Wellington

We arrived in Wellington in time for dinner. We were lucky in that Emma and Justin had arranged with the neighbours next door for us to park over their property, including their driveway, for the weekend. It was great just being able to hop out of the motorhome, through their gate and into their front yard. It is equally great that their property is fully contained for the dogs which allows them a bit of freedom.

Little Maia was a bit tired after a day at daycare, and also feeling a little shy but we loved seeing her and finally hearing her say “Nana”. I have been asking her for that for a long time!

After she went to bed, and also after a delicious meatball dinner, we set up the stove that Judy had made for Maia for her birthday, along with the pots and pans that Bruce had purchased to go with it. Luckily it was a hit! It was the first thing that Maia saw on the morning of her 2nd birthday, and she found it difficult to keep away from it.

 

The arranged birthday outing was a trip to Moa Point, on the south coast of Wellington, around where the Wahine had come to grief years ago. We all took separate vehicles and met out there and spent an hour or so pottering on the beach, amongst the rocks and the debri, even though the wind was a bit chilly. We were joined on this excursion by Justin’s brother Dolan and nephew Dash who was 5 years old.

 

Bruce and I amused ourselves by picking up bits of plastic debri from the shore – coming away with a small bag full. No wonder our sea life is struggling to survive! When we had all had enough of exploring we all crowded into the motorhome for Maia’s birthday “party”, brought along by Emma. Maia knew what was expected with the birthday candles, and did a reasonable job of blowing them out, but she was more pleased than anything by the provision of chippies to eat – never mind the lovely cupcakes that Emma had especially made.

 

After the party the others headed home and Bruce, the dogs and I took the long way around.  We were amazed to see people surfing and wind sailing in the cold conditions. They are a hardy lot down here.

On Sunday, Maia was allowed to open her next lot of presents – this time from her great Aunty Karen and Cousin Jacqui. She loved the cutlery set given by Jacqui and promptly put them to use in her cooking on her new stove. The jumpers that Karen had given her were gorgeous and a perfect fit.

 

Judy’s niece Jessica, her husband Paul and great niece Isabella also came for a visit. It was interesting to watch Maia trying to get Isabella to play, while Izzy was completely unaware that she was supposed to respond. Therefore, the two girls had a nice time playing alongside each other.

 

We decided to head off in the afternoon so we were well clear of the neighbours before they would want their parking back first thing in the morning. We decided that we would drive as far as Paraparaumu to stay with our friends Brendon and Helen again for the night and as usual we were made very welcome – what lovely people they are!

It was a fleeting visit though and after a coffee with them the next morning we were headed north – heading for home.