Romany Rambler

Moving south to Ashburton

2012-02-26T08:59:00.001+13:00

Total Nights and Distance Travelled on Tour to Date = 13 Nights & 1193 Kms

Leaving the domain grounds at Tai Tapu we almost had a head on accident with a youth in a red car being closely pursued by a police car coming around the corner. Luckily we all managed to stop just in time – but we did wonder the reason for the close pursuit. No hills today as our drive down State Highway One took us through the Canterbury Plains. We drove through the little village of Dunsandal, made famous by Ken Avery and his Kiwi classic song “By the dog dosing strip in Dunsandal”. To those who haven’t experienced this piece of vintage Kiwiana, the song refers to the days gone by when dog owners were required to take their dogs to specified areas to be dosed for hydatids.

We drove over the Rakaia River Bridge, the longest highway bridge in New Zealand at 1.8km long. At that length it seemed to go on, and on, and on. The Rakaia River is known as a “braided river”. A braided river is one that, over some part of its length, flows in multiple, mobile channels across a gravel floodplain.

Travelling over the longest highway bridge in NZ

The Rakaia River

Rakaia is well known for its salmon and trout fishing, and has this giant salmon statue standing at 12 metres high on SH1 to entice keen fishermen to try their luck.

The giant salmon

It was then just a short run to Ashburton (the town was named in honour of the 2nd Baron Ashburton). We are staying at a rural POP and have a couple of pet sheep to keep us company. We have to be careful as they are used to getting their own way and can become quite a nuisance as they are not at all afraid of people. Our host has a large assortment of old vehicles which he plans to restore and our men-folk were delighted when told that he will take them around his workshop sometime.

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20,790Km; 358 Total Nights

Christchurch City – the Red Zone

2012-02-25T21:43:00.001+13:00

Like all New Zealanders, we had seen television pictures of the centre of Christchurch after the devastating February earthquake last year. Buildings in ruins, and later on the bulldozers were sent in to demolish many of these buildings. On our last day in Christchurch we went to see for ourselves, and commented that the pictures on TV do not do justice to the huge scale of the damage. The heart of the central business district is cordoned off, buildings are empty and boarded up and empty spaces show where other buildings once stood. The Bridge of Remembrance is fenced off and the damage is plain to see.

Bridge of Remembrance

Away in the distance we could just make of the remains of Christchurch Cathedral, which suffered considerable damage and is unlikely to be rebuilt. The spire came crashing down and the stained glass windows were destroyed. The Cathedral is considered to be the heart of the city and once stood proudly in Cathedral Square.

Christchurch Cathedral in the distance

Multi storey building boarded up

Brick building severely damaged

Many of the empty buildings have “cleared” signs spray painted on the windows showing how the whole of the central city was searched and cleared after the earthquake by urban Search and Rescue teams. Many teams came from overseas to help with the recovery.

Building cleared by American Search and Rescue team

A new “shopping centre” constructed of brightly painted containers has brought some life back into the city. People now have an area to shop, or have a coffee with friends, and some businesses are able to start trading again. This area was buzzing with workers and sightseers alike.

New shops made from steel containers

Even though it was rather sobering to walk around the cordoned off area and look through the chain link fence, we agreed that it was beneficial to give us a greater understanding of the damage suffered here.

Air Force Museum, Wigram, Christchurch

2012-02-25T21:39:00.001+13:00

What’s to see at the Air Force Museum? 28 classic aircraft for a start, many aircraft being restored, plus much, much more. We started our visit with a guided “behind the scenes” Restoration and Reserve Collection tour. “The restoration demands the preservation of the maximum amount of the original aircraft”, I read. Where possible, parts are sourced from scrapped aircraft, the correct type of timber is sourced from overseas, and metal pieces are meticulously fashioned.

Kittyhawk P-40

Britain sent several Vickers Vildebeest Biplanes to New Zealand during WW11, and none survive today. The restorers were working off drawings making all the pieces to put the frame together. When this huge job is finally complete this will be the only aircraft of this type in the world.

Working on the frame of Vickers Vildebeest Biplane

Derek and Robin on a De Havilland Vampire

Aircraft big and small are slotted in to place in this hanger. The smaller Strikemaster jet training aircraft, and the Westland Wasp Navy Chopper look tiny alongside the huge Bristol Freighter, with an Army Jeep still in the hold.

Bristol Freighter B170

We walked right through the Hawker Siddley Andover, a multi roled plane used to carry servicemen, freight and vehicles, It was also used for parachute training. The trainees sat with their parachutes in the seats with netting, their chutes were clipped on to the overhead rail, and one by one they moved towards the open door and jumped. Any who hesitated at this point failed the course.

Luckily we didn’t have to jump

It was an eerie experience walking back into the main exhibition hall. We could see the planes on display through the dim lighting while over the speakers came the haunting sound of the song, “Coming home on a wing and a prayer”. So many of the Air Force boys must have done just that during the war years.

Safely home

Link Flight Trainer used during WW11

The Memorial Alcove is an enduring tribute to the thousands of New Zealanders who gave their lives in the defence of their country in theatres of air operations around the world. The window was made by stained glass artist Rena Jarowsewitch and Official RNZAF Artist Wing Commander Maurice Conley. The bent propeller is a reminder of aircraft which took the lives of servicemen and women during the war.

Memorial Alcove

At the end of our tour

Marvellous Mosaics at the Giant’s House -

2012-02-24T20:12:00.001+13:00

I had been really looking forward to my visit to Linton, also know as the Giant’s House. Gardener, artist and creator Josie Martin relocated to Akaroa, and discovered pieces of broken crockery when she turned the soil over. She tried her hand at mosaics and plastered the pieces onto the front steps. The rest, as they say, is history.

Linton, home of Josie Martin

The whole garden is beautifully landscaped, terraced, and planted with colour and edged with neatly clipped low hedges. Everything seems larger than life, as the eyes take in one mosaic wonder after another.

Butterfly seating

A grand piano

Terracotta steps set with colourful stones lead up skywards, surely this must be something like the “Stairway to Heaven”. I just couldn’t resist sitting in this celestial seat in the arms of an angel.

In the arms of the angel

Everywhere you look there is something quite different. Oh look, isn’t that Adam, Eve and that pesky snake?

Adam and Eve

A whole lot’s happening here

Just clowning around

Even the toilet was a work of art. Mosaics covered the floor, as to be expected, and patrons were invited to leave a message on the walls with pens provided. (I did!)

Feel free to leave a message on the walls

The toilet ceiling was resplendent with a pink chandelier and was covered all over with fancy ceramic shoes.

That’s quite a ceiling

Mosaic work on the Giant’s House is still a work in progress, I noticed one corner of the garden which is being worked on. Sooner or later Josie will run out of grounds to plaster with broken pieces of pottery, and then what will she do, I wonder?

Gebbies Pass to Lyttelton

2012-02-24T13:14:00.000+13:00

It’s always an adventure to travel a road not previously experienced, and yesterday we drove over Gebbies Pass on the way to Lyttelton. We pulled over to the side of the road as a pilot vehicle with flashing lights came towards us. “Wide load follows” it warned, and after a wee wait a huge earthmoving truck astride an even bigger truck rumbled through. We wouldn’t want to meet them on a narrow corner.

Here it comes

Lyttelton Harbour from the lookout

Earthquake damage was quite evident as we drove through the Port Hills on our approach to Lyttelton. Many homes had temporary concrete retaining walls to stop any further subsidence to their hillside properties. Down at the port, even after a year since the big earthquakes, there was a lot of damage to see. Some businesses had tarpaulins covering their damaged roofs.

Roof damaged

Lots of damage to this building

It was all rather sad and depressing, and we have to remember that this is only one of the many areas of Christchurch that suffered considerable earthquake damage. This rather poignant message to the Earthquake Commission shows that results are not happening quickly enough for many businesses.

And just to stop us getting too complacent in our own little worlds, we experienced one of the Christchurch thousands of aftershocks ourselves last night back here in camp at Tai Tapu. The sharp jolt reminded us that this region still has a long way to go before the fault lines settle down, and New Zealand is a country formed by volcanic activity.

A little bit French - Akaroa

2012-02-23T21:49:00.001+13:00

You could say that Banks Peninsular had a violent start as it was created by the action of volcanic eruptions, which also formed the harbours of Akaroa and Lyttelton way back in the mists of time. Captain James Cook sighted this area in 1770 and it was named for Sir Joseph Banks. Frenchman Jean Langlois negotiated with a local Maori chief in 1838 to buy Banks Peninsular, and a group of settlers arrived in August 1840. But the French were pipped at the post by the British, as the Treaty of Waitangi had already been signed, and New Zealand became an English colony.

Our first stop on the journey was at Little River Railway Station which opened in 1886, and sadly the last train departed in 1962. The station is part craft shop and part rail museum, with lots of rail memorabilia on display.

Little River Railway Station

Railway memorabilia

Arriving in Akaroa we couldn’t wait to sample a little of the French flavour. Quaint little timber houses lined the streets, which all seem to be called “Rue” something or other. We checked out the St Patrick’s Catholic Church, built in 1854 of totara slabs, and looking so pretty with coxcomb decorated barge boards and it’s white and green paint job. The sun light shone through a beautiful stained glass window.

St Patrick’s Church

The old fashioned cast iron street lights added to the French flavour and they stood to attention up and down the main street. Lots of the cute little houses have been turned into cafes or gift shops.

French style street lamps

The local Court House

However, we had no need to visit a cafe. Geoff C fired up his Cobb BBQ on a picnic table by the boat ramp and cooked a multitude of sausages for our lunch. The BBQ burnt pressed coconut husk for fuel, and with a hot plate on top soon had those sausages sizzling away. What could be nicer than sausages wrapped in bread and butter, while looking over the beautiful Akaroa Harbour? The sun was hot and we were interested in the antics of the water fowl as we enjoyed our picnic lunch. Geoff T forgot to pack a hat and gladly took up my offer of a tea towel to save his head from sunburn!

Cobb BBQ with pressed coconut husk starting to burn

Geoff and Eileen sheltering from the sun

Lunch time view

The relocated historic Akaroa Lighthouse was moved from the Akaroa Heads in 1980 and is not far from the spot where the British first raised their flag. This well preserved little lighthouse hardly seems big enough to tackle the job of keeping ships safe from crashing into rocky reefs.

Akaroa Lighthouse

View of the Akaroa Harbour

Christchurch Remembers – one year on

2012-02-22T20:07:00.001+13:00

Flowers poking out of the top of all the orange road cones lining damaged city roads were a reminder that today was a special day indeed. One year ago at 12:51pm a devastating earthquake struck the city, and 185 people lost their lives, with 115 perishing in the CCTV building, and of these, 64 were foreign language students. The earth shook, buildings toppled down in the central city business area, the Christchurch Cathedral suffered massive damage, as did other churches. Thousands of homes were damaged, some destroyed outright, and many others sustained anything from severe to moderate damage. Water and sewer pipes ruptured, electricity failed and roads were cracked or sinkholes appeared. Police and ambulance personnel were joined by members of the public and all worked tirelessly to find people trapped in the rubble, and Australia, Japan, USA and Canada sent earthquake recovery teams. Memorials took place in Hagley Park and throughout the city today. Two minutes silence took place at the exact time the earthquake brought the city to it’s knees, and 185 Monarch butterflies were released, one for each person who lost their lives. It is an honour for us to be in the city of Christchurch at this time, and to be able to spend time with my son. We can remember quite vividly trying to get in touch with him on that fateful day, with the overloaded phones being out of action. What a relief when we finally made contact, and heard that he had not been injured at all. The whole country joins with Christchurch in remembrance today.

Releasing butterflies at the Memorial Service

It was time to leave the delightful “Mousehole” today and travel down to Tai Tapu in southern Christchurch. The Rhodes Park Domain is a large grassed area so there was plenty of room for the four of us. The domain is surrounded by lovely mature trees, and is next door to the local golf course.

Parked up at Rhodes Park Domain, Christchurch

The entrance to the domain is through a handsome brick memorial arch which honours those local men who lost their lives in the war. A plaque on the arch reads “This park of 70 acres was presented to the residents of the Tai Tapu district with the goodwill of Sir R Heaton and Lady Rhodes”. The donation was obviously made in remembrance of their own family members as the name Rhodes appears twice on the memorial.

The Memorial Arch

Areas of sand in the domain and surrounding streets showed that this area of Christchurch did not escape from the earthquakes, as the sand is a sign of liquefaction when the water table is forced to the surface as a result of ground movement during earthquakes.

Water has bubbled through to the surface, bringing up silt and sand

Oxford and beyond

2012-02-21T17:30:00.001+13:00

Why was a trip to Oxford another thing on our “must do” list? Because of Jo Seagar’s Cafe, of course. Jo and her family had relocated here several years ago from the North Island, and runs her thriving Cafe, Cook School and Kitchen Store in this pretty little town. The walls are hung with paintings for sale, showing various New Zealand farming scenes. The staff rearranged the tables to enable the eight of us to sit together, then we perused the menu and in no time at all our hearty delicious orders arrived. All coffees came with a piece of Jo’s famous fudge on the saucer, so yummy. Was it worth the long drive out from Christchurch– you bet! Check it all out on www.joseagar.com we can certainly recommend it.

Our stop for lunch

Just down the street was the Oxford Historic Jail, built in 1876, a tiny building with sturdy doors festooned with large bolts and padlocks to keep the felons safely contained. The jail was lovingly restored in 2002.

Oxford Historic Jail

Who is this locked away

And to show just what happens to bad people in this town, the set of stocks is still in use. It’s most uncomfortable, Robin said, bent over like that. He’s just lucky that no one threw rotten tomatoes at him.

Robin in the stocks

This old granite wheel was in use at the old flour mill in Russels Road on Gamons Creek. It is thought that the mills stones were originally used as ballast and came out on a ship from England in the late 1800s.

Old granite mill stone

Taking a different road back to our campsite we stopped at the Waimakariri River Gorge Bridge. Keen fisherman come here and try their luck with hooking Chinook salmon and brown trout, with the limit being two of each. The fisherman we spoke to wasn’t admitting to anything – he’d had no luck at all, he said. Don’t know if we believed him though.

Fishing on the Waimakariri River

The bridge over the river rose majestically up on tall supports and cars, trucks and even the occasional caravan rumbled across. We saw several logging trucks loaded up with Radiata pine travelling on their way to the mill. There is free camping allowed on an upper grassed area with toilets and fresh water available, no doubt this is much utilised by keen fishermen, or even campers who want to stay in an attractive riverside setting.

Waimakariri River Gorge Bridge

Our round trip took us along the inland Scenic Route where paddocks of golden hay were being baled, past prison buildings and the airport, so we saw a lot of the interesting area. We arrived back at The Mousehole just before the rain set in. Robin picked up a few wild mushrooms in the orchard and got chatting to another camper. “Guess what all the lumps and bumps in the ground are?” he was asked. “They were all caused by the big earthquake last February when the ground across the whole area rippled”. That’s amazing, and tomorrow is the anniversary of the devastating earthquake when so many lost their lives.

Underneath the spreading Chestnut Tree - The Mousehole

2012-02-20T21:30:00.000+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20661Km; 353 Nights Away

It was time to hit the road again, hitch up the caravans and leave Waikari. We travelled through the Weka Pass, today experiencing the road version, after yesterday doing the trip through the pass by rail. First stop was at Amberley for fuel. Standing outside the Councils offices is a statue honouring Captain Upham, considered as the most outstanding soldier of the Second World War. While in Crete in 1941 and the Western Desert in 1942, he distinguished himself with displays of “nerveless competence”, and was awarded the Victoria Cross and Bar. At the end of the war he returned to the life of sheep farming on a property north of Amberley. It was reputed that he never allowed a German made machine onto his farm.

Charles Upham – Victoria Cross and Bar

Leaving Amberley behind we continued down State Highway One to Belfast, on the outskirts of Christchurch. We were looking for the quaintly named “Mousehole”, our stopover for the next couple of nights. This orchard property was planted in 130 chestnut trees and we parked up between the rows of trees. What a very pretty place this is, lots of birdlife in the surrounding trees, and we were serenaded by the wonderful trilling song of a bellbird.

