Weekend in the Wairarapa

To celebrate our 38^th wedding anniversary we headed over the hill to the Wairarapa.

We had lunch in Greytown then walked along a trail that covers the site of the former Greytown to Woodside railway line. The line was opened in May 1880 and for a while was the terminus of the Wairarapa line. The main line from Woodside to Masterton and beyond was opened in November 1880 and the Greytown line became a branch. It was closed in 1953 and the walkway was developed this century.

It’s a 5 Km walk each way, through flat farming country.

The track is flat and straight (as you would expect) with the Tararua range in the distance.

There were some llama in a paddock.

At the end a short section of the original track “made in Darlington UK in 1874”.

This is the current state of the Woodside station – you can only change for Greytown if you walk.

The next morning we awoke to another stunning Wairarapa autumn day. We met up with Andy and went to the Murdoch James winery for lunch. Wine and food were excellent.

The Official Photographs

We've just received a CD of photos from Sam and Bex’s wedding. There are 498 of them and I have had a difficult job selecting a blog’s worth. So here goes.

This is Bex and her assistants or whatever bridesmaids are called when they are not called bridesmaids (!)

and Sam and his groomsmen.

 First meeting on the day ("Still want to do it?". "Yeah, all right, 'spose we ought to.")

Arty shots by an old cottage

and it wouldn’t be a kiwi wedding without an old tractor.

More rustic wonderfulness.

I think they may have had to use a wind machine for this.

A closeup of the happy couple

who also posed in front of Lake Hawea.

This is the girls entering through the pear trees. I thought this was a very primaeval moment – the bridal party arriving and bring Bex up to meet her groom.

The exchange of rings

and they are now Mr. & Mrs. Jewell.

Braving a sudden downpour of confetti.

These are the family photos. First, Bex’s side 

with the grandparents

and our side.

And finally a group shot of the assembled guests.

I should point out that the views expressed in this post are purely my own. They do not represent the opinion of the new Mr. & Mrs. Jewell. Dialogue is for illustrative purposes only – the actual words spoken may have been different.