Wellington & Foxton

We stayed 2 nights, March 22nd & 23rd, in the busy NZMCA site in Plimmerton - such a handy spot with easy access into Wellington on the train which of course is free for Goldcard holders in off peak hours. Saturday was, once again, a beautiful, sunny day and, contrary to what you hear about the train service, it was running exactly to time. 

Tai Chi Class!

The Terracotta Warriors exhibition was on at Te Papa so we made the most of this opportunity to visit - very impressive and worthwhile.

Lots of people and music on the waterfront. 

The Jim Beam Homegrown Music Festival was also on in Wellington this weekend with 4 different stages set up at intervals along the Wellington waterfront so we were treated to the music from many different bands as we wandered around. 

Catching  the vibe!

Crowds of young people about, moving from venue to venue and also saturating the pubs close to the pulsing bands. We enjoyed reminiscing about how, if it was 50 years ago, we would have spent more time there as we merged ourselves amongst the young ones, hydrating ourselves with a beer in one such very busy bar.

Come Sunday we were in no rush to leave the NZMCA park as we didn't need to be in Foxton until 2.30pm, having arranged to play golf with our friends, Bruce and Jo, at that time. However we soon wished that we had got on the road earlier with traffic virtually at a standstill from Paraparaumu to Otaki. It must have taken about an hour and a half longer than normal and we never really found out why unless it was the traffic light in Otaki and all the Wellingtonians going there to the factory shops. Soon after Otaki the traffic cleared but it meant we arrived at the golf course with only about 5 minutes to spare!

Only Bruce was playing with us as Jo had managed to hurt her back whilst playing some exceptional golf over the previous 2 days but it didn't stop her from cooking us an excellent dinner which we enjoyed with some of Bruce's family after golf. Very spoilt!

The Foxton Golf Course was in pretty rough condition with the fairways lumpy and dry but fortunately the greens were better cared for. We really enjoyed playing with Bruce though and catching up on each others news before we drove out to the beach for Jo's lovely dinner. With the roadside outside their temporary home being very wide and quiet it was a good place to stay parked for the night with us feeling just a little smug as they drove off to work early in the morning. However Bruce and Jo are both retiring from work on Friday so soon they will be able to sleep in when they feel like it too!

After breakfast we popped down to the surf beach before driving the short distance around to the Foxton Beach wharf and boat ramp on the river where we had seen quite a few kahawai caught when we passed through in November. 

A dream fisherman's parking place!

Len had a fish for a couple of hours but the kahawai just weren't running so then it was time to move on to the Marton golf course which we always enjoy playing.