The Singing Detective goes to Somes Island

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Those of you of a certain age may remember ‘The Singing Detective’ on TV.  I cannot remember anything about the story but I do remember that the main character had a terrible skin affliction where it fell off in chunks.  Well, that’s now me.  The heat has gone from my head but it is falling off in great flakes.  Where it has flaked away the skin is red.  Where it has yet to flake it is brown.  Children run screaming for their mothers when they see me.  The only consolation is that I am losing weight.

After a leisurely start to the day we walked into town rather than catch the bus. The sun was shining and it was a pleasant day.  From the house we walked up a gentle hill to Brooklyn.  From there we left the road and took a path through Central Park (No we are not in New York.  This is still Wellington.)  Central Park is an area of natural woodland with massive trees and ferns.  When in the woodland it is hard to imagine you are so close to the city centre but when you emerge you are almost there.

Our target for the morning was Cuba Street, a mixture of street cafes, a diverse range of ethnic restaurants and retro shops selling everything from vinyl record albums to 1950s frocks.  In places it looked a little seedy but it was worth a visit.

We met Ben for lunch, during which we discussed the possibilities for the afternoon.  I fancied taking the ferry out to Somes Island.  Angela preferred to spend more time in the city, so we split up.

Twenty two dollars buys you a twenty minute return trip to Somes Island, sitting out in the middle of Wellington Harbour.  It has had a number of uses over the years; it started out a, as prison, during the two world wars it was used to hold mainly Italian prisoners of war, and it was used as a quarantine centre for immigrants coming to New Zealand.  Now it is a wildlife sanctuary attracting a great many birds, which flourish in the absence of rodents.

Kakariki

On landing I, along with my fellow passengers, was taken into a room for a brief chat about maintaining the status quo on the island.  We had to check our bags to make sure we hadn’t brought in any stowaway spiders, and make sure we hadn’t brought any soil onto the island via our shoes.  This was a little frustrating as it was already 2.40 and the last boat back to Wellington left at 3.25.  This was not going to give me much time to explore and take photos of birds.

Once released, I shot off up the hill to the cemetery (some who arrived on the island, never left) where I knew I would get some good views and maybe a photo opportunity or two.  There were black backed gulls sitting on the hillsides, obviously looking after young but it was impossible to photograph the gulls flying by. Similarly the kakariki, a type of parakeet, were impossible to photograph in flight; they were far too quick.  I did come across quite a tame robin, which allowed me to photograph him/her.  Not quite as obvious as our own robins back home.

Conscious of the time I headed back towards the quay and came across a kakariki in a tree by the path.  My trip to the island was not wasted as I was able to get a number of decent pictures.  At the water’s edge I went to watch the boat coming in when I spotted a black bird with a very long beak and red rings around its eyes.  It was a little perturbed by my presence but did nothing more than make a lot of noise.  More good photos.

Back on the mainland, I met up with Angela and we made our way back to the house.  In the evening we went out with Ben and Kelly to a super little restaurant just off Cuba Street.

Angela’s Bit  

Another memorable day…… sightseeing, shopping and socialising.

I am very pleased that my foot has carried me a long way today without too much complaint.

Whilst John went island hopping I shopped in Wellington’s Harrods (Kirkaldie & Stains).  It is a dept store struggling to be 20th century let alone 21st.  However I succeeded in my quest to buy something for our hosts and the service was excellent.

I visited the National Portrait Gallery in Shed 11 on the Quayside. As the venue suggests it is a world away from Trafalgar Square but has a charm all of its own.  Ed Hillary is featured…..I recognised him from a distance especially as he’d been painted in 1992, just 6 years before he came to tea with us in Lobelia Close!

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Te Papa

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The weather forecast was not particularly good for today and as Ben and Kelly were both at work, we walked up to Brooklyn to catch the bus into town and spend time at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand.  I cannot remember spending so much time, willingly, in a museum; it is brilliant.  There are five galleries, although you tend to spend more time in some than others.  We spent the whole of the morning exploring ‘Our Unique Environment’, which focused on forces of nature – volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, the sea, flora and fauna.  There were some really awesome exhibits, including the house which gave you an earthquake experience, an inter-active map that produced pictures on the wall as you walked over certain areas and a chance to experience all the thrills New Zealand has to offer while sitting in a chair that reacts to the film images being shown. Through the ‘High Ride’ I have now done a bungee swing, a free fall parachute jump and a whole lot more without getting a scratch, or feeling scared!

