Wellington And Beyond: How To Practice What You Preach
Couples counsellors the world over recommend date nights, but few people actually commit to the practice of devoting time to intimacy and connection. Whenever I hear myself encouraging people to get away from their day-to-day lives and refocus on why they chose to spend their life with their partner, a little voice in my head says “but you don’t do that.” So last week, as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism, I took my own advice and enjoyed some time with my partner of 30 years in Wellington and beyond.
Shared interests
The key to reconnection is to remember what you have in common. Andy & I share a love of food and wine, travel, and meeting new people. We love to learn about the history and architecture of different places and we are suckers for emotional tales. Although we had both individually been to New Zealand, neither of us had appreciated what Wellington has to offer. From the moment we walked into the Museum Art Hotel, our jaws dropped. This is truly the funkiest hotel we have ever stayed in with wall-to-wall art, chandeliers aplenty, and a one-hatted restaurant with a view of the bay that necessitated wearing sunglasses over breakfast. The premier room was luxurious with a bath to match the size of the spacious bed.
The hotel is located so close to everything, but then again, nearly everything is within walking distance in Wellington. Across the road from the Museum Art Hotel is Te Papa, the renowned museum that is currently hosting simply the most exceptional exhibition I’ve ever seen. Gallipoli, The Scale of Our War evokes such emotion that from the moment you enter the space to the time you leave, you are shaking your head at the brilliant way the creators from the Weta workshop have managed to take you to Anzac Cove.
In a completely different way, Zealandia transports you to a time before the first settlers arrived in New Zealand. A fence that is impenetrable to predators protects the native flora and fauna inside this eco-nature reserve. Spending an hour mindfully listening and watching for glorious birds and seemingly prehistoric reptiles makes you feel like the stress of daily living is a galaxy away.
The only way to reacclimatise to society was to visit what was our favourite establishment in Wellington, the Rogue and Vagabond. This groovy bar with its neon lighting, walls covered in vinyl records and a menu of craft beers on tap that changes every day was made even more special because of the fabulous food. The burgers, po boys, curly fries, pizzas and home-made corn chips were only topped by the most amazing artichoke and jalapeño dip. No, we didn’t eat all of that in one sitting – we had to return a few times.
Culinary delights
Speaking of food, Wellington is not known as the culinary capital for nothing. With so many restaurants to choose from, you’d need a month (and stretchy pants) to sample everything. We enjoyed magnificent seafood at Whitebait, a new but already hatted restaurant, marvelled at the fresh produce at the Harbourside market right in front of our hotel, ate sensational cheese scones at Floriditas, gorged on breakfast at Hippopotamus, and loved cocktails at The Library. If you don’t have a month to sample all the fabulous food Wellington has to offer, why not pop over for Wellington on a Plate? This year, this food lovers’ festival is on 14-30 August. Many of the local and regional restaurants take part in the Battle of the Burger or the Clash of the Cocktails. Over 130 events celebrate all the region’s innovative culinary scene has to offer.
A three or four hour Zest food tour is a wonderful way to get a taste of the local fare and meet the inspiring people behind the scenes. Discover how coffee is roasted at Mojo, learn the art of making gelato at Gelissimo Gelato, try to pick the natural flavours in the single origin chocolate at The Wellington Chocolate factory, and brave the smoke and fire peanut butter at Fix and Fogg.
Wairarapa
It’s not just Wellington that boasts superb food, wine, beer and coffee. Just an hour by train is the Wairarapa region, famous for its pinot noir, but just as proud of its white wines, organic produce, cheeses, craft beer and chocolate. No wonder Hollywood director James Cameron bought a property in this stunning region and set up the Cameron Family Farm, which sells produce to Forest Food Organics. On a glorious winter’s day, we relaxed over a sumptuous platter and accompanying wine at Poppies Winery in Martinborough. Poppy and Shane are childhood sweethearts who love their vines like children and seem determined to focus on what they enjoy, not on building an empire. Their love is evident in the food, wine and the gorgeous restaurant they designed. Despite polishing off Shane’s stunning platter and Poppy’s wine, we managed to sample the local beer at Martinborough Brewery. With a light pale ale and a chocolately dark ale in hand, we were taken through the art of making beer.
Toby James entertained us through a tasting at the award-winning Tirohana Estate. We bought a bottle of Chardonnay to enjoy back at the hotel that night. Paul Broughton shared his love for experimentation with local produce at C’est Cheese in Featherstone and so we couldn’t resist picking up a range of cured meats, cheese and breads to have with our wine later that night. A tasting at Schoc Chocolate in Greytown created a dilemma – what to take home? We ended up choosing the Lime chilli, pink peppercorn, salt, and milk rose blocks. Now we just have to resist eating them all in one sitting.
Culture & shopping
For those who are not as interested in food, wine and cheese, there is still plenty to do and see in Wellington. We enjoyed a unique play called The Beautiful Ones at the Circa Theatre. The love story, written and directed by Hone Kouka was a dynamic mix of drama, dance and song. We weren’t able to get around to all the galleries in town, but we made a promise to ourselves to visit them on our return. There was no missing the incredible sculptures dotted throughout and made a point of stopping at each of the text sculptures along the writers walk. The fashion in Wellington is very eclectic so it was no surprise to find a huge variety of brand names and one-off boutiques – especially around Cuba Street and in the Old Bank Arcade.
Finding your passion
My caseload is full of people who are unhappy in their careers. In many cases, they have been on a path for quite a while and don’t know how to change course without facing financial ruin. My advice is always the same – find your passion, find what gives you a sense of purpose and meaning. It may take a period of trial and error, but think about how to turn dreams into reality. Throughout our stay in Wellington and the Wairarapa, we met people who are doing just this – IT managers becoming award winning gelato makers, best friends setting up a craft brewery, and managers leaving lucrative careers to earn far less doing something far more rewarding.
Luckily I love my career as a psychologist. But I also love writing and having written various non-fiction books, I dream of creating works of fiction. Meeting the creative and innovative folks of Wellington and surrounds has reignited my passion for writing and who knows, a house swap may well be on the cards down the track. Any Wellingtonians want a trip to Sydney?
