WW: Gowes Wellington - Our Cycling Club

Gowes Wellington - Our Cycling Club

Wellington has a lot to offer indeed, including beautiful bike path all around the city.

My hubby and I have been joining Gowes Wellington

Gowes Wellington is a lovely group of people from the office who loves riding bicycle. We have been cycling around for about 3 times to go cycling with the group in Wellington. 

We usually assemble at Balanea Bay or Evans Bay and cycle around the area. We pass the Wellington Blown Away sign, Wellington City sign, Weta Cave,  as well as the airport and even further to Shelly and Scorching Bays.

It was fun indeed!

In our trip, we always have snacks, coffee break and of course the photo sessions!

Here are some of the photos we took along the way.

Evans Bay is a perfect place to assemble

Cheers from my hubby and I

a little break at Scorching bay

The Wellington Bay in the afternoon

Evans Bay Marina at sunset

Wellington City sign

Do you like cycling around as well? Where do you usually go around and is it alone or with the group like me as well?

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WW: The Three Sisters and the Elephant Rock

The Three Sisters and the Elephant

One of the highlights of our sweet escapade to New Plymouth and Lake Taupo areas here in New Zealand. 

right on sunset..

As I shared previously in Escapade to New Plymouth and Lake Taupo (Part 1) , we stopped by at the Three Sisters and the Elephant Rock. Check out some photos we took here in this area.

And welcome to the Three Sisters and the Elephant Rock.

The area is also known as Tongapōrutu, which in Maori means the three sisters. As you can see, the rock formation here is grouped into three distinct shapes standing close to one another like the three sisters. 

In order to arrive in this very spot, we have to walk from the nearby beach and parking lot during the low tide. It is quite a walk and the beach can be slippery as well. We literally walked down here barefooted as it felt a lot safer. After about 15 minutes walk, we finally saw the three sisters and the elephant.

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WW: Cape Palliser Lighthouse at a Glimpse

More outdoor session here in Wellington and the last time we had beautiful days during the weekend, we went to Cape Palliser in Wairarapa Region.

It was around 2 hours drive and we certainly enjoyed the fantastic weather in balmy  summer and lovely landscape along the way. Before that, we stopped by at Putangirua to see the famous pinnacles that had been used as the movie set for the Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. 

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WW: Putangirua Pinnacles Reserve, Wairarapa

Here comes another trip to one of the movie sets of my favorite movies of all times, the Lord of the Rings. 

After Rivendell in Kaitoke Regional Park, the set for the house of the elves in LoTR was built for the movie, now we are looking at the place where one of the segments of  the final trilogy, Return of the King, were made.

Welcome to  Putangirua Pinnacles Reserve, Wairarapa

Welcome to the Putangirua Pinnacles Reserves, or ‘the Path of the Death’ as the they call it. I have to admit that the name is rather terrifying but it matches with the journey taken by the Army of the Death from Moldor. Oh, you really need to see the movie again and admire those amazing details. 

The pinnacles are indeed unique. It looks like rock towers carved distinctly, nothing similar to one another. Surrounded by loose rocks and gravels in dominant grey, this place can look so eery. I guess that is why it had been chosen as the location for the path of the death. 

the pinnacles

Let’s see how it looks like and I will tell you more about this place.

really matches what I have in mind about Moldor

We choose the stream way to reach this spot instead of climbing up for the lookout. From Google Maps, I can see that the aerial photos taken from the lookout is amazing. But we were planning to visit the Cape Palliser Lighthouse right after this place so we saved our energy. 

happy me..

Taking the stream way, it was a beautiful, sandy path with streams and river along the way. Rows of pampass grass, the tall graceful grass you will definitely love to take as the background of your photos, as well as other indigenous flowers along the path make the hike enjoyable. 

such an amazing area... many beautiful photo spots too

By the time we reached the area, we took photos together and admired this unique, natural landscape. For sure, we made another memorable print there. Hope we can have more coming in the future.

the map of the area..

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WW: Strolling Around New Regent Street, Christchurch, New Zealand

Strolling Around New Regent Street, Christchurch, New Zealand

Hi everyone.

I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy wherever you are. I know Omicron is rampantly lingering and even in Indonesia, my home country, some of my family members are contracted by it and have to stay in isolation. Again, please remain vigilant and make sure to observe the health protocol.

Anyway, I would like to share some  short stories and photos from my last adventures in Christchurch. Being the second most populated city in New Zealand after Auckland, Christchurch has a lot to offer. After taking tram city tour in Christchurch and incredible culinary experience in Riverside market Christchurch, let's join me on the other side of the city.

Welcome to New Regent Street

This time, I will take you all strolling around New Regent Street, Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Being the central part of the city, New Regent precinct offers many unique shops, boutiques and cafes that become major attractions for tourists and visitors.  I strolled around and checked cute shops and eateries, including book shops, record store, opticians, souvenir and local artists. I know why this pedestrian mall is becoming people's favorite. Moreover, the pastel - dominated Spanish architectures dotting the area makes the street becomes highly "Instagramable.'

Meet my newly acquainted friend :)

the lovely ceramics dotting the shops along New Regent St.

One of the cafes that I stopped by in this area is Belle, cafe and micro roastery. 

I really love its interior design, lovely services they offer, and the scones. I tried their flat white, cheese scones and the ice cream.  As it was raining cats and dogs during our visit, we stayed inside then got to the terrace to get fresh air. While sipping my coffee and munching my scones, I saw the legendary tram passing through. Well, here are some photos I took from the cafe.

Upside down paintings on the roof

Love all the colors!

cute faces sitting on the coffee machine

Fancy the painting?

My take - away cup..

So, will you explore this lovely precinct? 

I bet you will enjoy strolling around and shop some of  the locally made items or grabbing your favorite food and beverages.

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WW : Skyline Walkway at Karori, Wellington

Another weekend is coming and we are so ready to go outside again!

This time, we did not go far as in the back of our house, we have Skyline Walkway. It’s the walkway that goes through some parks and areas in Karori, the place where we live now. 

welcome to Skyline Walkway

So we decided to stroll around the hills, with its ups and downs, then headed to the bushes and the forest. The path can take us to Karori and Makara Park or to Mount Kaukau in Johnson Hill. 

The weather was nice and not too hot. That's what made us got carried away. What was planned to be a 30-minute walk turned out to be a 2-full-hour trekking around the path, the bushes and the forest near our home. Super exciting.

Along the way, we saw some people riding their mountain bikes and enjoyed the dirt downhill tracks. It was awesome to see them riding those wheels! And scary as well LOL. But my hubby can not wait to try once our bikes arrived in Wellington.

going up and down along the walkway

As we continue our walk, we finally arrived in Karori Park and took the Uber to go home. Well, we were super tired already and the idea of walking up the hills again to reach home is just way too much for amateur walkers like us.

Here are some more photos I took along the way.

So what do you think? Very enjoyable indeed right. I guess we will be more than happy to try other pathway around the area as apparently we have tons of them here.

Wishing you all healthy and beautiful days ahead.

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have fun with the link party as well.