From sea level to 1500 m

We had a great drive down to Paraparaumu, all 15 kms of it from Otaki beach. As we drove into the town looking for lisas and Glens rented house, I kept asking Angie if she remembered the streets or the shops. Of course she didn´t, Glen did most of the driving. We eventually found the house that Glen and Lisa lived in and I talked to the new tenant. ( Glen, the tax man is still sending you letters, but I told them to just throw them away).


At the bottom of the street there used to be a bench next to a tree. My plan was to sit on the said bench, (pronounced "binch" by New Zealanders in their strange dialect) and look at the lovely Kapiti island as the sun went down. The said tree was still there but someone has pinched the binch!

Instead, we walked along the beach and found some nice flat shells.

We also discovered a sign that allowed freedom camping at the car park. Decision made, we were going to park the camper at the car park and save $40 on site fees. Almost at the same time, we received some great news from Glen, so we went out and spent $40 on some bubbly and supplies so that we could celebrate on the beach. Camping chairs, table and bags of food was carried onto the beach in all readiness for the sundowner. Passers-by thought it was a novell idea but we did not have enough to feed them as well. 

Another nice walk on the beach in the morning

and Angela suggested a short drive to visit some Lord of the Rings sites with water falls and stunning forests. On the map, it was coloured yellow, major road! In the description it was the main road between Waikanae and Upper Hutt! Just what we needed. Or so we thought.
After 1km into the drive, there was a sign- not suitable for long vehicles- could not mean us surely. We continued onwards thinking if we could survive the roads in Coromandle....... No Worries. The worries started to deepen after 3kms with hairpin bends and the road downsizing into a  single track with passing-bays centimetres away from 500m drops. Just to liven things up, there were cyclists racing up and down the mountains (for fun!).
The local drivers did not expect to find a camper van coming the opposite way and were driving like crazy people with a death wish. Angela nearly flipped out and wanted to walk the rest of the way after the fourth encounter. 2nd gear, 8kph and the cyclists overtaking took its toll.
 At the saddle, 1500m (altitude) in 12 kms I stopped at a car park. There were some local youths doing some off-road bush-driving stuff and I went over to have a chat. There was a bit of laughter when I asked how it was going down to Upper Hutt. They said we had come up the easy way! The next 3kms were bad but then it became better and that if I took it easy, No Worries. I did not tell Angie too much and started driving very slowly down the mountain. With the cyclists  racing past  , we finally arrived in Upper Hutt only to find the tourist visitor center closed. We lost interest in Lord of the Rings sites and drove onto Wellington.

 There, we were very soon tired of the masses (except children going to the city's Halloween party with 'Occupy Wellington' campaigners joining them.

and went to Zealandia. A nature reserve to help protect endangered species. A beautifully laid out park with some lovely animals to find rummaging in the undergrowth.

After finding that the dam in the park was built directly over a major fault line and was prone to earthquakes, it was decomissioned and is now only a feature in the park. On the bus ride back to the camper park, we came across a couple all dressed up and going trick-or-treating. It was Halloween night and we felt underdressed.

We booked a ferry to cross over to the south island. On arriving at the ferry terminal, we were told our boat had been cancelled so we elected to travel on the next one. (Oh the joys of travelling). We found out later that the original ferry had broken down in the Cook straight. Two of its engines had failed and the fire alarm had gone off, so we are not feeling too bad about taking the later one.
We are now in Picton and have had a very rainy start to our southern trip but we did get to walk to Bobs Bay (in the rain).

More to follow, see Ya!