Wellington

The Paekak Hill road is an enjoyable, winding drive that links the Kapiti-Mana coast with Pauhatanui and the Hutt Valley.

In spite of the boy racers who hoon around the area the lookout is the biggest road hazard; coming over the rise from the Pauhatanui valley are confronts you with views that make it hard to focus on the tarseal.

I went for a wander through Hataitai and down to Roseneath to have lunch at the excellent Feast cafe today, and hauled a camera along to see what I could see.

Looking past the Miramar Peninsula and Somes Island to Eastborne:

Somes Island has been used for a variety of purposes over the years, including an internment camp for Germans and others of suspect loyalties during World War I, and a quarantine station. It’s currently administered by DOC.

On this tip of Miramar is the Massey Memorial:

This is a mausoleum containing former populist prime minister William Massey; popular at the time, he is today rememberd for the class war he waged via Massey’s Cossacks, and (rightly or wrongly) being directly responsible for breaking the quarantine that had protected New Zealand from the 1918 influenza.

You can also see the Eastborne ferry running through the murk. Workmates who live in Eastborne wear by it as the most civilised way to move to and from the city.

The Hataitai castle:

OK, so it isn’t a castle, and it’s probably closer to Greta Point than Hataitai proper. But if you mention the castle a goodly number of people will no what you’re talking about; a sprawling manor-style house with broad lawns, sitting on a Mount Victoria foothill all its own; a cable car runs down to the road below.

The Door to Nowhere:

Wellington is hilly, and our streets are narrow with poor parking. This leads to some parking solutions than in other places would be remarkably novel, but here are fairly commonplace:

(Feast, sadly, was jam-packed, so we had to pass up their fine service and excellent fare.)

I went for a night time wander through the not-quite-complete Waitangi Park. I’m generally rather pleased with how it seems to be turning out. The cycle/skate area is in heavy use most evenings; the only time I’ve seen it empty is in the driving rain. That’s got to be a plus from a safety point of view, too. And hopefully it will keep drunken scuzzballs at bay.

(An aside: I don’t like the Wellington City Council, but I’m pleased that their response to the popularity of skateboarding as a hobby is not to attempt to bar it from the city, as with so many councils around the country.)

The exposed stream and grass plantings look nice at night, as do the lights under the seating around the park itself. As Maire noted there’s enough lighting to feel safe, but not so much you lose the sense of being in a park in the city.

The thing that pleased me most is that there’s actual open space. Given how irrestistable Wellington developers seem to find the idea of cluttering every available open space with stuff, not unlike dogs pissing on anything upright, I’m delighted to have retained actual open space.

Round the corner from our politically ambiguous friend is the old Bank of New Zealand building, remodelled as the Old Bank Arcade. Mamon’s gargoyles remain, and a cheery lot they are, for the most part.