January 9, 2024
A specular sunrise started the day as we cruised into port Wellington.
Today we are in Wellington the capital of New Zealand, it sits near the North Island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait. We are headed out on a private tour heading out the Cook Strait. Strong winds through the Cook Strait give it the nickname “Windy Wellington.”
Our first sop was at Kaitoke Regional Park we walked across the suspension bridge then through native podocarp rain forest and viewed some of New Zealand’s tallest trees – the Kahikatea.
Our next stop was Cape Palliser Lighthouse (the most southern point on the North Island) where we climbed the 253 steps to the top for the magnificent vista. After catching our breath, we spent some time taking a few photos before the climb down. I was so proud of myself for making it up the lighthouse steps with only one stop!!! 2 years ago I would of stood at the bottom and said “Hell NO!!”
A short drive from Cape Palliser Lighthouse is the North Island’s largest fur seal colony where we spent some time viewing the frolicking seals.
Just up the road from the seal colony is the small village of Ngawi a commercial fishing village. Fun fact – Ngawi has the most bulldozers per capita than any other place in the world.
After our visit to the Cape we headed to the quaint village of Martinbourgh to have lunch at the fabulous winery Poppies owned by Shayne and Poppy (Kate) Hammond. Shayne is the Viticulturist and Poppy is the Winemaker. Poppy took us through her fabulous wine! We tasted 6 wines but sadly none came close to my favorite from Brookfield!! But I am up to the challenge and will keep trying. We had a coterie plate was a perfect match to the wines we were tasting. I am considering becoming a wine maker so I tried picking grapes….the first step to a new career!
Martinborough was named after an early Irish settler John Martin. John named a number of streets after various cities he visited in the 1880’s. The town is laid out in the shape of the Union Jack flag with streets radiating from the town square.
Back in the central business district we viewed Bowen House, the iconic ‘Beehive’ (the Executive Wing of Parliament), Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library building.
Back to ship with at least 10 minutes to space!!
A stunning sunset viewed though the portal during dinner ended this fun day!!
Tomorrow off to Piston and kayaking on Charolette Sound. I am going to need a vacation to rest for this trip…lol!!!