Parked up in a chestnut orchard

Our friendly host Russell strolled over to welcome us to his property. “What do you do with the chestnuts?”, we wanted to know, as they are not something we ever see in the shops. This orchard was planted about 13 years ago, we were told, and the chestnuts are exported. Asian cooks like to slice them up and add to stir fries, the Americans use them in turkey stuffing, and British like to roast them over braziers in winter. Chestnut trees are easy to grow, are very disease resistant, and crop heavily. We could see lots of the prickly covered nuts and they will be ready to harvest in a couple of months time.

Prickly chestnuts

There is no doubt that we will enjoy our stay here at the Mousehole for the next couple of days in such beautiful sheltered surroundings, and a very friendly host.

Vintage rail trip on Weka Pass Railway

2012-02-19T21:03:00.001+13:00

We’ve just ticked off one of the “must do” things off our list during our South Island Odyssey, – a trip on the Weka Pass Vintage Railway. Quite by chance, we have been camping at Waikari, the end of the line, so to speak. There was no trouble doing the return trip back to front, we were told. It was just a short trip up the road in the car, and we were ready to start our adventure.

This way to the train

Waikari Station

There was our train, lined up ready and waiting. DG 770, Locomotive 2274/D53, built in 1955 at the Vulcan Foundry, Lancashire, England, was on duty today, pulling vintage 1930 carriages and open air observation carriages. Even though it was raining, the dry summer pastures meant that the more romantic steam engine could not be used due to fire risk. The wet conditions were no deterrent to the men who were quite determined to brave the elements in the open air carriages for the sake of photo opportunities. Not so us girls, we were quite happy to watch the scenery go by through the carriage windows, warm and dry inside.

Diesel-Electric Loco DG 770

The Waiau Branch railway line, opened in 1884, was originally intended to be the main line north from Christchurch, but remained a branch line, and closed down in 1978. Several years later a group of locals and rail enthusiastic acquired the track and rolling stock to preserve this piece of railway heritage. The Weka Pass railway owns five diesel locos plus A428, the steam engine. The 14km journey travelled through rolling farmland, vineyards and orchards.

Looking forward through the rain

But Weka Pass itself was the star of the day, in my view. Completed in just two years in the 1880s, tons of clay and limestone were removed by hand to form the cuttings and large embankments. The rocky edges of the cuttings seemed to crowd into both sides of our carriage with barely room to spare as the train travelled through the cuttings. Interesting rock formations rise out of the yellow grass covered hills , with Frog Rock being the most well known.

Frog Rock, complete with seagulls

Interesting rock formations

The train pulled into Glenmark Station and the serious business of turning the engine around for the return trip attracted a very interested crowd. The well engineered turntable seemed to need very little effort to get moving with just two men doing the pushing.

Turntable at Waikari Station

Turntable at Glenmark Station

Glenmark Station

With the engine reattached it was “All Aboard” for the return journey back through the farmland and giving us a chance to marvel at the work involved in the cuttings of Weka Pass again. Weka Pass Railway is run and maintained by a group of enthusiastic volunteers who must be congratulated for their dedication in preserving this wonderful slice of rail history.

Enjoying our vintage train ride

Goodbye Hanmer and onto Waikari

2012-02-18T22:04:00.001+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20601Km; 351 Nights Away

Joining the crowds awaiting the 10;00am opening of the Hanmer Springs pool complex, and our two day passes entitled us to enter through the Express lane, bypassing the day trippers queuing to buy their tickets. It was another very pleasant hour or so trying out several of the different pools on offer. The photographer working at the pool tried his very best to talk our group into having our photos taken while up to our necks in water, but to no avail. He will probably have better luck with some of the younger patrons. Then it was back to camp, hitch up the caravans and hit the road for the next stage of our journey.

A view of the pool complex

Travelling south down SH7 it was a short 59km journey to Waikari, our stop for the next two nights. The Waikari Domain had both power and non power sites available, and most of us opted to be on power for our stay. And wonder of wonders, a free washing machine, which really got a work out from our group. By mid afternoon we all had lines of of laundry flapping in the breeze. With that chore out of the way, we relaxed the afternoon away under a shady tree, and fired up the BBQ for our evening meal.

Waikare has a nicely landscaped reserve on the edge of the village featuring a large statue of a sheep. And not just any sheep either, but an example of a Corriedale sheep, the worlds largest dual purpose sheep breed. A plaque reads, “in memory of James Little and those Corriedale breeders whose vision and skill ensured the spread of the Corriedale from this area to all the major sheep rearing regions of the world”.

Corriedale sheep

Another piece of art in the reserve was a sculpture of a moa, a huge flightless bird. These roamed New Zealand and are believed to have been hunted to extinction 400 years ago.

A Moa in the reserve

The reason for our stay in Waikari is to take a trip on the vintage Weka Pass Railway tomorrow. So to those interested in trains, watch this space.

Soaking in the Springs at Hanmer

2012-02-18T09:41:00.001+13:00

Mention “Hanmer Springs” to Kiwis and two things come to mind – the drug and alcoholic residential hospital in town, and the hot mineral springs. The historic Queen Mary Hospital was built in 1916 to rehabilitate shell shocked soldiers from the First World War. The Chisholm Ward was built 10 years after the octagonal Soldiers Block, followed by the Rutherford Ward. In the 1960s and 70s the hospital evolved into the drug and alcohol treatment centre that is on mostly remembered for. Set in beautiful grounds amongst large towering oaks, the hospital buildings have been long closed, only offering us a peek through the windows into the empty stripped out rooms.

Queen Mary Hospital

Things were humming right next door to the hospital at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools. The pools and adjacent spa recently underwent a $3.5 million upgrade, and over half a million visitors come to enjoy the waters each year. The springs were well known to the local Maori people but were “discovered” by William Jones in 1859 when he noticed steam drifting across his path when he was on the banks of the Percival River.

Plaque for William Jones

From these small beginning the pools have been developed and extended. Men and women bathed separately in the early days, and nude bathing was usual. Originally a piece of clothing, either trousers or a skirt, was hoisted up a pole to show which gender was using the pool.

Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools

We purchased a “Senior Two Day Pass” and enjoyed our first delightful dip last night after an early dinner. With so many pools on offer we were hard pressed to try them all. We started with one of the three hexagonal pools, with a temperature hovering between 38-40 degrees. Ah, what bliss! But the Aqua Therapy pools were even more blissful, as the strong bubbles of water kneaded the kinks from our backs and shoulders. This is the life.

Freshwater Pool

What’s next? Perhaps we’ll try one of the sulphur pools. These are set at 40-42 degrees and the water feels soft and silky while the smell of sulphur wafts around our heads. We cooled down a little with a visit to one of the Rock Pools, set at 33-37 degrees. We finished off with a visit to the Fresh Water pools, set at 28 degrees. Now that certainly cooled us down! That Lazy River ride looks fun, we decided. We grabbed a “pool toy” (foam rubber) shaped in the form of a frog, plonked our middle aged bodies on top, and were carried by the strong current around and around the lazy river. Look out kids, we’re coming through. That’s enough excitement for one one, and we will be back in the morning for our second visit to this wonderful establishment. At 380 metres above sea level, this is the place to come in the depths of winter when the (currently) bare hills would be covered in snow. How wonderful that would be.

Bare hills in summer, but snow covered in winter

Waiau to Hanmer Springs

2012-02-17T17:21:00.000+13:00

Who would expect to come across a pretty little Village Green in the tiny village of Waiau? At approximately half way along our trip to Hanmer Springs we sat here at the picnic tables and enjoyed a milk shake. Muffy was outside in the fresh air too and a very attentive dog sitting nicely beside his owner at an adjacent table was watching our cat intently, and we were watching the dog! After a very slow trip up and down sun browned hills with very little stock grazing, coming to Waiau was like finding an oasis in the desert.

Looking down over the Waiau Valley

The Waiau Village Green

On leaving Waiau we drove across an enormously long “one way bridge” which seemed to stretch forever. There were a couple of handy passing bays in case you met a vehicle coming the other way.

One way bridge

We arrived at the NZMCA site at Hanmer in time for a late lunch, joining many other fellow members of the association. This is another low cost stop-over, with no facilities, but offers large roomy grounds for a safe overnight stay. With the township of Hanmer Springs just a few kms down the road, it is a very popular camping site indeed. The grass cover is very dry and parched, but there is welcome shade close by from the belt of shelter trees.

NZMCA site at Hanmer River Bridge Park

It’s not too far to Parnassus

2012-02-16T21:42:00.001+13:00

Morning tea at Kaikoura was courtesy of Geoff C who kindly whipped up a batch of sultana scones for us all. These were made on top of the gas hot plate, cooked to perfection in his handy “Bessemer” cast aluminium cookware.

Fresh scones for morning tea

All fed and watered, we were soon underway, continuing on our journey following the coastal road south along the rugged coastline. The road took us through several tunnels hacked out of solid rock.

Twin tunnels cut through the rock

Pulling over at a rest area for lunch on the coast road, we were kept entertained by the many seals which were feeding just offshore. One was resting on a rock just below where we were parked, and he was hauled out just far enough .to be out of the range of the crashing surf.

Having a mid-day snooze

What a great view

One of the “Whale Watch” boats was buzzing around, no doubt showing the customers the many seals in the area. Presumably the whales would be much further out to sea. There is an abundance of marine life in this area, all attracted by the nutrient rich waters which rise up 1000 metres from Kaikoura’s Grand Canyon. Sperm whales and migrating humpback whales are often seen, and dolphins and seals are quite abundant. We watched as the skipper manourvered the boat around the rocks.,

One of the Whale Watch boats

The road left the coast behind and we travelled through the pine covered Hundalee hills, arriving at Parnassus a short time later. This tiny settlement takes its name from a local sheep run owned by a classical scholar, Edward Lee. He saw a likeness between a local hill and the Greek Mount Parnassus, mythical home of the god Apollo and the Muses. The attraction here is the NZMCA grounds available to members as a low cost park. There were about a dozen different sized caravans and motor-homes staying overnight at this isolated rural property set in the grounds of a disused school.

Plenty of room for us four

There are no onsite staff at this facility, and the very reasonable payment is to be lodged in the “Iron Maiden”. Now, let’s see, have we got the right money? That’s lucky, we have just the right amount.

Paying at the Iron Maiden

Looking for seal pups

2012-02-16T09:48:00.001+13:00

There is a hidden treasure down the road on SH1 on the way to Kairoura. The weather was damp and blustery so out came the rain jackets as we crossed the busy road. Luckily the car park was roomy enough for all of us to park our caravans and motor-home safely.

Kaikoura coastline

The Ohau Stream Walk is a short walk took us up the hill in Half Moon Bay Scenic Reserve. During the winter months hundreds of New Zealand fur seal pups travel up the stream to the waterfall. Here they can play in safety while their mothers are feeding at sea. Sadly, we were several months too early for the seal pups, but we could just imagine a large group of them playing happily in the water, in the beautiful native bush surroundings. We really will have to return later to see them.

Seal pups this way (in winter)

The waterfall and stream where the pups play

Sign on the track – watch out for trains!

There were plenty of adult seals hauled out on the rocks, we noticed, as we continued our journey to Kaikoura. The action of the never ending waves made the bull kelp seem appear to writhe with life as it surged backwards and forwards.

Down the road to Kaikoura

2012-02-15T18:05:00.001+13:00

Situated just out of the Blenheim township on State Highway 1 was a very early example of one of the interesting little “cob houses”, made from a mixture of clay, gravel and straw. This was built in the early 1860s and had a rich and varied life. It was rescued and restored by the Marlborough Historical Society in the 1960s. A peek inside revealed the kitchen, bedroom and schoolroom set out as they were many years ago, all protected behind glass partitions.

The Cob House

Dining room

Our next stop was to view the old trestle bridge over the Awatere River. This dual purpose road/rail bridge has the rail deck mounted on gantry legs over the road bridge below. Just imagine the noise of a locomotive on the tracks overhead while you were quietly motoring across just below the train! The trip across the modern bridge is very bland indeed these days.

The old road/rail bridge spanning the Awatere River

Continuing down SHI we stopped off at the Dominion Salt Works at Lake Grassmere. Salt water is pumped into huge shallow ponds covering 700 hectares and is gradually evaporated by wind and sunshine. 70,000 tonnes of salt are harvested by this method each year. The salt is cleaned of impurities, and is bagged and freighted all around the country.

Huge piles of salt

Evaporation ponds

Kaikoura is famous for seafood and crayfish and one of our group splashed out and purchased one of these tasty crustaceans for dinner. We would have quite liked to also participate but are too expensive for us. A group of Pied Shags and Gulls were waiting hopefully for some leftovers on the beach.

Pied shags and gulls

A trip up to the Lookout gave us wonderful views over the Kaikoura Peninsula and the rugged coastline. We are spending the night at Kaikoura Trotting Club, just across the road from the beach which is located in South Bay.

Kaikoura coastline.

Blenheim – wine lovers delight

2012-02-14T08:41:00.000+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20256Km; 348 Nights Away

Sunny Blenheim is full of award winning vineyards, and we seem to have driven past all the big names today, Hunters, Allan Scott, Nautilus Estate, and Lake Challis. We drove past acre after acre of grapevines, some covered in netting to protect the precious crop from the birds. Others, we noticed, had the rolls of netting out all ready to drape over the vines as the grapes reach maturity. This region is just right for growing grapes which is a very important part of the local economy.

Blenheim (named after the Duke of Marlborough’s victory at Blenheim) has a very pretty town centre full of interesting little shops. Seymour Square was as pretty as a picture with it’s brightly coloured flower beds, a fountain, and the memorial clock tower. After the devastating Christchurch earthquakes, this tower is now considered dangerous as it is constructed of unsupported masonry, and is roped off to keep the public away.

Memorial clock tower in Seymour Square

The River Queen looked so romantic moored up on the Taylor River, wonder what the price is for an afternoon tea cruise, or maybe even a dinner cruise in the cool of the evening?. Just as well that that my heart wasn’t really set on a river cruise today as unfortunately the boat wasn’t going anywhere for a while, due to gearbox problems.

The River Queen

Kayaks on the river

We are spending two nights at the Waterlea Racecourse grounds in Blenheim. This is a low cost non power site for NZMCA Member and offers water, toilets, and laundry facilities. The large grounds offer plenty of space for our group, plus the many others who come to stay for a few nights. The handy shade clothes made a welcome respite from the hot sunny days, and in the cool of the evening we took a leisurely walk around the race course. In the small stream we spotted a fresh water crayfish (koura) quietly going about his business.

Waterlea Racecourse with caravans and motorhomes in the distance

Looking down from the grand-stand

Early each morning the resident race horses in the adjacent stables are harnessed up behind the sulky for a trot around the track. Later in the day we saw a couple of horses being exercised behind a ute – perhaps this is the modern way of training?

Horses behind a vehicle

Cruising on the Interislander

2012-02-13T17:13:00.001+13:00

“What a way to start a holiday, cruising on the Inter-IsIander” so the advertising jingle goes. We left home at 6.00am to travel into the wharf and lined up with Eileen and Geoff, Dot and Derek, and Pauline and Geoff, our travelling companions for the next few months. The sun was just rising over the eastern hills and it looked like it was going to be a nice calm day for the crossing.

Sun rise at the wharf

We were sailing on the “Kaitaki”, (meaning Challenger) the largest ferry in New Zealand waters. At 180 metres long, and with a gross weight of 22,365 tonnes, Kaitaki can carry 1600 passengers, and 600 assorted cars, trucks, motor bikes, caravans and motor-homes.

The Kaitaki

Geoff and Pauline must have been worried if they would make the trip at all, as the car battery on their Nissan Terrano refused to start the vehicle. With the aid of some jumper leads from a staff member, and helpful advise from fellow travellers, the vehicle jumped into life, and Geoff and Pauline breathed a sigh of relief. As instructed, we all slowly made our way aboard the ship, and parked where directed. We had two large trucks towering either side of us. Muffy was locked up in the caravan, and we hoped she would not be too distressed all by herself for the duration of the journey.

Romany Rambler parked up in the hold

Several of our group had taken “Sea Legs” to help them avoid motion sickness. We sat for a while, then got up to stretch our legs, walked around to explore, and went to the cafe for a snack. Luckily, the weather was kind, the swells were not too bad, and the poor sailors amongst us all coped quite well.

