Everything this weekend in theory returned to normal with Joss and the arrangements with staying round his Dad's, hence giving me the weekend off. With the Christmas holidays fast approaching though which are essentially the same as the summer holidays in the UK it wouldn't surprise me if that changes! The weather forecast for the weekend wasn't ideal however with cloud forecasted for the Saturday and showers on the Sunday, so I wasn't sure what to do. I ruled out any overnight hikes in the Tararuas or Rimutakas which I'd been considering as bad weather and wilderness aren't a good combination, in the end opting to go over to Wairarapa once again, this time to Castlepoint.
Castlepoint is located on the Wairarapa’s east coast, about 68 kilometres from Masterton. The area is essentially a fossil rich limestone reef dominated by the 162-metre high Castle Rock. To get there I caught the train to Masterton from Wellington which as before was one of only two trains the whole day. From Masterton I then hitched a ride to Castlepoint which was slightly more challenging than I expected but I got there in the end. When there I did a walk up to the summit of Castle Rock, following the inland route which gave great views of the lagoon and lighthouse. At the top I took in the views which included views the other side towards Christmas Bay and south, before dropping down to Deliverance Bay and along the beach by the lagoon. I wanted to go onto the island at the far end of the lagoon but I decided not to risk it in the end as the waves were quite strong and I would have needed a leap of faith between the waves to get across.
Once at the bottom I went over towards the lighthouse which is an iconic New Zealand landmark which I've seen many pictures of! I explored the fascinating rock formations here and fossil rich limestone rocks before going up to the lighthouse itself. From here I headed back down to the bottom and hitched a ride back into Masterton. I was originally considering breaking the journey and stopping in Tinui to do a walk to this cross on top of a hill, famous for being the location of the first Anzac service although it was getting late so I opted against it. I instead got out at Henley Lake in Masterton which was a pleasant lake full of birdlife, before heading into the Queen Elizabeth Park which included a deer area and swingbridge! When I finally made it back into Masterton town I had a little look round the town before grabbing some dinner.
The following day I was unsure what to do with a dodgy weather forecast, so I decided I would have a more chilled out day exploring some of the towns in the Wairarapa along SH2. After breakfast I left Masterton and hitched a ride to Carterton which I had a little look around, although there wasn't really anything exciting to see. Carterton is perhaps most famous for its modern replica of stonehenge although it was shut when I was there so I couldn't visit. I therefore hitched a ride to the next town along, Greytown. Greytown is perhaps the most touristy town in the Wairarapa along with Martinborough with it being home to many cafes and boutique style shops making it a popular place to visit for people from Wellington. I decided I would go for a walk here as there happened to be a geocaching circuit which looked good. The walk took me from Greytown to Woodside along the old railway line which was interesting, before following the river back into Greytown. There were some really original geocaches en route.
After finishing the walk I explored Greytown itself which had several interesting shops, and I even went into this popular chocolate shop to try some chocolate which was nice. Next stop after Greytown was Featherston which I visited the week before. I had another little walk round before continuing south over the Rimutakas, stopping at the summit of the mountain pass which was home to a viewpoint and a couple of walks. At 555m, there was a walk up to the summit of Rimutaka at 725m so not much to climb so I thought I'd do that. It was unfortunately a bit overcast up top which was a shame as apparently you can see right out over the Wairarapa on a clear day. From the summit I hitched a ride back into the Hutt to get back to York Bay. It was actually a really good day and I found 46 geocaches in the process!
On Monday I was able to have a much needed lie in with Joss round his Dad's, although Liza decided she would have the day off work so we could start painting the deck outside. We used this special deck cleaner at first before Liza painted the deck with a special deck painting thing whilst I painted the edges and tricky places to get to. Joss even came outside to help when he got home from school and when it was finished it looked good although it will need a second coat at some point. I was a bit unsure how it would come out as she wanted it black but it actually worked and hid all the imperfections very well. We even had a bbq in the evening so it was a good day.
The following day was another busy day with swimming in the morning, and conductive in the afternoon. Joss even apparently walked across the school field and back at conductive so he did a lot of exercise throughout the day, it's just annoying he won't use the walker properly at home! On the Wednesday we had sailing although it was a very still day so it wasn't ideal conditions. In the afternoon I thought I'd go and pop over and see Melva as Joss was round his Dad's for the night. It was as ever awful public transport, with the bus drivers on strike until 2pm and then the stupid timetabling where the Hutt Valley line train pulls into Wellington as the Kapiti line train pulls out meaning you have to wait half hour for the next one. There were also rail replacement buses on the Kapiti line on the way back so not the greatest journey. It was nice to catch up though.
Thursday was swimming once again in the morning, and I was also treated with a decent kick off for once for the Southampton game so I was able to listen to the first half and got back in time for the last 10 minutes. Joss was round his Dad's for the night so after school he only came home for a couple of hours so it was a pretty chilled out day. The following day was a busy day however as the school put on an additional swimming session last minute again in the morning, which included an audience as Liza and some healthcare officials came to watch to see how he was doing. This did mean I started housework later than usual which meant by the time I finished everything Joss had come home from school. We did have the weekend with him though so we had a bbq in the evening.
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