Marton

Leaving Foxton behind us we travelled up to the NZMCA site at Marton.  This is always a popular destination and by evening is generally full to bursting.  We didn’t arrive till quite late, as we had attended a family luncheon and didn’t get away till much later than planned.  You know how it is, the food and company are great, the conversation keeps flowing, and the time keeps ticking by.  We parked next to a rather different looking caravan, and wondered about the story behind it.

The next morning we met the owner, Sonny.  This Chinese engineer had built his van himself over the last twelve months, he proudly told us, on a chassis made to his specifications.  This was the inaugural trip to see how it went on the road.  Sonny pointed out the various features, and we peeped inside the door.  He had built a clever feature in the ceiling, using pulleys which allowed sections of the roof to be pulled back to let extra light in through the clear plastic skylights.  His van has everything necessary, and has been certified self contained.  Everyone in camp came to wave him off as he travelled on to Wanganui.

Sonny towing his interesting van

The camp emptied out during the day and we ended up on our lonesome down the back of the camp.  We weren’t alone for long though, more rigs pulled in during the late afternoon and the camp soon filled up again.

All alone for a wee while

We went to 4zees in the club room – well stocked with “swap a books” for those who like to read.  NZMCA Board Member Peter Willcox, in charge of property was at our table and spoke about the various NZMCA properties scattered around the country.  These are such a boon to members as they travel around our glorious country.

Today we are moving on to Feilding, and the rain is falling steadily.  We can be thankful that there is no wind blowing, at present.  Rain we can cope with, it’s that awful gusty wind which can be a problem.