Starting off on our holiday

A breath of fresh sea air from the side of the boat worked wonders and we popped out from time to time to see the sights. With the sun sparkling on the water we soon left Wellington behind.

Looking down on the stern

Across Cook Strait and then we entered Tory Channel into Marlborough Sounds. This is always such a pretty part of the trip, with bush covered hills either side, dotted with isolated houses. Here and there we saw yachts and dinghies with people out enjoy a day’s fishing.

Tory Channel

Marlborough Sounds

Arriving at Picton we decided to find a place to park up down by the marina and eat some lunch. Muffy was very pleased to be reunited with us and told us in no uncertain terms that she was not too happy at all to be locked up for such a long time by herself. Geoff and Pauline drove off to replace their car battery – a wise decision, we all thought. Let’s hope that is the end of car problems on our trip.

View of our wharf side lunch stop

We’ll be up early tomorrow

2012-02-12T16:31:00.001+13:00

We’ve had a slight change of plan with our travel arrangements tomorrow. Originally we had arranged to overnight in the caravan at the wharf before we set sail in the morning. That way, we reasoned, we would miss the early morning commuter traffic when the workers travel into the big city. But when we double-checked our arrangements during the week, we were told an emphatic “no”. No, we cannot stay overnight on the wharf – any and all arrangements made earlier have been rescinded. It is amazing that arrangements can be made for the Rugby World Cup but once it is all over it is back to the status quo and provide nothing for the domestic traveller, oh well maybe we expect too much to be treated as tourists as well.

We were offered parking on the wharf by the Bluebridge Terminal but they will not take caravans or motor homes over 7 metres so that counts us all out and what’s more they are price gouging at $50 per van per night when the Auckland International Airport only charges $39 per van per night and no restrictions as to size. I thought that there was NZ Standard for Campsite sizes? Silly me!

So we will be setting the alarm to go off bright and early in the morning and plan to be on the road by 6.00am to drive into the city. We would rather arrive bright and early than be running late. We will then have time for a quick breakfast in the caravan while parked up on the wharf, or maybe we might even have breakfast on board the ship once the journey is underway, we will decide tomorrow.

Robin has got his fingers crossed for a smooth crossing – he is not a good sailor at all. Hoping “Sealegs” will do the trick.

And as for Muffy, she’s not going to think about the sailing tomorrow – she’s too busy catching up on her beauty sleep.

Lots of things to do

2012-02-09T20:13:00.002+13:00

With our South Island Odyssey coming up fast, there are lots of things to do.
So far we have:

both been for haircuts
collected prescription medicine for the time we are away
had our tow car serviced
filled up the caravan gas bottles

Today we visited the local AA (Automobile Association) office and collected several South Island travel guide books to take with us. These contain all sorts of interesting information together with travel tips, local attractions and facts and figures.

Tomorrow we will start packing the caravan. Food, clothes, what else? Mustn’t forget to take Muffy the cat – she’s coming down south with us too.

Sand Sculptures

2012-02-07T16:46:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20186Km; 345 Nights Away

It was art of a different kind down on Himatangi Beach over the weekend. Plots were measured out and for the princely sum of $2.00 anyone was welcome to “give it a go”. Chris and Anne-Marie borrowed a folding spade from Robin and took their young family down to see what they could come up with. We wandered down to the beach later to have a look. There were all sorts of sculptures on display, and most of them had a seaside theme. Our favourite was this very lifelike seal, created by a young lad who told us he won the competition last year.

The seal – our favourite

Humpty Dumpty

A Mermaid

The entries were judged by an artist from out-of-town and he wandered around with his clipboard taking notes and making his assessments. He got chatting to us and told us that he chose the winner (a starfish) as it filled the whole plot and he liked the way the background had a different texture. All the children got sweets so that kept them happy, and the winning adult sculptures won vouchers.

The winner – a starfish

The “Beach Ranger” was on duty making sure that vehicular traffic kept to the speed limit of 30km and drive sensibly. The Ranger comes down each weekend and volunteers her time to safeguard all beach users. She is authorised to issue tickets to those who break the law, and collect photographic evidence to use if the cases come to court.

The Beach Ranger on patrol

Himatangi Beach Motor Camp

2012-02-06T18:34:00.002+13:00

The motor camp was full to bursting over the long weekend. With the beach just a short stroll away the motor camp is ideally situated.

Himatangi Beach Holiday Park

Many people have on-site caravans with attached annexes and come out each weekend to escape from city life and enjoy a weekend at the beach. Fishing is very popular on the coast, and dune buggies and motor bikes seem to be another “must have” accessory for the weekenders. There must be a bike for every member of the family in this truck and trailer load.

How many bikes and buggies are loaded up here?

Our caravan club members were on sites at the front of the camp, and consisted of 5 caravans, two motor homes and a tent.

Some of our Heretaunga Caravan Club members

The much larger Wainuiomata Caravan Club was also staying at the camp and they were sited down the other end of the camp. This club was celebrating their 400th rally this weekend, and the club started way back in 1975. Our members were invited to join in their celebratory morning tea. Foundation members Les and Edith did the honours and cut the cake.

400th Rally Birthday cake

Our task for the weekend was to collect some driftwood from the beach and make something with it. So it as “eyes down” in the sand, looking for just the right piece of driftwood amongst the debris. Once the wood was collected it was a matter of taking it back to camp and deciding just what sort of creation to make. I must say that the entries were rather varied and it was interesting to see just what people came up with.

A selection of beach art

Neptune’s Garden, complete with a crab claw

The Camp Manager Margaret was asked to judge the entries. Mmmm, she had a hard time deciding between two and we saw her looking from one to the other as she made up her mind. And the winner was this friendly fellow, Oswald Owl, made by Carol and Graham.

The winning entry

We had a lot of fun over the weekend. Several walks along the beach, which is always nice, followed by an ice-cream or two from the local shop. We all enjoyed a delicious evening meal out on Sunday night at the local Cossie Club. And several of us are sporting sunburnt noses, even after a liberal dose of sunscreen protection.

What’s this – caravans towed by tractors?

2012-02-05T07:26:00.002+13:00

This was certainly an unusual sight – a whole lot of tractors trundling slowly along the road down to Tangimoana beach. Surprisingly, each one was towing a small caravan behind. Now just what is that is all about? “Nothing ventured - nothing gained” we decided, so there was only one thing to do, turn around and find out. There they were, parked on the side of the road.

Seen on the back roads, vintage tractors towing caravans

All these tractors and caravans belonged to members of the Waikato Vintage Machinery Club and they were travelling along the back roads to a rally at Rongatea starting the next day. The men and their machines were staying in Tangimoana overnight. Their vintage tractors don’t get to do much farm work these days they told us, and they seemed a little surprised by the interest their road trip had created.

And another

A relaxed speed of travel for these old tractors.

Himatangi Beach

2012-02-04T22:36:00.002+13:00

The showers cleared away by mid afternoon so a group of us decided to walk down from the motor camp to nearby Himatangi Beach. The overcast weather was keeping the swimmers at home, but some hardy souls braved the water and very sensibly were swinging between the flags. The group of young lifesavers told me they were hoping for better conditions and sunny weather to make their stint of duty more interesting.

Life Savers on duty at the beach

Swimming between the flags

Further down the beach we came across a family group using a Torpedo Kontiki to take their line out. This bit of fishing kit was a Christmas present and cost $2500 we were told. It comes complete with a GPS which keeps the line on course and in the right place. The limit is 25 hooks of this type of line and the family were hoping that they would get plenty of fish to take home. The powered line reel was another expensive piece of kit at $4000 and this was the only item on show as the Kontiki was out at sea. It may be expensive but as the owner said it was still less expensive than buying a boat.

Powered Reel for the Torpedo Kontiki

The tide was out and the wet sand made for quite easy walking. We came across several Puffer fish which had washed up on the shore. Those nasty spikes could do quite some damage if you happened to step on one.

Watch out for those spikes- poisonous

The temperatures were rising as our walk progressed and off came the jackets and jerseys. After our walk we all decided to call into the local beach shop for an ice-cream, and sat at the picnic tables outside the shop trying to finish them before they melted in the sunshine. Guess it’s a fact of life that our little bit of exercise was cancelled out by consuming that delicious ice-cream.

Down the road to Tangimoana

2012-02-03T19:09:00.001+13:00

A long weekend away at a beach camp seemed like a good idea, so good in fact that two vans arrived on Wednesday, and two others, including ourselves arrived on Thursday. We might as well have an extra long weekend away, we reasoned. While the others went off on a shopping jaunt on Friday morning we decided to explore the small seaside village of Tangimoana, as we had driven past the turnoff to this area many times. Driving down the road to the settlement, lined with cabbage trees and roses, we came across a set of magnificent brick gates. Wonder what grand establishment lies up this drive?

What’s up here?

And there it was, a beautiful large country home set on rise, surrounded by lovely gardens. We were sure that this house had been the venue for many fashionable fine dinners and afternoon teas with the elite of the area, and perhaps the house boasts a ball room as well. Sadly, no-one came to the gate to invite us in to look around, so we snapped our photos and drove away.

A fine country homestead

Tangimoana is a small seaside settlement, which seems to have fallen on sad times. It boasts a school, boat club and health clinic, but the corner shop has long ceased trading.

We drove down to the Rangitikei River Boat Ramp and were amazed to see masses of driftwood piled up an adjacent stream over 1km from the beach. The huge logs attest to the power of the sea on this coastline.

Driftwood piled up in the top reaches of the estuary

There we noticed a white faced heron delicately picking his way amongst the reeds while looking for his next meal. These birds stalk their prey as they creep stealthily, and strike at whatever may may swim nearby.

White faced heron

There is no vehicle access to the beach, as we found out. This part of the coastline is now the Tawhiroa Scientific Reserve, and the sand dunes, fauna and wildlife are all protected. This last remnant of coastal wilderness stretches 206 kms from Hawera in the North, through Tangimoana and down to Paekakariki in the south. Sand is carried inland by the wind, trapped by sand binding plants which encourage the growth of dunes as the plants grow. The dunes trap rain and ground water and these damp hollows and estuaries become home to rushes, sedges and other rare wetland plants.

We were happy to just read the signs and leave this important Scientific Reserve to itself to get along with slowly growing and evolving.

Bon Voyage BBQ and the Missing Fork Mystery

2012-01-30T10:56:00.002+13:00

Our Super Leisure Group (SLG) friends were invited to a lunchtime BBQ yesterday, as we hadn’t managed a get-together with them for a wee while. It turned out to be a bit of a Bon Voyage party as everyone wished us well for our upcoming “South Island Odyssey” caravan tour. It’s not long to go now and we are really looking forward to our trip. As far a BBQ weather went, it was a bit blustery to start with, then the weather warmed up nicely, and we enjoyed the sunshine on the back deck. Robin did his bit as chief cook and took charge of the BBQ. We had sausages, chicken kebabs and marinated pork strips, all cooked to perfection. With a nice assortment of salads to accompany the meal we had plenty to eat. And yummy dessert too!

Robin in charge with a pair of tongs in hand

As usual with this group, there was plenty to talk about, and lots of laughs too. Now, just what is happening here? Robin swore black and blue that his missing fork had dropped out of his hand and slipped between the slats in the deck, but no one believed that it could fall through such a tiny space. That's Trish lying down on her tummy trying to find the missing fork! Even if she can spot it, I don’t know how we will be able to retrieve it.

What can she see?

With the magic of the delayed shutter function on the camera Robin set up a group shot, then raced back to place himself in the middle.

Here we all are

That missing fork was obviously playing on his mind overnight, as after breakfast this morning Robin was out on the deck making a concerted effort to find it. There was quite a racket going on so I went to investigate. There he was prying the wooden slats apart. That fork wasn’t going to beat him!

It’s got to be down here somewhere

And there it was

With his honour restored the mystery of the missing fork was finally solved. Success at last.

Told you so!

It’s hard to get good help these days

2012-01-28T18:04:00.002+13:00

We went and purchased a new range hood today. Our old one had served us well, and at approximately 35 years old, it was well due to be replaced. Buying a replacement was relatively easy and hassle free, which doesn’t always happen these days of retail shopping. Yes, the hardware shop had them in stock, and yes again, just the right size we needed. I had visions that they would have to order one in for us from the manufacturer. Robin had a long forgotten gift card issued by the company, and redeemed this for part payment of our purchase. We brought the new range hood home and my help was required to get it fitted on the wall.

A quick read through the instructions and Robin was all set. He held it up in place and my job was to get a pencil and mark where the screw hole should go on the wall. (Having interior timber walls throughout the house means that we don’t have to worry about finding a stud to put the screw in.) However, he wasn’t at all impressed with the dainty little pencil mark I had made, how can he see that, he said in exasperation. It’s hard to get good help, he commented. So we changed places, and I held the range hood up while he took the pencil and made a decent “man sized” mark to show the placement of the screws. Out came his handy battery operated screwdriver to do the job, and in no time at all, the new range hood was hanging securely on the wall over our relatively new stove. And would you believe, it’s called a “Robin Hood”. Now the kitchen cupboards need painting – should I offer to help, I wonder, or would I be better off keeping out of the way? I’m not really much good doing messy jobs.

Our new range hood

A man’s work is never done and Robin had to go out and cut the lawns after lunch. The grass isn’t too long, but there are plenty of dandelion heads poking through. It will look nice and tidy when he’s finished so I made sure there was a cold beer in the fridge ready for him to relax with. We don’t profess to be great gardeners but our grape vine is doing rather well. It grows across the back fence and there is an abundance of fruit this year. The bunches have to ripen and colour up so the fruit won’t be ready for another month or so.

Our grape vine is fruiting well

What’s on this weekend?

2012-01-27T16:54:00.002+13:00

No rambling away in the caravan, that’s for sure, we are staying home this weekend. Perhaps a spot of work around the house to get things tidy? Lawns to cut for one thing. The decks have recently been water blasted so they look good. We’re having some friends around on Sunday for a BBQ lunch so let’s hope the weather stays fine, we have just had a night of torrential rain and gale force winds. We took a trip down to our favourite butcher today and bought plenty of sausages to put on the barbie. With an assortment of salads, bread rolls, chips and dips, we’re just about organised. Just have to make a fancy dessert tomorrow and chill it in the fridge. It will be good to catch up with these friends before we head down south on our up-coming South Island Odyssey trip.

The caravan is staying home this weekend

BBQ in the rain

2012-01-24T15:29:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19830Km; 340 Nights Away

The heavens opened and the rain came down but caravanners are a hardy lot. On went the rain jackets and we carried on with our weekend rally at Opaki School. The weatherman had promised us hail as well, but luckily that didn’t eventuate. A BBQ was on the agenda for Saturday evening, so the men in charge set themselves up under the school veranda and got on with cooking a large amount of sausages and onions.

Sausages, anyone?

After our evening meal, we met back in the hall for a musical interlude. The music was provided by Roy on organ and Graeme on his ukulele banjo. Everyone joined in to all the old sing-along songs – we all seemed to remember the words to these old tunes from years gone by.

The musicians, Roy and Graeme

While the musicians were taking a well earned break, Derek provided a floor show with his remotely controlled battery powered model motor home. He set up some cones as an obstacle course and proceeded to show us just how it worked. Oh dear, it seemed to work better travelling backwards, rather than going forwards! Something to do with the polished floors! Robin had a good look at the model later in the evening and was interested to find that all the doors and windows opened, as did the roof vent.

Has your motor home shrunk in the rain?

The weekend rally concluded on Monday morning, after morning tea and all the raffles had been drawn. Sadly, not a single raffle prize went home with one of our club members. Never mind, it was a great weekend rally, very well organized, and full of fun. Our caravan club will be in charge of running the next Regional Rally in two years time, so we will have to put our thinking caps on and come up with some good ideas.

Heretaunga Caravan Club members

Weekend Rally at Opaki School

2012-01-22T17:19:00.001+13:00

After a pleasant lunch stop at Henley Lake we travelled up to Opaki School, just north of Masterton for the three day Central Regional Rally, hosted by the Wairarapa Caravan Club. Regional Rallies are held every two years, and are hosted with the four regional clubs each taking their turn.

This looks like the right place

The approach to the school grounds was a bit tight, especially for the larger caravans and motor homes. But with a bit of guidance from the men at the gate, and some careful manoeuvring, we all made it through without any mishaps. There were 25 assorted vans on site for the weekend, one “fifth wheeler”, 10 motor homes and 14 caravans.

