Eastbourne Week 20

On Saturday morning I woke up bright and early after my night camping on the beach on the Westshore in Napier. It was a very warm night, so I didn't sleep very well but I did get a sunrise in the morning so it wasn't all bad. It wasn't long however before the sun warmed things up a notch and it got unbearably hot and humid. After packing up I walked back into Napier, following the coast through Ahuriri and past the port back into the centre. Once at the centre I had a good walk round the city, famous for its art deco buildings and it was actually a really nice place with palm trees lining the streets, and lots of murals and activity all over the place.

After exploring Napier my plan was to go over to Cape Kidnappers to do the walk to see the cliffs and gannet colony. I however had to time it right so that I went around low tide which was at about 3pm. The walk isn't accessible at high tide and they recommend you only do it 3 hours either side of low tide, so effectively a 6 hour window. I therefore decided to walk from Napier to Clive which initially followed the promenade before going through some wetlands and over the river. It was a pleasant walk although the sun was getting more and more intense! When arriving in Clive I hitched a ride over to the start of the track to Cape Kidnappers.

The path to Cape Kidnappers effectively followed the beach at the base of the cliffs, before climbing up to the top of the cliffs at the end to see the gannet colony. You could see why the walk wasn't accessible at high tide as the sea would crash against the cliffs, so mistiming the tides would be a problem. There were several quad bikes and 4wd vehicles driving along the beach as well as many walkers so it was quite busy walk. The beach was accessible the majority of the way except for a section towards the end which required some paddling to get round and over some rocks. When reaching the gannet colony it was very impressive as the chicks had recently hatched so there were a lot of gannets! The cliffs along the way were dramatic too, in particular the white cliffs at the end. It was a really nice walk and I returned without getting stranded!

From Cape Kidnappers I hitched a ride into Havelock North where I picked up some dinner and had a quick look round. It was a nice little place, with some very modern buildings. From there I headed up to Te Mata Peak to watch the sunset which was a little disappointing but still worth going up for. This local guy drove me up there who was a keen photographer who has often watched the sunrises and sunrises up top so he showed me loads of his photography which was interesting. The views up top were pretty special with the entire Hawkes Bay visible as far as the Mahia Peninsula, as well as the rolling hills inland. There was also a birds eye view of Napier, Hastings, and Havelock North, which was particularly interesting when it got dark to see the skylines lit up. I decided to camp up the top although I did had to be discreet as I wasn't meant to camp up there.

In the morning I was treated to a sunrise which was impressive with the sky being so clear. The clear sky also meant the stars and milky way were particularly visible in the night. After taking in the views one last time I headed down off the peak towards Maraetotara Falls which took me a couple of hours initially following farmland before following this quiet road to the entrance. Prior to arriving at the falls I followed this stream which before long took me to the waterfall itself. I managed to get a couple of good vantage points to see the falls before getting in the water for a swim which was much needed and refreshing!

After leaving the falls I hitched a ride into Hastings where I checked out the town which was another pretty place. When trying to hitch a ride out of Hastings however some random woman was worried about my welfare being out in the sun, which was once again very intense, and offered me food and drink. I hesitantly agreed, as with respect I was slightly sunburnt, and ended up at some baptism ceremony at this school. After watching this kid get baptised in the swimming pool and being offered countless fluids, I went for a swim in the pool. After cooling off they had this buffet which had all sorts of food and I had a really nice lunch with them.

Once this woman was satisfied I was hydrated and well fed she took me out of town to the where SH2 met the Hastings bypass, and I immediately picked up a ride with some Samoan couple right through to Woodville. I was originally going to try and visit the longest place name in the world and Waihi Falls although I decided to head straight back in the end as getting to them places would have taken me way off the beaten track. From Woodville I got a ride to Pahiatua, and from there got a ride straight back into Hutt. In the end I got from Hastings back to the Hutt in about 4 hours flat so I did well. I just chilled out when getting back, grabbing some food, and watching the as ever beautiful sunset over Wellington Harbour.

On Monday Joss didn't come home until about midday so I had a nice and chilled out morning. I was slightly sunburnt though, in particular on my nose so I looked a little silly. Liza had the day off work as it was a bank holiday to celebrate Wellington anniversary day meaning it was a day off only for Wellingtonians. We therefore all watched the Paddington Bear film together in the lounge, before going out in the pool later in the afternoon. The following day was another pretty chilled out day, staying inside until going into the pool later in the day.

Joss had to go to conductive Wednesday morning as he had a trial in his potential new walker, which has a hydraulic lift making it easier to use than his current one. I didn't go but apparently it went well and he walked in it so from what I understand they psychiatrist will now write a report and send it up to someone higher to see if he will be allowed the funding for the walker. Joss was meant to go sailing when he got back although he was out longer than expected so we didn't go in the end, instead going in the pool. His Dad came to pick him up later in the afternoon which gave me the afternoon off, so I popped into Wellington.

Joss's Dad took the day off work on Thursday again which gave me the day off. I didn't really want to go too far though because it was another really hot day, so I decided to do a walk over near Porirua Harbour, catching the train to Paremata and following the coastline via Mana and Plimmerton to Pukerua Bay before returning via these wetlands back to Plimmerton. It was a nice little walk although the coastline was a little rugged and wild, and being out in the sun probably didn't do my sunburnt face any good. When getting back to Plimmerton I caught the train into Wellington where I decided to go down to beach in Oriental Bay for a bit, before finally trying the the fish and chips at the chippery over in Mount Victoria. They were really nice. Joss didn't come home from his Dad's until about lunchtime on Friday, which meant I could get on with doing all the housework. All in all it was a pretty laid back day.

Eastbourne Week 19

Joss was home for the weekend and it was another really hot one. On Saturday morning we went to the market in Lower Hutt to pick up the groceries, although the humidity meant we didn't stay too long. As the sun was so intense we didn't take Joss in the pool until later in the afternoon, although Liza decided she would go for a walk with one her friends in the bush with her friends from Mahina Bay to Days Bay so we met them in the cafe afterwards. It was absolutely heaving down the beach though! We got in the pool when we were back and a couple of Joss's friends even came round, before having a bbq in the evening.

The following day we went to the shops in the morning to pick up a few things for the pool and garden. Whilst we were out we went for lunch out at some Asian restaurant before spending much of the afternoon in the garden, where I mowed the lawn and went in the pool when I was finished with Joss, whilst Liza did some gardening. Even Liz came in the pool which is saying something. On Monday it was another intensely hot day so couldn't take Joss in the pool until later. All in all it was a pretty laid back day though and we didn't go very far.

On Tuesday we took Joss out for a bike ride along the seafront. We even took Max with us although he was naughty because he ran inside someone's house. Luckily it was his friends Bellas house so the owner wasn't annoyed. Joss seemed to find it funny though. When we got back we just had a chilled out afternoon before going in the pool later in the afternoon. We did unfortunately have to empty it afterwards as Joss pooed in it again which was frustrating. It's difficult to know whether he is doing it by purpose or by accident because when he does it he tells us after he's done it and finds it funny which it obviously isn't, but being in the water could relax him so much he can't help it.

Wednesday was an early start as Liza was in Auckland for the day, and she needed to get everything ready. Joss was only at home until lunchtime before his Dad came and picked him up to take him to see a Hurricanes training session in Levin. With the afternoon off I took Max out for a long walk, going along the coast into Eastbourne for lunch before returning via the ridge track back into York Bay. It was very humid though and I kind of wished I had it the other way round as I was boiling when I came out the bush. Joss didn't come home until near his bedtime in the end and as Lizas flight was delayed out of Auckland his Dad put him to bed. Thursday was a real grotty day so we were stuck inside all day. As we couldn't do much we watched Harry Potter in the morning, and later on had another long game of farmopoly. It just rained all day so we couldn't do much else!

Joss's Dad came and picked Joss up on Thursday after dinner as he had the Friday off work so he arranged with Liza to have him an extra night. This gave me a bit of extra free time so after doing all the housework I decided to go away for the weekend. I was debating between doing the Tongariro National Park or Hawkes Bay and opted to visit Hawkes Bay in the end as the weather forecast was good compared to rain forecast for the Tongariro area. Due to the lack of affordable public transport in New Zealand I had to hitchhike up there, although I did catch the bus as far as I could to Te Marua, stopping for lunch at Upper Hutt.

From Te Marua I soon hitched a ride with some family who got me as far as Carterton. From here some guys picked me up and took me to Masterton. After Masterton this local farmer took me to Ekatahuna, who was an absolute nutter. He literally cracked open the beers whilst driving and was driving with a beer in his hand! My next ride from Ekatahuna was with another family who had a disabled child so it was interesting talking to them, getting dropped off in Pahiatua with them. I was then picked up by some local guys who got me to Woodville, where I then got a ride with this couple to Dannevirke. From Dannevirke I managed to get a ride all the way to Napier. All in all it took me just over 5 hours to get from Te Marua to Napier which on paper takes 4 hours so I actually did really well considering it took me 7 rides to get there!

