Horo Hora and Hamilton

As we departed Tokoroa in the morning, we spotted three (new to us since our last visit) talking poles (pou) on the outskirts of town.  Tokoroa’s Talking Poles were first suggested in 1996 as a feature for the town’s retail area, and now the town boasts 50 or so of these sculptures, dotted mainly in the CBD area.

Talking Poles of Tokoroa

After a quick visit to the dump station, we were on our way heading northwards on SH1 passing through Tirau.  Like Tokoroa, this town has made a name for itself, with a large variety of quirky signs made from corrugated iron and several interesting buildings.  A big sheep and a big ram, herded by a big dog, look out at the visitors and traffic on the highway as it passes through the town.  The Big Dog houses the I-SITE Visitor Centre, while the Big Sheep hosts a wool and craft shop in its stomach. Both were constructed in 1990s, but the sheep came first and when it came time for the visitor center to be constructed, it was designed to match. Local artisan Steven Clothier created its head.  The most recently added member of the corrugated iron clan is the big ram, which was completed in 2016.

Passing through Tirau

We had plenty of time to get to Hamilton so stopped of at the delightful Hora Horo Domain for lunch.  The Domain looks over Lake Karapiro - a man-made lake on the Waikato River and is renowned as a world-class rowing venue. A number of water sports events are held at the lake including yachting, powerboating, canoeing and water skiing.  It was a lovely place for a leisurely lunch, relaxing and enjoying the views, and the domain is very popular with boaties, day trippers and self contained campers.

At the pretty little beach well away from the boat launching area, we saw families paddling in the water, enjoying themselves in the sunshine.

Lunch stop at Hora Hora Domain

And then, as promised on the weather report, the rain came down.  It was time to get on with the last part of our journey, and drive on to Hamilton to the Leisureline Factory.  It’s time for the annual caravan service, and we had arranged to stay overnight outside the factory.  As soon as the factory workers had departed for the day and there was room in the car park, we were ushered onto the site and plugged into power.

Spending the night at the factory

It will be an early start to the day tomorrow, we must be up and ready to leave as the service technicians will be moving the van to the factory at 7.00am to start working on it.   We will be out for the day, taking the car, and Gemma, returning back later in the afternoon for the van when the service is completed.