Wellington and Kapiti Coast

When leaving Napier the Dutch Shop near Hastings was a nice for a change. I really liked buying some Chocomel and Cassis.The rest of the Journey southwards was less attractive once again it rained for most part of the day. Around lunchtime i passed through Danverkirke a town founded by Danish immigrants. After driving for most of the day i was happy to see parts of blue sky again on the south east coast of the north Island.

Maria and Paddy are living in a town called Raumati South, and a couple of more nice towns in the area have Maori names. Paraparumu and Paekakariki. One thing which is kind of big in New Zealand is growing your own vegetables, Paddy and Maria also have their own vegetable garden. On the first evening we went shopping for some local cheese (kapiti coast, name of that region).
They are quite famous for some of their blue cheeses, which we combined with a desert wine I bought at one of the wineries.

On the second day Paddy told me how to drive to the Paekakariki train station since travelling by train is easiest to go to downtown Wellington. That day the weather was nice with quite some sunshine. As such it was a good day to use the cable car up to the botanic gardens and then stroll back into the Wellington centre. Before meeting up with Maria at the station I walked down from the docks towards the Te Papa museum. Once again Maria cooked a lovely dinner with brocolli and feta cheese, I will copy the recipe in december.
In NZ it is quite common to have a desert afther dinner the most popular ice cream in New Zealand is called Hokey Pokey. Which is a kind of vanilla icecream with some sugar sweets inside. It is similar to L&P worldfamous in New Zealand. In the morning i was introduced to a typical Scottish breakfast called Porridge which when served with honey is really nice.

Day three had a rain forecasts so it was a good day to visit the museum, I can highly recommend. Close to the museum the Cuba street district is a good option as well. Lot's of good restaurants and interesting shops. I actually accompanied Maria on her trip to work, and the commuter trains are still ok, at the time when she leaves for Wellington. In the evening Paddy gave me a nice
introduction into Whiskey. He has quite a collection of Scottish single malt Whiskies. And the second one i taste was really nice, when I leave for the Netherlands I will try to buy one of those.