Day 16- Masterton to Wellington

Today was essentially a non bike day as we needed to make up a day as a result of the muck up earlier in the trip where we had problems with the transport to the start of a bike trail at Taumarunui.

So the plan was set for an early morning wake at 5.00 am to catch the 6.20 am train from Masterton to Wellington.

The issue for us we thought was getting our bikes on the train as there were limited spaces. No worry for us as we had plenty of room thankfully.

The trip on the train was delightful. In the early part of the trip we were able to observe the sunrise over the snow capped hills. The train stopped at various stations along the way to pickup commuters going to Wellington.

The trip was about an hour and a half.

Arriving at Wellington we then rode to the bike shop so a could get my bike fixed. The issue was a stretched gear cable!

The guys in the bike shop (EVO) were very good to fit me in as they had a big backlog of repairs.

After dropping off the bike we then undertook a tour of Wellington courtesy of Chris who in his early career spent a lot of time living in the city.

Yes…. You guessed it… our first stop was a coffee shop for Steve and I. We took the opportunity to have a morning tea with scones for me.

Then it was off to the Museum which is located on the harbour…. Lovely site really!

The tour through the museum was quite interesting with many excellent exhibits depicting the history of New Zealand from many aspects such as the volcanic origins, the Māori origins, European settlements etc. We did this for about 4 hours including a break for lunch. Then we made a trip on the cable car to the lookout and walked down through the Botanical Gardens. Quite enjoyable to walk instead of riding!

As it was about 3.30 pm it was time to pick up my bike from the repair shop so to get there we caught a public transport bus which was very clean and efficient.

The bike was ready so after having a chat with the technician it seems the problem I had was with the cable as thought and this was replaced… I feel a bit disappointed in Andy back in Melbourne who said he replaced the gear cables! Anyway I will talk to him about this when I get home.

After picking up the bike it was off to our accommodation at the Wellington Youth Hostel which is quite comfortable and quite near the harbour which makes an easy get away tomorrow to catch the ferry to Picton.

We have just finished an entree of prawns and salad ahead of dinner later this evening.

Today was a good day for me after the events of yesterday and I feel comforted that my bike is now fixed for the days ahead….my only question mark is whether I can manage any and all of the more difficult trail rides.

The pictures today are as follows:

Today’s ride from the station in Wellington to the bike shop

Early morning at Masterton station

My bike at the Wellington Station at the end of the train trip

A view of the harbour

Graffitied treaty of Waitangi in the Museum

The view from the top of the cable car

3 photos outside the house of Parliament….note the “Beehive “ is an administrative office. The older grey building is the House of Parliament