Lots of different shapes and sizes

Anything a little bit different always attracts quite a bit of interest, and Peter was rather intrigued as to what was under the fifth wheeler. There was only one way to find out so he crawled under to see what he could discover.

What’s under here?

As we were rallying at a school, this was a non power rally, which shouldn’t have been a problem. But……we had a bit of a “whoopsie” overnight when our gas bottle ran dry and the fridge stopped working. Robin had to make a hurried early morning trip to get the gas bottle refilled. He knew the bottle was getting low, but didn’t think it was quite that low!

Re-fitting the gas bottle

We joined the large group as they ambled along the pathway to the Wee Red Barn on Saturday afternoon, where we purchased a large punnet of freshly picked strawberries and berry ice-cream, just the thing for our dessert. Everyone met in the hall in the evening for Saturday’s evening entertainment which was a “Dutch” Auction. We had no idea just what a “Dutch” Auction was, bring along some money and join in the fun, we were told. It seems that bids are made on a wrapped secret item, with the bidders having no idea just what they are bidding on. Dave was in charge of the large yellow sack and handed each parcel to Harry, who was auctioneer for the evening.

Dave with his sack of goodies

Harry as auctioneer

There was some rather spirited bidding going on for all sorts of interestingly wrapped parcels. It was a lot of fun, with all proceeds of $128 for the evening going to the local branch of the Cancer Society.

Henley Lake

2012-01-20T09:19:00.001+13:00

The weather was fine, it was a long three day weekend, and we braved the blustery wind and travelled up and over the Rimutaka Hill road to the Wairarapa for a caravan rally. Once over the hill the weather was even better, as it often is over the dividing ranges. We had arranged to stop at Henley Lake, Masterton, and meet up with our caravanning buddies for lunch.

The gates at Henley Lake

Henley Lake is a man made lake. Excavation of the lake began in 1986 and the lake was filled in 1987. Over 1500 rainbow trout were officially placed into the lake. They were soon joined by a flood of unofficially released perch. The lake is used for kayaking and dragon boat racing. Model boats enthusiasts have club meetings on the lake too. Two impressive towers are erected on the lake edge, providing a raised viewing platform for events.

Viewing tower on the lake edge

Since the lake was filled in 1987 the Henley Complex has become the best bird viewing site in the Wairarapa, and attracts a great selection of both waterfowl and land based birds. The swans, geese and ducks all seemed to be soaking up the sun on the banks of the lake the morning we arrived. “No, we don’t want our photos taken”, they seemed to be telling me as they hurriedly moved into the water at my approach.

Water birds aplenty

It was not too long before we were joined by Elaine and Peter, and Dot and Derek, and we parked up in a row. We put the kettle on, and the others joined us in our van for lunch.

Parked up for lunch

There were plenty of people out enjoying the lovely environment. Walkers were stepping out, with or without the family dog. And we noticed plenty of children in the play areas. People pulled up, parked their cars and watched the birds on the lake while they ate their lunchtime sandwiches, just like us. This pretty lake is an asset to the community and it is nice to see it so well used and appreciated. Our next stop was just a few miles up the road to Opaki School, for the weekend.

Kapiti Coast and Otaki

2012-01-18T08:21:00.003+13:00

We couldn’t have picked a nicer day for our drive up State Highway One, through Kapiti and on to Otaki. The blustery winds had finally abated and the day was glorious, a “blue dome” kind of day, without a cloud in the sky. We stopped at a lay by (rest area) along Centennial Highway and looked across to Kapiti Island, now a bird sanctuary for endangered native birds.

Kapiti Island

There was a glimpse of the mountains of the South Island away in the distance. It really depends on the conditions of the day whether the South Island is visible or not. We know it’s there, but we can’t always see it.

South Island in the distance

Our trip up the coast was two fold and our first stop was a family visit at Paraparaumu. My Aunt Dawn welcomed us with morning tea. She was very keen to hear all about our upcoming “South Island Odyssey” My aunt is the last remaining sibling on my father’s side of the family, and is a very special lady indeed.

Dawn and Jenny

Next stop was our lunch date at “The Wine Maker’s Daughter”, in Te Horo, Otaki. The lovely rustic property is full of towering mature trees, and the birds were singing away, we noticed. Cascading hanging baskets of flowers added a pretty touch to the entry.

Wine Maker’s Daughter Cafe

Giant mushroom spotted growing by the car park

Here we met up with old friends Robyn and Barrie, and Shirley and Lewis. Now, what shall we chose for lunch? There is always plenty to choose from, including their very reasonably priced $10 lunches. It’s always difficult, but we finally made up our minds. We ate in the gazebo with the pretty pink flowering bougainvillea climbing overhead through the rafters. It is such a pretty setting here.

Enjoying our lunch

Ice-cream Sundaes for the boys for dessert

As we ate our lunch, we caught up with everyone’s news and future plans, there is always plenty to talk about when we all get together. After our leisurely lunch we went our separate ways, with plans to meet up again in a few months. Our friends are off overseas and we will shortly be away on our South Island trip, so there will be plenty of travel tales to relate when we next get together.

Playing with Water

2012-01-15T17:12:00.002+13:00

It’s been a windy old weekend, with bits of foliage broken off trees and littering the road, we noticed. A branch from one of our trees in the front garden was snapped and left hanging in the strong winds, so that had to be cut right off and removed. Just as well we are home this weekend and not towing the caravan in these conditions. And while we are home, we have been playing with water. It all started yesterday when Robin decided to wash my little blue car. We were going out for an evening meal and Robin dislikes going out in a dirty car. So there he was, with a bucket and soapy water, and he finished the job off with a hose down.

Hosing down the car

Then today it was my turn to slosh a bucket of hot soapy water around. I decided it was well past the time to clean our (one and only) micro venetian blind so laid it out on the wooden picnic table and washed it down, one tiny slat at a time. This job took ages, and I had to make sure that the wind didn’t pick the blind up and blow it off the table. Water went everywhere, and it was a good job the excess just trickled through the decking onto the ground below. There must be a better way of doing this, I thought.

Cleaning the venetian blind on the picnic table

Hanging the blind up in the garage to dry I had a brainwave – why didn’t I think of cleaning the blind while it was suspended in here, instead of trying to do it on the picnic table? I’ll know for next time.

Drip drying and clean as a whistle

Meanwhile, Robin was working on the other side of the deck with his bright yellow Karcher water blaster. This machine really makes a difference to cleaning up the deck, getting rid of all the winter grime from the boards. He was on a roll when the deck was finished, and ran the water blaster over the picnic table and my sun lounger. What a guy - he’ll be ready for a cool drink after all that work.

Cleaning the back deck

Although still quite strong and blustery, the windy conditions have eased a bit from a few days ago when they caused havoc at Wellington Airport. Gusts of wind up to 110kmh were recorded when severe gale north-easterlies swept the region. A trans-Tasman Qantas flight had to abort its first landing attempt at Wellington Airport due to 50 knot winds (92.6 kilometres). Flight Q537 from Melbourne landed on its second attempt, and the rocky landing was filmed and shown on the evening TV news. What a landing that must have been, and so scary to be buffeted about in such strong wind.

Rolling along

2012-01-12T21:02:00.002+13:00

“Carry on Painting” is the name of the game at our place, hot sticky weather or not. The soffits (eaves) are the next to be tackled and Robin decided to paint these with a roller, which he already had from a previous project, tucked away in the garage. But, he thought, perhaps an extension handle to fit on the roller would make the job easier. (Here comes his fear of heights and ladders again). So around to the hardware shop he went, taking the roller with him, to purchase said extension handle. Easier said than done, however. In the intervening years while his old paint roller has been languishing in the garage, the sizes have changed (of course) and the extension handle would not fit. So the purchases were, one extension handle, one new paint roller, and a roller sleeves to fit the new roller. It’s just as well that his old paint tray was wide enough for the new roller. Robin has been working well over the last couple of days and has been right around the house with his roller and speed brush, giving the soffits the first coat of paint in a long time.

Painting with the roller

A fair bit of elbow grease was required to bring the shine back to our brass house numbers, which had been removed while the house painting went on. Now they look almost as good as new and have been firmly screwed back into place.

No prizes for guessing our number

There are just a few touch-ups to do with the paint brush now before the job is over. What next? I think the decking needs some attention. There’s always something to do, isn’t there?

The Year that Was

2012-01-10T21:07:00.002+13:00

Although we are not “live aboards” in our caravan, we nevertheless managed to make quite full use of it during 2011 and travelled 5,366 Km pulling our caravan behind us. The year started off with us travelling up to Mt Maunganui, Tauranga to attend the five day CCNZ National Rally held over New Year. We were in no hurry to return home and took a detour to the Awakeri Motor Camp, Whakatane and their relaxing thermal pools. Not only are the pools free to campers, but they have free internet as well, so we could “carry on blogging”. A whole year of monthly caravan club rallies followed. Late January found us at the Kaitoke Regional Park, Wellington and in February our club hosted the first of the combined rallies at Brookfield Scout Camp, Wainuiomata with members of Wellington and Wairarapa clubs joining us. From here we started off on our 2 week “Wairarapa Safari” trip, staying at several places quite new to us. While on this trip we learned of the massive Christchurch earthquake with so many people perishing in collapsed buildings.

We rallied in Greytown in March, (remembered for the wasp nests close to the amenities) and at Poraotawhao School, Levin, for the combined Easter rally run by the Wellington Club. Luckily the Easter Bunny found us all and came calling bearing Easter Eggs. The Wairarapa Club hosted the May combined rally in Pahiatua, and Peter and Elaine joined us on an afternoon trip to the famous Tui Brewery. At the end of this rally we took the opportunity to continue on to Hastings for a family visit.

Peter and Robin outside Tui Brewery

June saw us in Foxton, and we rallied in Levin in July for the club AGM, then not too far away in August when we travelled up to Paraparaumu. September’s rally at Camp Elsdon, Porirua, was even closer to home, and memorable as the start of Rugby World Cup Fever. Then in October we joined in with the Wellington Caravan Club’s 60th Anniversary, and we all sat on the edge of our seats as we watched the nail biting final game of the RWC. Whew!! The All Blacks won, of course, but many fans didn’t think they would, the game was so close.

Watching the final game on the edge of our seats

Our club hosted another combined rally at Clareville in November, and we took another trip up to Hastings from here. The last club rally of the season was a return to Brookfield, Wainuiomata, for our Christmas Rally. We also joined in with the New Zealand Motor Home Association and attended three of their weekend rallies, in April, June, and the Guy Fawkes rally in November.

Our tow car is a Toyota Landcruiser 80 Series and things don’t always go well mechanically. The left front wheel bearings collapsed and damaged the axle housing, so these had to be replaced. As did the fan belts and steering pump belts. But we do work it hard with so many miles of towing.

Quite a bit of work was done (and money spent) on the caravan over the year. Our caravan battery capacity was increased with two new batteries installed. On a more serious note one of the caravan springs snapped and all have been replaced with an up rated version. And then later in the year our hot water cylinder sprung a leak and we travelled up to the Leisureline factory in Hamilton to get a new cylinder fitted. Thanks to Leisureline for helping with some of the costs involved. And not forgetting the caravan toilet which needed a replacement fitting, just wear and tear we expect.

Broken Spring sitting above the Axle

So that’s been our year of using the caravan. 2012 will no doubt be even busier, as we are planning our “South Island Odyssey” trip, but more about that later.

Camped at Pahiatua

Balloon Tragedy in Carterton

2012-01-08T17:05:00.002+13:00

Just a few days after returning home from our caravan holiday at Carterton, we are shocked and saddened to learn of the balloon flight tragedy, in which all eleven people died. It seems that the balloon got tangled in power lines, burst into flames, and crashed to the ground. Some of the people on board the scenic ride received vouchers for the ride as Christmas gifts. Family members of those aboard were tracking the balloon in their cars, to meet up at the end of the ride and no doubt share in the after flight breakfast get together at the local cafe. They would have watched in horror as the accident unfolded before their eyes. It was a common sight to see the early morning balloon rides drift over the motor camp while we were in residence over Christmas. The loud “whoosh” of the burners announced the presence of a balloon drifting past. Our thoughts are with all those who lost family and friends in this disaster.

Balloons over Wairarapa

Farewell to Carterton

2012-01-05T17:57:00.003+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19749Km; 337 Nights Away

Carterton spelt out in flowers

Christmas at Carterton Holiday Park was a great “laid back” holiday with a little sight-seeing thrown in the mix to keep the interest up. Our cat Muffy had a most relaxing time, snoozing the hot sunny days away in the comfort of our caravan. Occasionally she ventured outside, to see what was going on. A trot around on the end of her lead, a sniff here and there to check what was happening in the great outdoors, and then she made a bolt for it and scampered in the caravan door and back onto the couch for some more R&R.

Muffy and Robin out for a walk

There was plenty happening in camp, with people coming and going, and stopping to chat. Several people were staying in the adjacent motel units while they attended the model aircraft National championships at Clareville. The model helicopter buzzing away was a real draw card and caused a lot of interest amongst the campers.

Model helicopter

Our hosts Pete and Di at the Carterton Holiday Park were kept busy attending to the myriad of tasks that it takes to keep a motor camp in tip-top condition. They came visiting our camp site on our last evening bringing a few bottles of beer for the men and wine for the ladies. It was great to see them relaxing in the early evening as they are so busy working around the camp all day.

Pete and Di having a breather between chores

Except for a couple of rainy days, which seemed to cover the whole of the country, we enjoyed great weather. Our gazebo was worth it’s weight in gold and we spent a many a happy hour or two under the shade, watching the world go by. Everyone pitched in to help take it down, as it is rather unwieldy for just the two of us to manage. The six legs were collapsed into themselves and it all folds together rather like an umbrella, with everyone walking their portion of it into the centre. Then it gets zipped up neatly in the handy carry bag, till next time.

Slide the legs up

All walk into the centre

Once the cars were hooked onto the caravans, we said our goodbyes and it was time to go our separate ways. Don and Pamela were travelling north, while Derek and Dot and their motor home, and ourselves were travelling south, up and over the Rimutaka Hill Road. It was extremely windy, and the signs warned motorists to be aware of wind gusts on the hill. We had a tense time when the wind caught the car and caravan side on and gave it a good shake and a rattle. It is easy to see how high sided vehicles can get blown off the road at times like this. On reaching home we checked out the interior, and luckily none of the cupboards had opened up with the shake and spilled the contents out. Now our Christmas holiday is over – when is the next break away? Happy New Year to all our readers and fellow bloggers, may you all have a great 2012.

The story of Mt Dick Lookout

2012-01-04T12:08:00.002+13:00

There’s no doubt that local knowledge is worth it’s weight in gold. Helen (fellow quilter and blog reader) popped into the camp to say hello and told us about her trip up to the Mt Dick lookout recently. Mt Dick? Never been there, in fact we had never heard of it. But a 4WD trip up an unsealed mountain road sounded like a great idea to Robin. Five of us climbed aboard the Toyota, and the adventure begun. Mt Dick is part of the Tararua Forest Park, and Helen had advised us to look for the rather overgrown sign for the turnoff.

Sign to the Lookout

The one lane track snaked it’s way up the mountain side and we hoped that we would not meet another vehicle coming down. The surface got rougher as we continued to climb, and the car shook and shuddered as we slowly drove around the tight turns. Once up the top we parked the car and made the short climb up to the lookout.

Car park at Mt Dick Lookout

As promised, the views from the top were marvellous with 360 degree views. A patchwork green of paddocks lay before us, and in the distance were the towns of Wairarapa, Masterton, Carterton, Greytown and Featherston, with Martinborough away in the distance.

A stainless steel directional guide pointed the way to prominent landmarks. We could see Lake Wairapapa off in the distance

To check what we can see

Lake Wairarapa in the distance at right

The tree covered hills looked like they were dusted with snow, but it was the white flowering manuka bushes from which the famous Manuka honey is gathered.

White dusted hills

Some areas of the hills are planted in pine forests, and logging was well underway. Logging tracks snaked up and down the adjacent hills to allow access.

