We chatted yesterday about where Louise would like to try next on a ride out. We’re both well aware of the differences to biking on the roads here compared to the UK. However, there is certainly a lot less traffic!

Louise decided that she’d like to have a try at Wellington – to experience city traffic. Surely Sunday would be a quiet day…as it turns out, no, Sunday is not a “quiet” day in the city! But good fun anyway.

We had looked up motorway riding in the Road Code, for some reason we’d both come to the conclusion that learners couldn’t ride on motorways a la the UK motorways. I looked up a couple of websites too and couldn’t find anything. Although a lot of bikers had mused that the L plate is a target on the roads, and either left them off or ignored the rules. Not too different to many Kiwi motorists there then! The L plate here is slightly different to the UK, in that its yellow! After that, there’s not really that much you can do with an “L”!

We had looked at the non-motorway roads to get to Wellington, but decided that they had their own issues too – steep hills etc. So we decided to go for it. By now, we had also decided that travelling at 80 km/h, instead of the legal 70 km/h, was a lot safer in traffic. A lot of the towns and minor roads are 50 or 80 km/h limits and you get a lot less hassle from drivers, trying to get past, at 80 than you do at 70! It also seems to be a matter the police are willing to ignore as they don’t agree with the 70 limit either – as we said, its actually dangerous to “slow” the traffic. Having said that, so far we’ve been quite lucky in that a lot of drivers give loads of space to Louise as a learner – long may that continue!

We went straight into Wellington, though we did get off the motorway at Ngauranga (the g is silent evidently, so pronounced as Nauranga) and took the Hutt Rd into the city. After many traffic lights and junctions, we stopped by the side of Wellington Motorcycles for a coffee, louise having done really well on the busy roads and junctions!

We then headed off towards the airport, turning off just before to go to Miramar. Although we’d been to the Weta Cave (the company responsible for Lord of the Rings scenery, models etc) before, I thought it would be lovely to visit again.

I was going to take us over to Lyall Bay, but the grey clouds were gathering that way. So, instead we went across to Seatoun for a quick drink and a loo stop for me. Then followed the headland around back to Wellington City.

I couldn’t remember the way up to Mt Victoria – the easy way that is. We still found a way up, but I think Louise would have preferred not to take it, in hindsight. Whoops! It was fairly steep an narrow I have to say…..but the view at the top is definitely worth the trip.

Found the easy way up after all, but only on the way down

A coffee was definitely on the cards, and Louise suggested the cafe in Petone that we went to after her bike training day. Good choice, although the waitress we’d met last time was hobbling after a fall……didn’t stop her asking for a ride on the VSTROM though…….

Back home via Pauatahanui, and very surprisingly Louise wanted to try out Battle Hill! And very well she did too, taking it real slow on the way back down!

Turned out to be quite a long day after all, and certainly a lot further than originally intended!

Total mileage 150km (approx 94 miles)