Our long weekend away with the caravan club started a day early on Thursday. On arrival at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds we were surprised to find we we the first to arrive. Members of this non touring club have their own sites to park up their caravans, build a BBQ area, add a shed, grow a small garden, or pretty much do whatever they want. Most of the static vans have doubled their living space with the addition of a permanent awning. They are well used over the holiday periods, and there are some very keen fishermen in camp who like to try their luck at the nearby beach.
On site caravans with permanent awnings
The small number of casual sites had all been roped off for our group so we had first choice. Robin backed onto the site and busied himself doing the usual set up chores of winding down the legs, plugging into the power, and setting up the satellite TV. Then we waited patiently for the first of the club members to arrive.
Waiting for some friendly faces to turn up
Muffy had decided that she needed some “time out” from all the caravan shenanigans and burrowed under the bedclothes. If she can’t see us we can’t see her, she reasoned, forgetting about that furry tail giving the game away.
You can’t see me!
One by one the other caravans arrived, and then there were six of us all in a row. There was plenty of chat as we caught up with news. Although the conditions were rather blustery, it was warm enough to sit outside for the first 4zees of the weekend.
All in a row
Labour Weekend weather is usually very changeable, and the rains came down overnight. We are fortunate to have access to the adjacent hall to gather for the weekend for our morning teas, 4zees and to gather in the evenings. New members Barry and Dianne had been welcomed into the club at the previous rally, and were duly presented with a club banner at morning tea by Vice President Geoff.
VP Geoff and Barry
Barry and Dianne are also proud owners of a brand new Leisureline caravan, and brought it along for it’s first rally. There was a steady stream of visits from all the other members to check out this new acquisition. And very nice it is too.
Barry and Dianne’s new caravan, that’s the 3rd Leisureline in the club now
Later in the day Bill and Val, members of the Wellington Caravan Club, called in to see us. Their original plan was to attend a NZMCA rally in Wanganui, but they changed their minds and joined our happy bunch for the weekend instead. Bill and Val had recently returned from a overseas campervan trip and kept us entertained with tales of their adventures.
The jokes were flowing thick and fast when we gathered in the hall on Friday night, raising quite a few laughs, chuckles and guffaws. Peter and Elaine were the “Rally Family” for the weekend and handed out a couple of quizzes to keep our brains active. The first was a cryptic quiz about countries. Some of the clues were easy, such as “Needing Food = Hungary”, while others were too cryptic for us, such as “Poor Singer = Singapore”. The second quiz was to name as many dances as we could. We started off well with Rock and Roll, added the Gay Gordons and Fox Trot, then Round and Square dancing, (we took lessons in these two some years ago), and we couldn’t forget seeing that old British tradition danced in the Cotswolds, Morris Dancing. We managed to think of 30 or so, but the winners had twice our number, and gave us all a laugh with the inclusion of pole and lap dancing! It’s strange how some minds work, don’t you think?
The Committee of the Manawatu Caravan Club have a Karaoke Night organised for Saturday night and kindly invited our group along to join in the fun with them. Which we will, after having a meal out in a local restaurant. Sounds like a good evening to us.
Sing-along entertainment for the evening
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