Just got back from a weekend away with Matt in the Wairarapa, one of the North Island's most prominent wine regions and a beautiful piece of countryside between the Rimutaka mountains and the coast. On Saturday we got up early and took the train one stop out of Wellington to pick up our rental car, went back to his flat and picked up our stuff, then headed north out of town! It felt good to leave the city behind, especially as it looked like it would be a very nice day. We drove up over Rimutaka Hill (scary! I'm glad Matt was driving...) and down into the Wairarapa to the town of Masterton. Stopped in Masterton to pick up lunch and dinner from the grocery store and a flat white at a cafe in town... soooo good.
From there we headed right to Castlepoint on the east coast, named so because Captain Cook thought the point looked like the battlements of a castle. What a genius that guy was! We got there too early to check in to our room, so we drove over to the point and looked around at the reef. When 1:00 rolled around we went to check in to our little kitchen cabin (Matt let me drive back!), brought all of our stuff in, and went back to the point. Go to google maps, type in "castlepoint nz" and check it out, it's really cool! First we went to the lighthouse, then ate lunch in the bright sunshine, then went down around on the ocean side of the point looking for a cave Claire had said was around there somewhere. Didn't find it, so we started to walk over to do a loop walk when we aw a DOC sign saying where the cave was! And it was low tide so we could actually get to it! Climbed along the shore of the point until we got to this big limestone cave that goes under the whole point, so you can see light and waves coming in on the other side! So cool. Apparently it was once home to Te Wheke, the octopus, in Maori legend :) From there we did a loop walk around to Castle Rock were we got some elevation and could see pretty far up the coast in both directions. The sun set around 6:00, so we went back and made dinner in the little cabin (so cute!) as the full moon rose, then went out later for a cider at the bar.
The next morning, I was up at sunrise (much to Matt's chagrin) and shaking him to get out of bed since it was so beautiful! We walked down to the beach through the strong wind and took some photos and waited for the sun to come up over the horizon. Nothing makes you feel like the earth is spinning more than watching the first rays of the sun appear. Since the sun rose at 7:30, we decided to eat breakfast and pack up, and we left Castlepoint at 9:30. And then the driving began... We drove south to Riversdale beach, then I took over (yes, Matt, I will stay on the left) and drove a gravel stretch of the road for about an hour. Continued on to Martinborough after thinking we might be lost and finally got a coffee and some carrot cake!!! Mmm. And the town was really cute, it's like the heart of the Wairarapa where all the wine enthusiasts go. From there we drove south to Lake Ferry on the coast, then east along the coast to the lighthouse at Cape Palliser. We stopped there for lunch and were entertained by the cutest New Zealand fur seals ever. And some of the seals went in the ocean and were jumping clear out of the water like dolphins, it was amazing!
<-- Matt and me at the lighthouse.
From there we headed right to Castlepoint on the east coast, named so because Captain Cook thought the point looked like the battlements of a castle. What a genius that guy was! We got there too early to check in to our room, so we drove over to the point and looked around at the reef. When 1:00 rolled around we went to check in to our little kitchen cabin (Matt let me drive back!), brought all of our stuff in, and went back to the point. Go to google maps, type in "castlepoint nz" and check it out, it's really cool! First we went to the lighthouse, then ate lunch in the bright sunshine, then went down around on the ocean side of the point looking for a cave Claire had said was around there somewhere. Didn't find it, so we started to walk over to do a loop walk when we aw a DOC sign saying where the cave was! And it was low tide so we could actually get to it! Climbed along the shore of the point until we got to this big limestone cave that goes under the whole point, so you can see light and waves coming in on the other side! So cool. Apparently it was once home to Te Wheke, the octopus, in Maori legend :) From there we did a loop walk around to Castle Rock were we got some elevation and could see pretty far up the coast in both directions. The sun set around 6:00, so we went back and made dinner in the little cabin (so cute!) as the full moon rose, then went out later for a cider at the bar.
The next morning, I was up at sunrise (much to Matt's chagrin) and shaking him to get out of bed since it was so beautiful! We walked down to the beach through the strong wind and took some photos and waited for the sun to come up over the horizon. Nothing makes you feel like the earth is spinning more than watching the first rays of the sun appear. Since the sun rose at 7:30, we decided to eat breakfast and pack up, and we left Castlepoint at 9:30. And then the driving began... We drove south to Riversdale beach, then I took over (yes, Matt, I will stay on the left) and drove a gravel stretch of the road for about an hour. Continued on to Martinborough after thinking we might be lost and finally got a coffee and some carrot cake!!! Mmm. And the town was really cute, it's like the heart of the Wairarapa where all the wine enthusiasts go. From there we drove south to Lake Ferry on the coast, then east along the coast to the lighthouse at Cape Palliser. We stopped there for lunch and were entertained by the cutest New Zealand fur seals ever. And some of the seals went in the ocean and were jumping clear out of the water like dolphins, it was amazing!
<-- Matt and me at the lighthouse. Made one stop on the way back to take a short walk up a stream valley to see the Pinnacles, interesting formations made out of eroding mud on the sides of the valley. It was dusk then and the valley smelled like home in the summer. From there we drove all the way back to Wellington, with a stop in Featherston for fish and chips. It had been such a hot, beautiful day, and weekend, and when we got back to the city we were exhausted but happy :)
Cape Palliser Lighthouse, 250 steps up a cliff!
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