Logging the pine plantation

This mountain was named after Richard “Dickey” Sayers, who moved from Wellington with his family to the Wairarapa in 1859. He lived in a slab house he built in 1860 from trees he felled and made a subsistence living as a pig hunter in the Taraura Ranges. His marriage to Hester Blake in 1864 produced a family of six children. Sadly he was killed by his prize bull in 1902, while walking the animal home after attending an A & P Show. He was gored in the armpit and bled to death in 30 minutes, and is buried in Clareville Cemetery. The lookout was built by the Lions Club of Carterton with assistance from the Keep Carterton Beautiful Committee and the Department of Conservation.

Mount Dick Lookout shelter

Robin, Don, Derek, Dot and Jenny

On the trip down we spotted a rata tree glowing red against a sea of green in the bush covered hills. A group of keen off road motor-cyclists were all set to make the steep accent up to the lookout.

Rata tree

Thanks to Helen for letting us know about this well kept Carterton secret, it was a trip worth taking to see such magnificent views.

Middleton Model Railway

2012-01-04T09:43:00.001+13:00

It was a boys only afternoon out as three of use took a trip to the Middleton Model Railway. The layout contains over 300m of track, 250 points, 10 stations, a marshalling yard, harbour and train ferry, ironstone mine and a chalk quarry. Colin Fraser-Davies had his much loved model railway shipped out in 1983 when he emigrated to New Zealand from UK, there was no way he was leaving that behind. You can find more information here.

Colin with his Layout

The layout is model on the English 00 standard and is very extensive and would be every little boys’ dream to own. This however is strictly an adults only passion.

A View of one of the complicated control panels

On a monthly basis fellow enthusiasts form a group and run the layout to an authentic operating timetable using a speeded-up clock. Sadly the day we visited was not one of their operating days.

A Triangular Station – Removes the need for a turntable

Also at this facility is Cwmglyn Cheese which specialises in making cheese from pedigree Jersey Cows. The milk from each cow being kept separate from which are made a variety of hard cheeses and butter. Tastings as well as purchases are available on site. A couple of use made a small purchase of cheese to bring home. A chance to earn some brownie points!

If you are passing through the Wairarapa a stop at this attraction which is only a couple of kilometres off the main road just south of Ekatahuna.

More to see at Mt Bruce

2012-01-03T11:52:00.001+13:00

Although the white kiwi chicks were a real draw card, there is a whole lot more to see at Pukaha Mt Bruce. Tuatara are ancient reptiles and are often referred to as “living fossils” as they were around in the days of the dinosaurs. Although tuatara once covered mainland New Zealand they are now only found on predator free islands, zoos or wildlife centres such as Mt Bruce.

Tuatara

Kaka are endangered large forest parrots and there is are currently over 100 wild kaka flying free in the surrounding forest. The birds fly in for the 3pm “Kaka Circus” where they receive supplementary feed and although there was still and hour or so to go, were starting to gather in the trees as we walked around the tracks. They delighted in “buzzing” us as they swooped low over our heads as they followed us around, and then posed quite happily for the photo-shoot

Kaka waiting for treats

Kakariki are noisy little green parrots and there are several species. This orange fronted Kakariki was well camouflaged as he was hiding in the trees and sadly the population of this species has now reached the critical stage.

Orange fronted Kakariki

The comfortable new movie theatre has several short films which run continuously throughout the day. These films tell the stories of the important relationship between forest restoration, pest eradication and captive breeding. We saw how teams of people worked together to move 30 wild kiwi from Little Barrier Island and transport them safely 600km to Pukaha Mt Bruce. RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air force) donated the services of a helicopter and a Hercules plane to carry the precious cargo back to Masterton. From Masterton the Kiwi were transported by road to Pukaha Mt Bruce.

This way to the movies

Our men folk went to watch the eels (NZ Long Fin Eels) and some rather fat looking Rainbow Trout (that would have looked good on a plate) being fed. We girls consider eels to be ugly slimy things and were not interested so wandered back to the cafe for a snack, coffee and a sit down to rest our weary legs. There is certainly plenty to see at this facility.

Pukaha Mt Bruce

Rare white balls of fluff

2012-01-02T11:52:00.001+13:00

These beautiful babies have caused a big stir at the National Wildlife Centre, Pukaha Mount Bruce, north of Masterton. The first white kiwi chick was hatched in May 2011, to be followed by a second one just a few weeks ago. It is very rare for a white kiwi to hatch in captivity, and these chicks are even rarer as they are not albinos, but white, with both parents carrying the white feather gene. We joined the crowds watching as the younger chick was carried from it’s enclosure, carefully weighed, then fed. What a beautiful ball of fluff it was, and the cameras were clicking (flashes off so not to startle the baby) as the crowds caught the first glimpse of the chick through the nursery windows.

How cute is this

As only 10% of baby kiwis reach maturity in the wild, the National Wildlife Centre removes the eggs from nests at Pukaha Mt Bruce and places them in incubators. TV monitors show show the progress on the incubation of the eggs in nursery. The chicks take a staggering five days to release themselves from the shell.

TV monitor showing incubator in the nursery

The rangers mix up a special diet of ground ox heart, banana, oatmeal and vegetables. Quantities are carefully measured and adjusted as they rangers monitor the progress of each kiwi. The youngsters love their special treats of fat juicy worms, grubs and bush berries. As they prepare to be released into the surrounding forest the chicks are placed in an outdoor enclosure where they are able to forage naturally. After all this excitement it was time for the baby to be placed back into his sleeping quarters and settle down for an after dinner nap. There’s no doubt about it, it’s a tiring life being a famous baby.

Time for a nap

The North Island Brown Kiwi was re-introduced to the reserve after an 100 year absence. The kiwi population is growing with the help of the kiwi nursery. Unfortunately the rugged terrain does not allow for the erection of predator proof fencing around the perimeter and an intensive predator control programme is carried out. All of the predators are introduced species such as “Stoats, Ferrets, All types of Rats, feral Cats, uncontrolled Dogs and Possums” just to name a few. It is a shame really as the Kiwi is our native bird and what we all like to be called and it is endangered and virtually extinct on the main islands.

Attractions at Castlepoint

2011-12-30T11:34:00.002+13:00

We weren’t the only ones enjoying a trip to Castlepoint beach recently. Youngsters in wet suits ventured out with their boogie boards for some fun in the waves, hoping to catch a decent wave for a good ride back. There were plenty of people paddling in the shallow water as they walked along the beach, most of them seemed to be accompanied by children and the family dog.

As well as the beach there is a lagoon protected by a rock barrier which is a popular and safe swimming spot for youngsters, and is next to the adjacent boat harbour. Close by are the large boats and their equally large trailers from the local fishing fleet. Some of the outfits were self propelled trailers with six wheel hydraulic drive, impressive. There must be some serious money tied up in these machines.

We watched as a driver on a blue tractor backed a trailer down to the beach, taking it right out into the waves as the respective fishing boat came in. The skipper of the boat has to drive the boat up into the trailer, and once safely in place, the tractor driver puts his foot down and carries the fishing boat safely ashore.

Coming ashore

Castle Rock was so named by Captain Cook as the rock formation on the skyline looks like a castle when viewed from the sea. Keen climbers tackle this peak and we could see them as tiny dots in the distance.

Castle Rock, the lagoon, and the fishing fleet on the beach

While we were climbing up to Castlepoint Lighthouse, Derek had fishing on his mind. He had recently purchased a surf casting rod and decided to try his luck fishing off the rocks while we laboured up the lighthouse track in the hot sun. Alas, it wasn’t his day, and the fish weren’t biting at all, so there was no fish on the menu that night.

That’s Derek on the right

After all our exertions it was time to stop at the local shop to enjoy an ice-cream. Pamela is recuperating from surgery so wasn’t able to join us on our trek up to the lighthouse. While the rest of us were out and about in the hot and blustery conditions she was very sensibly relaxing over a freshly brewed coffee in the cafe. There is plenty to see and do at Castlepoint Beach and the 175km round trip took us through rolling farmland, hills covered with native bush and planted in pine forests.

Castlepoint Lighthouse

2011-12-28T08:13:00.001+13:00

The decision was made – let’s take a picnic lunch and drive out to the coast to Castlepoint. Perhaps we will go for a dip (or not) and maybe even climb up to the lighthouse. We drove through rolling farmland, dotted with sheep and cattle, and paddocks filled hay just cut and bailed for winter feed. Manuka trees on the hillsides were covered in snowy white flowers and no doubt hives were dotted nearby for the bees to gather the nectar to turn into delicious manuka honey. We ate our picnic lunch looking out over the beach, with the lighthouse beckoning us in the distance.

Our first glimpse of Castlepoint Lighthouse

Four of us decided to make the trek up to the lighthouse. There was a sign warning of windy conditions so we were pleased that we had brought warm jackets and would have to hang on to our hats.

Strong wind warning

The concrete path was new and replaced an earlier timber staircase and raised timber boardwalk over the sandy spit which is under water at high tide. It was a popular walk and we passed lots of family groups wending their way up and down the path. Luckily the grade was quite easy and we made it in good time to the lighthouse.

Follow the path to the top

Built in 1912, the cast iron tower stands 23 metres high and the light can be seem 30 km out to sea. The light originally burnt oil and now operates on mains electricity using a 1000 watt lamp with a diesel generator for standby power. It was fully automated in 1988 and the light is now monitored by computer by Maritime New Zealand staff.

Castlepoint Lighthouse

Dot, Jenny, Robin and Don buffeted by the wind

We were intrigued to read a sign about “Brachyglottis Compacta” a rare bright yellow daisy with silvery leaves. Castlepoint is the only location in the world where this daisy grows naturally. It grows well amongst the crumbled limestone habitat and the blustery conditions. Would we be able to spot this rare plant? Dot quickly found the first bush so out came the cameras.

The yellow daisy only grows in Castlepoint

As we walked back down the track I noticed that there were a few twinges in my knees – a sure sign of advancing years. It was a lovely walk, with glorious views out over the beach and village. Surely after all that exercise we deserve an ice-cream?

New arrivals in Camp

2011-12-27T08:12:00.001+13:00

After a few days of camping side by side at Carterton Motor Camp with Dot and Derek, we were joined by caravan club friends Don and Pamela – and then there were three of us all in a row.

Our three vans all in a row

The three men all wrestled to put Don’s large awning up, and after a few mis-starts and a change of plan here and there, the job was finally done. This awning will give us some cover in the evenings if the weather turns cold and nasty.

Don, Robin and Derek helping with the awning

Also arriving in camp on the same day were four vehicles crammed with children, bikes, tents and supplies. These people had obviously been away camping together before and we watched from under the shade of our gazebo as the large tents were expertly erected in no time at all, with a minimum of fuss. Then a huge white gazebo was erected and we just had to go and see what the story was. They were very friendly and chatted away, telling us that their group of friends (and their children) go camping every Christmas, choosing a different location each year. The gazebo is their camp kitchen and dining room, we were told, and was set with camp tables and chairs all ready to serve meals to the 20 or so people in the group. As their group has grown over time, the equipment has become more sophisticated. One of the group, a blacksmith by trade, had designed and built a trailer to house all the kitchen equipment for the holiday. It contains drawers for cutlery, pace for crockery and containers of food, and it all folds up neatly to be towed. We were most impressed with this clever piece of engineering.

Custom made catering trailer

We continue to enjoy hot sunny Wairapapa weather, so there is no trouble getting the washing dry. After all, just because we are on holiday, doesn’t mean that the laundry duties don’t get done.

Never ending laundry duties

The sun lit up the drops of water as the hose sprinkler watered this part of the garden. Carterton Motor Camp is one of our favourite camps, and is very well maintained by managers Pete and Di.

A Day of Two Halves

2011-12-26T12:14:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19681Km; 326 Nights Away

Christmas Day was certainly a “day of two halves”. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of hot croissants stuffed with ham and cheese as we sat outside at the motor camp. Several hours later the delicious smell of bacon filled the air as Robin slowly cooked our chicken breasts wrapped in bacon on the barbecue for Christmas lunch, and some prawn kebabs. Served with an assortment of salads, it was a meal fit for a king, or in our case, fit for campers. As Dot and I had both made a different version of trifle each, we had to try some of each for dessert. Thank goodness for the shade from our gazebo on such a hot day.

Our Christmas lunch in paradise

After the lunch dishes had been done, and a change of clothes, we set off to visit Robin’s family who were having a Christmas get-together in Palmerston North. The main route across the Manawatu Gorge has been closed due for several months to a major slip, so we drove along one of the lesser roads, the Pahiatua Track, to cross the Tararua Ranges.

Road closed – detour

All the younger family members we setting off down to the river to cool off when we arrived. The large house that Robin’s brother Neil and his family live in has had an interesting life. Built in the 1930s as an orphanage for the Anglican Church, it was later sold to the Catholic Church and is now owned by a property developer. It has 19 bedrooms, and a huge lounge, kitchen and dining room. These days Neil and Michelle run it as a hostel for overseas students. One of the young cousins visiting for the day always refers to it as the “Haunted House”.

Lots of shoes in this household

Brother Gary, Brother-in-law Jan, sister Kaye, Robin, brother Neil

After a pleasant couple of hours catching up with the family, it was time to start our drive back to the motor camp. We decided to travel along the other lesser road, the Saddle Road, which crosses the Ruahine Ranges and comes out at Woodville. The wind turbines from the Apiti Wind Farm cover the hills of this region, and we watched as the blades slowly spun in the breeze. They almost have a mesmerising effect to them.

Wind turbines on the hills

The Saddle Road is quite steep and very windy and the turbines were everywhere. This one seemed to be right in front of the road.

Oops, hope we don’t hit it

Our 250km round trip gave us a good opportunity to check out the state of these lesser roads as we had heard that they were both suffering quite a bit of damage. With the Manawatu Gorge being closed for some months, all the heavy trucks now have to travel across both the Pahiatua Track and the Saddle Road, causing quite a bit of wear and tear on the road surfaces.

Setting up Camp

2011-12-24T15:55:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19681Km; 325 Nights Away

The Rimutaka Hill Road wasn’t too busy at all when we towed our heavily laden caravan up, over and down the other side. The extra weight comprised of our big awning, and a gazebo to give us shade in the hot Wairarapa sun. Adding to the weight was a lot of extra holiday food, a box of presents to open on Christmas morning, and a fair amount of bottled beer for Robin to enjoy over the Christmas break. The first small town on the Wairarapa side of the hill is Featherston, and the traffic was stopped to allow a freight train to hurtle by on it’s way to the big city of Wellington.

Stopped for the train at Featherston

Muffy enjoyed her road trip sitting on the centre consul and keeping an eye out on the scenery flashing past. She certainly travels much happier when she is in the front seat with us. She is kept securely in place with her lead hooked through the seat belt to ensure that she will not smash into the window if we have to brake suddenly.

Safely secured in place

Driving through rural Wairarapa we saw paddocks with bales of hay all ready for next winter’s feeding out.

Bales of hay

We arrived at Carterton Holiday Park just before our friends Dot and Derek who drove down from Alfredton. In no time at all their motor home was on site and hooked up, while we struggled under the hot sun to slide the awning rope in the guide track, and attach the walls. The four of us were needed to help with our gazebo, which opens up like a huge umbrella. We each grabbed a corner, and walked out as the gazebo unfolded itself. This will give us much needed shade as we relax in camp with a cool drink in our hands.

All set up for Christmas

Pete the Manager came over for a chat and decided that one of the trees was overhanging the site and needed to be trimmed. In no time at all he was up a ladder with a chainsaw and down came the offending branches.

Pete trimming the tree

Dot and Derek had never unfurled the sun shade in all the months they had been using their new motor home so this was the ideal time to try it out. Dot was armed with a can of insect spray as she was sure that a whole load of nasties would fall out once the sun shade was rolled out. Luckily not a single insect jumped out at us or else they would have been severly dealt with.

Here it comes

Almost there

Summer time is barbeque time and steak was on the menu for our first night in camp. Derek christened his brand new barbecue and he was the man in charge of the tongs.

Derek’s in charge of the steaks

Up the ladder and behind the lawn mower

2011-12-22T17:55:00.002+13:00

Another busy day for the man of the house today. He was up the ladder for an hour or so this morning, with me there holding the aforementioned ladder steady for him, then declared “that’s enough painting for today!” The grapevine needed pruning, so that was done. Add to that the never ending chore of cutting the lawns, and you can see why Robin is out on the back deck enjoying a cold beer. It’s certainly been a busy day, we even sneaked in a little bit of last minute shopping, and the 4WD is all fuelled up for our next trip away. The caravan is still only half packed, but it’s much too hot now, so we can do the rest in the morning.

