A2O Cycle Road Trip 03–Wellington not quite as planned

I had intended to cycle today, either the coast to Pencarrow or Hutt River/Rimutaka trails, but awoke to dismal weather. It was quite cold, 10-14c, drizzle to driving rain and ‘robust wind’ which locals probably considered a light breeze. With a week of biking coming up, a slightly sore throat I thought might be the start of something worse (but wasn’t), it wasn’t worth risking a day in the cold & wet. For me, biking was off.

Sunday cycle becomes drive

Having decided to stay in the car, dry and warm!, I still wanted to explore some parts of Wellington I hadn’t seen, maybe scope some rides for a future visit. First up was a drive down to Eastbourne, part of the coastal ride I planned. Watching a lone road warrior, on a racing bike, battling a strong headwind in driving rain confirmed I had made the correct transport mode selection.

I have yet to see another Abarth on this trip buy found its Panda cousin on the way back from Eastbourne. They aren’t common in NZ but there are probably more of them than Abarth. The Panda is built on the same platform (also shared with the second generation Ford Ka) in the same Polish factory. They also showed the price of fashion, or style driven profit margins, as sold new for around $20,000, a similar spec 500 was ~$28,000, the Abarth 500 (admittedly better spec’ed) was ~$43,000!

From there it was back to the other coast, via the Makora Beach Road, and up to the wind farm. The road was great but narrow, even by NZ standards, and wet so even with a 60km/h limit it was still a fun drive.

Not the McClintock St I lived in as a kid…

I went down to Makora beach, but only for a snapshot as it wasn’t very pleasant.

I followed the coast, as much as you can, back towards the city via Karori enjoying the sights. Considered a visit to Zealandia nature sanctuary but by the time I thought of it was too late in the day so drove on. I cut across to Owhiro Bay and followed the coast road around to Moa Pt, Breaker Bay, Karaka Bay and back to the city.

I had a late, mid-afternoon, lunch at the excellent Seashore Cabaret Café (in the Petone Rowing Club) opposite my motel. After that a break in the rain gave the opportunity to stretch my legs with a walk along the Petone waterfront and wharf. It had a bit of a Hitchcock ‘Birds’ feel…