Te Kopahou Reserve

I took the car for a spin today and drove along the south coast (Island Bay, Owhiro Bay) till I reached the end of the road (and the world). It appeared that I had gotten to the entrance of Te Kopahou Reserve, it felt like a portal to a different universe. The sight was just spectacular, just a massive and bare rock formation all the way to the horizon. Their presence gave me a strong sense of "don't mess with us". Just another moment that I was touched by the New Zealand scenery. It was a bit late to go for a stroll along the ocean side but that is definitely something that I would like to do at another time. There are walking trails and there were quite a few people out there (considering the number of cars in the parking lot).

On the way back I visited a colleague of mine who lives in a converted warehouse on the water front in the city. Very high ceilings, looked like a loft with an extra floor in the middle. Very nicely done, very different than the many old and drafty old houses in Wellington.

Yesterday I took my car back to the garage because the clutch had a wee bit play. Since it is under warranty it was better to take it back to the place where I bought it which is about 18 km north west of Wellington. Once lesson to be learned from my car buying adventure is that next time it might be better to buy the vehicle locally. Anyway the owner was happy to look at it and to fix it. Once he was done he asked me to test drive the car, just to make sure that everything was fine. Well that was an interesting experience, it was like being back at the driving school. "You should take your foot off the clutch, I see that you keep your foot on the clutch between the first and second gear, your foot should not be on the clutch at all, keeping your foot on the cluth will wear out the clutch much quicker than usual and (and here is the key part) it will affect the warranty". Well Cliff, I hardly put any pressure on the clutch, I just keep my foot in position for the next gear shift... Yes but any tiny touch of the clutch will wear out the clutch and the clutch may need to be replaced much sooner than expected... Cliff I don't apply any pressure on the clutch... by the way it is pretty cold and wet today, I take it that you have very few customers today... not really... you have to let go of the clutch between shifting gears... yes but I DON'T apply any pressure on that pedal Cliff. Needless to say that I was relieved that my driving lesson was over. Perhaps his tactics is to put me off for a next warranty issue... well Cliff don't count on that too quickly mate, I may take you up on that :-)