Saturday, July 27, 2013

Once Again to the Wairapapa


Once more to the Wairarapa for us. Looked up a great discussion on the NZ motorhome forum about places to go and on the strength of this headed to Waiohine Gorge (1333 Longitude:175.3904500000 Latitude:-40.9963333200) keen to see their special swing bridge. It is incredible! Enjoyed a walk across, stopped for photo opportunities. 
Local info says this could be the longest swing bridge in the world..??
 
Had power issues tonight. Despite having charged the battery before leaving home we didn't have enough power to fire up the gas heater! So early to bed for us!

Off to wander around some of the other sites suggested in the above forum. Looked at 1363 and 1363. Lovely pub beside the Gladstone one. We're surprised to find so much housing and wine growing as well as good ol fashioned sheep farming. Passed Parkvale Mushrooms, well worth a visit. Bought myself a grow your own kit from the lovely ladies there along with a box of seconds of course.. Guess what's for lunch!! Well worth a visit thats for sure. 


Moved on to Martinborough to get some power for the night. Lovely top 10 camping ground $36 for 2 with power. Had to test out the cafes and of course the lovely boutique style shops..

Left Martinborough heading south and took the first left on a road that we hadn’t travelled before. what a great decision that was! Didn’t realise that this was one that headed to the coast and some 3 new free camping sites. Excellent. Found a wind farm that we didn’t know existed and is actually the first in NZ, erected in 1996, 15 windmills in all. 












Almost an hour after leaving the town we were on the coast after some kms of gravel road but in pretty good order. Very surprised to find this is a haven of surfers, so many arrived as the afternoon wore on. (numbers 8990, 8991, 8992) Had a lovely time beach-combing (paua shells for my sister - nothing for me..... well we will see!) and getting some exercise.

Moved on a little north following the coast road to the camp at Te Awaiti and stopped there the night. Small ground with very little that is level except the area that is a little close to the sea for my liking but what a spot to camp! Waves pounding and thrashing. No surfers here but a special spot, very enjoyable. No walking tracks or fishing opportunities here. Stopped to admire and enjoy the waves and rocks on our way out of camp the next day and got to watch some seals up close and personal! 

Lunch stop at the top of Lake Wairarapa, always a good place to see something happening. today it was a group of mostly classic Landrover owners putting their skills to the test. Excellent entertainment. They even asked us if we wanted to put our camper through their little course. The object of which was to complete it in the slowest time possible. 




Monday, April 30, 2012

Masterton, Napier and roundabout

Self contained certified! School holidays arrived, Easter was dispensed with, eggs and buns eaten and we are off again, this time for a whole week! What would we need that was different? The weather was getting a bit colder and suddenly the wardrobe and the clothes lockers look rather small!


The itinerary was planned, let's keep it simple, head to Napier we said. And off we went, first night Masterton and a pub carpark was our overnight stop. Not bad really, a lovely garden outside the back door and quiet car park that stayed that way! Toilets were available while the restaurant or the pub were still open. Just had to write our name in the diary the publican handed me after saying 'welcome' in a friendly manner.

Had a lovely visit with Kerry (Bernie's niece) and her gorgeous family and then headed off to Hawkes Bay. Stopped in Woodville at Yummy Mummy's to sample their cheesecakes. How delish were they? We settled on a caramel and a lime one that would (hopefully) last two nights.

Next stop ANZAC park just north of Norsewood. What a precious little spot. 2 little old clean toilets (sign on the gents was Gentlemen!)  and a patch of green surrounded by beautiful bush and what's more, we were the only ones there! Fees were $2 per van per night. First time camping literally on our own, should I be worried? No, it turns out was the answer to that, thank goodness! The temperature took a sudden downturn after the sun turned itself out. Time to try out our gas heater, hmmmm, how does this work? Thanks goodness for Google and the iPad! Soon we had toasty temperatures.

And then there were two...  Thank goodness 4 wine glasses had been sourced from the local hospice shop as I seem to run out of bench space and managed to flick one off the bench and ... smash... that was the 2nd one down (himself took care of the first one - thank goodness I didn't begin this process!)

New day dawned only for us to discover that we had miscalculated where the sun would arrive, so with himself still reclining between the sheets I moved us into the early morning sun for breakfast. Another 'wings' member arrived and a chat in the sun followed. Nice to share travels and experiences. This ended up with the gift of a Hawkes Bay avocado, Yum, that would go well with our salad for lunch!

Not far down the road and we come across Otane and a Sunday market. Purchased some greens and shouted ourselves some beautiful apricot and bourbon sauce. Then just as we were leaving I spotted some figs, now it just so happens that eating these fresh is on my bucket list. I was given one to try, hmmmm, not flash really, was assured that they would get sweeter in a day or 2... we will see...    New hospice shop and new pair of wine glasses! This would help the dwindling supply!