When arriving I took a short walk along the promenade before heading into the city centre to find some dinner. In the end I found this locals pub who had a special deal on their fish and chips which was really nice. I then headed out to find somewhere to sleep for the night. As it was such a nice day I decided to camp instead of stay in a hostel so headed out to the Westshore just outside of Napier where I could camp on the beach. It was dark when I arrived though which was fun and games as I hadn't actually pitched my tent before so I didn't really know what I was doing but I worked it out! Despite it being dark it was a really nice location right by the sea and I could see Napier all lit up, as well as an incredibly clear night sky with there being no clouds.

Eastbourne Week 18

On Saturday we stayed in Palmerston North until about lunchtime before driving back home to Wellington. En route home we stopped at a couple of fruit stalls to pick up some more fresh fruit, as well as Otaki to look round the shops which is commonly referred to as the cheapest place to shop in New Zealand as it is basically only outlet stores! When we got home it wasn't long before Joss's Dad turned up to pick him up as he was meant to go round there Friday night. Luckily his Dad agreed to let Joss come on holiday with us as he was moving house that weekend so it made it easier for him doing that without Joss. In the evening I decided to pop into Wellington to go to a few bars as I hadn't really had many chances to go out on a Saturday night, and it was a good night meeting a few cool people.

The following day I stayed in Wellington for the day as it was a lovely and sunny day and after the huge amounts of driving and exploring we did up at Hawkes Bay I was pretty tired to go out anywhere too far for the day. As it was the weekend the harbour front had lots of entertainment and stalls going on, and it was market day too so there was lots to do. I also had a look round Te Papa which I always enjoy. When I got back I was absolutely exhausted though as several late nights throughout the week caught up with me! It was nice to get an early night though, and a lie in on top with Joss being round his Dad's for the night.

On Monday Joss came home relatively early because his Dad was working. I think he was glad to be home though after the holiday and then going straight round his Dad's. I spent most of the morning making the house look better as well as sorting his pool out which we emptied before we left. By late afternoon the pool was good to use again and as it was such a nice day it was actually really refreshing. The following day the weather wasn't as great which meant we couldn't go very far, although we did pop into Petone for a bit with Joss to do the shopping, as well as taking Max to the dog wash as he was honking after his stay with a neighbour down the road whilst we were away. He was also seriously malting to the point where clumps of hair were being shed so I gave him a good brush too.

Joss went round his Dad's on Wednesday after lunch which gave me the afternoon off. With my visa expiry fast approaching on March 5th, I therefore finally made a decision on my future which I had been dithering about for a while. I was originally pretty set on applying for a second year visa, although when you take into account the fact you need to pay for a full medical check, the visa application itself, and proof of a flight leaving the country it works out pretty expensive. Liza did offer to sponsor me, although in the end I opted to leave New Zealand, booking a flight to Kuala Lumpur as a gateway to explore Asia, as well as getting myself one step closer to home. Obviously I'll be disappointed to leave New Zealand although I've seen and done a lot in my time there and will almost certainly return in the future, and I feel ready to experience some new cultures and adventures. In the evening I met up with one of the people from Saturday who had promised to take me to this vegan restaurant, and it was actually surprisingly nice!

The following day Joss was round his Dad's all day and night which gave me the day off. The weather however was pretty horrendous so I popped into Wellington to finalise my flight details. While I was there I had a look round the shops. By lunchtime the weather hadn't got any better so I caught the bus up to Karori to look round as I hadn't been there yet. I would have done the city skyline walk if the weather allowed me but it didn't. After a while I decided my best bet of a walk for the day was the Birchville Dam over in the Akatawara Forest near Upper Hutt, as it was sheltered. When arriving at Upper Hutt it was sunny though so I guess Wellington was just having a bad day compared to the Hutt Valley. It was a nice walk although the dam was completely dried up which was a shame.

On Friday Joss came home in the morning as his Dad had work. It was quite a busy day with it being housework day, which always takes a lot longer when Joss is there. We also drove into Wellington in the morning to drop Liza off for her appointments with Joss so by the time we started it was afternoon. When we were finally done I took Joss for a swim in the pool which was a nice and refreshing way to end the day.

Eastbourne Week 17

Saturday was a pretty chilled out morning, although we did go into Lower Hutt for the market late in the morning to pick up a few groceries. It was a very quiet one though with a lot less stalls than usual. After the market me and Joss got dropped home, luckily, as Liz and Liza went to get their nails done. The following day was new years eve although we had quite a busy day out in the garden sorting out the decks which had got covered in dog hairs and leaves, as well as cutting back some of the bushes and trees behind the house. We were originally going to go into Wellington in the evening to watch the fireworks although we decided not to in the end because of the weather, so we stayed in in the end. It was nice to see the new year in with Joss and his family though. On the Monday we just had a relaxing day, although we did go over to Queensgate in the afternoon to buy a few things for our holiday to the Hawkes Bay the following day.

Liza made a pretty last minute decision to go away for a few days somewhere, and after a lot of deliberation of where to go, Liza decided on going to the Hawkes Bay area as it wasn't too much of a ridiculously long drive and was far more cost effective than going to South Island. She basically booked a small bache in the town of Wairoa situated about halfway between Napier and Gisborne on the East Coast. On paper getting there from Eastbourne was a 5.5 hour drive and we were hoping to leave nice and early although we didn't leave until close to midday in the end. Liz and Liza were pretty useless in a planning and directions sense so I was effectively in charge of getting us to Wairoa and finding out about things for us to do whilst we were away.

It wasn't long until we left Eastbourne behind and headed through the Hutt Valley and over the Rimutakas into the Wairarapa, stopping en route in Greytown for a drink. After Greytown we continued heading north, stopping in Ekatahuna which is known as being the kiwi bird capital of New Zealand. The drive north was pretty and we passed through several interesting towns and villages, next stopping in Dannevirke which apparently has a viking heritage. After Dannevirke we soon arrived at Napier which is famous for its art deco although I found it slightly overrated. The coastline round here was beautiful though, as well as passing several vineyards. We stopped in Napier for a drink, before one last push towards Wairoa, arriving about 8 hours after leaving in the end. Our bache was located by the river and was actually really nice, and also flat which made it a far more practical house for Joss.

On the Wednesday I didn't have a very good nights sleep, waking up at 5am. This worked in my favour though as I decided to go out for a walk along the river to the estuary where it went out to the sea, tieing this is in with the sunrise which was impressive. I also explored the main town area of Wairoa which included an old lighthouse. After breakfast we headed out for the day towards Gisborne, with our first stop being the Mahia Peninsula. En route we passed several orchards and picked up some peaches and nectarines which had been freshly picked from the side of the road. We soon arrived at the peninsula which was a beautiful stretch of coastline and the home to the largest tombolo in New Zealand. With dramatic rock formations and towering cliffs, as well as big sandy beaches it was a lovely drive in, and when arriving in the small village of Mahia itself we went to the pub for fish and chips for lunch.

After leaving Mahia we continued north for a short distance to the Morere Hot Springs. These natural hot springs were located in the rainforest and required a good 10 minute walk through the rainforest to access them which Joss loved. The facilities weren't particularly disabled friendly however but we made it work and Joss loved being the hot pools, although he for some reason preferred the cold plunge pool! It was even raining and thundering whilst we were there for a bit, although it was a lovely setting being in the rainforest.

From the hot springs we continued towards Gisborne, passing several orchards and vineyards, stopping in one of the vineyards for some wine tasting. Joss was even allowed to come inside which was nice for him. There was even a lovely sunflower field at the vineyard so the setting was very idyllic. When we arrived in Gisborne we had a little drive round the city which was very pretty with its towering palms and very hippie vibe. The city is the most eastern city in the world, hence the first city to see the sunrise. We had a little walk along the waterfront and picked up a few supplies from the supermarket here before heading back to Wairoa. We drove back along the inland road for a change of scenery and the road was incredibly remote, although there was some impressive remains of rockfalls along the way! We didn't arrive back into Wairoa until dusk so it was quite a long day.

On Thursday the plan was to go into the Te Urunewa National Park. The national park is a rainforest full of native New Zealand trees and a great example of how New Zealand was before human settlement. A particular highlight is Lake Waikemoana which is a lake in the middle of the rainforest formed by an earthquake creating a natural dam and flooding the area. The weather however wasn't great but we still decided to go for a drive into it. The road in was very windy and soon became a gravel track and after a while we decided to turn back as we were worried about getting stranded by a landslip, as well as a potential risk of a flash flood. There were several waterfalls coming off the sides of the hills and the river was pretty vicious. It was a shame we couldn't get as far as the lake in the national park but it was still a nice drive.

