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Day 34 - Wellington to Martinborough
Another lovely sunny day. Today we pickup the hire car we will keep for almost the rest of our time in New Zealand. It's been nice not to have been driving for the past three days after 12 days of non stop touring but as my feet feel like they have very little skin left on them it will be a welcome change to get transport again. Left the Museum hotel at around 11am after our last breakfast and a couple of phone calls home; I actually don't feel too homesick until I hear their voices and especially those of my grandchildren then I just crumble! I will miss our lovely apartment in Wellington, we've only been there 3 nights but it was starting to feel like home.
On the road again though, this time to Martinborough, wine country again: bad planning though as today is Sunday and the wineries are closed damn and bast it. They will be open in the morning but we are both driving again so can't get slaughtered at the tastings - so not a lot of point going; I never could quite get the idea of spitting the wine out, a real waste of good wine if you ask me. Anyway back to the trip we decided before we left Wellington we would drive the Marine Tour around all of the nearby bays; what a lovely drive and what contrast between them, some small and calm, others much larger and although not rough today had enough wind to give the sailors and kite surfers a really good time. We stopped for lunch at Scorching Bay - aptly named as it was just that. I had the binoculars out and I spotted a little blue penguin out in the bay, just a fleeting glimpse before he dived again but as we haven't spotted one thus far it was better than nothing. My turn to drive again after lunch so onto the motorway - well for a short while anyway until we reached Upper Hutt and started to climb again; drawn the short straw again! Yet another mountain pass with twists and turns up and twists and turns down, this time with a sight more traffic though. Not a long drive to Martinborough though, just shy of about 2 hours. Another lovely hotel, very different from the last one - very colonial in appearance and this is reflected in the whole town. We have a garden room this time so patio doors out and table and chairs to enjoy the sunshine. Two beers later I'm trying to write this blog before dinner this time; I think we will eating later tonight as we have just scoffed two enormous ice creams, mine was a kid's one too!!
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