It was another great sunny day when we left Wellington. We were heading northeast on Hwy 2 as we still had a bit of the east coast to explore. It was shortly after Wellington that we started to climb, we were crossing the Rimutaka Range and through the Rimutaka Forest Park. The climb was quite drastic and the view was quite stunning.
We stopped in Featherston for a very enjoyable lunch and it was during this time that we decided to forgo the detour to Cape Palliser and continue on Hwy 2 towards Carterton.
On the way we took a 35 kilometer side trip into the Waiohine Gorge. The water was pretty low at this time of year but we did get to see the swing bridge across the river and some of the gorge. It was not real accessible on foot. There were a group of school kids there for some white water rafting.
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| Top of Silver Fern taken from bridge |
The drive into and out of the gorge gave a good view of the surrounding landscape.
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| The road traffic was pretty heavy |
Our last stop of the day was in Ponatahi, a very small village ten kilometers off the highway. It was here that we found the Stonehenge Aetearoa.
Stonehenge Aotearoa is unique in New Zealand and internationally as a place of science. It was built by members of the Phoenix Astronomical Society with the purpose of encouraging people of all ages to rediscover the knowledge of their ancestors. It is built on the same scale as Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England but is not a replica. It is a complete and working structure designed and built for its precise location in the Wairarapa region. In this awe-inspiring place young and old can explore the mysteries of our past and learn how early cultures, including New Zealand Maori, used the Sun, Moon and stars for life and survival. It was late in the afternoon when we were there and as there was nobody else present we had an interesting conversation with the curator. For example we learned that religious ceremonies are held within The Henge especially twice a year on the equinoxes. Ceremonies are also held by Druids and Wickens as there is a growing interest in the Druid beliefs.
Once we left the Stonehenge we got back on the highway hoping to get to Palmerston North before stopping for the night. We discovered it was more that we wanted to travel so we stopped in Carterton for the day.
Day 149, February 26 was another very nice day. We haven't had any rain in over a week and it feels real good. The drive from Carterton to Palmerston North took us through the Manawatu Gorge Scenic Reserve. The road was a winding, twisting very busy road that hugged the cliffs on one side with the river on the other. I wish there had been more places to stop as we could have gotten some very nice pictures.
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We reached Palmerston North right around lunch time so we followed the highway into the city centre and stopped for lunch. We didn't stay that long here, had lunch, went for a short walk and then got back on the highway.
Our destination at this point in our trip was Paraparaumu which was a nice little town north of Wellington. The scenery between the two towns was pretty much the same for the entire trip. You had the mountains on our left tapering off to some pretty lush farmland.
It was a fairly lengthy drive and the road was quite busy so we didn't get into town til fairly late in the afternoon. We stopped at the I site but it was closed so we did a bit of grocery shopping, found a campground and settled in for the night. We have really enjoyed the warmer, drier weather the past few days.
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