After turning back we got stuck behind a group of young bulls in the middle of the road which Joss loved. We followed them for about half an hour before they finally got put into their new field. When arriving back into Wairoa we didn't really know what to do. Wairoa itself wasn't the most exciting place in the world, and with the nearest proper settlements of Napier and Gisborne about 2 hours in either direction we couldn't really go very far. We therefore had a chilled out rest of the day and played monopoly, the rain persisting right until darkness! Luckily it cleared eventually and we took Joss in this outside bathtub the bache had which he absolutely loved!

Friday was when we finally left Wairoa and headed back south towards Palmerston North to stay with a couple of family friends for the night. We stopped en route in Putorino for a drink at the lovely rural pub, before continuing down towards Napier. Liz and Liza went to a couple of vineyards along the way which was a little boring for me and Joss who had to stay in the car but they were still pretty to drive through. We stopped for lunch in Havelock North, before making one last push towards Palmerston North. The weather set in pretty bad prior and as the Manuwatu Gorge was still shut we had to head over the saddle which was very exposed and scary to drive over in the weather. We eventually arrived in Palmerston North in one piece though!

In Palmerston North we stayed with a couple of Lizas friends who she met when Joss was born. Kyla and Mark had their daughter Eva at the same time as Joss and as they were both born about 4 months prematurely they were in the same ward so they became good friends for their first few months spent in the hospital. I met them at Joss's birthday party so it was nice for me to meet them again. We had pizza for dinner and a few beers so it was a really nice even

Eastbourne Week 16

My plan for the weekend was to do another tramp in the Tararuas. I went into the hike pretty open minded with several options of where to finish, although I started at the Kaitoke entrance which is near Upper Hutt. To get there I used public transport as far as I could to Te Marua before hitching the last 10km. The walk I was looking at was the Southern Crossing which goes from Kaitoke to Otaki Forks, effectively a traverse from the east side of the mountains to the west side, although I wanted to include the summit of Maungahuka in the weekend which effectively gave me a choice of finishing at Otaki Forks on an alternative route, Waiohine Gorge, or back to Kaitoke. It's always good to go in open minded as you never know what could happen.

From Kaitoke it wasn't long before I started heading upwards, traversing through scrub to reach the Marchant Ridge. The final climb to the ridge was very steep although when on the ridge I bobbled between about 900m and 1100m so there wasn't too much serious climbing once I was up. The ridge had a variety of a scrubland and forest to walk through. There were even the occasional views too which was nice. Eventually I reached the 1118m summit of Omega, where I made a steep descent to the saddle at Hells Gate before making a steep ascent back up to reach Alpha Hut which is where I had lunch. Not long after leaving the hut I left the forest and headed through the open tussocks to the 1361m summit of Alpha. The views were stunning with the Hutt Valley and Wellington Harbour, the Wairarapa, and even the South Island visible.

The next section of the walk was in the complete open and unlike Holdsworth it was a lovely day with clear skies and no wind! I soon reached the 1376m summit of Aston which presented me with additional views of the Kapiti coastline, with the island visible. I continued in the open tussocks on the undulating ridge, bagging the 1472m, 1485m, and 1519m summits of Atkinson, Beehive, and Mount Hector along the way. After climbing the 1483m summit of Field Peak I reached Kime Hut which is where I made the decision to head out to continue to Maungahuka, with a good 4 hours daylight left to play with to get there. Interestingly my progress was so good I could have completed the southern crossing in a day if I wanted to, the walk advertised as taking 2-3 days.

The ridge to Maungahuka was incredibly undulating and I summited another 4 peaks along the way. I then reached the infamous peaks of Tuiti and Tunui which was the most challenging part of the day. The peaks were very jagged, and rock climbing was required to ascend and descend a few of the rock faces before I eventually reached a cliff edge which had a rope attached to the edge to traverse along the edge. I then reached the steel ladder, which was 30m descent down a cliff with a very big drop beyond that. I then had a few more ropes to negotiate to get down to more safe land. Once I had negotiated that particularly scary part of the walk I soon reached Maungahuka Hut, my bed for the night! There was another English guy there as well so I had someone to talk to, who had actually done an identical walk to what I had done to get there.

In the morning the other guy left pretty early as he was heading out for a big day. The night before I decided I would attempt to return to Kaitoke via the Cone Ridge and Smiths Creek back to where I started. The morning was a little overcast but very mild so I set off relatively early too despite the poor visibility. The plan was to get to the Cone Ridge which essentially required me to drop from about 1300m to the Hector River at 400m, before climbing back up to the summit of Cone at 1100m. It didn't go to plan however, as after following the ridge I soon returned into the forest and before long lost the path and couldn't locate it again. Luckily I knew my vague location so I decided the best bet was to head down to the river and follow that until I found this swing bridge. That was easier said than done as I had to battle through thick forest on a pretty steep decline. I fell several times and was only saved from dieing by the thick growth stopping my falls.

When finally reaching the river I was pretty broken physically but I continued on along the the river which was essentially a series of waterfalls which I had to decend. It was very slipperly and I had no choice but to gingerly use the slipperly rocks to get down, and in some places I had to climb up the bank to avoid getting swept away. The river eventually joined a larger one which was more like a gorge presenting new challenges including river crossings. I fell in a couple of times but managed to use the rocks to avoid getting swept downstream, although there were some sections which were strong rapids and I had to climb up the gorge edges using trees and my upper body strength to avoid them. I eventually found the swing bridge and the Neill Forks Hut which finally put me back on track! The detour cost me about 3 hours though so put me quite a bit behind schedule.

From the hut it was a steep incline up to the Cone Ridge although en route part of the path gave way and I had a pretty awkward fall down the bank into some trees. This hurt my right leg but I continued on without any problems to the ridge, eventually reaching the summit of Cone outside of the forest, getting some great views in the process. From here I made a decision to finish at the Waiohine Gorge instead of Kaitoke as I was pretty broken and this cut a substantial amount of distance off, as long as I could get a lift out to the main road from the gorge. The descent was quite painful on my damaged leg which I couldn't bend without experiencing pain. I eventually made it down to the Waiohine Gorge where luckily I got a lift out to the main road, followed by another lift back into the Hutt. All in all it was a stunning walk but the second day taught me a lot as well as using all my experience to get out of what could have been a more serious situation.

Monday morning was Christmas day, although Joss didn't come home until about 11 from his Dad's which gave me a much needed lie in and chance to relax. When Joss returned it wasn't long before we were in the lounge opening presents and even I got some presents which was nice! Joss was very spoilt! For lunch we had ham sandwiches as Liza had bought a big ham. Throughout the afternoon we played with Joss's toys and did some baking, including a yummy pavlova. We even had time to go for a swim in the pool although it was a little cold as much of the day it was raining. It's what Joss wanted though! It was a really nice and chilled out day all in all but it was nice to spent it with people instead of being alone.

The following day was Joss's birthday, which meant even more presents! The weather though was awful and there was very heavy downpours! In that period of heavy rain there was more rain in that couple of hours than the previous 48 days combined. For lunch Joss went out with his Dad for a couple of hours, which gave me a chance to relax before the afternoon. Joss wanted to go in the pool in the afternoon although the weather stopped us, so we did some more baking and played with his new toys, as well as starting a game of farmopoly which went into a second day! Wednesday was another pretty chilled out day as the weather still wasn't great although that did mean we could finish our game of farmopoly which I unfortunately lost in the end which was frustrating. Joss went round his Dad's in the afternoon for a couple of nights which gave a chance to tidy the house up a bit which was covered in Joss's toys and rubbish, as well as walking Max.

Joss was round his Dad's all day on Thursday to return home Friday morning. This gave me an unexpected day off so I decided to pop into Wellington and do a walk along the coast round Shelley Bay to Scorching Bay via the lighthouse at Point Halswell, before continuing to Lyall Bay and the airport via Moa Point. It was a very nice walk, but a little windy! My right leg was playing up by the end so the weekend has definitely done me some damage there. In the afternoon I had a look round the shops at the Christmas sales, and I ended up buying a tent which hopefully will be a pretty good investment and save me a fair bit of money on the long term. On the Friday Joss came home in the morning as his Dad was going to Tango in Taupo for new years. We therefore went into Wellington as it was such a nice day and went for a walk along the harbour, stopping for lunch at one of the restaurants on the waterfront.

Eastbourne Week 15

Saturday was finally the day of Joss's birthday party after all the hard work put in to make the house and garden look good for it over the previous weeks. We still had lots to do in the morning though including preparing all the food and decorating the garden, but luckily we finished with time to spare and by the afternoon all his friends arrived and it was a huge success. We had a big water fight and spent lots of time in pool, and the kids had fun playing some of the party games I prepared, and the food went down really well which was a proper classic party buffet. I think we're going to be eating party food for the rest of the year though as there was a lot left over as we bought so much!

