Hey Everybody!
With Vietnam on the horizon in just 3 days, it's hard to think about much else! I'll most likely have some late nights at work making sure everything is up to date, but well worth it to have peace of mind and be able to leave work behind for the time I'm away!
This week has seen me say goodbye to my OT student, and the start of the 3rd and final cricket test between NZ & England - and it looks like New Zealand will win! I could easily talk about these points, but I think my weekend that just passed was so full of varied activity that I just had to share it all with you!
FRIDAY NIGHT - POLE DANCING SHOW
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| Kala, Me & Tibo @ the Fringe Bar! |
It was all about a return the now infamous Cuba Street 'Fringe Bar' - the last time I went there with my flatmate Kala, was to see the 'Bare & Back Again' Burlesque show! This time it was a $25 (£12) - 2 hour show of pole dancing! I was initially thinking the worst when I saw the same host from the burlesque show, but that was probably as bad as it got!
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| Pole Dancing venue.... |
The dancers, both male and female, were incredible and showed feats of strength that were nothing short of amazing! Even though the venue was pretty crap, the dancers, made up for it with their amazing performances!
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| Pole Dancing @ the Fringe... |
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| Pole Dancers @ the Fringe |
SATURDAY AFTERNOON - DISC GOLF
Yes it's a real sport, honest! It was another Adventure Wellington event, and this time I was reliant on the generousity of a stranger (another Activity Wellington Member) to give me a lift up to Upper Hutt ( 40 min drive away). Josi, who was originally from Germany picked me up near my flat, and we headed off for a game of Disc Golf / Frisbee Golf, without knowing what it was all about! Our guide (Sky) explained that it was basically about getting a disc (frisbee type thing) from the starting point, and into the 'basket' (see picture below) - in a specific number of throws!
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| Disc Golf |
Now, it sounds simple right!? But there are many different styles of throws, and discs, which spin in different ways! Getting the disc released at the right angle can make such a difference to how far the disc flies! see the technique below!
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| Disc Golf Technique! |
The scenery in Harcourt Park, Upper Hutt was pretty spectacular and the weather was a pretty great - a perfect was to spend a Saturday afternoon!
After being tips and having 9 'holes' of practice the organisers then offered for us to have another free go around, but this time to have a bit of friendly competition in a team event! So off we went, and it seemed the competition brought out some quite brilliant shots from everyone involved, and a few people had to climb trees to recover lost discs!
SUNDAY - UP KAPITI COAST
Having wanted to have another spontaneous day trip to explore more of the North Island, I travelled up the eastern coast from Wellington the area known as 'Kapiti' There are quite a few towns along this coastal area, and it was just an hour train ride away for just $14 (£7), for a return ticket. I'd tried to hire a car but somewhat bizarrely, all the car rental places were fully booked. However, I wasn't going to let that stop the adventure. I was joined by a rather shy colleague of mine, (so they will remain nameless). We decided to randomly pick a stop, called 'Paraparaumu', as we heard it had a nice beach, and caught a bus for the 10 minute ride to get there. The beach was just lovely! (See below).
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| Paraparaumu Beach, Kapiti Coast |
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| Paraparaumu beach, Kapiti Coast |
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| Me @ Paraparaumu |
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| Jump shot @ Paraparaumu |
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| Paraparaumu seagulls! |
We stayed around Paraparaumu for a while, as the day was so lovely, and a light breeze kept the temperature own. Eventually after a very chilled couple of hours, we headed back tot he train, but not before eating some seriously gorgeous ice cream - 'after dinner mint / blueberry muffin'!
After getting on the train again, we hopped a couple of stops down the track to 'Plimmerton' (my Xmas day beach), where we found a great little 'chippy' - fish & chip shop, and had some chips on the beach! we soon drew a crowd of seriously noisy seagulls! We escaped without injury from the crazy seagulls, and returned to Wellington, relaxed and a little sun-kissed...
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| Plimmerton Beach, Kapiti Coast |
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| Plimmerton Beach, Kaptit Coast |
A truly varied, challenging, and fun weekend came to an end, with yet more reasons to be thankful to explore all the amazing things Wellington, and New Zealand has to offer! I'll be on holiday the next few weeks, so no blog, and soon I'll have reached the year mark, and we'll make the posts less regular!
As always, thanks for reading, and...
Regards from New Zealand
Dan
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