We are staying for a couple of nights with friends in Carterton, in the Wairarapa region. Today’s plan was to do some exploring of the region seeing some of the stunning natural landscapes. When we woke to a very grey day with heavy rain forecast, we decided to stay closer to home. We will definitely need another visit – perhaps in spring or summer next time!

Masterton

In a brief respite between showers, we walked around the lake in Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, spotting lots of ducks, a family of black swans and other birds.

We crossed a suspension bridge (not my favourite thing!) over the Waipoua River to the Queen Elizabeth Deer Park.

We found a web page that described 4 murals in Masterton, so naturally we had to check them out (and found a bonus one as well!).

Ruru by Sean Duffell

Past and Present by FLOX

Five Rivers by Pip and Zoe Paint

Tui Bike by Sean Duffell

Sink or Skim by Lotte Hawley

Stonehenge Aotearoa

Stonehenge Aotearoa is not a copy of the original Stonehenge, they say, though it bears a striking resemblance. It is a very precise construction, incorporating various celestial events & calculations of astronomy and navigation. We were actually there for the winter solstice, though the cloudy sky stopped any excitement over that. It has acoustic properties, and we obediently stood in the centre clapping and singing to hear the sound echo around the circle.

Wine tasting – not

Visiting a winery or two to sample some local wines sounded like a lovely way to fill in the rest of the wet afternoon. Unfortunately, it seemed we were not the ones with that brilliant idea. We popped into two wineries which seemed like they would be lovely if they were not filled with wall-to-wall people. At that point we decided to cut our losses and headed home to sit in front of the roaring fire for the rest of the day.