The following day we tidied up from the day before and when putting the rubbish out it created an absolute mountain of stuff! As it was such a nice day in the afternoon we took Joss in the pool, although the water level had gone down a little from the party from the kids jumping off the ledge into the pool! Later in the afternoon Joss went out his Dad for a couple of hours and as it was so nice we went back into the pool until he came back. In the evening we had a bbq as we had bought sausages and chicken wings for the party but as we had so much other food we didn't cook them so that made even more leftover party food to get through!

Monday was the start of the last week of school for Joss, all be it just a day and a half. He had a hospital appointment in Wellington in the morning however so we had to get there, through morning rush hour traffic, before dropping him off at school. After he came home from school we got all the Christmas decorations out and decorated the tree and house with all sorts of stuff! It feels weird having Christmas in summer again although their decorations did include a dancing santa in jandals and swim shorts! The following day was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays which are effectively the equivalent of the summer holidays in the UK. Joss only had a half day so he returned home about lunchtime. It was a pretty chilled out day all in all.

On the Wednesday we took Joss out to the swimming pool in Lower Hutt for the first time to check out there facilities, and it was actually really good. We went into the hydrotherapy pool which was a 33 degree pool designed for people with disabilities, and it was actually really relaxing. There was even an electronic bed to easily get Joss changed, and a ramp in and out which made access really easy. Liz was even on about getting in next time which is saying something! In the afternoon Joss went round his Dad's for dinner, so I took the opportunity to give Max a good walk up in the bush, heading up and over to Days Bay and back along the coast, stopping for an ice cream at the pavilion on the way. It will be more difficult to walk Max regularly now with Joss off school as Liza doesn't like me not being in the house when Joss is there in case there's an earthquake or something.

On Thursday we went to Queensgate as Liz hadn't had any chance to do Christmas shopping, so she bought Joss so he could help buy Liza a present and give her ideas of what he wanted. It was incredibly busy there though being so close Christmas, although the perks of having a disabled person meant we quickly got a park right next to the front door while everyone else struggled to get a park! Me and Joss did get bored after a while though going in several health and beauty shops, so we went and got an ice cream and even visited Santa while Liz was looking round. When we got home Joss wanted to go for a swim. For some reason his favourite place to swim is the pool in the back garden which is also the coldest one to swim in, especially when it's not sunny which was the case, but he still wanted to go in so we braved it!

Friday was a busy day as we had to try and incorporate entertaining Joss with doing all the housework. We managed it in the end, and in the afternoon even had time for another swim in the garden. Joss was round his Dad's for the weekend, returning home on Christmas day. His Dad even arrived early which gave me more free time in the evening. I just popped into Queensgate to look round, as well as preparing myself for the weekend with the plan being to do another walk in the Tararuas. It was incredibly busy again but I managed to buy everything I needed.

Eastbourne Week 14

My plan for the weekend was to do a tramp in the Tararuas, although with Joss staying the night at home this meant a slight change of plan as I couldn't really leave him alone. Luckily his Dad picked him up relatively early and he gave me a lift to the railway station so I wasn't really impacted too much. The Tararuas are a mountain range north of Wellington and there is an array of hiking opportunities available. I was originally planning to walk part of the Holdsworth Jumbo circuit, stay the night in Powell Hut, and then head into the Waiohine Valley the following day, leaving as early as possible to hitchhike to the car park at the base of Mount Holdsworth. Instead I caught the train into the Wairarapa and got off at Matarawa and went for my planned walk the opposite way round. It was funny getting off at Matarawa as it is a request stop and is literally in the middle of nowhere, the station basically a halt with a shed. I was the only one to get off.

From Matarawa to the car park at Waiohine Gorge was a fair but doable walk and I was half hoping to hitch a ride there although only two cars passed me and I was unsuccessful getting a ride. I got there in the end though and started my walk into the Tararuas, crossing a particularly long swingbridge over the gorge. The path followed the gorge above it crossing a few tributaries along the way which were pretty. I eventually made it to the Totara Flats where the gorge opened out to some grass flatlands and I followed the river to the Totara Flats hut. Just after the hut I crossed a pretty intense swingbridge which was essentially metal wires with a soft mesh to walk on. The crosswind as I crossed made it very wobbly!

The next part of the walk briefly followed a tributary of the Waiohine River before starting my ascent through the forest to join the Holdsworth Jumbo circuit. It was a long slog but I eventually reached a ridge line before continuing the long slog up to the junction where I met the circuit. From here it was nice and flat as I followed the ridge line along a more open stretch with views of Mount Holdsworth in front. I eventually reached the Mountain House Shelter which signalled the start of a very steep ascent towards Powell Hut. It was very hard work but I eventually made it to the hut. About 400m prior to the hut though the ascent left the forest and went into open tussocks which presented me with great views of the Wairarapa, but also incredibly strong winds so I was glad to reach shelter! The hut itself was pretty busy with probably about 30 people inside, predominantly families, so it was nice to speak to some like minded people.

Through the night it was incredibly windy and it even rained. It felt at times the hut was going to blow away as it was literally shaking! The weather in the morning wasn't great with the hut effectively in the clouds and it was a bit moist in the air. I decided to crack on pretty early though and I was the first to set off, heading up to the 1470m summit of Mount Holdsworth. The ascent was slightly interesting with incredibly strong winds making it very hard work staying on my feet but I made it. There were no views however due to the cloud. From Mount Holdsworth I had a choice between dropping back into the forest for cover or continuing along the open tussocks to the next peak, the 1405m summit Jumbo. I went for the latter and getting there was very challenging, especially crossing the ridge which had sheer drops both sides and a savage crosswind but I made it, just. The were occasional breaks in the clouds too so I got a few views along the way, all be it very briefly!

The descent from Jumbo to the Jumbo Hut was a bit easier as the wind was behind me instead of a difficult crosswind, and it was nice to reach the hut just to get out the wind for a bit. From the hut I was soon back into the cover of the forest and made a pretty steep descent down to the Atiwhakatu hut and stream, which also meant it became hot again. I followed the stream all the way out to the car park, which included several swingbridges on the way. Just before reaching the car park I did a short excursion up to this lookout of Mount Holdsworth and you could see how bad the cloud cover was on the top! From the car park I hitched a ride out to SH2, which from there I easily got a lift back into Petone, all be it with some religious family which was interesting. All in all though it was a good weekend and a real challenging hike which I enjoyed.

On Monday I discovered that the vomiting/diarrhea bug which Joss had was enjoyed by Liz and Liza over the weekend, so I had a lucky escape avoiding one of Joss's illness again! They were both hoping to do some work out in the garden over the weekend and were unable to, so I went out there for a couple of hours in the morning before it got too warm. When Joss got home from school he was much better then when he left, and we therefore went inside his pool for a bit while Liz did some painting. The following day there was no swimming as the school were going to the cinema in the morning. After school we did have conductive though and Joss apparently did really well in his walker.

On Wednesday I had to go into school in the morning with Joss and help out with this triathlon thing they were doing. As with a normal triathlon, the three disciplines were swimming, cycling, running and Joss was able to do the first two disciplines. Liza even came to watch although was absolutely fuming after he was effectively completely excluded from the rest of the year by doing his swim on his own whilst everyone else was cycling, so he had basically no one to cheer him on. After his bike ride we sat in the park and cheered his friends on in the run, before heading back in the afternoon to do some more work in the garden. I cleaned the front of the house whilst Liz and Liza painted over the odd little bits which needed doing on the deck. It will hopefully be looking good for Joss's birthday party at the weekend now!

Thursday was another really busy day, with the school having a day down the beach. In the morning however Joss had an appointment at conductive about getting a new walker. Liza has been fighting for funding for a long time now to get a hydraulic walker which would require no physical effort to get him in and out, hence meaning his teachers could use it at school, and could be used without my help. They basically wanted to see Joss walk in current walker and luckily he did so fingers crossed there one step closer to getting the funding. After conductive it was down the beach where we were able to try out this beach wheelchair we'd hired for the day, which was actually really good as it enabled Joss to go on the beach and it even floated in the sea with him in! I did take him in without too though as he does like normal swimming. It was a nice day and we even had lunch and played games at the pavilion.

When we got home from school we went straight out to the dog wash place to wash Max as he was getting very smelly, tieing it in with Joss's haircut appointment. Joss enjoyed helping wash Max and it tied in perfectly with getting his haircut after, something he doesn't like doing as he won't stay still. It was quite challenging too having Max with us as each time we got the wheelchair in and out he jumped out the car! And would only go back in when I carried him back in. Not long after we got back Joss's Dad arrived to pick him up for the night, so I decided to pop into Petone for the evening. Friday was another busy day getting ready for the birthday party the following day, spending much of the day when Joss was at school doing the housework, as well as popping into Wellington to return the beach wheelchair. We only just about got back before Joss's taxi arrived! We then spent much of the rest of the day preparing food for the party and sorting out a few odd little bits in the garden.

