It was a matter of getting up bright and early, a quick cup of tea, make the bed, and do the dishes. Mustn’t forget to pack the kitten and her requirements in the car, rather like the days of going out with toddlers and packing a baby bag. Our van was then towed around the back into the Leisureline factory, ready for the annual service, plus a few other small jobs as discussed and written on the work sheet which needed attention. The tradesmen will take care of everything while we are out and about.
Ready for the tradesmen
With no time for breakfast yet, that was the first requirement for the morning. A nice cooked breakfast was ordered, scrambled eggs for her, and French Toast for him, with coffee. It was a great start to the day before we started exploring.
This will set us up for the morning
Although the weather was wet and miserable we had already decided to take a drive out to Morrinsville, another small town which has developed a theme. As dairying developed, the district became one of the most intensively farmed in the Waikato. Morrinsville grew into a prosperous farming town, with large sale yards, farm machinery outlets, agricultural services and engineering firms. So it is no surprise that Morrinsville has a collection of life-size cow sculptures throughout the town. With more than 40 decorated cows gracing the town, we couldn’t track them all down - here are some we saw in the main shopping street.
The sculptures have been sponsored by businesses and individuals, and really make a statement through the town. This one below is supporting the Waikato Rugby Team, known as the Mooloos.
Mooloo, the rugby cow
Next stop was the old dairy factory at Waharoa, now the Kaimai Cheese Factory and a trendy café. It was doing great business inside, cheese for sale, and delicious cabinet food. We were still full from our big breakfast, so just had a drink while we waited for the showers to stop. There were a whole series of interesting historic photos on the walls, showing how the cheese making process was done in the old days.
Kaimai Cheese factory and Café
Old photos line the wall
By mid afternoon our van was ready for collection, we hooked up ready to go on our journey again. But not before Liz from the Leisureline office and her young daughter came out to ooh and aah over Gemma in the car. It was time to go, and we drove past imposing church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Temple View. The church is currently closed to visitors with scaffolding around, repairs being made it seems.
Temple View
We are spending the night at the NZMCA Park at Otorohanga, a fairly new park bordered by a stream on one side, and cows on the other. It’s certainly not crowded, with eight vans staying overnight.
Staying at Otorohanga tonight
1 comment:
It’s good to have the van all ready to go for the next year. I love the cows. The stripy one reminds me of shelved gem projects. There are rhino statues throughout the central west of NSW linked to Western Plains Zoo. They are always so cheerful. Isn’t it good to see the old milk and butter factories being reinvented.
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