From Sunshine to Hail

Sunday’s temperatures were slightly warmer than the previous day while we were staying at Kapiti Holiday Resort, so we chose a spot sheltered from the wind to have our morning tea.  But it is mid winter, after all, so we can expect cooler temperatures at this time of year.  Muffy spotted one of the resident cats and they started eyeing each other up.  The other cat didn’t think too much of the interloper in her territory and was hissing at Muffy under cover from her owner’s car.  Muffy was quite intrigued and was keeping a watchful eye on this bad mannered feline.  We were watching carefully too, and ready to pull on her lead to get her to safety in case the other cat attacked.

I’m watching you

There was a special award made at morning tea, being Don and Pamela’s 200th rally.  Robin as President did the honours and presented them with their rally badges.  They knew the award was coming up soon, but were unsure of exactly when.  Congratulations to you both, and may you attend many more rallies with the club.

Don, Pamela, and Robin

Being such a pleasant day, we all decided to have an early lunch at the camp before setting off for home.  It didn’t take too long to pack up, and after an easy drive, we arrived safely home.  Robin had bought a new Trojan towing mirror, and it certainly proved it’s worth when he backed the caravan into position at home.  The old mirror must have had a blind spot, but with the new one he could see every step of the way while he was backing the caravan into position in front of the house.

Robin using his new towing mirror

We unpacked the caravan and put the kettle on before going back out to clean the fridge and bathroom areas.  Then the temperature dropped dramatically and a hail storm passed by.  We’re certainly not venturing out in that, we decided, we will finish the caravan cleaning tomorrow!  And then the rain came down, and washed the hail away.  Just as well we were safely home and dry inside.

Hail in the back yard

That’s my sun lounger, not a hail catcher

One of our readers put a comment on the previous blog inquiring about how our new caravan springs are performing.  Well I can report that they were an improvement on what was installed previously.  I think on reflection that there may have been something wrong for a while as the caravan tracked behind the Landcruiser better than it has for some time.  The replacement springs were up rated from the original set which makes me think that they were perhaps a bit light for the van.  The caravan manufacturer considered the breakage was a manufacturing fault so replaced them free of charge for the parts, all I’ve had to pay for was the labour of fitting.  I thank Wayne at Leisureline Caravans Ltd and Paul at Four Seasons Caravans Ltd for their prompt and efficient service.