Pruning the grapevine

Lots of fruit set on the vine

We wish all our readers, friends and fellow bloggers a safe and happy Christmas. If you are travelling on the roads, do go carefully. Watch out for those other idiots who seem to think that caravans shouldn’t be on the roads at all - shades of Jeremy Clarkson who has a real grudge against them.

A touch of green

2011-12-21T15:32:00.002+13:00

After a little break with a couple of rainy days then weekend visits to both sides of the family, Robin is back in the painting mode again. He is pleased to report that the four walls of the house have received their four coats of paint. Now he is doing the fiddly bits down low and up high, and adding a touch of green. It may have taken a bit of bending and kneeling, but the base boards were quite easy to paint. The formerly white plastic cover over the gas meter is now painted green too, mind you, it was rather splashed with coloured primer.

Painting the base boards

I joined the work crew today and held on to the ladder for stability while Robin was reaching for the stars. Or maybe that should be, reaching for the barge board. The apex of the house in the front is quite high and he has a fear of heights. After applying a little bit of putty to fill up the cracks that time and weather have created, the next job was to sand it down and make it nice and smooth again. (It’s not easy taking a photo with one hand while holding on to the ladder for dear life with the other hand).

Sanding down the barge board

Then the first of the top coats was applied, changing the colour from the original yellow to green. It was a matter of climbing up the ladder, working on the bit he could reach, climbing down again, moving the ladder along, and starting all over again. No wonder he was complaining of sore legs.

Up the ladder painting

All this took a couple of hours, with me there to help hold the ladder steady. Robin is not really comfortable up a ladder, so I was happy to help and offer some support. The sun comes around to the front of the house in the afternoon making the conditions too hot to add the second coat, so we will repeat all this tomorrow morning. In the meantime, the lawns need mowing. Oh dear, I think he needs a holiday.

Does a red one go faster?

2011-12-19T13:18:00.002+13:00

Robin has been doing some research lately, checking out mobility scooters. No, not for us, although he seems to think that having one could well be fun. His Mum has recently sold her car, and was hankering after a scooter. Robin found a good second hand scooter from a reputable dealer, and after consultation, was given the go-ahead to purchase it on his Mum’s behalf. He collected it and brought it home. Vroom, vroom, it certainly worked OK, and he gingerly rode it around our back deck.

It had a basket in the front, and a pack on the back of the seat, so there was lots of room for his Mum to put her shopping. There was even a holder to slip her walking stick in so she could carry it safely. And with a fluttering flag for added visibility and safety, it should be just the thing for a jaunt down to the shops. We delivered it to her and Robin ran over the instructions with his Mum. It’s a wee bit to get your head around at first, but with a bit of help she was raring to go. The first challenge was to ride out of the garage down the driveway which has a small slope. That was a bit scary the first time for her, but after a couple of practice rides she was soon getting the hang of it.

The first ride

Bonnie had several runs around her complex and had no trouble at all on the flat. In fact, she rather enjoyed herself.

Whee, this is fun

Perhaps something like this will suit us in years to come? How about one each? We could just imagine the reaction we would get if we arrived at a caravan rally towing this behind us.

A sign of things to come

Trip to Kiwitea

2011-12-18T11:18:00.002+13:00

We took the little blue car on our trip to Kiwitea, north of Fielding, yesterday, a round trip of 375km. This gave us a chance to catch up with daughter, SIL and grand-daughters, as we were going in different directions over the Christmas break. First stop was just after Sanson to have a good look at the Centennial Memorial, something we have driven past many times but never stopped at before.

Centennial Memorial

Wonder where these go?

The view from the top looked over the rolling Manawatu farmland

Son-in-law Robert was busy in the garage doing some maintenance on his hay bailer. With any sort of machinery, maintenance must be a never ending job. Robert is a very handy type of Kiwi bloke who can turn his hand to most jobs. At least he was out of the cold Manawatu wind that seems to blow ceaselessly in this part of the country.

Robert working on his hay bailer

We arrived carrying gifts for the family, which were placed under the Christmas Tree till the big day. There were some for us to take home too. Daughter Nicky decided we needed to have a “special” lunch and prepared a very dainty High Tea, complete with a three tiered cake stand, bite sized savouries, scones with jam and cream, and dainty cups and saucers.

High Tea Kiwitea style

Trying to get a family photo was easier said than done. First we had to get everyone in the same place at the same time, then they had to have a happy face on and look as if they really wanted to have their photo taken with the grandparents. Luckily Megan’s friend was there and she took charge of the camera and snapped merrily away until the the mission was completed. Imagine how much harder it would be if the grand-children were still little toddlers.

Robin, Emma, Jenny, Nicky, Robert and Megan

Then it was time to say our goodbyes and head back home. Babe the Border Collie was there to say goodbye. She is a very old lady now and instead of barking lustily when visitors come and go now (something to do with now being deaf) spends her time curled up asleep somewhere warm. She was a rescue dog and has enjoyed a very full and busy life with the family, she is now approx 18years old which is very old for a big dog..

Robert with Babe

We took a detour on the way home to check out a domain that we could camp at sometime in the future. This one looks very nice with a handy toilet block and a big band of shelter trees to keep some of the wind out. We will have to see what the rules and regulations are to stay here overnight.

Gypsy Boy

2011-12-16T15:09:00.003+13:00

It’s no secret that I love a good read, and on the recommendation of keepinglifenomadic.blogspot.com I went to our local library to find the book Gypsy Boy, written by Mikey Walsh. I’ve always been rather pleased of my own gypsy heritage, rather like the Aussies who can claim a convict in their ancestry, I expect. My great, great, great Grandfather Robert Beresford was a gypsy, and I can just imagine this dark handsome stranger sweeping my G,G,G, Grandmother off her feet. This must be why we have a caravan and why I love travelling!!

The book tells of a life of violence where young boys must uphold the family honour by taking part in bare knuckle fighting. The author relates how his father started training him from a very young age, disregarding that the boy had no interest or aptitude in fighting. Beatings and cruelty were commonplace, and eventually young Mikey sneaks away from home as a teenager when he discovers he is gay. This dishonours his father, who tries to track him down to kill him.

As well as finding the violence against the gypsy women and children so shocking, I was dismayed at the attitude the gypsies had towards the rest of the population - people they call Gorgies. Stealing, doing shoddy “fly-by-night” workmanship, and ripping off elderly people in particular is considered normal and how they make a living. As a law-abiding person who is upset by the thought of any dishonesty, my Romany genes are obviously well diluted by now, and I found the book all rather disturbing. I’m presuming that my Romany ancestor left the gypsy life when he married as I have not come across anything to dispute this, so perhaps it is easier for a man to leave the fold than a woman. Or maybe he was shunned once he left. Wonder how I would ever find out? Perhaps someone in the wider family who is working on the family tree will be able to fill in the gaps.

Up the ladder for a different cause

2011-12-14T17:57:00.002+13:00

Robin is still climbing ladders, but this time he didn’t have a paint brush in his hand. He was checking out the spouting after the neighbour mentioned that she could see grasses growing up there. Then she casually mentioned that the spouting often overflowed in winter. So that needed checking out, just wish she had told us sooner. So up the ladder he went, with the hose in his hand. Sure enough, the spouting was chocker block full of debris. This seemed to come from the large overhanging tree which we had felled some months ago.

Yes, it is rather blocked

He hosed, and hosed, and hosed some more, and finally a large clump of debris came rushing through the down pipe. While he was trying to fit the plastic downpipe back into the spouting he had a bit of an “oopsy” and it broke. So he needed to take a trip to the handy hardware shop to buy some joiners and repair the break.

Hosing out the guttering

With that little job done and out of the way, it will be back up the ladder for more painting duties before he knows it.

Brush with the Law, and time to get the Red Generator out

2011-12-13T17:45:00.002+13:00

It’s been a funny old day – one of those days when the skies are overcast but the temperatures are hot, humid, and sultry. I was travelling to the hair dressers in the morning when the line of traffic was stopped by the police. A policeman pulled me over and I wound down the window. “We’re checking warrants and registrations, madam”, he said, and as I suspected, both of mine were correct. Luckily Robin takes care of these car related duties for me. On my return trip home I was stopped again, this time they were checking for alcohol. I counted, as instructed, from one to ten into the small hand held device, and was waved on. It was lucky that they were not checking for coffee, or chocolate, as I may well have failed the test on that score. So that was my brush with the law this morning.

Right on lunch time the power went out. In a case like this, you never know if it is just your house which is affected, your suburb, whether the fault covers a much larger area, or it could well be a major disaster that we haven’t heard about because the radio has gone off. And of course we never know how long the power will be off for. Robin sprung into action and fired up the big red generator, keeping both the refrigerator in the kitchen, and the deep freeze in the garage running. We had just been down to collect our Christmas ham, so he felt rather pleased that we had an alternative to the power cut.

Our trusty red generator

We have since found out that a connection to the Huntly power station was lost at 12.30pm. As a result, up to 500 MW of power supply was shed in the North Island to protect the transmission system. Widespread outages were reported throughout the Auckland and Wellington regions, and it has been confirmed that 30 per cent of the North Island had been affected by the outages. Traffic lights in affected areas were not working, and drivers were encouraged to use common sense and the right hand rule, the police central communications advised. Drivers were reminded to "Give way to your right - just treat it as an uncontrolled intersection." Our power was finally restored after two hours, and the red generator proved it’s worth.

Muffy wasn’t bothered at all by these happenings. She was quite happy trying to keep cool while curled up on Robin’s seat. Not too tightly curled, we noticed, it was much too hot for that. She seemed to be all legs as she snoozed the afternoon away.

How Muffy copes with the heat

Death by Chocolate

2011-12-12T17:37:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19599Km; 324 Nights Away

The gas barbeques were lit and the men got on to the time honoured ritual of outdoor cooking on Saturday night at Brookfield Scout Camp. There was a fine assortment of meat sizzling away, from steak, pork chops, chicken kebabs and sausages, and it all smelt divine. We all ate together outside enjoying the balmy conditions. To celebrate our Christmas Rally, the club provided a couple of bottles of bubbly, and we raised our glasses in a toast to many more caravan rallies together.

BBQ chefs hard at work

After dinner mother duck brought her family of ducklings to visit us while we sat around enjoying the sunshine. They were not at all frightened and ran around our chairs and all around our feet while searching for duckling sized portions of anything edible. One of our eagle eyed group commented that the duckling count was one less than the previous day. Perhaps one of those nasty eels in the stream took the baby duck.

Mallard duck and her ducklings

As the sun went down, and dishes were done, we met in the hall for our Mystery Dessert, Death by Chocolate. Elaine and Peter had two fondue sets tucked away in their kitchen cupboards and came up with the idea of a shared chocolate dessert. Fondue used to be a popular dish for dinner parties in the fifties, sixties and seventies, not that I was ever invited to one. It appears that fondue originated in Switzerland as a way of using up hardened cheese. Deriving from the French verb fondre, meaning "to melt," fondue was a classic peasant dish.

No cheese fondue for us, it was chocolate all the way, with one pot of white and another of dark chocolate being kept warm over a tealight candle. There was a wonderful selection of tasty morsels to dip in the chocolate, strawberries, kiwi fruit, pineapple, apricots, and my favourite, marshmallows. What a great idea, and so tasty. But is seems that some of us overindulged and had sore tummies and trouble dropping off to sleep due to chocolate overdose!

Time for dessert – Death by Chocolate

As this is our club’s last rally of the year, we wish all our members a Merry Christmas and safe travels over the holiday season.

Cubs and Caravans at Brookfield

2011-12-11T20:55:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19599Km; 324 Nights Away

We had our Christmas Rally at Brookfield Scout Camp, in the lovely rural setting at Moore's Valley, Wainuiomata. Our small group soon had themselves nicely settled in the large grassy “Orchard” area of the scout camp. The Brookfield Outdoor Education Centre is located on the site of the original 355 acres purchased by John Crowther in 1864 and developed as a farm. His daughter Mary lived all her life on the property and on her death in 1958 bequeathed it to Scouting. Adjoining land has since been purchased so that the Centre now extends over 650 acres. We were kept entertained throughout the weekend by the antics and songs of a multitude of native birds.

On site for the weekend

A line of tents appeared on the other side of the orchard. Various groups of keas, cubs, scouts, and rangers had arrived for the weekend as well. We watched as the tents were erected, and some of the kids seemed much better at this task than others. At 7 years of age, the keas are the youngest in the scouting movement, and for some of these youngsters, it could well have been their first time away from home. The scout leaders certainly kept the boys and girls busy the whole weekend. Yes, that’s right, girls are now permitted to join the scouting movement.

The tents are erected, now we can play

Roll out the barrel

The different age groups had high jinks on the flying fox, and we could hear squeals of laughter, or was it fear, the whole weekend. Two bright yellow trucks from the Wainuiomata Bush Fire Force arrived, and being rather partial to a man in uniform, I went out to see what was in store for the youngsters. “They will all get wet shortly”, the man in charge whispered to me. He then told the youngsters how the Bush Fire Force was started, and the role they play in fighting rural fires. The Force was formed in 1970 to assist the Fire Brigade with fighting scrub fires, and is required to take command of all vegetation fires to which it is called. It has about 40 volunteer fire-fighters, and is led by the Controller and other officers. It has five light 4WD vehicles, with six portable pumps, and normally rolls with about 2.5 km of hose. Most of their fire-fighting action involves working in the black burnt areas, relay-pumping water up the flanks of fires to reach the head. Helicopters and monsoon buckets can be called in if extra help is required.

Two Bush Fire trucks

The hose started pumping out water, and some of the youngsters had a turn trying to hold on to these heavy hoses. As the portable pumps increased their speed, the hoses bucked dangerously around and must have been very difficult to control.

Controlling the hose

Lesson over, it was time for fun. The kids couldn’t wait to run under the hose. I decided to beat a hasty retreat, I didn’t want that fireman turning the hose on me!

All kids love getting wet

The local village was having a fair so we drove down to the village to see what was on offer. Robin wasted no time in finding a stall selling cooked sausages and onions wrapped up in a piece of bread. (It was because I had to cool my heels as Jenny was off taking photos for the blog, just like the paparazzi – Robin)

Yummy, a hot sausage snack

Then we found a stall of Girl Guide leaders selling the “world famous in New Zealand” Girl Guide biscuits. We rather like these, and at $5 for three packets, couldn’t say no to such a bargain. “I know you”, one of the ladies said to us. Turns out her family goes caravanning too, (with the Wainuiomata Caravan club) and we have met up Regional and National at rallies.

Buy your Girl Guide biscuits here

After all the fun of the fair, we drove back to the rural delights of Brookfield Camp. Wonder what’s next on the programme? Something to do with chocolate, we think.

The rusting hulk finally goes

2011-12-08T17:25:00.002+13:00

Who can remember those long ago days when a barrel of oil didn’t cost a king’s ransom? In those times ordinary people could afford to run an oil fired heater and plenty of families here in New Zealand had them installed for winter heating. But not for many years now, the price of oil skyrocketed and just kept going up, up, up. We have one of these heating units which has not been fired up for many years, plus an oil tank to go with it. This rusty tank stood beside the back wall of the house all these years and was in the way of our house painting. We really wanted it gone, but how on earth do we get rid of it? It is not the sort of thing that can be taken to the dump. Our friend Derek came up with a good suggestion. Why not contact the Wellington Vintage Machinery Club, they could be interested in using the oil and kerosene mix to fire up their old engines?

They jumped at the chance and turned up this morning with a truck equipped with a “Hiab” type crane on the back to lift it onto the tray take it back to their club rooms. Ropes were hooked around the tank and the crane lifted it away from the wall of the house.

While it was suspended, the next step was to remove the legs from the tank so it would be more stable on the back of the truck. Out came the hammer and after a bit of banging and twisting, the legs soon dropped off from the base of the tank.

With one deftly working the controls and the other guiding, the tank was soon lowered safely onto the back of the truck and firmly tied down.

