It was very cosy at Otaki this weekend, with just a couple of caravans able to attend our rally. Never mind, the sun was shining, and we enjoyed each other’s company. We were staying at Bridge Lodge, just south of Otaki, in rustic surroundings. As well as a small number of power connections for campers and caravans, this establishment offers low budget accommodation to local workers, and there were some staying here who were working on the railway double tracking extensions. Birdlife flourishes in the surrounding trees and we heard them chirping away happily from dawn to dusk. We saw plenty of fantails fluttering about eating insects on the wing, pukekos looking for titbits to eat in the long grass, plus the resident chicken keeping her beady eyes open in case someone decided to put some crusts out on the lawn for her.
Our cat Muffy needed a comb through, so that was the first job we did in the morning. Now that she is sporting her winter coat, she is lovely and fluffy. Muffy is a very placid cat, and just lies on my lap as I turn her this way and that, combing her long coat to get the tangles out.
A trip to the local supermarket for some last minute provisions (and a Lotto ticket so here’s hoping we strike it rich) brought us face to face with a wonderful WWII Jeep in the car park. The owner told us how he had found it lying unwanted and decrepit on a farm in Martinborough in the 60’s. Of course, he rescued it and took it home. That was the start of a long restoration process, with lots of the missing parts having to be made by hand. He certainly did a wonderful job. These days, with the smart paint job and everything bright and shiny, it looks just like it did back in the war years. The owner told us that his Jeep creates a lot of interest when he takes it to town, and we can certainly see why.
Our Saturday evening entertainment was watching a Top Gear video. The presenters on this English show have a real a dislike of caravans on the roads and over the years have done some rather dastardly deeds to them. Their latest idea to ease caravan road congestion was to sling one underneath a huge air balloon and travel the country looking for a caravan park to land in. As to be expected, all did not run smoothly and the balloon with it’s low slung caravan came to quite a sticky end. As far as Top Gear is concerned, that is one caravan less on their roads.
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