wellington – and so she thinks

Wellington – the coolest little capital?

admin — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 08:56:24 +0000

Page 67 reveals all.

Cycling to 'Siberia', wheels to wine

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 10:36:00 +0000

‘So just a kilometre from here is the spot they call Siberia,’ Stuart tells me. ‘It gets so windy there that in September a train was blown off the track and ended up suspended, carriages hanging off like a piece of string.’ I am significantly smaller than a train, balancing on a bicycle, and there is a cyclone coming, funnelled through the Cook Straight by surrounding mountain ranges. This doesn’t sound ideal to me. But then for someone who has travelled around the world, covering thousands of kilometres through Europe, Central and South America, on a bike bought for only fifty dollars (and subsequently sold it on after), and confesses that he loves to ‘feel the pain and achievement’ from a good hill, the Rimutaka Incline, part of the cycle trail by the same name, is nothing. Stuart runs Green Jersey, a cycling tour company out in the Wairarapa, a region just outside of New Zealand’s capital city Wellington, and he’s offered to show me around.
The Rimutaka cycle trail is a 113 kilometre long path that loops around the Rimutaka range, east of Wellington. One of New Zealand’s Great Rides, and a part of Nga Haerenga – The New Zealand Cycle Trail, it takes riders from Petone’s foreshore across the Rimutaka Range to Wairarapa’s wild south coast. Along the way cyclists go through the thickly wooded Rimutaka Forest Parkand, along the gentle gravel trail of the Hutt River, mouth of the Hutt River at the historic site of the Hikoikoi pā, one of the largest Māori settlements in pre-European New Zealand, hills formed by the country’s seismic shifts, rugged farm tracks, right out to the tumultuous seas of Ocean Beach and Turakirae Head, home of the largest seal colony in the Wellington region, and the trail’s end at Orongorongo River.

But we begin with the rail incline – a steep hill that trains struggle with. The Rimutaka Rail Incline is part of an old railway line connecting Wellington and Wairarapa, with 4 tunnels, 2km single track, 6km double track and 15km of unsealed gentle slope on the Hutt Valley side. It runs from Cross Creek in the Wairarapa through to Summit, at the top, funnily enough, the highest point 18km trail, along rugged paths and gritty trails. A particular section, the fell, is famous. The 4.8 km 3 ft 6 in gauge railway line between Cross Creek where we start, and Summit, on the original Wairarapa Line, has an average the grade is 1 in 15, which is pretty steep, as I see from the exhibits at the nearby Fell Museum in Featherston, home to the only remaining Fell Engine in the world. After every downhill journey the brakes on the engine had to be replaced, having been clinging on to the track so tightly, and the worn metal is there for evidence.
New Zealand seems to be going through a phase of turning disused railway lines into cycle trails, right from the Huaraki in Northland down to the Otago trail bisecting the South Island. It’s easy to understand why – scenic and sensible in terms of getting from you a to b, as well as readily routed, the trails are an ideal way to see the country.
Or at least that is what I tell myself at the start of the trail, as Stuart is unloading our bikes and packing our bags full of cereal bars, before we set out on this famous incline. It’s not as bad as I fear. Cyclone Luci appears to have drifted past us, and the main result of the breeze is a delicious scent of grass and trees wafting past. Although at a steep gradient for trains, even my little legs are able to cope, once the gears have kicked in. We’re only going a short way, up to the Summit, but it’s the toughest part – as those train brakes are evidence to.
When we reach the 576 metre Summit Tunnel, we turn the cycle lights on, although we soon switch them off again for fun. There’s something almost existential about cycling towards a hole of light, we no idea just how close other people or objects are to you. The practical and philosophical nature starts to unnerve me a little, and evidently Stuart too, as he suggests that we flick the beam back on again.
At Summit I am rewarded by flushing toilets, hurrah, but more importantly, a sense of achievement. The clouds block most of the view, but it’s rolling hills and farmland all the way from here and through to Cross Creek where the trail opens out in the ‘agricultural breadbasket’ of the Wairapapa.

I’m short on time, so to show me around, Stuart drives me to Ocean Beach, an area of ridged coastline formed only seven thousand years ago. It’s still a workout though, the steep stairs up to the lighthouse leaving us both breathless. We stand for what seem like ages, talking life and love, and cycling – the broad skies and brash waves, white tops pounding the rocks and gusting winds wailing around us seem to incite that sort of big thinking.
As this is just a taster for me, we go and taste: as well as fine scenery, there’s the option of trying some of New Zealand’s finest wine along the way. The Wairapara is known for its Pinot and Sauvignon Blanc, courtesy of low rainfall, hot summers, and long dry autumns, and Green Jersey can either cycle with you, sort a cycling route for you, or pedal you around in their rickshaw as you get slowly sozzled on samples. The main town for the wines is Martinborough, and the tiny spot (only 1330 full time inhabitants, rising to up to 30,000 at weekends) is unique in that all the wineries are accessible from the town centre without a car. Founded by a man named Martin, the roads span out from the centre in the shape of the Union Jack, and are named after places that he had visited – and so it is that Kansas is on a diagonal to Strasbourg, and Cambridge cuts across New York. We stop for tastings and lunch at Poppies.
On the way I ask Stuart why he chose to Poppies. He sighs. ‘Everyone wants to marry Poppy.’ He’s right. I want to marry Poppy, although she is happily wed to childhood sweetheart Shayne, after a chance meeting whilst working at a wedding twenty years after they had parted as teenagers. Standing in the contemporary grey walls that feel comforting with their glorious light bulb chandeliers, piled barrels and grand Italian opera playing, she oozes enthusiasm about the vines, their grapes, and ultimately, their wines. The Pinot Gris in particularly is sweet, fresh, and the perfect accompaniment to a tasting platter which tumbles with stuffed vine leaves, fresh salmon, roasted peppers, homemade hummus, frittata, seared courgettes, and toasted flatbread.

