a weekend Wellington walk

Before it finished, my feet hurt. Up until then, however, it was a good idea.

We actually got out of the house this weekend, and even out of the city. Kirsten and I, along with our friend Amy, decided to take advantage of Wellington's proximity to the sea and walk to Sinclair Head, a point south of the city known for a fur seal colony.
To get there, we took the bus to the end of the line. Then walked to the end of the road. Then walked some more, to the end of the trail (where the seals were). Then reversed our steps, and walked back, since that was the only option.
In all, we walked 13 kilometers (about 8 miles), which was about 2 kilometers too many, especially since I'm still in American mode, which means I'm used to driving anywhere further than a block away.
Looking at Wellington on a map, one of the striking features about the city is its location near the bottom of the north island, therefore near the sea, and the mostly wild, mountainous landscape keeping the city penned in.
Living in Wellington, it's easy to forget the sea and bush are just over the hills. In just a few weeks, I've gotten used to walking between our house and downtown, and finding some of the urban nooks and crannies. Without a car, though, it's hard to escape the gravitational pull of all the buildings.
For a few hours, we did. The walk was level and really not too bad, especially when we were rewarded at the end with seals close enough to touch (although that seemed like a bad idea after one growled at me). It also didn't rain on us, which was a bonus, considering the increasingly dark hue of the sky.
Today, I picked up maps of other walks around Wellington, many of them longer, and including actually elevation changes. The idea is nice, but perhaps I'll invest in some new shoes first (or magically get in shape).