That didn’t take too long at all. They had collected several old oil tanks before, they said, so they certainly knew what they were doing. How about some morning tea, boys? It’s lucky I had some home baking left to offer them.

We are so grateful that the rusting hulk of an oil tank has been removed, and just so pleased that the Wellington Vintage Machinery Club can make use of the oil. Thanks to Derek too for his suggestion. Robin wasted no time in getting his paint brush out to put some etch primer on the now accessible part of the back wall.

The last little bit on the back wall

Steaming Ahead

2011-12-06T19:53:00.002+13:00

What to do while it’s raining? Certainly not painting, that’s not a rainy day option at all. Our vertical blinds in the dining room were looking grubby so Robin got to work wielding my recently purchased portable steam cleaner. In no time at all he had a fine head of steam hissing away and he ran the nozzle up and down the length of each blind. The amount of steam produced looked impressive and we had high hopes that the blinds would come out sparkling clean.

Steam cleaning the blinds

Meanwhile, I was cleaning the other set of blinds in the dining room using the “low tech” method of a cloth and a bucket of hot soapy water. Our idea was that when both sets had dried after the respective cleaning, we would compare the results, and see which method worked better. Surprisingly, the hot soapy water did a much better job. Perhaps my “Shark Steam Pocket” cleaner is a bit of a white elephant? If anyone has had a good result with one of these we would like to hear from you.

The Painter comes to stay

2011-12-03T21:26:00.002+13:00

The painter (and his wife) came to stay over for a long weekend, to give Robin the benefit of three full days of his painting services. It’s hard work being the perfect B&B hostess and I’m run ragged making cups of tea, and providing meals, snacks and cold drinks. But it’s a small price to pay, and we are very grateful for all the time and effort that Derek is putting in to help us with the house painting. Our cat Muffy thinks that having visitors in the house is rather nice, and spent part of the first evening cuddled up in bed with Derek, before sneaking back up the passage in the dead of night to join us on the foot of our bed.

The painting is coming along very well. Both side one and the front of the house have received etch primer, undercoat and two tops coats. Side three has been etch primed, undercoated and one top coat. Derek, being the taller of the two, has been tackling the higher reaches of the house, leaving the mid sections for Robin. They have been working very well in tandem in very hot conditions.

Derek reaching high, with Robin balanced on the plank

Then this afternoon they moved around to the back of the house, side four. Derek climbed up the ladder once again, and after a quick rub down with the stainless steel scourer, started painting with the etch primer.

Derek up the ladder

In the meantime, Robin was sitting down on the job while he rubbed away at the powdery paintwork. His poor arms were so tired and aching, he told me. I’m hoping that the evening meal of pork, roast veggies and apple crumble will revive the painters after yet another day slaving in the hot sun.

Robin rubbing with his scourer

There was action of a different kind happening against the backdrop of the hills as we noticed a red helicopter buzzing around. A cable with some sort of container was suspended from the helicopter, and we could just make out the two tiny figures inside. We presume that the power company was carrying out an inspection of the lines and pylons.

Can you see the men hanging under the helicopter?

Time for a Carlsberg

2011-11-30T17:22:00.002+13:00

It’s been a busy old day again. After getting a kick start yesterday with our friend Derek helping, Robin wanted to carry on painting. There was a bit left on the front wall of the house to prime, then undercoat. “Can I help”, I asked, although I didn’t really want to do any painting. My job was to rub down the few remaining planks with a stainless steel scourer. After lunch Robin returned to his paint pot and brush, and I went to see how he was going. The day was hot, the temperatures were rising, and he still had a reasonable amount still to undercoat. It seemed a lot to do by himself, so I decided to help out with the painting after all. So there I was, in shorts and a tee shirt, and wearing rubber gloves to keep the paint off my hands. I often wonder if in fact I was someone from the upper classes (or even royalty, perhaps) in an earlier life as I really hate getting my hands dirty! Or doing manual work, for that matter. Who knows – I could have been an important person once.

After a little tuition I got to work, but I wasn’t doing it right. “Do it like this”, Robin said. Mmm, this painting lark certainly isn’t as easy as it looks, is it? The afternoon was so hot that both of us soon were dripping, as we worked hard to get the final bit of painting done for the afternoon. Robin climbed up on the ladder and did the high bits, while I was was kneeling down on the deck painting the lower parts. At last we had finished and could escape out of that heat around to the shady back deck. It must be time for a Carlsberg!

A whole case of Carlsberg

There is a story about this case of beer. We may well have related it, but it is worth telling again. Robin was given this case of beer (and a whole lot more which has already been consumed) about six weeks ago by a troupe of friendly Irish rugby supporters who had travelled over for the Rugby World Cup. They were all set to return home and couldn’t drink it in time, they said. After all that hard work painting Robin was ready to relax with a beer and cool down. I’m not really a beer drinker, but a shandy sounded nice, so I joined him in a Carlsberg too.

Here’s to us – the painter and his apprentice

From Gardener to Painter

2011-11-29T20:44:00.002+13:00

After spending some time knocking our mutual friends garden into shape, Derek kindly offered to help Robin with the dreaded house painting. (It was only Robin who was dreading it, Derek was looking forward to another challenge). We have a Lockwood house, a solid timber house with white painted aluminium cladding on the outside, of which the interior face is inside the house. The paint on the aluminium cladding turns powdery with weathering, over the years and was overdue for a repaint. First job of the morning was to rub down any flaky areas of the painted cladding with stainless steel scouring pads, and they did this on two sides of the house.

Preparing for painting

The next step was to paint the walls with etch primer, which gives the undercoat and topcoat a base to adhere to the aluminium cladding. Robin started down amongst the trees, and Derek worked from the other half of the wall.

Applying the etch primer

Priming almost completed on the first side

They were both ready to come inside and stop for lunch. “Come on”, said Derek to Robin, “back to work”. Derek climbed up the ladder and applied the etch primer to the front of the house.

Derek now on to the front of the house

The etch primer dries quickly, so Robin headed back to the boundary side of the house amongst the trees, climbed on the plank supported by a pair of trestles to apply the oil based undercoat.

Robin painting undercoat on top of the primer

And what was I doing while all this was going on? In between making cups of tea and serving lunch, I decided to pull a few weeds out of the garden. It is no secret that I really dislike weeding, and do not profess to be any kind of gardener at all. But there I was, down on my knees, doing my bit to help tidy up too. I just know my back will be sore tonight with all this bending!

I’m working too

What’s this? Oh no, it looks like I’ve uncovered a dead hedgehog lying amongst the weeds, how yuk is that. But then it moved, and I saw it was not one, but three hedgehogs curled up, sleeping the day away. A mother and two babies, in fact. So I left them there, at the base of a bush, and weeded around them.

Three hedgehogs curled up

I was amazed at how much Robin and Derek had accomplished by the end of the day. Robin was applying the undercoat, trying to catch up with Derek who was still busy priming away. It was a good day’s work for both of them, but I guess they will have tired and sore arms after all that painting.

They are still going strong

We’ve done our Duty

2011-11-27T18:35:00.002+13:00

Yesterday was the day New Zealanders went to the polls, it was time to vote in the General Election. The public could vote anytime between 9.00AM and 7.00PM, so there was plenty of time to go and do your duty. Arrangements had been made for members of the public to vote early if they were going to be away on polling day, or were residing in a hospital or rest home. Preliminary numbers released by the Electoral Commission estimated a turnout of only 73%, a sad reflection when these days many people overseas are still fighting for democracy and their right to vote. The National Party, headed by Prime Minister John Key, was returned for a second term. We don’t really want to talk politics, as our view is that everyone should be free to cast their vote as they wish. Suffice to say that each of us voted for a different party, but we are not going to argue about that now, are we?

This way to vote

Two Warrants, a Wash-down, and a bad case of Wind

2011-11-24T17:34:00.003+13:00

It was a busy old day, with not one, not two, but three trips down to the local garage in one day. First it was to get warrant of fitness for the caravan (last 12 month warrant as next year the van will be six years old); then it was to take the Landcruiser down for its six month warrant of fitness, which meant leaving the vehicle with the garage all day so that they could do the WOF at their convenience; and while the Landcruiser was away it was a chance for me to wash down the caravan after travelling in that heavy rain last week. We have been advised that it is better for the environment if cars (and caravans, for that matter) are washed on grass. The soapy water then soaks into the grass instead of getting into the drainage system.

She always sneaks up on me with her camera

After finishing the caravan it was then time to finish washing down the house. I had started this the other day but I was suffering from bad hay fever at the time and had to leave it due to the bending and reaching affecting my balance. It’s all done now so all I want is some fine weather to be able to start painting the house. Painting is not one of my most enjoyable tasks and I would really like someone to come and do it for me but that’s not likely so I’ll have gird my loins and get stuck in.

Jenny took me down in her little blue car (she calls is Lazuli) – why I wonder?) on the third trip of the day down to the garage to collect the 4WD. Oh by the way both vehicles passed with flying colours so we can now hit the road knowing our vehicles are safe. For our overseas readers all vehicles under 4500kg in NZ have to pass a 6 monthly warrant of fitness, which is basically a safety check to make sure the vehicles are in a road worthy condition. For vehicles over 4500kg they have to have a Certificate of Fitness which is a more stringent test as these vehicles are considered commercial. Needless to say the COF is more expensive than a WOF which annoys the larger motor home users as they are neither carrying the loads or doing the mileage (no equivalent metric word) of a commercial vehicle.

The wind has been rather fierce lately, and blew especially hard last night. We woke up to find a branch snapped on our tree in the front garden. There were branches big and small all over the street, I noticed. Lucky none fell on top of the caravan.

Oops, it’s broke

So out with my trusty hand saw to trim it off – then I dragged the whole thing around the back and cut it all in more manageable pieces to get rid of it.

Wellington’s Oldest Church – Christ Church, Taita

2011-11-22T20:00:00.002+13:00

This pretty little church has beckoned me for years. “Come and visit”, it seemed to be saying as we drove past along the Eastern Hutt Road on countless occasions, going about our busy lives. On Sunday afternoon, at long last, the time had arrived to see this fine piece of early architecture in the Hutt Valley. After visiting the Vintage Machinery Club in the morning, followed by a nice leisurely lunch at a local cafe, I had arranged for our group to take a guided tour through the church in the early afternoon. Janice, the Secretary of the Preservation Society, welcomed us inside the church and gave us a short potted history. Christ Church was built by and for the early European settlers to this area. The land was gifted by the Hon A G Tollemache, designed by Sydney Hirst, using heart totara timber donated by John Daysh, and pit sawn by Abraham Harris. The doors opened for the first service on New Year’s Day, 1854.

Christ Church, Taita

An arson attack in 1989 left the interior of the church severely damaged. Descendants of the pioneers and their supporters repaired the church, working from a set of plans which had been drawn up by a student who had completed a thesis just before the fire. These plans take pride of place just inside the doorway to the church. The interior of the church has a warm mellow feel to it from the lovely totara panelling. A refurbished reed organ from 1902 provides the music for services, and the original font shows signs of surviving the fire.

Interior view

Reed organ

The font, showing fire damage

Interestingly, it is the rear of the church which faces the street. This came about because in 1947 a railway extension crossed the original High Street entrance, isolating the church from its congregation. A proposal to move the church caused a public outcry, and in 1950 a meeting voted for the church to remain where it was. This was the first time New Zealanders had lobbied to save an historic building, and led to the formation of the Christ Church Preservation Society. The government passed the New Zealand Historic Places Act in 1954, followed by the establishment of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. This shows that indeed from a germ of an idea to save one little church, the care and preservation of early New Zealand heritage is hopefully assured. Christ Church is still a consecrated church, but does not have it’s own congregation or minister. It is used occasionally for weddings, funerals and baptisms, with ministers from other areas taking the service.

The graveyard at the back of the church (originally the front) is full of history. The names of the early settlers live on as Hutt Valley street names, such as Boulcott, Mabey, Percy, Judd and Riddler. The beautiful old trees are original plantings.

The peaceful graveyard

Manihera Matangi, chief of Ngatiawa, is buried in the graveyard. He supported European settlement in the area and his father signed the Treaty of Waitangi. His tombstone reads, “One whose conduct of affairs was beneficial to European as well as to his own race”.

Matangi family graves

This church is a little gem, and we all enjoyed our very informative visit. Many thanks to Janice for giving up her Sunday afternoon and providing such an insight into this piece of early Hutt Valley heritage, (and for the afternoon tea). It took me a long time to get here, and I am so pleased I finally made it.

From Cheese to Gizmos – Wellington Vintage Machinery Revisited

2011-11-21T20:13:00.002+13:00

Sunday was Club Day at Wellington Vintage Machinery, situated in Mangaroa Valley, Upper Hutt, so that fitted in well with my plans for the monthly get-together with our SLG friends. November was my month to arrange an outing, and I was sure the men in the group in particular would be interested in coming to visit. Robin and I had visited the club rooms a few months earlier, but with so many interesting things on display, it was well worth a second visit. There was no doubt that this club is a mechanical workshop, with the all pervading smell of engine oil greeting us on entry. Peter, the Treasurer, showed our group a video entitled “From Cheese to Gizmos”, which told of the history of the club. The club building was previously a milk factory, in the days when every small town had their own local factory. The video showed old footage of cheese making on the premises, and current field-days and exhibitions.

Engrossed in the video, and surrounded by engines

Everyone was in awe of the mighty black 1911 steam traction engine, built by John Fowler and Co, Leeds. This is on loan to the club, and gets taken out regularly to events. These mighty machines were a common sight on farms in earlier times, and would have been most impressive when they were fired up and steaming.

Pride of the collection, 1911 steam traction

Russell seemed to be enjoying himself driving the little three wheeled tractor with a bucket on the back. In a former life this dinky little machine was used to carry soil around the Akatarawa Cemetery. ….

Russell on the small red tractor

We saw an early model mechanical washing machine which works by pushing the handle back and forth. This raises and lowers three inverted cups which agitate the water through the clothes. It wasn’t too hard to make it go while the machine was empty, but I imagine it would be quite hard work filled with a week’s washing and hot soapy water. There was an old copper on display as well, and I remember that we had one in our house when I was a child. The fire was lit underneath to boil the water which produced wonderfully white clothing. But what a long hot job doing the washing was, manhandling the hot clothing with a wooden copper stick into the concrete tubs to rinse in cold water, and through the mangle. These days we just have to push a few buttons and it is all done for us.

Push the handle forward and back

The club members were getting some of the tractors ready to take part in the upcoming Santa Parade, so they had to be in tip top condition.

There was a good display of old bicycles hanging on the wall in the back shed. Just below the bikes were some beautifully crafted wooden cart wheels, these were obviously all made by hand. The club is often offered all sorts of interesting things to add to the collection, and is only too happy to uplift and preserve these treasures of bygone days.

Bicycles and cart wheels

Once again, a very interesting visit, and thanks to the members for making our group so welcome, and taking the time to answer our many questions.

Pressed into Service

2011-11-19T18:06:00.002+13:00

“Will you come and help?”, our friend Kathryn asked us. She was hosting a special family 90th Birthday Afternoon Tea for her Mum and needed someone to help with serving the food and making cups of tea and coffee. Of course we could, and turned up at the specified time. Luckily for us this was a catered function, so we didn’t have to do any food preparation. The caterer arrived with the afternoon tea all plated up, and we put the savouries in the oven to keep them warm until required.

Putting the savouries in the oven

We were kept busy setting the food on the table and got the cups and mugs ready for hot drinks. The big birthday cake took pride of place on the table, waiting for the “cutting of the cake ceremony”. A 90th birthday is certainly well worth celebrating. As the birthday girl was making the ritual cut, the family and guests sang a spirited Happy Birthday to her. Then the cake was whisked back into the kitchen and we cut it up, and walked around the room to offer a slice to the guests, together with a glass of bubbly to drink a birthday toast.

Afternoon tea set out

Cutting the cake to offer the guests

Out went the cups of tea, and in came the dirty dishes to be rinsed and stacked in the dishwasher. We don’t have a dishwasher ourselves, in fact, we often say that we are the only people we know who don’t own one of these appliances. So once all the dishes were stacked inside, we were at a loss to know what to do next. Kathryn came to the rescue, added the detergent and switched it on. There were plenty of other plates waiting for the next load, we noticed. All the family went outside for the long round of family photos, taken with first this camera, then the next one, as everyone wanted a memento of this special day. Then it was time for us to go, we were tuckered out after our afternoon in the catering corps, I can tell you!