Eastbourne Week 13

The weekend was another scorching one for weather with the area going well and truly brown now. There's even apparently going to be a hosepipe ban if it doesn't rain soon as the sun is really intense. We therefore went to the market in the morning before it got too hot before heading back home. After lunch we went outside and set about assembling Joss's swimming pool as we thought if there is going to be a hosepipe ban it's best to fill it before that happens. As the pool was particularly big his Dad and partner came round to help us and we soon assembled it. After it was up we went left the hosepipe to fill it up and went back inside to do some baking, as well as preparing stuff for a bbq for dinner. The pool took a fair few hours to fill but it got there in the end, all be it deeper one end than the other because of the slope of the garden.

The following day we had a more relaxing morning as Joss went out with his Dad to see the wonky donkey. After lunch we headed out to Silverstream which is home to a small railway line. There was basically an event which meant they were running a diesel locomotive and a steam train along the track, as well as a museum you could look around with old trains inside. The place was not very wheelchair friendly and it was hard work getting Joss to the platform along what was a gravel path on a gradual incline but I got him there. We then managed to arrange to get him onto the train for a ride, where he was allowed to even drive the diesel locomotive with the driver! He didn't drive the steam train though as that would have been slightly more dirty! After grabbing an ice cream we headed back home where we tried out the swimming pool for the first time. Joss enjoyed playing on his inflatables although the water was slightly fresh!

Monday was back to school although whilst Joss was at school we went out to Mitre 10 to grab some things for the garden for the deck so we could carry on painting it. By the time we came back and had lunch there wasn't long until Joss came from school so I couldn't really get much done, and when Joss did return he didn't want to go outside so I stayed inside and entertained him whilst they stayed outside and did some painting. In the evening there was a carol service in Eastbourne although Joss didn't want to go but was forced to go in the end which he was not happy about. Liz and his Dad went whilst I stayed and helped Liza in the garden. With peace for a couple of hours we managed to get a fair bit done.

Tuesday morning was swimming once again, although the small pool was closed to be cleaned which meant we weren't sure if Joss could go or not. In the end I thought I would tryJoss in the big pool and it was actually probably easier as it had steps in and out which meant I could get him in and out by myself, unlike the the a small pool which takes 2 people getting him and out as it has a ladder and ledge. The only difference was it was slightly deeper in the big pool. During the day it was nice to relax for a couple of hours, and after school Joss didn't go to conductive as they had a meeting there about getting him a better walker in terms of lifting him in and out and they felt it would be better if he stayed at home. We therefore baked a Christmas cake which he enjoyed!

The following day was sailing once again and it was a relatively windy day which meant the boats were going nice and quickly. After sailing I planned to quickly fill in the holes Max had dug, although before I could finish several police cars turned up outside the house. We soon found out there was a robbery at one of the houses in York Bay and the police had supposedly cornered the suspects. Instead they escaped into the bush behind the house which resulted in police dogs being deployed to find them! With Joss round his Dad's after school for dinner I was going to pop out although I decided to stay inside in the end under police advice as they had deployed police cars along a few of the bays to try and intercept them. They managed to escape in the end!

The following day the people who escaped were caught as the police knew their identities and arrested them at their house, so they were pretty dumb. Apparently the persons house they attempted to rob was one of the robbers ex wives and they luckily managed to unsuccessfully steal anything, leaving behind just a smashed in window through their escape. Away from that Thursday morning was swimming once again, and I took Joss in the big pool again which he enjoyed. It's nicer for him being in that one as he's with all his classmates then instead of the early years children. When Joss came from school he wasn't feeling very well, and started vomiting which wasn't pleasant.

The following day we didn't send Joss to school after the previous day, and he apparently had a restless night. Luckily he had stopped vomiting but he did have diarrhoea which meant lots of nappy changes throughout the day. By the afternoon everything was under control though. With Joss at home all day I couldn't really do all the housework, and he would have also gone swimming in the morning too which he obviously couldn't so it actually gave me a pretty chilled out day. We even baked some cookies. In the afternoon he was meant to go round his Dad's for the weekend although Liza and his Dad decided it was best for him to stay at home for the night so his Dad came round at his usual pick up time and stayed round with him and put him to bed as Liza was out.

Eastbourne Week 12

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.

Eastbourne Week 11

I was happy when the weekend came to finally have a couple of days off to go out and do something, as I only really get the chance to go on proper days out somewhere when Joss is round his Dad's at the weekend. I therefore decided I would finally get over and visit the Wairarapa, focusing on the southern parts. I in particular wanted to visit Cape Palliser Lighthouse and the Putangirua Pinnacles so getting there effectively required hitchhiking. I therefore caught the train out to Featherston which only operates twice a day on a weekend, before catching the bus down to Martinborough. It was interesting going through the tunnel through the Rimutakas which reminded me of the alternative route from the doing Rimutaka Rail Trail a few weeks previous.

When arriving in Martinborough which was particularly busy due to the Toast Martinborough event scheduled for the Sunday, something I hoped to visit, I walked for a little bit down the road to try and get a good spot to hitch a ride down to Cape Palliser. I knew it would be particularly easy to get a ride as bar a couple of turn offs to some small settlements the road only went to Cape Palliser. In the end it was easy and I was picked up by a local which meant I practically got a free guided tour on the way down there, the scenery en route pretty special. In the end I got dropped off in the small village of Ngawi about 5km before Cape Palliser as I wanted to check out the bulldozers. Ngawi is known for having the highest ratio of bulldozers to people in the world and they aren't wrong!

After leaving Ngawi I walked the rest of the way to Cape Palliser, stopping en route at various points for photos of the dramatic coastline and black sand beaches. A particularly interesting feature included Kupes Sail which is a geological landform formed through plate tectonics and literally looks like the ground is sticking up in the air. There were also plenty of spots en route to spot seals which were particularly active and in high numbers. I eventually reached Cape Palliser Lighthouse which is the southern most point of the North Island. The lighthouse itself was red and white stripes and lonely planet rank in the top 10 lighthouses in the world to visit. Getting up to the lighthouse required climbing 258 steps, although I did climb some rocks to get a better view too!

When leaving the lighthouse I headed back the same way back towards Kupes Sail and Mangatoetoe which I passed on my way to the lighthouse. From here I started heading inland into the Aorangi Forest. I knew doing Ngawi, the Lighthouse, and the Pinnacles in a day would be ambitious in terms of getting back to Eastbourne as the train passes through Featherston late afternoon, so I instead planned to do a walk from Mangatoetoe to the Pinnacles which happened to pass 4 DoC huts en route, allowing me to stay out somewhere overnight.

The walk followed the Mangatoetoe stream through a valley to the first hut which was pretty. After arriving at the first hut I decided to continue to the second hut as I still had a good couple of hours of daylight to play with. I continued to follow the stream which narrowed before heading up into the forest with a few decent viewpoints, before dropping down into the Kawakawa valley where I followed that stream to the second hut. It felt very remote and when reaching the second hut I decided to base myself there for the night as I didn't want to be in what was basically absolute wilderness at night which would have been the case if I continued. It was nice to relax and have a fire going before it got dark so I think I made the right choice staying at the second hut.

On the Sunday I was up pretty early as the sunlight woke me up, although I didn't have a great nights sleep because I thought it was going to be a cold night but by the time I got in my sleeping bag and left the fire to die down it was really hot inside the hut. After breakfast I pressed on through the forest, initially following the stream before climbing up an incredibly steep path through the forest before dropping down an equally steep path to the third hut by another stream. The terrain was very challenging with loose sediment and many tree roots, and in a navigation sense I had to be on the ball the whole time as animal tracks and hunters trails made following the correct route a challenge. After the third hut the path once again climbed up in an incredibly steep manner before following a ridge line and dropping down into another valley to the fourth hut.

After the fourth hut came the most challenging climb which was practically a scramble to reach the ridge line although I was rewarded with the best views yet and could finally see the coastline again. I followed the ridge line for a while before decending this time at a more gradual gradient towards the pinnacles, which by the end of the path was a 4wd track so easy terrain. The Putangirua Pinnacles are an example badlands erosion. When the Aorangi Range was an island, 7 to 9 million years ago, screes poured gravels onto the coast. The Putangirua Stream which runs through the valley has exposed this ancient layer of gravels to the erosive forces of rain and floods. Where cemented silts or rocks within the gravel beds prove more resistant than the underlying sediments, spectacular individual pinnacles or “hoodoos” are formed. The eerie scenes in The Return of the King as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride along the Dimholt Road to meet the Army of the Dead were also filmed here.