Having spent all morning in this section we decided to go to Level Six and work down.  The higher the floor the less space there was so we quickly passed through the pottery section on that level and spent a little more time in the art gallery section.

Maori House

Level Four, Journeys through History, proved a lot more fascinating with a lot of the emphasis on Maori history and culture.  Here we saw fabulous examples of Maori carving in their canoes, houses and meeting houses.  I cannot pretend to understand the significance of it all but it was fascinating.  The crux of the exhibition is the treaty celebrated yesterday, Waitangi and signed in 1840.  We were able to compare the two versions, that given to the Maoris, which said that everything that they owned was theirs forever unless they chose to sell it, while the English version claimed that the Maoris had no rights and that the English could take anything they wanted.  Hence the anger that is still felt today.

The second part of this level concentrates on the history of New Zealand since the settlers began to arrive and the influence they have had on the building of a nation.  There are hotspots in Britain and Europe where many people from particular areas emigrated to New Zealand because they could not see their lives improving back at home.  Often if one member of a family emigrated, more would follow in what was called chain emigration.  Kelly’s family are a fine example of chain emigration.  Hotspots in the UK include Laceby in Lincolnshire where agricultural workers were encouraged at Temperance Hall meetings.  Similarly, Grimsby, the home of fish and chips was another hotspot, which in turn introduced fish and chips to New Zealand.  There were other hotspots dotted around the UK and Ireland, all of which had some influence on the way New Zealand has developed.

We finished off on this floor by watching a short film entitled ‘Golden Days’, which showed amusing and poignant highlights from the past 100 years of New Zealand history.  Remarkably, there was no mention of Ed Hillary.

The final level, Level Three, focused on Shaping the Landscape and how the landscape has changed to cater for a growing and diverse population, how an untouched environment has been transformed into cultivated land.  We were also introduced to the influx of non-native species, which have had a negative effect on the indigenous species.

After six hours in the museum we went to the New World supermarket across the road to buy the ingredients for dinner, which we were cooking for Ben and Kelly.  All the food was beautifully presented and very little of it was pre-packed and all very fresh.

Dinner went down well and we had an enjoyable evening sitting around the dinner table talking.

The Girlie Perspective

Te Papa (our place in Maori) proved to be NZ history, geography and culture in a nutshell.  I felt a bit wobbly and nauseous after the earthquake house experience……I don’t want to think of Ben & Kelly having the threat of that kind of disaster hanging over or under them.

I was intending to visit the V & A exhibition of Wedding Dresses thru the ages but there was so much else to do & see that I was distracted.  However, there were some nostalgic fashion items from Vogue NZ in the Sixties, it only needed Audrey Hepburn to be modelling the short dresses and Chanel style suits.

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Family Matters

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Slept really well in a massive bed belonging to our absent hosts Shane and Kay.  Head much improved.

Today, February 6th, is a bank holiday – Waitangi, celebrating the occasion of the signing of the treaty between the English and the Maoris.  There is usually some form of demonstration on this bank holiday because, the treaty, when translated had a different, less favourable, version for the Maoris than for the English.  Resentment is still harboured by some for the way in which the Maoris were duped into signing the treaty.

Ben and Kelly picked us up at 10.00 and took us to the café at the Botanical Gardens where we met Jim, Kelly’s father, for the first time.  Jim is a lean six-footer who, despite having lived in New Zealand since 1960, has not lost his Irish accent, or the Irish twinkle in his eye.  Chatting over coffee, with sparrows begging for crumbs, it soon became clear that he is the sort of bloke you relish at dinner parties for the tales he can tell.  It was wonderful, just listening to him recount events during his past with a richness of language and character.

After an hour or so we separated.  Ben and Kelly took us to the viewpoint at the top of Mt. Victoria, which overlooks the city and the extensive waters of the safe harbour.  Unbelievably, there was hardly a breath of wind, but there was a Wellington version of the Beaufort Scale on a sign board involving a woman holding an umbrella, or not, depending on the force of the wind.

We then drove around the coastline to the area where Kelly was brought up on small beaches and rocky outcrops, with neat wooden houses hugging the coastline with a steep verdant backdrop behind.