Drove into Havelock and wandered around the village before heading out to the POP park we had chosen opposite the Arataki Camping ground. Time for afternoon tea but I was busy with my smocking homework (as you do!) so Mr. Helpful was on duty. No gas! Has it run out already? That heating last night must have depleted the 4kg bottle. Bother, will anyone refill a bottle in Havelock late Sunday afternoon? Off back to town, locate a station and once the bottle is on the LPG filling station we discover the bottle is 99% full! How can that be? So reinstall the bottle and I take the reins... ahhh, yes, one must push the button in when lighting the gas.... back to the campsite. Nice to know we have used so little gas so far!

Off for a walk around the new suburb we find ourselves in the middle of. Feijoas lying all over the ground, unloved and unwatched it seems to us. Wonder if anyone would miss a few?

Off to town for breakfast after being woken by pukekos squeaking (is that how you describe the call of the pukeko?) as they ducked and dived through the long grass on our 'front lawn'. Parked beside the local village centre (they have 'facilities' there don't you know?) I stewed some Feijoas for breakfast and we watched the town centre come to life while we munched our cereal and fruit.

Headed for Napier. On the way spotted a dump station. Several fellow 'wings' members were in the queue and we were wondering if we would do our first 'dump' correctly! Decided in the end to ask for help and have the various do's and don’ts explained, much easier! Apologized to the couple we had held up only to be told that they weren't in a hurry at all... Nice! I realize that is the rule.

Napier

Decided to camp at Te Awanga (road to the gannets) in a reserve just across the road from Elephant Hill winery where we later watched the Masterchef guys BBQ-ing on TV! Lovely camp, long and plenty of beach front for motorhomes to come in and park up. Toilets and recycling bins available for our use and so quiet apart from the pounding waves.
 
Visited Nadine (Bernie's niece) and met her family and enjoyed some of the art deco of the area that she lives in. Picked our first ever avocados with Nadine and Tony. What an amazing tree, it has fruit in nearly all stages of growth. They were huge and we left with about 6 of them which will ripen over the next few days, hope we can wait that long! Also picked up some more feijoas from their front lawn.

Lunched at Speight's Alehouse (Tony's pub) which is round in Ahuriri. Nice meal, great service. Not much needed for tea that night. Still in Napier visited Alan and Jean Colbert. Was surprised on the way up there to come across NGHS in a superb spot high on Bluff Hill. The road is surprisingly narrow and the access seems poor. Can't imagine how they get 900 girls up and down that road twice a day. Beautiful old buildings painted light blue, quite stand out really. Jean says it is bedlam outside the school at 3pm!

Found a new spot to call home for 2 of our nights in Napier. Clive Ski Reserve. Right by the river, rowers slide quietly past early morning and late evenings. About 7 vans were there the first night. Some come in really late and leave surprisingly early. We often leave quite early too, just get up and dressed and go somewhere else for breakfast. It also means we have hot water for showers after a short drive.

Last night this trip, at Takapau NZMCA camp. Toilets Showers and Laundry available, also dump station, rubbish and recycling bins.

Lessons Learnt so far this trip..

Yep lots more learning done .......
  • ·      thanks to the New Zealand Motorhome and Caravan forum we have found out that our hot water will 'leak' each time it gets hot. It isn't actually leaking but the hot water is expanding (boiling?) and it is releasing itself  through a pressure relief valve. Might now try and find someway of running that outside the van instead of all over our step. Does this mean that we didn't need a new hot water tank at all? Bright suggestion was to try and pipe it back into the fresh water tank, clever idea!
  • ·      to look back before we leave a site, think we lost Bernie's precious crocs this way!
  • ·      the igniter on the stove works only when the 'space heater' is turned on the switchboard (go figure!)
  • ·      light in the oven/grill works only when the 'space heater' is turned on but it's igniter works anytime
  • ·      the gas heater works!
  • ·      TV picture turns off when the water pump comes on later in the evening.. Nope, can't play a DVD on battery
  • ·      found some suction bathroom fittings for toothbrushes and shower wash, they have stayed there so far
  • ·      leaving Takapau NZMCA site and second time ever on power…. Only just remembered to unplug before leaving… now that could have been really embarrassing!!


Food

Tried a risotto - checked in lots of veges - put lots of silver beat in, that would have been better chopped up small.
Eggs benedict - worked well using packet hollandaise which was alright but not at all like the real thing.
stir fry - need a second chopping board for this. Used noodles instead of rice. Quite a tight fit to get a wok and our pot on the hob. May be useful to have a smaller pot, would be even better to have a steamer to go with it.





Friday, March 23, 2012

Taupo and Self Certified


After project Number 1 on the van (to replace a leaking hot water system) almost completed and only a small leak in one very stubborn blue hose, we set off for Taupo with first night at Marton. Decided to try our hand at using a POP park. No this doesn't mean popping in for a visit or popping over to the neighbours, but rather popping onto someone else's property for the night and giving them a small donation for their generosity. We ended up parked on the gravel beside someone's garage with a big busty, bikini-clad scarecrow to look over us through the night. We were informed by the lovely Pat (landlord) that there was a scarecrow competition on in town.

