Our first stop after leaving Martinborough was Kaitoke Regional Park https://www.gw.govt.nz/parks/kaitoke-regional-park/ and what a stunning place it is. As there are extensive campsites here, we park up for the night. It is very dark and very quiet – aside from the Rurus hooting. In the morning, we go for a couple of short walks with the cicadas keeping us company! One to Rivendell – they filmed part of The Lord of the Rings here and then across the swing bridge for a short bush walk. We decide to have our morning coffee down by the Hutt River. Glorious!

Cicadas making their presence known!

Art & Kiwi institutions – We make a visit to the Dowse Art Museum https://dowse.org.nz/ where we make some art – not the pillow garden though! Needless to say, we also pay a visit to Caffiend https://www.facebook.com/caffiendpetone/ for some excellent flat whites and of course a date scone. We also visit Janus in Lower Hutt for some lunch https://www.janus.co.nz/ their pies are amazing. Cath is also introduced to another Kiwi institution – the jug of beer!

Days Bay

We absolutely love Days Bay and return here as often as we can. Further along the road, you can find the memorial to the Waihine https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/wahine-disaster

Family History – Don’s ancestors arrived on the Oriental in 1840 landing on Petone Beach. There are a number of references to the Welch family – in the Petone Settlers Museum https://www.huttcity.govt.nz/arts-and-culture/museums/petone-settlers-museum on the list of original settlers. There is a Welch Grove with reference to his 3x Great Grandparents and a plaque in Christ Church Taita where they worshiped and are buried. https://christ-church.org.nz/