After checking out a couple of lookouts above the pinnacles, I decended into the valley to explore the fascinating landform from below. There were several little paths leading up into the rock structures and I spent a while exploring before following the stream through the valley back towards the coastline and the end of the hike. The coastline itself here was stunning with views across to the Rimutakas in the distance. From here I hitched a ride into Martinborough where I was literally picked up by the first car that passed me. It was fun though as the couple who picked me up had a truck so I sat outside on the trailer bit which was slightly illegal but a great way to see the scenery!

When in Martinborough I checked out the toast event. The Wairarapa is particularly famous for its vineyards and this event takes people out to some of the surrounding vineyards for wine tasting. I didn't do that although I did explore Martinborough itself which had lots going on in the way of food and music in the square for the festival. It is tempting to return to Martinborough at some point with a bike and visit some of the vineyards when it's a little less busy. From here I hitched a ride to Featherston which I had a little look round, before hitching a ride to Wellington, ironically with the same guy I met in the pinnacles. When making it to Wellington I had dinner by the harbour before heading back to York Bay later that evening.

It was nice Joss was round his Dad's Sunday night as this meant I could have a much needed lie in on Monday morning and a relaxing day before he came from school. The following day Joss went swimming which is something weather dependent he will be doing every Tuesday and Thursday morning. As he obviously can't swim unaided I have to go in the pool and swim with him. It's a nice little swimming pool located in Eastbourne only open during the summer as it's outdoors, and Joss seems to enjoy it so it should be a nice little thing to do with him. After school Joss had conductive so after that he was pretty tired having done swimming in the morning, and all his stretches and walking in the afternoon!

On the Wednesday it was sailing once again, and despite it being pretty windy was surprisingly still on. This made it look fun though as the boats were going really fast although Liz was having an absolute heart attack at the speed and tilting of the boats! Joss seemed to enjoy it though. Joss went round his Dad's for dinner after school which gave me the afternoon off, so I just walked into Eastbourne and found a couple of geocaches and chilled on the beach. The following day was swimming once again in the morning, and it was another really nice day. The school even messaged Thursday evening to say that there would be a one off swimming session the following day too.

On Friday we therefore took Joss swimming in the morning although it was only short swim compared to the previous days. When we got back instead of doing the housework I was asked to wash the cars instead which a nice change. It was Black Friday though so after lunch Liza went out in her nice and clean car and came home with a load of stuff rammed inside it! After school Joss was only home for a couple of hours before his Dad came to pick him up for the weekend. In the evening there was some twilight Christmas parade thing in Petone which I thought I'd check out which was basically a parade followed by someone turning the Christmas lights on. There was quite a lot of people out for it so it was worth seeing.

Eastbourne Week 10

Originally Joss was meant to be round his Dad's for the weekend, although this changed last minute due to a misunderstanding in communication. This meant we had the weekend with Joss which was nice but a little frustrating as I had planned to go to the football in Wellington to see the NZ v Peru game. Luckily Liza still allowed me to go so I didn't totally miss out on my plans for the weekend. The morning was spent with Joss while Liza and Liz went out and sorted out a few things, and I then headed into Wellington for the match in the afternoon while they stayed at home and did some baking with Joss.

The match against Peru was the first leg of a play off for a place at the world cup. Peru ranked 10th in the world were no mugs finishing above Chile to secure this match and until the last round of fixtures were above Argentina! There were a lot of Peruvian fans in town and there were an estimated 5000 in the ground and they made a lot of noise. It was great to see a haka live before the game and the national anthems were good. The game finished 0 0 although NZ absolutely defended for their lives so it was an exciting game. I headed back after the game to put Joss to bed, although I wished I was going out in town after the game as there were Peruvians everywhere and they were very lively so it would have been fun!

The following day we had a more chilled out morning, watching the All Blacks game against France which was actually quite exciting as despite destroying France in the first half the French came back in the second half before finally losing. After the game we headed into Wellington to go to the market which was a lot bigger than the one in Lower Hutt. We got a few groceries before grabbing some lunch which had a pretty infinite selection of cuisines. I went for Chilean in the end which brought back some good memories! We then headed back to Eastbourne, where Joss spent a couple of hours with his Dad later in the afternoon. I spent this free time taking Max out as he hadn't been walked all weekend.

On the Monday I just had a chilled out day as the weather wasn't too clever with showers all throughout the day. The following day was a bit nicer so I decided to take Max out for a long walk once again, this time along the coast to Eastbourne, and then up into bush via Hawtrey Trig and down to Days Bay. Max was exhausted by the end though as it was quite a steep path and the kind of track not walked very often so some pretty uneven terrain. It was good to get out though.

Under normal circumstances it would have been the week Joss goes round his Dad's on Wednesday and Thursday night with the weekend at home, however after what happened at the weekend Liza decided to change this as it would have meant if we swapped weekends with his Dad he would have been been staying round there for 5 nights. Instead it meant he just went round his Dad's for dinner on the Wednesday after school, to then go round his Dad's for the weekend before the routine returned to normal the following week. This effectively gives me two consecutive weekends off which is good. Joss had sailing in the morning although it was a very still day which isn't ideal conditions for sailing. After lunch I had a few hours spare so I decided to go into Petone down the beach as it was a nice afternoon.

Thursday was another nice day, so I popped into Eastbourne during the day where I went to the library to read a couple of travel books for inspiration. I even found a pretty exciting multi geocache here which was hidden inside one of the books on the shelf! In the evening we had a firework display in the garden although the fireworks were more small and pretty than impressive. The following day Joss went round his Dad's for the weekend, which meant after doing the housework and looking after Joss after school before his Dad picked him up, I went out in the evening. I just popped to Queensgate and looked round, stopping via the pub on the way home.

Eastbourne Week 9

The weather forecast was great for the weekend and we were originally going go make the most of this and go out with Jossy but Liz was under strict instructions to rest her leg to help it heal so we couldn't go very far. To ensure this was the case me and Liza took Joss out to the market in Lower Hutt to allow her to rest, before coming home to pick up Max where we took him down the beach which he liked while we sat and a couple of drinks in the pub. We were out for a fair amount of time in the end and even bought some fireworks on the way home. In the evening we were originally going to go out to this reggae thing in Wellington before watching the fireworks in the evening although there were very high winds and Joss threw a tantrum to not go so we didn't go in the end. We could still see the fireworks from the balcony though. Apparently it's the last year they're having bonfire night in New Zealand though because they say Guy Fawkes is nothing to do with the country and should instead have fireworks to celebrate Matariki which is the Maori new year. It's seems a bit stupid though considering Maori are just 25% of the population and many white people here are of British descent.

The following day was another nice day, although Joss wasn't feeling very well so we decided to do a bit more work out in the garden, chopping up all the wood we brought down to make a wood pile. This cleared lots of space in the garden and we were able to plant some more strawberries, this time with a netting over the top as Max dug up the last load. I also filled in many of the holes round the garden he's dug so we'll see how long that stays like that. It looked a lot tidier when we were finished. When we came in we did a bit of cooking where Liza taught me how to falafels. We had a bbq as well for dinner which was nice. By bedtime Joss had a really bad cough though and really wasn't well so fingers crossed that doesn't get spread around!

On Monday we couldn't send Joss to school as he was unwell, so this meant a day at home with him. He was also originally meant to have a hospital appointment too but was too unwell for that too. By the end of the day he was a little bit better, and we still had a good day making some cookies and playing out in the garden as it was a nice day. The following day he went back to school, although I couldn't go very far during the day just in case he was sent home. Luckily he wasn't although it was nice to relax after quite a full on previous few days! We did have a hospital appointment with the guy Joss goes to conductive with after school though.

Wednesday was meant to be sailing although that was cancelled due to the weather, with it deemed too windy. With respect it was pretty bad as I found out when walking Max as I could barely put one foot in front of another and the waves were crashing into the road which made it pretty sketchy. As sailing was cancelled I decided to head into Lower Hutt, as I needed to go to the post office and the bank to sort out a couple of things. I also went into the library which I hadn't visited yet, with it being much bigger than the one in Eastbourne. Under normal circumstances Joss would go round his Dad's for dinner on a Wednesday although he couldn't this week which meant I had to be home for after school. He was happy about that although his illness had spread to Liz and Liza who were both pretty ill, with Joss not 100% still himself.

On Thursday I took Max out for a long walk in the woods behind the house, finding a few geocaches in the process. He seemed to like it and it's quite a good workout for me too climbing the hill onto the ridge! The following day was housework day once again which kept me nice and busy. When Joss got home from school we thought we only had him for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up for the weekend. This wasn't the case however as he didn't turn up, which we didn't think much of it to start with as he is bad at communication and the time he picks him up varies every week. When after a couple of hours he still hadn't turned up and wasn't answering his phone we started to get a little worried, so gave Joss his dinner. We knew something had to be up as he is always really good with Joss, so me and Liz ended up going round his house where there was no sign of him. In the end Liza came home as we didn't know what to do, and was not happy with his Dad so we put Joss to bed. In the end he messaged us saying that he wanted to swap weekends, something apparently Liza hadn't agreed to, so it was all very confusing.

