Thursday morning I started by stopping by the Fulbright New Zealand office to get my very snazzy business cards. I also had the pleasure of joining the #FulbrightNZ crew for their daily coffee time – it was a blast, and I loved chatting with the staff and fellow Fulbrighters Karsten (Grad Student) and Beth (Teacher).
After I got my cards and left the Fulbright NZ office I was headed to the University to work on my ethics proposal, when I realized that it was a gorgeous day – and we have been told to take advantage of those days – and since all I needed to write was my surface, I thought I would take it on an adventure with me to a beach that I was told was one of the best in the Wellington area – and for the sake of validation and research, I thought I needed to check it out. So with bus and walking directions in hand (or in phone) as the case may be, I set out for Karaka Bay and Scorching Bay, on the north end of the Miramar Peninsula and at the entrance to Wellington Harbor.
I got off the bus in a very residential area and started the trek down the pedestrian path to the bay – and I went down, and down and down.
It was a gorgeous walk with spectacular views of the bay.
And all of my walking was rewarded as soon as I stepped out of the bush when I emerged and was greeted with this lovely view.
Check out a panorama of the pier here:
From the pier I started down toward the beach – a very peaceful, quiet stroll – weher for much of the time it was just me on the road – I kind of felt like I was in my own personal paradise. I did refrain from stopping by the lovely house that was for sale – I am pretty certain that a second home in New Zealand – on the beach none the less is well outside of my financial reach!
These are just some things that caught my eye as I headed to the beach area and cafe.
When I arrived at the Scorching Bay Beach – it was lunch time, so I popped into the famous Scorch-o-rama Cafe for lunch and had a very nice fish and chips while enjoying the views of the bay. I knew it was a good restaurant for me because they have geekery all around with various Star-Wars, Superhero, Lego, Game of Thrones and Video Game things all around (even extending into the bathrooms!).
I mean – does this not look like a restaurant I would enjoy?
After I had my lunch – I then walked out to the beach – y’all – it was so gorgeous and peaceful I can’t even really put it in words. I used my snazzy travel blanket (Thanks Lisa!) and settled in and wrote, then read a few articles and journals as the waves crashed around the rocks and on the beach. I’m telling you – not a bad way to work today, for sure.
I spent the afternoon at the beach, then headed home. After a quick dinner with Julian and Joanna, they headed to the airport to a sculpture thing in Auckland, and I headed upstairs to watch the glider show and sunset from the upstairs balcony before I headed to bed.
Merry Adventures 