Beginning the Journey South

We said goodbye to Palmerston North on January 3rd and headed to Wellington, about 2 hours south. First stop was to visit with friends we used to sail with. It’s been awhile since we got together and re-uniting was welcome. We’re looking forward to seeing them again when time and tide permits.

We stayed a couple of nights with old friends who Cathy first met shortly after we came to New Zealand. Cathy designed and made costumes for their costume shop when we first lived here between 1996 and 2000. We try and stay with them for a couple of nights when we get back. Vaughn and his daughter Krystal are wonderfuL and we always end up seeing something new in Wellington every time we visit. Krystal is a huge advocate for epilepsy and getting organizations to recognize and support first aid training programs. Check out the following link describing Krystal‘s journey, it’s pretty inspiring! https://firstport.co.nz/item/article/epilepsy-first-aid

When we were walking around Wellington, we of course ended up checking out Chaffers Marina in downtown Wellington. This was where we had our very first sailboat, good memories! What surprised us was seeing the boat that we sailed from Victoria BC to New Zealand in 2007/2008 at dock there. When we sold Tarun in 2010, the person that bought her did say he was taking her Wellington and to Chaffers. Tarun, built in the UK in 1976, still looked great, even 16 years on after we sold her. Ahh, memories, lovely to look back through rose coloured glasses and all.

The walk down memory lane and boats didn’t end there however. We also spotted a boat called Te Wakanui, that was owned by our friend Penny’s family a long while back. I don’t know how old she is but her current owners have the boat looking absolutely beautiful

While this is supposed to be the beginning of our trip south, we left Wellington and headed NE to Castlepoint on January 5. To get there from Wellington is about 2 1/2 hour drive. The first part is over the Remutaka’s. A typical NZ highway, twisting and turning to the top of the mountain range then twisting and turning on th way back down. I absolutely love driving here, it’s always an adventure and our little VW Golf is eating these roads up in sport mode. The middle part of the drive to Castlepoint is through wine country as far as Masterton, then you head to the coast along another twisting and winding road for another hour. When you get over the last hill and see the South Pacific in all its glory, it’s absolutely worth it. We started coming here when we first lived in NZ between 1996 and 2000 and have been back several times. This time we’re staying for a week so we’ll get a bit more exploring in. The village is small with a hotel/pub, a small general store, an amazing stretch of beach, and a stunning lighthouse. We’ve started the walking around bits and still have lots left to cover before we leave January 12th to catch the ferry to the South Island.