Saturday was a great day in terms of weather so I decided I would take one of the bikes in the garage out for the day. An ambitious ride would have been a 2 day 1 night ride along the Rimutaka Cycle Trail, effectively a large loop starting and finishing in Petone. That would have needed some planning though as it is effectively wild country so in the end I decided to cycle the Hutt River Trail which is the first part of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail. It was a nice and flat ride, although I was against the wind which was pretty strong which made it hard work. The path just effectively followed the Hutt River and there were lots of people out.
I eventually made it to Tunnel Gully in the Pakuratahi Forest. From here I had to decide between cycling the Rimutaka Rail Trail over into the Wairarapa, or to do a walk up Mount Climie. I opted for the walk in the end as the bike was playing up a bit and I didn't want to risk a mishap. The rail trail is definitely on my to do list though as apparently it goes through old rail tunnels and bridges. I instead followed the Tanes Track which went through the forest including this waterfall en route before heading up to the summit of Mount Climie. The views were disappointing however as it was really hazy and very windy up the top. When heading back down I visited the Mangaroa Tunnel so I at least got to see one of the old tunnels before cycling back along the Hutt River Trail into Petone. It was a lot easier on the way back with the wind behind me.
The following day was a pretty miserable start although the forecast was good so I took a gamble and headed towards Wellington, and when arriving the sun was out. The first thing I did was have a look round the shops as I'm going to need some new walking boots soon as my current ones are nearly dead. It's difficult to know what to buy as I know from experience that a cheap pair doesn't last long, and the ones I had this time which were a more expensive pair only lasted a few months, so I don't know if should buy a really expensive pair, or just concede to the fact I do a lot of hiking and it's inevitable they won't last long. I got a few ideas regardless.
After looking round the shops I caught the bus out to Island Bay to head out on a walk to the Red Rocks. It was a beautiful day and I headed round to Owhiro Bay to reach the car park at the start of the track. The path effectively followed the beach on a 4wd track and I eventually made it to the Red Rocks appropriately named because they look a little red. I continued a bit further from here to Sinclair Head to see the seal colony although there weren't that many out. There has been sightings of leopard seals recently but I didn't see any of them. To head back to Wellington I decided to head inland over the hills where I got some great views of the coastline and I eventually emerged at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine which I visited the week before, this time getting great city and harbour views unlike the previous visit.
Heading back into Wellington I was unsure where to pick a bus route from, so I just thought head down was the best option. This took me through the Aro Valley which was an area I hadn't yet explored which was pleasant before emerging in the city centre without even realising. I decided to stay in the city for dinner, sitting by the harbour as it was such a nice day before heading back to York Bay to tie in with sunset as you need to be that side of the harbour to get the best sunsets. It didn't disappoint and when finally getting back I just chilled out as if had been a pretty full on few days!
On Monday it was back to the normal routine with the school holidays over. Joss went straight to school from his Dad's though so we didn't see him until after school, and he was excited to see us when he got home! The following day I took Max to the dog wash place which he absolutely hated again but I made him nice and clean and when we got home gave him a good brush as he sheds a lot of hair otherwise! When Joss got home we took him straight out to his conductive class which he will now go to every Tuesday after school to do some exercise. He even finally managed to get a new walker which seems a lot more practical and easier to use than the one we have unsuccessfully been using. We even used the bbq for dinner as it was a really nice evening!
On Wednesday we only had Jossy before school before going round his Dad's for the night after school. He was meant to have sailing though in the morning but that was once again cancelled which seems like the case every week! It seems like anything other than clear blue skies and it's cancelled! Despite it being an overcast start to the day it became really nice in the afternoon so I decided to do some more tidying up in the garden as the grass needed cutting. I managed to clear all the weeds off the stone wall so with a bit of pressure hosing to get all the mud off that should look good again hopefully.
The following day was a more relaxing day with Joss round his Dad's, although he did come home for a couple of hours after school before his Dad picked him for dinner and to stay the night as his work means he can't pick him up from school. During the day I just went out and helped with the shopping, and when Joss came home from school we took him to the hairdressers before his Dad collected him not long after we got back. In the evening it was really nice so I went and watched the sunset which I always enjoy being the right side of the harbour to get good sunsets when it's nice. Friday was housework day again so that kept me busy until lunchtime, and we even had another bbq in the evening as it was so nice!
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