What a weekend! Partying in the big smoke of Masterton, horribly windy roads in the mountains, discovering culinary delights in Wellington city and walking up Mt Kau Kau.
Friday I drove to Masterton to visit my friend Pilly, she’d had a below average day and had bought a bottle of Grey Goose to wash away her sorrows. I wore a hoody to the pub and this was socially very acceptable. That probably gives you an idea of what kind of place Masterton is. We had a fun night and I found out the Maccas stocks Georgie Pies! Probably the highlight.
Saturday we lazed about until three when I drove over some of the yuckiest roads I’ve driven on the way to Wellington. Imagine the windiest road, with blind corners. Now add to that twisting around mountains with giant drops and valleys and oncoming trucks. Yuck. If it was in Greece you’d probably have to take a donkey.
In Wellington I caught up with my lovely friend Kayla who had some exciting but secret news! Eep! Anyway we headed out for dinner on Tory Street hopeful out destination would be Chow but there was an hour wait. The same at a Mexican joint whose interior was done by Weta Workshop- impressive. Finally we ended up at Osteria Del Toro, a Mediterranean restaurant with a gorgeous, plush interior. I had the seafood linguine with a Spanish wine – perfect.
Sunday morning I was up early to visit an old friend, Adam. He currently lives in Melbourne so it was straight luck he happened to be there with his sweet partner, Sally. We had brunch (bruschetta with peas, mint & haloumi) and a catch up before I had to run to my other brunch with the girls on Oriental Bay.
Kayla’s friends were all so nice and I sat back and listened to the gossip of their mutual friends while sipping my feijoa juice. Seems everyone is getting engaged, married or pregnant – the usual story.
Next up, Mt Kau Kau.
Firstly, my butt hurts. Damn glutes. Nobody mentioned all the stairs that would be on the walk up the mountain! I thought it would be a leisurely stroll. For some it may be, but for this asthmatic (minus inhala) it was more challenging than I originally thought. Luckily the four girls I went up with were lovely and understanding and gave me lots of opportunities to catch my breath.
The top was certainly a sight for sore eyes, a gorgeous panoramic of the city, out over the bays with glimpses of the South Island past the sparkling sea. I’m glad I made it to the top!
Dear God, Rachael, how I miss Welly, just from the first glance at the first photo of “Port Nicholson.” 😉
Would you believe, I never knew that was what it was called!
Rachael, there are many things I don’t know about Vancouver, though I’m slowly learning about them as I’m back. As for Welly, I looked up a bunch of information and Port Nicholson came up a lot. Also, I saw references to Port Nichlson at The Museum of Wellington; a great museum, by the way! Ultimately, we’ll always have “Windy Welly” … because it’s true!
Evidently Mum knew that it was called that but had forgotten. Mind blown! Haha. I’ve never actually lived in Wellington but looking forward to it when I get down there soon! Definitely Windy Welly though!
Here’s something you may have not known, and I learned when I was last in Wellington (last June). Did you know that annually the average wind speed in Welly is about 20 km/h? Imagine how fast those peak gusts are! 🙂