboating, which I'm enjoying every Wednesday evening, and into which Dora has now been dragged...

Roger in the flat, writing this blog... META

2 go to the 7s dressed to the 9s

And so now we are both working full time. Luckily for you this should not impact the content of the blog as Roger's been busily planning and filling up each weekend with exciting activities to make the most of the summer.

Not a bad view from the Meridian office!

Apart from my new friendly, funny and generally excellent colleagues (just in case any find this blog), the most interesting part of starting at Meridian has been the building. It's New Zealand's first purpose-built 5 Green Star rated office (i.e. super duper eco friendly) and has a mind of its own. The blinds go up, down and twizzle when they think too much sun is coming in, windows open and close of their own accord, and the toilets all use collected rain water. We are also on rollers for earthquakes, are issued with whistles in case the rollers aren't enough to stop the building collapsing, and have a civil defence cupboards to last three days. I know where I'll be when the zombie apocalypse hits!

Note the jumpers - it's actually freezing because of
the wind chill! Apparently 'typical Welly weather'.

Roger is also lucky enough to have some excellent colleagues, and whilst his building isn't as good as the Meridian Office he's managed to sit next to a floor-to-ceiling window with views of the famous Beehive building. Both of us are starting and finishing earlier than in the UK, and with a 9 minute commute into work it's difficult to blame any lateness on 'the Tube'!

On Saturday we braved the famously debauched Wellington Sevens in brightly coloured sombreros and drawn-on moustaches. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) the event has decreased in popularity over the past couple of years and been re-marketed as a family friendly day out. Despite the stadium beer being 2% alcohol (deliberately) we still had to dodge a fair number of drunken mermaids, geishas, cave people, lobsters, watermelons, etc. Highlights of the day included teams warming up right in front of our seats, including Fiji and England; dancing to the interval music (sober, 2%!) in the stands in the evening sunlight; and watching New Zealand beat South Africa at the very last moment, and Fiji beat everyone with flair. 

Nursing some through-the-cloud sunburn on Sunday we walked up Mount Victoria (in Wellington) for the 360 degree views. We marvelled at the reclaimed land that much of Te Aro sits on; the info board had old photos showing the advancing shoreline. On the way back down we scoped out some mountain bike trails and walked back past the swimming beach at Oriental Bay - so tempting!