Eastbourne Week 8

Joss was round his Dad's for the weekend which gave me a couple of days with a great weather forecast to do as I pleased. I keep meaning to go out over to the Wairarapa but with just 2 trains a day over there on the weekend, 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening, and no public transport to get to the areas I particularly want to visit I would realistically have to hitchhike or cycle, or go on a weekday when trains are more frequent. I therefore decided to save that for another time where I could perhaps stay somewhere overnight with a bit of planning. In the end I decided to go and try out the Rimutaka Rail Trail which I was going to do the other week on the bike. I left pretty early and made a more successful bus journey over to Tunnel Gully than before.

The Rimutaka Rail Trail is an old railway line which linked Wellington and Hutt Valley settlements to the Wairarapa over the Rimutaka mountain range. A long tunnel was constructed underneath the Rimutakas in 1955 however and this remains today as both a commuter and freight railway. The trail is particularly popular with cyclists although I decided to walk it, starting at Tunnel Gully. The first section was through the forest before doing a bit of road walking to reach the official start of the trail. When reaching the start it started to get more of about old railway line feel and the path soon followed the Pakuratahi River and over the Munitions Bend bridge into a valley which was pretty.

I eventually made it to the Pakuratahi tunnel, the first of 4 tunnels en route and the shortest one before crossing a couple of old railway bridges over the river, a particular highlight the one at Ladles Bend which had a great view of the river and Rimutaka mountains behind. The path eventually got to a point known as the summit which was the highest point of the track and an old workers settlement and yard for the trains. There were a few old locomotives up here and a nice picnic area. I then continued on through the summit tunnel which at 584m was the longest tunnel en route before the path decended at the other end along a section called the incline which is the steepest section at an average of 60% gradient. On the descent I passed through the Siberia tunnel which at the other side had the remains of an old viaduct known as Horseshoe Gully, as well as Prices tunnel, eventually decending down to the Cross Creek yard which was another former workers settlement which is where I stopped for lunch.

On the way back I headed back up to the summit the same way through the tunnels, getting some great views of the Rimutakas around me. Apparently the journey up the summit took about 50 minutes by train and bearing in mind I walked up quicker it shows how steep and slow the train would have been. When reaching the summit I primarily followed the same route back over Ladles Bend and the Pakuratahi bridges, before diverging off an alternative route back to Tunnel Gully via Goat rock which was a shortcut all be it up and over a hill instead of round it. It was a pretty solid walk in the end and I covered a fair bit of distance, but it was worth it. When getting the bus I headed straight back to Petone where I sat and watched the sunset and had dinner before going down the pub for a few well earned pints.

The following day was another great day although I had a bit of a lie in as it was a long day before. In the end I decided to go and do a bit of geocaching as I hadn't been since July, tieing it in with going over to Wainuiomata which is the other side of the hills. Geographically Wainuiomata is actually closer to York Bay than Eastbourne, there's just a big hill in the way and on my way over I found a few geocaches, the highlight being this multi where I had to find this plane wreckage. When getting to Wainuiomata I had lunch before continuing to the Wainuiomata Recreation Area which was home to an old dam and wetland area, as well as several swimming holes which were tempting to get in! I then headed back up and over the hill to Eastbourne, finding a few more caches before dropping down into Days Bay. It was very humid inside the trees so I was glad when I reached the coast again!

After a busy weekend it was back to school on Monday, although they had sports day which meant we went down to watch for a bit in the morning. It was probably pretty boring for Joss though as he primarily had to watch everyone else, although I did help him in one of the throwing events. The afternoon was pretty chilled out, and when he got home from school he was pretty tired being out in the sun all day as well as being in his bike. The next day was a normal school day although it was conductive after school, and after dropping him off we went to a small garden centre to look round before picking him up. We even had a bbq in the evening as was such nice weather, fingers crossed summer has now well and truly begun.

On Wednesday it was Joss's week where he goes round his Dad's for a couple of nights, so after taking him sailing I had the afternoon to myself. I therefore decided to pop over to Paraparaumu to visit Melva. It took ages to get there though as public transport in NZ is a joke which I've said many times but it was a lovely day by any means. It was nice to catch up and I even stayed for dinner, not getting back until late. It was a warm evening though, finding a few geocaches on the way back. The following day Joss came home after school for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up, and after he went I popped into Lower Hutt for the evening as it was another great evening for a few beers down the pub, finding a few more geocaches in the process!

Friday was housework day again and I've got a pretty solid routine now to get it done more quickly. In the afternoon we popped out to Mitre 10 and the supermarket to buy a few things for the house, although all the recent good weather ended and it was horrible outside. In the evening we were going to go out but the weather put us off, although Liz had an accident and cut her leg open on Joss's walker which meant we had to go to A&E which meant our evening was spent there instead. In the end after a few hours waiting Joss's Dad came to pick me and Joss up and took us home so he could have dinner and go to bed. In the end it was a late night as the cut was so deep it needed an x-ray in case of bone damage and then needed stitches, so I had to keep an eye out for Jossy at home while Liza looked after Liz at the hospital. They didn't end up getting home until gone midnight but luckily she was OK!

Eastbourne Week 7

The weekend was a bank holiday weekend with it being labour day on the Monday, which apparently commemorates the 8 hour working day or something as they say you should have 8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, and 8 hours rest in a day. It was a bank holiday regardless so it meant a long weekend. On the Saturday we headed into Wellington in the morning to pick up these chairs for the kitchen, before dropping them back home and going out to the market in Lower Hutt. After the market we went back home for lunch before I went out with Liza to Mitre 10 to buy some things for the garden. In the evening we went into Lower Hutt to this festival of lights event, going for dinner at this Mexican restaurant beforehand. The event had loads of uv light and entertainment areas which looked really impressive. There was even a firework display when it got dark too and we had front row seats for it, one of the perks of being with someone disabled!

The following day we went out in the garden for much of the day, where we started clearing much of the weeds and undergrowth which were on the bank next to the house. There was a heck of a lot up there and we took a whole car load of it to the dump. Just clearing the undergrowth, as well as cutting back some of the big ferns and other trees which were dead brought a load more light into the garden. In the evening we had a bbq outside on the new fire burner bought for the garden, so I was put on fire duty and showed them how to make a fire. We even had dinner outside before heading back in when it was dark so it was quite a busy days gardening outside.

The Monday was labour day which meant another afternoon out in the garden, where we continued to clear the bank and even got the chainsaw out to remove some of the bigger stuff. When finished it looked really bare but we scattered the area with loads of meadow based seeds so if that establishes it should look nice. On the long term my job is work my way up the bank clearing all the dead stuff which when done should hopefully bring in even more light. We also cleaned both the balcony at the front of the house and deck in the back garden so that required lots of moving things and cleaning things like the pots and furniture. In the end it was another busy day, which was finished off by watching the fireworks in Wellington to celebrate diwali from the balcony.

By Tuesday it was back to school although all our gardening and moving things about over the weekend meant the house was a little messy so I spent the morning making everything a bit more tidier. In the afternoon Joss had conductive after school which meant going over to Naenae again. While he was there were just went and sat by the river for a bit and did a bit of shopping.

The following day was finally a nice enough day for sailing to be on, all be it a little windy. We picked Joss up from school and took him down to the place they do it near Point Howard and he seemed to have a good time as the wind meant they were going really fast! After sailing I pretty much had the afternoon to myself as it was the week Joss goes round his Dad's for dinner on a Wednesday after school before coming home in the evening. I was going to go out for a walk but a greater priority was to get some new walking boots which I managed to hopefully get a good deal for with Kathmandu having 50% of all their boots for members, and I managed to blag a free membership so actually did quite well. I then just headed into Lower Hutt as they've just opened their new h&m store, the first one in Wellington and just the third in NZ since the one in Auckland opened not long after I arrived, so I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about.

On Thursday I had a far more relaxing day which was nice after being on the go so much the previous days. The following day was housework day again and I had a few extra little things to do around the house which kept me busy until lunchtime. After school we only had Jossy until about half 5 before going round his Dad's for the weekend. I just had a relaxing evening when he went though instead of going out which was nice.

Eastbourne Week 6

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!

Eastbourne Week 5

The weekend was a full on one with Jossy at home all weekend, although the weather on Saturday restricted us from going very far. Even Max didn't get a walk as it poured with rain the entire day! What we did do however was lots of cooking and we made a carrot cake with Jossy before Liza gave me a beginners lesson on how to make curry from scratch which is actually more double than you would expect. It just took a long time to prepare but when we finally got to eat it it was very nice. The following day it was still pretty grotty weather although it did clear up by the afternoon to an extent and we went out for a drive, heading up to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine which overlooks Wellington. The views up top were great. On the way back down to headed over to the southern coastline and Owhiro Bay where we went to this cafe and had cake before heading back home by dinnertime.