Tested out the shower this morning with new water heater. How hot would the water be after sitting unheated all night? Notice that Himself took first douche leaving me with a thimble full of hot water methinks??  Eekkk, there was just enough to get the soap suds off.

Through some lovely farm country this morning. The 'once-a-farmer-always-a-farmer' half of our team surprises me today. His usually very smart observational skills are really honed when he comments that a paddock of lambs are 'probably crypts'! Now how on Earth can anyone note that whilst driving along the road at 100kph!! I am usually impressed enough with his ability to identify every crop we have ever seen, wind direction and type of grass in the paddocks… but this takes the cake!!

Gorgeous cafe stop in Taihape, I could have had one of everything they had in the cabinet. The cafe Telephonique  has gained a 5 star rating from me. Decided then and there that if I was to ever be incapacitated so as not be able to speak or feed myself, I am officially stating that I would like to be spoon fed their Oaty (therefore it must be good for me!) Caramel slice until I can eat no more. Must let ever attentive and loving daughter know my last wishes. (this is the same daughter that has already made not-so-secret for us at the local old folks home)

Noted that local New World had a 25 cent per litre fuel discount so decided to purchase much needed supplies (was hoping that no-one in the supermarket would note that in order to spend the obligatory $150 to qualify we bought 13 bottles of wine and a packet of crackers.)





Mt Ruapehu ever illusive 
Onto the Desert Rd and excitement when we realized that Mr Mainlander could get to see Mt Ruapehu for possibly the first time. Took some time to choose best photo spot.. after quite a bit of indecision and discussion around this the mountain had pulled her cloud cloak over and become invisible again! Stopped for lunch in a desolate spot. Howling winds kept us company while we sat in domesticity enjoying lunch.










Got up close and personal with some of the purple flower covering many acres of the vista we were seeing. A type of heather possibly?









Landed in Taupo and found the newly owned NZMCA camp by the airport. Great we thought! Oh no, we discovered, we must be 'Certified Self Contained' (trust me there is a whole new language to be learned) and we hadn't yet ticked that off our list. Pulled out the trusty iPhone and found a local self-containment officer. He was more than happy to see us. Dave crawled round under our van with tape measure and in the next 20 minutes Mrs VW had her vitals checked intimately, it was only her owners that came up short! With paper work now almost settled it was back to the aerodrome park. Feel a bit like a mini at a truck show here. The van next to us could have accommodated us in their dining area!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Campervan Christening

We became the very proud owners of a VW (no not a Combi!) Motorhome on February 29, 2012. It is a 2006 ex Apollo rental that has done 162,000km and is 2.5l Turbo diesel. Is that enough for the technical amongst us I wonder?

 At last, after sitting in our driveway for over 10 days we are off! Over the Rimutakas, well that would be a test of our mighty VW. Decided to have a power site for the first night and we selected the Greytown Camping Ground. It was a pretty campsite and we nestled into the huge Totaras for our first night. The campground owner appeared just in time to help us sort out how to plug into power and get the right switch pointing in the right direction! Tea time and our first attempt at cooking. Found the gas igniter on the stove top wouldn't work. Ooops, no matches. Immediately began a list for the van of permanent necessities! Managed to light the little oven and use the sophisticated method of making a paper taper to transfer the flame! Worked a treat! Had delicious meal.

 Headed off the next day for a small DOC park at the the Pinnacles. Drove into Lake Ferry and looked at the local camping ground. Not for us we decided, we were going bush. Had trouble locating the park on the map so while we had afternoon tea in overlooking Lake Ferry I learnt how to use Google maps to find a place using longitude and latitude. What a clever system! It was a small park with only a couple of very basic toilets. Lots of people coming and going. A group from the Naenae Boxing Academy (Billy Graham) were in camp but further down the campsite so we only had a couple of other campers with us. Crawled around under the van looking to see what went where. Even located the water tank! Found a small leak that kept that seemed to be coming from the water heater. Hmm, better leave that to the Mr Fixit of our team, meanwhile we have more important things to do... It's wine o'clock! Glorious sunset appeared for us.


























The next morning we headed up the creek bed to see the Pinnacles. What an extra-ordinary sight we found! The rock formations were completely unexpected and for the whole time we were up there walking we never saw another soul. Where would you get that anywhere else?













 Wandered back to Mrs VW (yet to be named) and off down the road to visit Martinborough. Had a lovely time looking through some rather creative and interesting shops. Had a lovely stop in a nice cafe (don't tell Justine!) and maybe a cake each, then time to head for home. What a lovely weekend. Lots learnt, lots to learn and some beautiful sights seen.