Even without the wine diversion, I can understand why this part of the country is a haven for Wellington weekenders. Windy, steep, and sometimes too much for a train, but beautiful, vibrant, natural and exhilarating for cyclists of all skills. Inhale deeply, press down with the legs, and roll through some of New Zealand’s most beautiful landscape.
There’s a glass of wine waiting at the end.

I travelled with Green Jersey, who organise guided and supported tours along the trail and local wine regions, over one or more days. http://www.greenjersey.co.nz/ Located in the Wairarapa, they are an hour train journey or drive from central Wellington, and can meet riders from the station. They use Avanti Discovery 8 bicycles, and provide helmets, pumps, full repair kits, maps as well as food and all accommodation bookings, depending upon tour choice.

Architecture, Art Deco and Earthquakes in Napier

admin — Sat, 31 May 2014 20:29:20 +0000

Napier in New Zealand is a city shaped by its geology. Lying on one of the world’s most active tectonic fault lines, the north island city was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, leaving mid-century town planners wondering how to rebuild their city. The art deco marvel they created still stands today, one of New Zealand’s best architectural heritage areas and a reminder of Napier’s regeneration against the odds.
In Napier, as in much of New Zealand, architecture and art in Napier is influenced by a common factor: plates. Namely the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates, and their constant rubbing, sheering and sliding that has seen a tumultuous and turbulent history shape a people and a place. The country’s most fatal earthquake took place on February 3rd 1931 in Napier, a small town on the East coast of the North Island. At 7.9 on the Richter scale, buildings crumbled and 258 people died. Once the initial shock had ebbed the townspeople embarked on an ambitious rebuilding programme, with a few key stipulations: new buildings must be safe, modern, and cheap.
Enter art deco.
Read more at The Culture Trip.

Cultural Guide to Wellington: The Coolest Little Capital

admin — Fri, 23 May 2014 10:21:27 +0000

The New Zealand capital of Wellington is a centre of creative activity, inspiring architecture and refreshing natural beauty. I wandered the Wellington streets to discover the most intriguing things to see and do in this highly underrated city.

The Lonely Planet has a habit of saying things that have longevity. A few years ago it dubbed Wellington the ‘coolest little capital’, and, along with the official tagline ‘Positively Wellington’, it is a label which has seems to have stuck.

New Zealand’s capital is indeed a vibrant, thrilling and creative hub. In a country of only 4.5 million people in total, it is never going to be big and bustling, but unlike say the South Island’s Queenstown or Christchurch, or Australia’s Cairns, it is a ‘city city,’ a network of people, places, motivations and lives all weaving their way around this harbour and the myriad streets that unravel from it. The word cool is not easily defined, or at least definitions vary. On this quest it is about finding a place of apparently effortless style, a laid back atmosphere, acceptance combined with innovation, and a place at ease yet evolving — all in the cultural and artistic space. This is a city that is creative by nature rather than trying hard to be and a place packed with passion.

The Rimutaka Trail

admin — Fri, 09 May 2014 15:55:18 +0000

So just a kilometre from here is the spot they call Siberia,’ Stuart tells me. ‘It gets so windy there that in September a train was blown off the track and ended up suspended, carriages hanging off like a piece of string.’ I’m significantly smaller than a train, balancing on a bicycle, and there is a cyclone coming, funnelling through the Cook Straight’s surrounding mountain ranges. This doesn’t sound ideal to me. But then for someone who has travelled around the world, covering thousands of kilometres through Europe, Central and South America, on a bike bought for only fifty dollars (and subsequently sold it on after), and confesses to me that he loves to ‘feel the pain and achievement’ from a good hill, the Rimutaka Incline, part of the cycle trail by the same name, is nothing. Stuart runs Green Jersey, a cycling tour company out in the Wairarapa, a region just outside of New Zealand’s capital city Wellington, and he’s offered to show me around.
Read more here.

My Stories, Your Emails

admin — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 09:37:40 +0000

So I wasn’t expecting to see a minge. Oh yeah, spoiler alert there. In fact, I hadn’t read the blurb. Keen to investigate the Wellington Arts Scene and aware that the New Zealand capital’s annual festival was on, I signed up for tickets for the first thing that sounded as though it might be about words.
Ursula Martinez first performed her two part short show back in 2010 in London. It was a response to the response of her strip tease being filmed and going viral; a challenge to the privacy of the internet (there’s a question mark as to how concerned you can be about privacy when whipping your kit off in front of thousands of people, but hey ho).
Tales of childhood and growing up in Hackney, honest reflections on family life and the trials and tribulations of a Spanish mother in the UK, responses to her video, graphic images and observations are all regaled with deadpan and wry humour in a series of one liners. An hour long, it’s a quick and brief exposition of a mind and a mediation on privacy that results on some smiles, some squirms and some satisfaction.
As always though, it’s the reaction and comments from the audience that is both the most revelatory and entertaining.
‘It must be a London thing.’ – in response to feeding a cat Space Dust
‘I don’t get it.’ – after Ursula recounts a conversation in a lift in an East London council estate, complete with accents
‘We are not trying that.’ – a woman pushing 70 to her husband after Ursula posted a picture of a rather gymnastic and acrobatic sexual position.
My Stories, Your Emails
Wellington Festival