Angela, Ben & Kelly on Mt. Victoria

 

I was, perhaps, a little rash in my comments yesterday regarding natural garden landscaping in preference to neatly manicured gardens.  We saw quite a few extremely well presented gardens on our travels today.  However, it goes without saying that if the terrain does not make garden landscaping a sensible option, the natural approach is preferred.

Following our morning explorations we drove a little way out of town to Kelly’s aunt Kay and Uncle Jim’s house at Tawa.  Cousin Fiona also lives there.  Ben was providing the ingredients for a Kiwi barbeque, steak, chicken skewers and sausages along with salads.  Jim, Kelly’s father was also there for the feast.

Introductions over, we sat and chatted in the lounge.  Uncle Jim has lived in New Zealand for fifty years, yet has still retained his strong Peebles accent.  The conversation flowed well and we were made to feel most welcome.  Ben and Kelly went to prepare the food and we joined them in them a few minutes later when the smells started to drift up to the lounge.

As the lunch progressed the conversation centred on aunt Kay and she came out with story after story while the rest of the family got quieter and quieter. It wasn’t a case of drink loosening the tongue, as neither Kay nor Jim drink.  Uncle Jim is a very fit looking seventy-two year old who keeps fit by going for a two hour walk each morning, usually with a stop for coffee along the way.  He does not walk into the surrounding hills but just along the streets of the village.  I was amused, later, to discover that he used to be a postman.  Old habits die hard.

By four o’clock the party began to wind down so we said our goodbyes and went out to a lookout at the top of the ridge just to the north of the town.  The woodland was varied and some of the trees were huge.  Some trees were in full flower and there, usually, could be heard were Tuis, a large(ish) black bird with a white, second voice box on its neck.  It makes a variety of unusual sounds and lives off the nectar of the flowers.

 

Wellington

Angela and I decided to walk down the North Walk Way, through the trees, back to the flat.  Below the ridgeline the trees had been cleared, leaving a lush hillside of bushes.  The benefit to us, walking down, is that we had clear views over the city and the harbour all the way back to the flat.

 

After so many years of hearing Ben and Kelly talk about Kelly’s family, we had actually begun to meet them today.

The Girlie Perspective

A busy and sociable day enjoyed by all.  There was lots of sunshine and laughter.  Ben manned the barbecue, which gives an indication of how readily the Maguire/Kilner family have welcomed and accepted him.

Wherever we went we were treated to magnificent views of the bay and surrounding hills.  The birdsong and abundant flowers convince us that it is Summer and we are on the other side of the world.

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Arrival in Wellington

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A Mixed Reception and First Impressions

Helen came to the hotel at 6.30am to collect us and take us to the airport for our flight to Wellington.  Check-in was very friendly despite having to pay 40$ for the privilege of having a third piece of hold luggage.

The flight was really good and the fact that we were unexpectedly fed made up for the excess payment.  The airhostesses were some of the friendliest I have come across, finding time to chat to us and show interest in us.  The airport took a while to maneuver through with passport queues, baggage collection and finally to have our bags checked for anything, which might be illegal or harm the environment.  The chap placing the bags on to the x-ray machine conveyor yawned hugely as he lifted one of mine.  His excuse, ‘…tired from celebrating winning all the time…’ New Zealand had won the IRB 7’s again this weekend.  All you can do in such circumstances is congratulate and shake hands.  The woman at the other end of the x-ray machine was rather less friendly and hit us with, ‘You can be fined 400$ for not declaring everything!’  She asked about walking boots.  I don’t have any.  ‘What about the walking poles?’  In the end you just hold your hands up and say ‘Sorry’.

The real welcome came a few moments later with Ben and Kelly’s beaming smiles greeting us as we came through the doors.  Lots of hugs and kisses!  It was so good to see them.

Despite Wellington being the capital, the airport is very much a provincial one with limited flights because of the length of the runway.  Most international flights will arrive in New Zealand at Auckland and then connect with other places through a domestic service.

The drive from the airport into town was fascinating and nothing like I expected.  With the exception of the city centre, which is like nearly all other city centres, concrete, tarmac, shops and offices, the suburbs seem to lack permanence.  All the houses are wooden, perched on hillsides or hugging the shoreline.  There are very few manicured gardens so that the houses jut out of the natural vegetation, which, if allowed, would consume the buildings.  The gardens are out there, on the hillsides, on the shore, a blaze of flower and just about every variant of green imaginable. Beautiful!

