Paekakariki, Otaki and on to Foxton

Packing up for a weekend away in the caravan without the caravan being at home to put everything in was a little bit difficult.  Extra clothes were hurriedly pushed into plastic bags and tossed in the back seat of the 4WD.  Perishables were packed into a large chilly-bag.  And we had better not forget to take the cat!  We were heading back to Foxton this weekend and had left the caravan at our friend’s rural property at Otaki for the last two weeks.  In fact, Geoff and Eileen were the reason we were returning to Foxton again.  They had recently joined up with the Manawhenua (Manawatu/Horowhenua) Branch of NZMCA (New Zealand Motor Home Association) but had yet to attend one of their rallies.  We offered to attend their first one with them, to show them the ropes.  Driving past Paekakariki we saw a wonderful sight.  Oh look, a steam engine, stop the car!  Steam Incorporated were firing up the engine, and doing some maintenance, by the look of all those men peering intently at the wheels.  There was an excursion coming up in a couple of weeks,  I was told, so they were checking things out.  That was certainly worth stopping for.  We are very partial to steam trains so must remember to check out the website and see what excursion trips are coming up, and more importantly, if they are in our price range.

Steam engine at Steam Incorporated, Paekakariki

We had an easy run up to Otaki and were soon reunited with our caravan.  There’s Romany Rambler, sitting patiently on the driveway, waiting for our return.  We loaded all the bags of “stuff” into the caravan, put the food in the fridge, clothes in the drawers, and those on hangers in the wardrobe.  Muffy’s lead was attached to the front of the caravan so she could enjoy some rural Otaki sunshine after her car journey.    After we had lunch with Eileen, I came back outside to find Tiger, one of the resident cats, in a stand-off with Muffy.  There they were, several feet apart, staring intently at each other.  Luckily no fur was flying, and no hissy cat fights had taken place – it was just intimidation by staring. 

  Ready and waiting for us

As our weekend away was “non power” we had to make sure there was enough fuel to run our diesel heater.  Rain had been forecast for the weekend, so it was sure to be cold.  It didn’t take Robin long to top up the heater tank.  That should last us over the weekend.

Refilling the diesel heater tank

Hooking up the caravan, we continued on our journey to Foxton.  The weather was clouding over and the sky looked rather strange.  We wondered if dust particles from the volcano in Chile were the reason for this, as it was only mid-afternoon when this photo was taken.

The rally was taking place at Manawatu College and entry was not to be before 4.00pm.  We joined the line of motor-homes all queued up ready and waiting to get into the grounds and followed them around the back of the buildings.  There was quite a bit of too-ing and fro-ing as large rigs backed up and parked themselves.  I guided Robin into place, and once settled, went to register for the weekend.  The rain set in, the temperatures dropped, so it’s just as well that we can rely on our heater to keep us warm.  And with no power to make the electric blanket work, it was lucky that I had just purchased a “hottie” to warm the bed!

Here for the weekend rally