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Saturday 2 June 2012

How NOT to park your van on site

Here we are, in (usually) sunny Foxton for Queen’s Birthday Weekend, celebrated in this part of the antipodes on the first weekend in June with Monday being a public holiday.  Just look what we spotted on the road as we drove down to the camp.  It looks like something has gone seriously wrong with the locals trying to join in the space race – the red rocket just never made it! 

DSCF1808 Rocket Man has come to a sticky end in Foxton

We are spending the weekend at the Manawatu Caravan Club’s grounds in Foxton.  This club is one of only two clubs, we are aware of, in New Zealand who own their own grounds.  Members lease their own site and many have put up permanent awnings, sheds and fences to make their little spot more homely. 

DSCF1810 This way to the Manawatu Caravan Club Grounds

The club has 10 casual sites for the public to use and three vans from our club arrived in good time for lunch on Friday.  The new caretaker Neil came to meet us and welcomed us to the grounds.  Don and Pamela were the last of our group to arrive and he had a spot of bother trying to back his caravan onto the site.  Putting his foot down hard on the accelerator, he took off down the adjacent road, to go around the block and have a go from a different angle.  “He won’t get far down there”, Neil commented, “it’s a blind end”.  We waited, and waited some more, then finally Bill walked down to see if Don needed a hand .  What’s this we see coming barrelling down the road? 
  DSCF1803 Watch out – caravan running free

My goodness, it’s Don’s caravan, and it’s certainly going at a fair rate of knots!  Seems he had unhitched it from the car and with Bill to help, they were pushing it back down the road and onto the site.  Just hope it stops in time before it reaches that boundary fence at the back.

DSCF1804 Nearly there, watch out for the fence

A quick twist and then it is finally lined up and safely on site.  Luckily the Sprite caravan was not too heavy to push, but we all really worried that it would get away on them and take off by itself.

DSCF1806 Finally in the correct place

As an old hand after many years of caravanning, you can be sure that Don has been called to account for the unorthodox way of putting his caravan on site.  We have never had anyone from our club take their caravan for a walk before.  No doubt his driving and backing skills will be questioned at length and many times over as we spend the weekend camping together. 

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