Third Time Lucky

There was no way Robin wanted to hang around this morning.  We were heading to Carterton for a caravan rally weekend and  he wanted to get on our way sooner rather than later.  According to the weather forecast,  stormy conditions and high winds were due to arrive in the early afternoon.  Not good conditions for towing so we wanted to be well settled in camp before the weather changed.  Our trip over the Pahiatua Track went smoothly, although we did strike some wind. Once safely over the Track we trundled down through the Wairarapa, catching glimpses of snow away  in the distance.

Snow on the Taraua Ranges

Although arriving at the motor camp a day early, we weren’t the first ones from our club by any means.  Our Rally Captains for the weekend,  Geoff and Eileen, were taking their duties very seriously and had arrived two days early.  Backing into the site beside them, Robin soon discovered that he couldn’t get satellite TV because our dish on the roof was pointing straight at a large tree.  Perhaps that site over there will be better?  So off we went, backed into another site, repeating our earlier actions of unhooking the car, winding down the steadies, and plugging in the power.  Up went the TV aerial on the roof – and we couldn’t believe it!  Not even a smidgeon of reception  – there will be no TV tonight.  What to do, surely we don’t want to change sites three times in a row?  But we did, it was just as well that the rest of the club weren’t here to laugh at our antics.  Hooked up again, drove to a different site, and finally, it was third time lucky.  Houston – we have a signal!

This is the third site we tried

After all that stress, we decided to relax outside in the sunshine.  The sun shade was pulled out, the folding chairs put in place, let’s sit out here and enjoy nature.  That didn’t last long at all.  Thunder rumbled overhead,  the wind got up, the temperature dropped dramatically, down came the rain, followed by hail.  What a scramble to put the chairs away, roll up our awning and scurry back inside.  The storm, as promised, had arrived.

The sky is blue, and the sun shade is extended, then came the storm

With the heater going, and the electric blanket switched on to warm the bed, we will be cosy enough inside the van tonight.  It may well be another lovely day tomorrow, if the storm blows itself out tonight.  Let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings.