Walking

 Hi

Last week I was determined to walk from Miramar to the Ataturk Memorial, by way of Wellington Airport.  If I were coming from town, I would catch the Airport Bus.  If driving, I'd pay the toll and (return) drive straight through the airport to the sea and onto the memorial (or drive via Lyall Bay for free).

it's a 22 minute walk from my house to the airport terminal, and once I got there, I thought, um, should I go into the terminal and have a little nosey around?

Nope!  I must not deviate from my plan.  Samosas and kebabs, get out of my brain!

From outside the main doors of the airport terminal, I walked straight south through the airport grounds, past car parks, freight buildings and a sewage plant, to reach the sea at Moa Point (about 15 minutes from terminal). Maybe I should turn right and do a short walk through a tunnel to Lyall Bay to watch the surfers (and eat at Spruce Goose)?

No!  I turned left and walked jauntily past the dozen houses at Moa Point, past several pebbled coves, and round about quite a few flax bushes.

it was a narrow rutted and, in parts, stoney track.

After about a half an hour I wasn't walking quite so jauntily. Some puffing was involved.  

There were a couple of times that necessitated my running into a sometimes busy road when the track was not passable.  It was no more than 15 seconds-a-sprint, but I was a little miffed at having to do this.

Finally after about an hour from leaving Moa Point (I had stopped to take photos, and sit down once [okay, twice, but I was eating my picnic lunch so who's counting?]), I reached the bottom of the hill leading up to the Ataturk Memorial.  The Memorial commemorates all the fighting dead from the first world war, Gallipoli.

 I'm sure there is no shame in admitting that by this time I was a bit of a red-faced sweaty, puffing mess. 

Oh, bugger...  I just didn't want to climb the hill to the memorial.  Besides I'd been up there loads of times.  It was only about a five minute hill hike but ...

I prodded back home the way I'd come. 

Quitter..........

above: photo taken from Moa Point, just around the corner from southern end of Wellington Airport.

above: Ataturk Memorial.  stock photo