Yinzer in the Shire

When we originally scheduled our Christmas holiday Seth was still employed at Weta with no paid holidays or vacation time, so we planned our Wairarapa trip accordingly.  Just two weeks before Christmas he started working at Red Hat and we found ourselves with significantly more time than we had anticipated.  To keep ourselves busy we decided to check out some local Wellington walks.  Many of the walks near us are along the beach or roads or houses.  As avid forest fans this really bums us out. There’s a lush area known as Happy Valley and I got the idea that perhaps there might be some trails located in the bush.  I was correct!  We walked from one side of the hills to the other! If you hang a right onto Murchison Street from Happy Valley Road you’ll find a little car park and a field, this is the entry to Tawatawa Reserve .  At first glance it doesn’t seem like a very interesting walk, it starts out flat and grassy before taking yo...

Nestled just beyond the Rimutaka Range, less than a 90 minute journey from Wellington City, is the beautiful Wairarapa region.   Instead of going on a grand Christmas adventure this year we decided to traverse unexplored territory in our own backyard.  Just a few short days after Christmas we found ourselves driving up the winding Rimutaka Hill Road, a part of State Highway 2 and main lifeline between the Wairarapa and the Capital.  At the 555 metre-high summit there is a car park and look-out point that allows travellers to enjoy the crisp mountain air as they take in scenic views. On the other side of the mountain range we found our home-base for the next three days, the quaint country village of Greytown.  Greytown is not by any means a large town, most of the homes and businesses are located right along State Highway 2, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in beautiful architecture.  Many of the original Victorian buildings sti...