Roads less Travelled

Robin had planned a Car Rally for his outing with our SLG friends.  This involved quite an extensive “reccie” several weeks earlier.  His book containing the Wellington street maps was studied closely as he made his mind up where to go, as he was very keen to take our friends into areas where they probably hadn’t been before.  As we travelled along his proposed route I was quickly taking down notes as he fired questions and answers at me.  Such as “name the large Rest Home on your right”, followed by “what was previously on this site”.  Wellingtonians with long memories would remember dining at the Burma Lodge Hotel in their younger days, now replaced with the Malvina Major Rest Home.  We had to time the planned travel, and decide where to  meet up.  The instructions were all neatly typed up, the name of final destination sealed up tight in emergency envelopes, and we were all set for an interesting day out. 

The big day finally arrived and the weather was glorious, hot and sunny with clear blue skies.  We met up in the car park at the K Road Complex in Kaiwharawhara Road.  Robin handed out the instructions, the sealed emergency envelopes, and checked that everyone had their cell phones with them in case they needed rescuing.   The car rally started with a drive up the steep and narrow Old Porirua Road just across the road, with the teams sent off at 10 minute intervals.

Do we have to go up that narrow little road?

While our friends were winding their way along the hill suburbs we took the easier route along the motorway to await their arrival at our designated morning tea stop next to the Plimmerton Boating Club .  There is some serious money tied up in the large  boats sitting on their trailers on the wharf. 

Boats at Plimmerton Boating Club

We were just in time to see some smaller yachts sail away on a regatta.  With Mana Island in the background and the hazy mountains of the far away South Island in the  distance, it was a very pretty summertime scene.

Mana Island, boats,  and the hazy South Island

It wasn’t long before the cars arrived.  Luckily no major arguments had broken out between the drivers and navigators, although most of them admitted to back tracking a couple of times because they had missed a question.  The thermoses came out for a welcome cuppa and everyone enjoyed some of my home baking with their cup of tea.  Robin dropped the tailgate down on our 4WD to make a handy table.

Enjoying morning tea at Plimmerton Beach

Morning tea over, it was time for our intrepid travellers to continue on with the second part of their journey. See our next post for the remainder of the day.