We woke to complete darkness and no sound. The best hotels tend to be like this. Whilst enjoying the spa bath last night we’d noticed the wind blowing through the vent. However our room faces an internal courtyard and so we had no exterior facing window so were unaware of what was going on outside.

Perhaps our first indication of it was a text from Claire’s mum apologising for the storm overnight. We thought nothing of it as we headed downstairs. As we got outside we were greeted with a huge gust of wind and worse rain than we had experienced on the drive here.

We’re starting to plan our food recommendations around the Lonely Planet and this morning liked the sound of Chaos. A modern jazz playing, hipster cafe round the corner from our hotel. We only got drenched a couple of times on the five minute walk but the ambience and food was well worth it.

This afternoon was a bit of a treat for me, a trip out to Mike’s brewery just outside New Plymouth and the perfect thing to do on a rainy day. The place was relatively empty, we stayed a couple of hours, ample time to get through all the beers on tap (all 12 of them) and to look around the merchandise. The place was pretty cool, a variety of buildings, a cellar door type, a brewery and another couple of sheds. Our time outside was limited though by the torrential rain streaming down the windows. The glimpses of the brewery cat darting past the window certainly provided some entertainment though.

Claire now took the wheel to drive back, I did offer but it was kindly yet firmly refused. A brief stop at a roadside green grocer for some more strawberries and grapes broke our trip back to New Plymouth.

Once there Claire took me on a trip down memory lane showing me the place she lived, where she use to work and the places she used to go. It was quite nice seeing her reaction to them and the mix of emotions they threw up.

We returned to the hotel to park and take a walk down the seafront. I think it’s probably the first time I’ve seen black sand, so unusual compared to the golden sand of most Australian beaches. The walk was cut short by the rain once again starting and we retreated to our hotel room.

Dinner was at what seems is a popular refurb in New Plymouth. Any eatery that pretends it’s something else, or maybe Joe’s Garage was once a garage but it’s not anymore. The decor was full of pictures of cars, the door handles were spanners and the walls were brick. It was nicely done but I suppose Melbourne is two a penny of these so to me it felt a little like being back home.

As we headed home to our hotel, the excitement started to build, tomorrow we are going to Hobbiton!

IJS