A Weekend in Martinborough

In honour of our third wedding anniversary and the arrival of Spring weather, we decided to go to Martinborough this past weekend. It is a small town in the heart of vineyard country, well-known for its cafes and cute shops. We rented a little cottage - much too big for the two of us, but beautiful inside and out. It had a cozy woodburner and several large Eucalyptus trees (called gumtrees here) around the property.

We brought our road bikes and took advantage of the beautiful countryside, rolling hills, and quiet roads. Saturday was sunny and warm, albeit a bit windy, and we rode a gentle 68km and saw countless pastures of sheep and lambs. By Sunday, dark storm clouds and gusty winds had moved in, and we spent the day reading and resting.
We are keen to head back there in the future - it is only 1.5hr from here, and is such a peaceful country setting. We saw a large group of tandem bicyclists as well, which made me think how much my parents will enjoy touring this part of the country someday.

Belmont Trig

September 1st was officially the first day of Spring down here. Although we have had some beautiful sunny days, we have also had a few big storms lately - hail, gale force winds, and thrashing rain. We have not had any earthquakes in Wellington though, so we should not be complaining! Christchurch will be recovering for quite awhile after their big quake this past weekend. It has prompted everyone here to ensure their own home emergency kits are ready to go.

This past Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and we headed to Belmont Regional park, on the hills nearby us. It has a network of trails that snake up the hillsides through natural forests, pine plantations, and farmland. It is one of Steve's favourite places to go mountain biking, and I often tag along for a run on the trails. This past weekend, a lot of the trails were closed due to lambing, which will last until mid-October.

We were both following a trail that led to a high point called "Belmont Trig", Steve on his bike, and me on my speedy feet. I suggested we meet up at the top, but Steve warned me that it might be very windy and chilly and he might not wait at the top for too long. Fortunately for him, I beat him to the top, and even stopped for some pics of him along the way. It was a very steep climb though, and a slippery surface for bike tires in some places... plus, only his second ride of the season.

At the top, it wasn't too windy, and we got a beautiful 360 degree view of the surrounding hills and the snowy mountain tops to the north and south.
Below is the view of Wellington Harbour, with the city of Wellington at the far right of the picture.