Thanks for helping – Robin, Kathryn and Jenny

Battling on Regardless

2011-11-17T15:21:00.003+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19549Km; 322 Nights Away

It was a bit like being a Pony Express rider from days gone by, high winds, rain, and the many roadworks we encountered all seemed to conspire to disrupt our journey home, but we battled on regardless. The heavens opened up as we hooked up the caravan and started off on the 300km trip back to Wellington. The wind buffeted the car and caravan, and to add to the worry, the oil level light on the dashboard kept flashing on and off during the trip. (We now believe this may be a faulty light and we did check the oil level, all OK). Our first plans were to stop somewhere for the night about halfway. But with the weather being so unpleasant, and the worry about the car, we carried on driving, just stopping briefly for a home made hot bacon buttie and a cuppa en route.

We approached the Rimutaka Hill with trepidation – on the previous day winds had been recorded here at 100kms. Not so good when towing a caravan. (If the road had been closed due to wind, we would have had to backtrack half the distance already travelled to detour). But we were pleasantly surprised to find that the wind had dropped right down, and we had left the rain behind us.

Wairarapa side of the Rimutaka Hill Road snaking up the hill

“I won’t take any more photos of the road works”, I told Robin, but honestly, I just couldn’t help myself. I wonder if I was an engineer in a former life, or more likely, some type of labouring navvy?

Stop for the red light

Sealing part of the new road

Once over the hill and down the other side it was just a short run home. Here’s the bridge spanning the Hutt River to our suburb. We’re almost home now.

Off SH2 and over the bridge

Thank goodness we arrived. Our cat Muffy had been particularly noisy in the back seat the whole trip and seemed quite unsettled. Maybe she was just tired of all the travelling and wanted to get out and stretch her legs. In true cat fashion, she showed her displeasure by ignoring the pair of us once we were home, sitting there on the carpet with her back to us for a while. So who is the boss in our house? Looks like it is the cat!

Takapau, Hastings, and the best Fish & Chips in town

2011-11-15T19:35:00.002+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19250Km; 322 Nights Away

Wouldn’t you just know it, after a rather chilly weekend in Clareville, the sun finally came out on the day we had to pack up and leave. Most of the others were heading home but our plans were to travel north, stopping the night at Takapau, in Southern Hawkes Bay. This property is owned and operated by the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association and members can stay here at a very reasonable cost. The Maori word Takapau translates to “sleeping mat”.

Plenty of room for us at NZMCA property at Takapau

The rain set in and followed us on our drive the next morning to Hastings. We were staying at my sister’s property and the caravan fits rather snugly on the drive. The family had recently had a car port erected and as Murphy’s Law dictated, our caravan of course was just a few inches too high to fit underneath. Just as well I was at rear while Robin was backing up the drive and yelled out “Stop” in time before he hit it.

Staying with the rellies in Hastings

As usual, our cat Muffy was travelling with us. Lily, the resident ginger cat did not take too kindly to an interloper on her home turf and we caught her peering in the windows trying to catch a glimpse of this cat who dared to show her face where she wasn’t wanted. No doubt Lily was hissing catty insults through the window at Muffy.

Lily is not happy

Lily relaxing now she has told Muffy off

Adam, the young man of the house is a keen “gamer” and is the proud owner of the just released new Xbox game. He rushed down to the shop bright and early to pick up his copy of the Assassin’s Creed series, “Revelations”. The new game got a great work-out and Adam is delighted with his purchase.

Xbox game, hot off the press

We called around to visit Robin’s former workmate Dennis and his partner Sonya. Robin and Dennis had worked together on Toops trucks and had plenty of reminiscing to do about their former working lives. Now the four of us are happily retired, life is so much more relaxed.

Sonya and Dennis

“They serve the best fish and chips in town”, we were told so we went looking for Hawkes Bay Seafoods in the main shopping street. What a busy place it was (that’s always a good sign) and there was the biggest selection of fresh fish we had seen, both whole fish and fillets, and all so nicely presented too. We ordered our take-away meal of fish fillets, garlic prawn kebabs and kumara (sweet potatoe) chips and ate them in the sunshine at tables outside the fish shop. What a delicious meal at the end of our busy day.

Whole fish for sale

A meal fit for a king, battered fish and prawn kebabs

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines

2011-11-14T10:33:00.000+13:00

It was a “boys day out” on Saturday 12/11/2011 for Robin, Peter and Derek when they took themselves off to the Remembrance Day WW1 Air Show at Hood Aerodrome, Masterton, which commemorated the signing of the Armistice on the 11/11/1945. As well as all kinds of aircraft on show, the world famous “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” car from the film of the same name was offering rides with the proceeds going to women’s refuge charity. Sir Peter Jackson (Director of Lord of the Rings trilogy) had recently purchased this car to add to his collection. The car is so called as the original engine installed made a sound like “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The day started with a parachute jump followed by a biplane diving back through a ribbon that it had dropped and cutting the ribbon with its propeller and it managed to do this three times before it became to low to attempt. This was to hard to capture a photo of.

Some of the selection of WW1 aircraft that have either been restored or recreated by a volunteer group called the Old Stick & Rudder Company follow:

Sopworth Triplane

Famous Sopworth Camel Scout

Fokker DR 1 Dreidecher Triplane (Of Red Barron Fame)

Also on show were vintage vehicles including a replica WW1 tank which was giving rides to all and sundry. I knew it was a replica when I was able to see inside and saw a “Caterpillar” Diesel engine. Also the touch was not quite metallic, however it still looked the part.

They later tried to flour bomb the tank from “Tiger Moths” with absolutely no success!

There were also a selection of vintage cars, motor bikes and replica vehicles that had been pressed into war service such as a London Double Decker Bus, and a mobile anti aircraft gun.

It was a good afternoon out as all the aircraft were airworthy and were flown at some stage of proceedings. It was just a pity about the weather as it started to rain as the flying started. I will have to look out for this show next year and hopefully the weather will be better.

The big barn and other happenings

2011-11-13T20:56:00.001+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19008Km; 319 Nights Away

The weekend weather in Clareville was cold and windy and we were lucky to be able to gather together in the huge adjacent barn to our camp site. This monster sized structure was built with donated labour back in the 1960s we were told. Last time we visited is was chock full of huge hay bales, but is quite empty now.

The big barn

Morning teas and 4zees under the shelter was quite a different rural experience, with the smells of previously stored hay still in the air. A large flock of pigeons have taken up residence in the barn and flew from one end of the building in panic whenever we entered into their territory. Robin took great delight in rushing about clapping his hands while the poor pigeons flew every which way. We presumed it was mating season as there was all sorts of close encounters between the birds, with much squawking and flapping of wings going on up high amongst the steel rafters.

Meeting up for 4zees in the barn

On Saturday evening we were entertained by a slide show put on by Dot and Derek. They told of their four year long narrow boat adventure travelling the canals of England, starting with the construction of their boat Gypsy Rover. Once completed, the boat was then lifted by crane into the canal – and it must have been quite an ordeal to watch their pride and joy dangling in mid air.

How it all started

The evening continued with slides of canals visited, different sorts of locks encountered, and lovely English scenery. The fickle weather played a part and Dot and Derek told of being stranded in Oxford for three weeks due to flooding. With rising river levels, it was impossible to safely navigate under the bridges and none of the boats were allowed to move. And for a couple of winters in a row, Gypsy Rover was just one of the many narrow boats stuck fast in thick ice in the canals. We saw slides of picturesque villages, interesting architecture and beautiful scenery. It was a wonderful four year adventure, and we will always remember our own small part when the four of us travelled along the Llangollen Canal on Gypsy Rover together. Now that their boat is sold you can follow their motor home adventures throughout NZ here.

Dot and Derek after their slide presentation

Robin had taken along the flagpole and raised our club flag every morning, remembering to take it in again in the evenings.

Raising the flag

Thirteen caravans and motor homes shared our joint rally and it was great to catch up with friends from the other clubs again. There were plenty of tall tales told, much fun and laughter, and chatting and banter going on. Most of us stayed till after lunch on Sunday before packing up and heading home. By then, as usually happens, after quite a cold and windy weekend, the sun came out and the temperatures started to climb to summer levels again.

Townies at the Stock Sale

2011-11-12T13:28:00.001+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19008Km; 318 Nights Away

I could hardly wait till Friday morning, as there was a stock sale taking place adjacent to where we were camped at Clareville for the weekend. It wasn’t a big sale by any means, and seemed to be aimed at those who had small holdings, and ran a few head of stock on their hobby farms or lifestyle blocks. Soon mud splattered 4WDs towing small trailers carrying sheep and calves arrived in the yards – so it was time to go over and check things out. The men manning the office rolled their eyes and looked at each other in amusement when I commented that the young calves in the pens were crying because they missed their mothers, especially one tiny little bull calf who hardly looked old enough to be on his own.

Friesen bull calf for sale

Sheep looking for a new home

Pigs are always my favourite, and there were only a couple of pens filled for the sale. Look at those cute curly tails. These bettered their reserve at the auction, so the seller was very happy. As we walked around the building, we had to pick our route carefully to avoid the unmentionables dropped by the animals. No wonder all the country folk wear gum boots.

A pen of pink pigs

The auction got underway and we watched and listened as the auctioneer worked hard trying to generate interest amongst the gathered crowd. The bidding was done very quietly, with no one shouting out prices. It must have been achieved with quiet winks, raised eyebrows of the tiniest flutter of a finger.

What am I bid for these calves?

The sheep and calves went for varying prices, and a handsome russet shaggy coated Highland Cattle beast fetched $500 in the auction.

Highland cattle

There was a mobile refreshment van parked outside and keeping all the farmers well fed and watered. “Are you from town”, the owner asked us, and we answered yes, we were townies. “I thought so”, she commented, “you both have white shoes on”. With all the farmers wearing gum boots while traipsing around the sale yard covered in droppings, our white sneakers were a real giveaway, as were our cameras snapping away!

Coffee and food to go

Clareville in the Country

2011-11-11T12:56:00.002+13:00

The notorious Rimutaka Hill road came to a standstill as two large truck and trailer units met head to head on one of the tight corners. It didn’t help that one of them had cut the corner and was well over the double yellow lines. But by the time I had found my camera, taken it out of the pouch, and turned it on, the truck at fault (travelling north) had slowly crawled past the other, and the traffic was starting to flow again. We carefully edged our caravan around the corner, and travelled on our way to Clareville, just north of Carterton, in the Wairarapa.

Two large trucks had come to a stand-off on the corner

The wind was blowing and heavy showers of rain made us wonder if we were in for a wet weekend. Our club Heretaunga was hosting a joint rally and some of our club members decided to head over a day early, “just because we could”. One of the benefits of being retired is that we can add extra days to our weekends away . Out came the porch awning from under the seats, and we battled the wind to get it erected. This small awning offers some protection from the elements as we exit and enter the caravan. Any interesting cubby hole is a magnet for curious cats, and Muffy wasted no time in checking it out.

Muffy loves to go in small spaces

Up goes the porch awning

Robin put one of his newly made signs on the gate to show our guests the way in. As we were the first one to arrive we had the place to ourselves for a while. Can you see our lonely little caravan away in the distance?

This way to the rally

By mid afternoon we had company and then there were three. Once everyone was settled, we gathered in our caravan for the time honoured ritual of 4zees. A cup of coffee, a glass of cordial, or a beer, plus a few chippies to nibble, or whatever takes your fancy. The jokes get rolled out, and we can put the world to rights. It’s quite nice to have an extra day together before the rally proper takes place.

Three of us so far

Muffy meanwhile was in her element, curled up between all the visitors, sleeping the afternoon away. There is nothing more relaxed than a sleeping cat, is there.

Follow the Signs

2011-11-07T14:23:00.005+13:00

Romany Rambler: Travelled 18,950 Km; 316 Nights Away

There’s been a bit of banging, sawing, nailing and painting going on in Robin’s shed in the back yard today. He’s been busy making a couple of rather rustic looking signs (I thought they were pretty good – hardly rustic! Robin) for our upcoming caravan rally in the weekend. Our caravan club Heretaunga is running a joint rally at Clareville with the Wairarapa and Wellington clubs members invited to join us. And just so people know exactly where to go when they arrive they will just have to follow the signs. It should be fun, a weekend rally in country surroundings.

Just follow the signs

Guy Fawkes and Hobos at Koputaroa

2011-11-06T17:32:00.002+13:00

With promises of all the fun of guys and fireworks plus a free “Hobo” meal it was sure to be an interesting weekend. Sixty assorted motor-homes and caravans arrived at Koputaroa School in rural Levin for the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association November Rally. A handful of youngsters, dogs and cats came along for the weekend too.

60 vans - we are in here somewhere

The very pleasant school grounds are shaded by many large trees. These two lovely specimens had plaques in the lawn stating that they are protected through the Horowhenua District Council’s Register of Notable Trees. We are not quite sure what they are, but wonder if perhaps the red one is a copper beech?

On the Register of Notable Trees

To help with weekend costs, the committee and helpers usually organise a “sausage sizzle” for lunch on Saturday, and these are always very well supported by the attendees. Robin joined the queue to get his sausage, meat patty, fried onions and bread, all smothered in tomatoe sauce, for a lunchtime treat.

Queue here for lunch

The small band of children busily made their Guys in the afternoon. By some strange coincidence, the three Guys on the stage all seem to have a bottle of beer in their hands! One is an alien who dropped in from outer space, the next is Buzz, a star of a kid’s show, and the third just looks so happy to be here. And the large standing Guy in front has a definite rural look to him – he won “Best Guy”, and to keep the kids happy, all the others picked up prizes as well. The Guys all got a reprieve as there was to be no bonfire this time.

Penny for the Guy

We all gathered in the hall for our evening meal, clutching cutlery and a dinner plate, but not quite knowing what to expect. After all, what exactly is a Hobo Meal? We soon found out. The tables were lined with newspaper, it stands to reason that Hobos wouldn’t possess such a thing as a tablecloth. We were served barbequed sausages, boiled potatoes, green peas and gravy, a tasty meal indeed and fit for all the Hobos amongst us. Joining us at our dinner table were Fred and Avis, and this was their first time at a NZMCA Rally. Robin and Fred were work mates many years ago, so it was great to rekindle the friendship again after so long.

Jenny, Fred, Avis and Robin

The strong wind made us think that perhaps the fireworks wouldn’t be able to go ahead. but just like magic, the wind died right down by Saturday evening. The fireworks had been set out on an old table in a paddock adjacent to the school. There was a bit of a hiccup when the organisers discovered that the cattle in the paddock had taken exception to this and pushed the whole lot over. Perhaps they remembered just how noisy Guy Fawkes night had been last year! As the sky darkened, the show got underway. Kids and adults alike were oohing and aahing as one after another the rockets flew high, and fountains of sparks, flashes and colour erupted in front of us. It is certainly not easy to take photos of fireworks, we found.

Here goes another one

So what is it all about? In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the British Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor. He was in the cellar with 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, and was caught, tortured and executed. On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire. Why do we keep this tradition going, I often wonder, especially those who live in countries half a world away from “Mother England”? I’m sure the answer is, “just for the fun of it”.

Haven’t we met here before?

2011-11-04T14:19:00.001+13:00

It was a case of “déjà vue” when we parked up again at our friend’s Geoff and Eileen’s rural property in Otaki on Thursday afternoon. We were over-nighting here before continuing on to the Motor Home Guy Fawkes Rally at Levin.

Haven’t we been here recently?

Already on site were friends Derek and Dot with their motor home Gypsy Rover, proudly showing off the brand new signage on the front.

Gypsy Rover

There was a hive of activity going on at the adjoining property. The large paddock had been ploughed and prepared and was being planted out in rhubarb. That’s going to be a whole heap of rhubarb when it’s done! The workers were away in the distance planting all the corms.

Rhubarb!!

Wandering back we saw this garden sculpture in another property. Looks like the Spot the dog is digging right through to China.

What’s under here?

Next stop is Levin and the Guy Fawkes Rally. Incidentally, Guy Fawkes day is our wedding anniversary, making it easy for Robin to remember this most important day in our lives.