On Monday it was still pretty miserable weather but it once again cleared up by the afternoon. This allowed us to go out for a walk with Jossy along the promenade in Eastbourne so we at least did something. The following day the sun finally came out all day and we therefore did a bit more work out in the garden, cleaning the decking and removing a load of weeds from the side of the house. Fingers crossed it will be bbq weather soon as it's actually quite a nice little area to sit when it's nice.

On Wednesday Joss had a hospital appointment in Wellington in the morning. This meant an early start to get him ready, although I didn't have to go with them to the hospital as his Dad was meeting them there, instead staying and doing the hoovering and dog instead. That saved me doing it after and also sitting in a hospital for hours as they were out for quite a while. When they got home Jossy was only there for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up. He's staying round there until Monday so it's going to be longer weekend than usual which will be nice. After he left I decided to head into Lower Hutt and look round the shops just to get out the house, despite it raining, although it did clear up by the evening.

With the day off on Thursday and a good days weather forecast I decided to head out for the day to the Kaitoke Regional Park, located north of Upper Hutt. To get there was a challenge with 3 different buses taking me to about 1km off the southern entrance, and it obviously didn't go to plan as I missed my last connection by about a minute meaning I had to kill an hour in Upper Hutt. I hadn't actually been there yet so it was nice to look round. When eventually arriving in Te Marua about 2 and a half hours after leaving, I followed the road to the car park where I headed up to a lookout over the Stuart Macaskill Lakes, a twin reservoir which supplies much of Wellingtons water. I then headed up along the ridge track, which was very muddy after all the recent rain but did give some great views of the Hutt Valley to the south and Tararua Ranges to the north.

I eventually headed back down and into the touristy part of the Kaitoke Regional Park which is popular with Lord of the Rings fans as being where the set for Rivendell was filmed. With a bit of imagination and help from these information boards you were able to recreate parts of the film, and there was even an arch created to replicate part of the Elvish Kingdom. I then followed this path with gave views of the Hutt River Gorge before entering the rainforest which had some pretty impressive trees inside, some even loosely replicating Hobbit holes. It eventually emerged at a swingbridge where there were more great views of the Hutt River Gorge, as well as this weir further upstream. The final part of the walk took me along the Pakuratahi River which had several swimming holes, which would have been tempting if the water hadn't been turned brown from all the run off from the recent rain!

When exiting the park I had about a 6km walk along the road to get a bus back to Upper Hutt. En route I stopped at another viewpoint of the Stuart Macaskill Lakes. It was frustrating when arriving at Te Marua however to find out there wasn't any more buses from Te Marua to Upper Hutt so I had to walk a bit further, all be it along the Hutt River Trail which was pleasant, to get another bus. The bus I caught however was meant to go to Petone but was cancelled to there and only went as far as Upper Hutt which was again frustrating as it meant an hour wait for the next one. I therefore had dinner in Upper Hutt instead of Petone where I was intending to kill the hour. When I finally got a bus it just topped it all off that I had to wait 40 minutes for a connecting bus towards Eastbourne, meaning it took nearly 4 hours to get back, not my idea of fun.

The following day is was back to normal in terms of weather with it being a miserable day. Luckily it was housework day so that kept me busy in the morning, although I didn't really fancy going very far in the afternoon. In the end I just had a chilled out afternoon, spending time looking at things to do over the weekend which looked like it would be nice, as well as starting to consider my options for when my visa for New Zealand runs out on March 5th which may sound a long way away but I'm sure it will come round quick. Come evening I went out for a few beers, although I went into Petone instead of Eastbourne just to try out somewhere different.

Eastbourne Week 4

Jossy was round his Dad's all weekend which gave me the weekend off to do whatever I fancied. I therefore decided it would nice to go and visit Melva, tieing it in with a walk en route. Many people have recommended the Paekakariki Escarpment Track to me which is a relatively new track on the hillside linking Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki railway stations, so I thought I would do that. When leaving however it was pouring with rain although I just went for it to make the most of the day and by the time I arrived in Pukerua Bay the sun was out. The walk started from the station and basically ran parallel to the road and railway line, all be it on the edge of the hill. Some people call the track the stairway to heaven and you could see why as there was some 1500 steps throughout the track as well as 2 swing bridges which I always enjoy.

When arriving in Paekakariki I stopped for a drink as it was so hot, before continuing along the coastline into the Queen Elizabeth Park. From here I followed an inland track through the sand dunes parallel to the coastline which like the Escarpment Track presented great coastal views. I eventually emerged in Raumati which from there I followed the expressway into Paraparaumu to see Melva. It was nice to catch up although I stayed a lot longer than expected! After leaving I headed straight back down into Wellington where I had a couple of beers before deciding to just head back to York Bay as I didn't want to stay out too late.

The following day I had several options of things to do with many walks now on my to do list. I eventually decided I would go and watch the rugby and go for a walk in the afternoon. As New Zealand were playing Argentina away it was a late morning kick off and the pub were doing bacon sandwiches so I had to go, as well as the draw in the Australia South Africa game meaning New Zealand knew they were champions before kick off. They even beat Argentina so it was a great atmosphere. Afterwards I headed out into the Percy Scenic Reserve where I headed to this waterfall, the tallest one in the Wellington region. I then continued heading up through the woods to these rocks called the sugarloaf which gave a view over Lower Hutt and Wellington Harbour. When heading back down I went via Galbraiths Gully which followed a stream right back into Petone.

Jossy returned home on Monday morning as it was school holidays and his Dad had to go to work. This meant I had to keep him amused all day, although I did spend much of the morning doing the hoovering and cleaning out the car which was covered in foliage from where they had done dump trips of the trees I cut down over the weekend. After lunch as it was such a nice day we took Joss out on his bike, driving into Eastbourne where we walked a couple of hours along the promenade and back. Using the bike uses his leg muscles when the pedals turn and I pushed him most of the way, but in the long term he could potentially uses his arms to pedal, although he struggles with that right now.

The next day was another full on day, and was another scorcher. We therefore took Jossy outside on the deck in the back garden where I did a bit of gardening while he sat outside with me. After I finished what I was doing we read one of his books the school gave him over the holidays, and even had lunch outside inbetween. He even tried to teach me the words to the haka they do at school. When we went back inside we played a few board games which I obviously lost. Liza was very impressed with me when she came home that I managed to keep him entertained for so long without his Ipad which is essentially his only form of entertainment he can use without too much help.

On Wednesday we only had Joss until about 3 before he went to stay round his Dad's for a couple of nights. It was a pretty chilled out day although we did have to write a letter to the tooth fairy because he's decided he wants to buy his old tooth back and no longer wants to get new ones so that was fun. After his Dad picked him up I decided to go out for a walk in the afternoon, heading out into the East Harbour Regional Park to Butterfly Creek. The path to here was accessed from Eastbourne and headed up presenting great views of the harbour before dropping down the other side into the Butterfly Creek Valley. It was a pretty forest walk following the stream to this picnic area next to the stream, before I headed back a different way up and over the hill back into Eastbourne. I even managed to witness a pretty special sunset which I watched on the beach before heading back to York Bay.

The next day was a free day to myself, although it was a pretty miserable morning. I wanted to go out and do something though so I decided to head out to Pencarrow Lighthouse and the Parangarahu Lakes which were south of Eastbourne. To get to the lighthouse I simply just had to follow this gravel track along the coastline, and by afternoon the weather was much nicer which made it a pleasant walk. There were even lots of lambs and goats along the way. When reaching the lighthouse which lies at the gateway to Wellington Harbour on the Cook Strait, I headed out to Bluff Point where I got some great coastal views. I couldn't see south island though. I then headed inland to the Parangarahu Lakes, traversing round Lake Kohangapiripiri before heading up this viewpoint over Lake Kohangatera which gave great views of both lakes. I eventually completed a big loop back to the lighthouses and followed the coast back into Eastbourne.

On Friday Liza made sure she didn't have much work to do so she could spend the day with Jossy, heading into Wellington for lunchtime. When arriving to walked along the harbour to these food trucks which Jossy likes for lunch, ordering from 3 different food trucks to keep him happy! After looking round a few of the shops we went back to the car where we drove round Wellington for a bit looking at houses as they want to move somewhere more practical in the near future. It was nice to see some suburbs I haven't really seen yet including Seatoun and Island Bay. Come dinner time we headed to the Wellington Night Market which had lots of different cuisines and live music on offer, before heading back home. Max wasn't impressed we were out so long but it was a good day.