Our first stop was to the house Angela and I are borrowing from some friends Ben and Kelly’s.  It is a wooden house as they all seem to be, in a narrow, lush, green valley with a road running through the bottom of it a few houses dotted through it.  Inside it is a treasure trove of Maori culture.  Shane works for the Maori Museum and is a collector of all sorts of Maori, art, musical instruments and paraphernalia.  You could spend hours looking and touching.  We are very lucky they are away and that we can use their house.  We will eventually meet them at the wedding next month.

Ben and Kelly’s flat is superbly positioned with a huge picture window giving them an elevated view of the whole of the harbour.  (In the space of three days we had been to Helen’s, Rijan’s and now Ben and Kelly’s flats and the one thing they all had in common was a superb view.)

After a catch-up over a couple of beers and some bucks fizz, we ventured out to find a restaurant for a meal.  Ben took us through the Botanical Gardens so we could take the funicular down into town.  The driver was not very friendly and slammed his newspaper down when I suggested he read out the clues to the crossword!  Oops!

The restaurant chosen was a pizza one on the harbour.  It was not busy but had a reasonable number of customers. It was Sunday evening after all.  Having ordered we waited, and we waited, and we waited.  In the end Ben asked where was our starter, a plate of antipasta to share.  It eventually came after we had waited nearly an hour.  That polished off we thought it would be quickly followed by our three pizzas to share.  Again we waited, and we waited, and we waited.  Again Ben went to check and nobody seemed to be working hard and our three pizzas hadn’t even gone into the oven.  We left.

At least the taxi driver was friendly and chatted away all the way back to our house.

The Girlie Perspective

Wow!  Here in NZ at last!  Here for hugs and kisses and I have to confess to a few tears too!  Unbelievable views, there are clouds in the sky, but not the predicted wind.  It is warm and welcoming.  Our flights have been comfortable & we have been able to catch up on sleep so not feeling too jet-lagged.  The Botanic Gardens are opposite B & K’s flat so we walked there on our way out in the evening and enjoyed the aroma from the roses.  We have a lovely big bed to flop into at Shane & Kay’s.  Phew!

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Sydney

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The Day of the Lobster

Slept well and woke up refreshed with no ill effects from the long journey.  The day started out a little dull but it looked as if it might clear up as the day progressed.  After breakfast made contact with Rijan (ex King’s and Best Man to be at Ben and Kelly’s wedding).  He and his wife, Helen, have just had a baby boy, Harley, ten days ago.  Rijan came to meet us and took us back to their flat in the fashionable Mosman district on the north shore.  The flat had a stunning, to die for, view over the estuary.  Harley was a little sweetie and took to snuggling up to Angela like a duck to water.  When we had finished Rijan took us to the ferry wharf via Balmoral Beach, a very quiet, perfect family beach.

The ferry took us to Circular Quay where we waited, with a beer, at the opera Bar for Helen to join us.  I don’t think either of us realized just how effective the sun had become and the time we spent waiting, along with the time spent eating lunch was sufficient to give us a good dose of Vitamin D.  I had forgotten to pack a hat and neither of us was carrying sun cream., so before we boarded the ferry to Watson’s Bay we bought and lathered ourselves in sun cream.

 

Sydney Opera House

On arrival at Watson’s Bay we paddled in the warm waters and booked a table at the famous Doyle’s Fish Restaurant for the evening. Then we strolled along the cliffs where Angela and I had watched the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 2007.  The sun was feeling very strong in the clear sea air and I knew I was going to suffer as the evening progressed. Cancelling our reservation we took the last ferry back to Circular Quay and ate a superb meal on the quay.  I had kangaroo steak on a bed of beetroot risotto.

Predictably, I did not sleep very well, and hardly at all after 1.30am, as a result of a rather sore head, sunburned like a lobster!

The Girlie Perspective

Sydney was seen in all its summer glory today.  I had a memorable precious cuddle with 10 day old Harley.  He was very relaxed and soon snoozed. His Mummy & Daddy, Rijan & Helen were very welcoming, treating us to coffee and Rijan’s homemade brownies (domesticated Daddy or what!) We sat on the wall near the Opera House, people watching and lapping up the atmosphere in such an iconic spot.  The coastal walk was lovely but my recently damaged foot did start to complain so I was ready to rest at Glenferrie Lodge after a fish & chip supper.

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