Ashhurst
Friday morning: took the scenic train from Auckland station down to Palmerston North, and on from there to Ashhurst which is a few miles away. The journey down was very pleasant and we passed through lots of pretty scenery, although it all looked rather parched as it hadn't rained for quite some time. At least not until I turned up - it was spitting as we left Auckland that morning, and we couldn't see Mount Ruapehu or Mount Taranaki as you sometimes can, because it was too cloudy.
It was lovely to see Alais again. I can't believe it's been two and a half years since the time she came over for CCDE. Her husband Nic cooked us a lovely dinner of New Zealand Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic, plus lots of side veggies, while we caught up on the gossip - not that I could actually think of a great deal...
Saturday: As mentioned in Alais' journal, we started a bit later than intended on Saturday morning, but I was fairly shattered after all the travelling of the previous day so didn't really mind. We had a quick stop at Dannevirke which was originally settled by the Danish, and has slightly camp looking Vikings on the signs into and out of town - although not as camp looking as the previous ones apparently! :)
We then went on to Norsewood and it's Norsewear factory where I ended up spending lots of money on nice soft woolly things - in particular a nice red merino (I think) wool jumper. I'm going to have to be dead careful I don't shrink it in the wash though.
From there it was on to Napier - lovely and sunny (if slightly breezy) on the beach looking over the pacific, having a picnic. Apart from us there was no-one else there, which I found quite weird. Admittedly, it wasn't a sandy beach, but on a sunny Saturday afternoon I'd have expected it to be busier than that. Then off to the Linden Estates vineyard to do some wine tasting - yum! Bought a couple of nice bottles of Merlot, one for Alais and Nic, and one for her friend Anne to thank them for letting me stay.
In the evening we went to Spostato, a _very_ nice restaurant in Palmerston North. The range of starters and Main courses were limited, but even a picky eater like me managed to find something to like. And the quality was superb. As for the desserts - mmmmmmmmm! Although I did had to be helped to finish the "7 different types of chocolate" dessert, not that there were any complaints from my dining companions about that.
Sunday was another easy day to start off with, starting off with a quick tour of Palmerston North and Massey University, courtesy of Alais and Nic. Then I got to rifle through the stock at her shop, and picked up some books to read on my travels. Later in the afternoon, we dropped Megan (their daughter) off at school and travelled down to Wellington, with chaffeur duties again being taken on by Nic. I have to admit, I really didn't envy him the drive into Wellington - lots of twisty turny hillside roads that would have been a challenge during the day, but were even worse at night due to the lack of lighting and glare from other car headlights.
It was lovely to see Alais again. I can't believe it's been two and a half years since the time she came over for CCDE. Her husband Nic cooked us a lovely dinner of New Zealand Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic, plus lots of side veggies, while we caught up on the gossip - not that I could actually think of a great deal...
Saturday: As mentioned in Alais' journal, we started a bit later than intended on Saturday morning, but I was fairly shattered after all the travelling of the previous day so didn't really mind. We had a quick stop at Dannevirke which was originally settled by the Danish, and has slightly camp looking Vikings on the signs into and out of town - although not as camp looking as the previous ones apparently! :)
We then went on to Norsewood and it's Norsewear factory where I ended up spending lots of money on nice soft woolly things - in particular a nice red merino (I think) wool jumper. I'm going to have to be dead careful I don't shrink it in the wash though.
From there it was on to Napier - lovely and sunny (if slightly breezy) on the beach looking over the pacific, having a picnic. Apart from us there was no-one else there, which I found quite weird. Admittedly, it wasn't a sandy beach, but on a sunny Saturday afternoon I'd have expected it to be busier than that. Then off to the Linden Estates vineyard to do some wine tasting - yum! Bought a couple of nice bottles of Merlot, one for Alais and Nic, and one for her friend Anne to thank them for letting me stay.
In the evening we went to Spostato, a _very_ nice restaurant in Palmerston North. The range of starters and Main courses were limited, but even a picky eater like me managed to find something to like. And the quality was superb. As for the desserts - mmmmmmmmm! Although I did had to be helped to finish the "7 different types of chocolate" dessert, not that there were any complaints from my dining companions about that.
Sunday was another easy day to start off with, starting off with a quick tour of Palmerston North and Massey University, courtesy of Alais and Nic. Then I got to rifle through the stock at her shop, and picked up some books to read on my travels. Later in the afternoon, we dropped Megan (their daughter) off at school and travelled down to Wellington, with chaffeur duties again being taken on by Nic. I have to admit, I really didn't envy him the drive into Wellington - lots of twisty turny hillside roads that would have been a challenge during the day, but were even worse at night due to the lack of lighting and glare from other car headlights.