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.