Last Days on Holiday

So what have we been doing on the last days of our holiday?  Plenty, it seems, although sadly  no more stitching took place, we were much too busy traveling and sight seeing.  We stayed in Solway Park, Masterton for a couple of nights.  Our group made the most of sheltering under the large shady trees for Happy Hour.  The clock has just ticked over to Autumn and already the ground is carpeted with fallen leaves.  These crunchy leaves almost want to make you to get out there and kick them around.

Staying at Solway Park, Masterton

From here we spent two nights at Cape Palliser.  I must admit that I found this portion of the drive a little challenging - wouldn’t you if you came across these road signs?  So we slowed right down, taking our time as we drove along this part of the road, well aware that the seaward side of the road had been falling into the sea, taking some of the coastal homes with it.

Drive carefully!

“Fish and Chips with a difference” was on the menu for dinner, ably cooked by Becky of Coastal Cove Cuisine, who brought her mobile kitchen with her to our campsite.  How’s that for great service!  Lovely battered fish, crunchy chips, coleslaw and tartare sauce were served, together with bread and butter produced by Bill, all enjoyed outside in the fresh sea air.  What could be nicer!

Traveling fish and chip shop

Bare hills behind us

The weather was wet, rough and blowing a gale during our second day at Cape Palliser, luckily after lunch things started to improve so we headed off to Ngawi, a small fishing village  just a short way up the road.  Ngawi has more bulldozers per capita than anywhere else, we read.  The bulldozers are used to haul fishing boats into and out of the water as there is no wharf or other access to the ocean other than the beach, which can be notoriously rough.  Ngawi is known for its exposed climate, its intense and prolonged wind and the fact that there are almost no trees nearby. The weather can be extremely hot in summer.

Boats and bulldozers on Ngawi Beach

It was a few kms up the road to  see Cape Palliser Lighthouse,  perched high on a cliff. The lighthouse  was built in 1897, originally fueled by oil  and the light was fully automated in 1986.   There is something rather romantic about lighthouses, isn’t there?  This one is no longer manned, and I’m sure life as a lighthouse keeper’s wife would have  be full of challenges.  For those energetic enough, there are 258 steps up a 58mt cliff to reach  the lighthouse.   We decided not to climb the stairs this time, although we certainly did on our last visit here.

Cape Palliser Lighthouse

There is a large fur seal colony in residence at the cape with the breeding season from mid-November to mid-January.   We saw seals on the rocks, and laying about, looking  fat and contented,  on the grassy shore.

New Zealand Fur Seals

The next morning it was time to hitch up head off to our next stop, a longish drive up and over the Rimutaka Hill.  There was a Devonshire Tea waiting for us at Aston Norwood and very welcome it was too.  There was a room set aside for us, with the tables nicely set.  This is the same room where we celebrated Robin’s 50th Birthday with family and friends, quite some time ago now.  We all enjoyed our tea or coffee, and freshly baked scones served with jam and cream.

Devonshire Tea at Aston Norwood

The last stop on our ICA Rally was at the Petone Rugby Club.   Although we had booked the car park space for the next two nights, that hadn't stopped the local workers from parking there early in the morning.   We all squeezed in as best we could, and when the last workers car had left for the day, rearranged ourselves a bit better.  This is our view out of the caravan kitchen window.

Staying at Petone Rugby Club

The following day we took a drive further round the bays to Eastbourne, as the others had not seen  the Wahine Memorial.  The sinking of the Lyttelton–Wellington ferry Wahine on 10 April 1968 was New Zealand’s worst modern maritime disaster. The Wahine was within sight of land and many other vessels, including the smaller New Zealand Railways Wellington-Picton ferry Aramoana, which stood by to pick up survivors. Many were blown across the harbour towards Eastbourne Beach, an area with difficult access. Rescue teams found the road to Eastbourne blocked by slips. Eventually 200 survivors struggled through the surf to safety on this coast, but it was here that most of the 51 fatalities occurred. A number of people who reached shore alive did not receive medical attention quickly enough to prevent death from exposure. Others were drowned or killed when thrown against rocks.  This tragedy was a coming of age for television news broadcasting in New Zealand as images of the disaster were beamed into the nation’s living rooms. What a terrible day that was.  I was home in Wainuiomata with my two young children, terrified the large picture windows on our new house would be blown out in the storm. I didn't know Robin way back then, but he was working in Wellington, and had to bunk down at a co-workers home as Wellington Station came to a standstill and all trains were cancelled, buses too, road slips everywhere.

Wahine Memorial

Later that evening we all gathered in the Rugby Club bar for our Farewell Dinner, catered by Chalet Caterers.  What a wonderful meal it was, a great array of dishes on offer, all cooked to perfection.  Bill and Val were thanked for their stirling efforts in planning, organising and running the three week ICA Art Deco to the Capital Rally and were presented with a token of our thanks.

At the Farewell Dinner

Everyone said their goodbyes, with a group of our happy travelers heading down to the South Island for a fishing adventure.  Some were staying locally for a few days to catch up with friends, and others, like us, were heading home.  We personally had a great time on this rally, going to some “new to us” locations and some old favourites.  It was our first time experiencing the Art Deco weekend, that was a lot of fun.  Many thanks to Bill and Val for all their hard work in making this three week  ICA Rally such a success.