Today has been very quiet after all the activity of the past three weeks. Doug and Merrilyn waved goodbye to me as I sat down on the bus from Hawera. The lady beside me showed no inclination to chat as some previous fellow passengers had, so I sat in silent contemplation looking out the window as I retraced my steps of the last trip from Palmerston North to Hawera.
I knew when we had left Taranaki as the lush countryside there with very large herds of cattle, grazing in one field, gave way to more sparse grass and fewer cows. There is still farming taking place,however, although I suspect more of these are beef cattle. One town, Bulls has enjoyed making the most of its name, with statues of Bulls and other entertaining signs.
It’s not easy to take good photos through a moving coach window, especially when it is very dull. On this trip we went through Fielding, a market town, which has grown considerably, and by the time we reached Palmerston North it was pouring with rain. I made my way to the same coffee bar and had a quick lunch before the bus set off again. I have been amazed at how many racecourses there seem to be, even in relatively small places. Hawera has one; we passed through Waverley and that has one and this one was some distance fromPalmerston North.
This isn’t the most scenic part of the country, being mostly flat until Levin, when the scenery starts to change and become progressively more hilly. Eventually the road hits the coast and there are views of bays.
The railway runs between the coast for much of the way into Wellington so its not the best position to photograph. The sun came out for brief spells and vanished again, not that I mind a cooler day after all the amazing hot days that I’ve experienced.
The bus unloaded the majority of its passengers at Wellington Railway Sation. I was torn between taking the ferry, which I’ve done numerous times, or taking a little twelve seater plane that takes thirty minutes. I chose the later option because I thought it would be a little more adventurous and bring back some memories of flying across Cook Straight in an open cockpit plane. The trip from the station to the airport winds around the coast and there are some nice views of the bay.
The hills rise steeply above the road and there are houses perched high above the road.
We reached the airport and my bus driver talked a taxi driver into queue jumping and taking me to The Airport Motor Lodge where I am staying overnight before an early flight on Sounds Air to Picton in the South Island.