Away With The Fairies

 End of March 2025

Our Love Boat adventure took us in to the Wairarapa in late March & from there the next part of our journey found us exploring parts of Upper Hutt. We had two stops in mind along the way. One of them being a visit to the hospice shop & the other a drop in to Take Me Back Vintage & Retro in High street. To be honest the Take Me Back website is only mildly inspiring, but I still thought that it would be worth a visit & since we had time, we found ourselves a park.

& then we walked in the door..... 

                  

And I was completely blown away. 

We've never come across anything like this shop in all our 47 years of exploring vintage, antique & second hand shops.  

   Beautifully curated there were corners of fascination everywhere we looked. Vignettes of nostalgia & retro humming to a jazzy tune all of it's own. 

Explosions & pops of colour, visions of utter loveliness, collections of best vintage ensembles, cosy blankets, fantastic plastics, walls of fine floral china & retro ensembles of yesteryear- EVERYwhere! 

I found myself smiling & crying, nodding & gasping & crying again.

You just can't help but fiddle with things in such a shop. 

 

And have a go with contraptions you've never seen in your life before.

Sometimes retro can get a little gauche, but Take Me Back has just the right balance with whole sections of ever-so-pretty.

You know I am quite certain that one of our primary modern ills stems from a lack of vibrance & nostalgia in our lives. To be quite plain- not enough colour! Mass deficiencies across the population.

And I don't mean random blobs & walls of colour, I mean curated, harmonious integrations of colour & beauty to nourish & soothe the soul with grace.

Wherever did this earth colour palette idea come from? Souls are starving! Deprived of the resonance & inspiration that colour brings to our human presence & function we grow pale & wan & wonder why life feels so dull & unfulfilling. Bring in the colours. Usher in a rainbow. 

Play with colour.

Flirt with colour.

Invite colour in to every part of your life.

Patterns & textures matter too.

And if it jars or makes you feel ill- that colour is not for you!

Even out in the street we found colourful mosaics murals. 

Ok, so we need more art too!

Colour makes all the difference in the world!

In Marjorie's world colour is everything.

She has transformed a plain staircase in to a corridor of enchantment. through colour. 

We could not have been more delighted when we arrived at The Belmont Apartment in Lower Hutt 

& ascended the stairs in to the most delightful apartment space we have ever seen.

Every detail was beautifully crafted, presented,

 created, painted & decorated.

It felt like such a privilege to be here. 

Every attendant detail making us welcome.

Light filled & joyful.

And even a delightful Vernon Ward over here.

Along with sweetly scented roses from the garden.

Old pedestal hand basin & a clawfoot bath.

And more of Marjorie's clever creativity.

So cute.

Maps- fold out ones or online versions- are all very useful but until you've arrived in person you really can't know just what a particular locality is really like. We'd not ever heard of the suburb Belmont before, but it's really not far from Petone & is set amidst the most wonderful forest. 

It's also very hilly.

The wonderful thing these days though is that if you have a look on the internet you're bound to find some useful information written by someone. All the official channels were most uninspiring, however, I found a great blog post entitled Walking With Kids that was filled with useful tips about Belmont. How to find the fridge library, for instance.

Such a great idea- a fridge library. They keep books safe & dry wherever you fancy plonking them.

Interesting home.

We visited our David & Ye Liu in their new apartment in Taita just 8 minutes away & when we got back we decided to eat a simple meal- Marjorie's freshly baked wholemeal, sourdough bread was just delicious. And very much appreciated along with real butter & homemade strawberry jam.

More sweet details around every corner.

Very clever.

Even the dishwashing liquid was charming- Rosehip & Aloe Vera! And the plates so lovely & sensible. You'd be amazed by how many airbnbs provide the ugliest, weirdest & most impractical cups, plates & glasses. 

The next morning we managed to find our way across the motorway & down in to Petone to the cafe I had found through Neat Places called The House of Good Fortune.

Oh how we loved it here. Only in Wellington do you find such fabulous, funky, fun & vibrant settings.

In the centre of it all is the roastery.

Funny how coffee beans roasting don't smell at all like you'd imagine- pungent!

I love how the sign says "Occasionally available ring bell."

Fun, but just for display.

I always found these old clowns scary & enchanting at the same time at the A&P Show.

And then the fire truck double parked outside & the guys all piled in to the cafe while the driver waited on the ready.

Tucked away in an industrial area with almost no parking We happened to catch the space as someone left the one park! Next time we'll park in Jackson street & walk around the block.

Every little detail is fun & witty & delightful- including the food & coffee.

The ethos of the company Good Fortune Coffee Company is also admirable.

Fair Trade. Living Wage. Organic.

Can't ask for better than that!

A lovely little shop in the main street of Petone.

Madison Rose

After brunch we followed the instructions on the Walking with Kids blog & headed to Kelson to find the entry to the Pareraho forest walkway. I was amazed to find this bank covered in Balm of Gilead.

I've never come across Cedronella canariensis naturalised like this before.

Balm of Gilead has a very distinctive & unique smell.

How lovely to come across so much red clover blooming in autumn.

And in to the forest we went.

Quite soon we came to a clearing where you could collect a map & take it with you. What a great idea!

There is a team of volunteers (a care group) that have made this walkway a marvelous place.

Jamie is the team leader & gradually there are others that have joined up as they learn about the project.

There are so many child friendy additions to the pathways.

And random little seats.

So exciting to find Kohekohe in the forest.

Eek, the crossings are a bit wobbly but lots of fun.

What a smart idea for weed gathering.

Kohia on the forest floor- New Zealand passionfruit. 

The forest vistas are amazing.

What a great project to label the trees- educate us all.

Now we know what a young Matai looks like.

Native rubus, Bush Lawyer, Tataramoa. Tricky sticky stuff but also medicinal.

Anxiety, sleep- make a brew with a leaf.

Lost in the wilderness letterbox. Post a letter to the fairies.

Lots of Rewarewa & Ponga trees in here.

More river crossings.

And that was the end of that day's exploration. So much more to find.

After lunch with David & Ye Liu we headed to the lookout. David had discovered a sneaky track through the trees.

And after a bit of a scramble...

What a view!

Petone

Matiu/Some's Island

Looking back to the city- Wellington.

Good place for a seat.

Patchwork living.

Ferry heading through Cook Strait to the South Island,

More fridge libraries

Some many pathways in the Parearaho forest.

This one lead us down to the Fairy Grotto,

What a wonderful neighbourhood for children to live in.

You could walk for miles & miles & find magic all along the way.

Just a quick swing Rob!

Bit of a tight fit down the slide!

More wobbly bits!

And joy in the Fairy Grotto.

This is where we met Isobel the Dutch lady dressed in colour from head to toe. 

She has become one of the keen volunteers.

On our way home we stopped at Kaitoke national Park before heading back up over the Remutakas & up through The Wairarapa on our way home. 

Evidently Stuart Alisdair Macaskill has been a good stick around these parts.

Pretty impressive water catchment system.

Ah, the long journey home.

Stopped for road works- what a dear wee pony.