The Long and Winding Road (Day 88)
Oh dear, oh dear, what an ol’ misery guts I was in the morning. We were walking into town to get some exercise, see more of the #ArtDeco-in-Napier and have a nice coffee before our long 4.5 hour journey to Wellington. Well, that was my expectation.
Ah! Those pesky expectations do get in the way. After 5 minutes Tim looked at trip advisor to find a recommended café and instead of going the flat way down to town, he’d found a café near the docklands which took us over this huge hill. Oh well, was my initial thought.
We started to climb up and I was sharing something that was bothering me and wanted a bit of advice. And then he saw a cemetery and changed the subject. That was it! I was in a mood. I tried the silent treatment, the poor me victim mode…and I was very good at hanging in there! Haha, when I look back now, what a plonker! Tim is great though. He doesn’t play the #DramaTriangle at all (This is a destructive interaction where 2 people act as either victim, rescuer or persecutor, common and ineffective responses to conflict and just prolongs this than ends it.). In fact, Tim knows that “it too shall pass” (as our friend Chandana says).
We found the café, it was small, a cheery Scottish lady with a Kiwi accent serving and the coffee and almond croissant was good (I needed something to cheer me up!). I refused to go back the way we came so suggested walking the long way round the dockyards, playing on the fact that my knee hurt. It wasn’t – but was 10 minutes later – that will teach me. We eventually got into town, however time was ticking by and we still had the long drive. So no sightseeing there. Eventually we got back to the car and I was busting to go to the toilet. Luckily the Airbnb host was in and very generously let me use the bathroom. It’s amazing how quickly our state of minds can change. We had a laugh about moody me and that was it.
Our journey was long, we stopped off at Woodville for a drink, a 1 road town. We past many of these type of towns and most looked quite run down with many shops closed. However there was one, #Greytown, which was very different. Lovely independent high quality and distinctive shops, quirky antique stores, art shops, foodie places and well preserved colonial cottages. I was curious why it was so different to the other towns and have subsequently discovered that it’s famous for its chocolate – ah! I wish I’d known and it won New Zealand’s most beautiful small town last year – rightly deserved. Perhaps we’re stop off there on our way back.
Soon after we found ourselves traversing the #RimutakaRanges via Rimutaka Hill Road, linking Wellington and the Wairarapa region. According to Google Maps, this 30km drive takes 34 minutes! Wow, this was a long and winding road, sharp 25km bends wiggling left and then right. I did start map reading and informing Tim “Sharp right hand bend, then left, another right” but it became obvious what would happen next. I am sure the scenery was spectacular, however I was busy checking the direction of the long and winding road.
Soon after the road flattened, straightened and became a lot busier. We were heading into Wellington. The main road skirts Wellington Harbour and in the distance we could see the peninsular around Evans Bay where our next Airbnb stay is for 2 nights.
Wow – I am now sitting here typing and this is the view from the lounge. Wonderful. A lovely ending to a long and winding day.
