Weekend at Sanson

Sanson is not a place which originally springs to mind for a caravan weekend away.  But camp there we did, at the Sanson School over the weekend, a total of 9 vans joining in with members of Wellington Caravan club for  a combined rally.  Sanson (originally known as Sandon), is located on the junction of State Highways 1 and 3, and was named after Henry Sanson, the secretary of the Hutt Small Farm Association.

At Sanson School

The school backed on to farmland, and we kept an eye on the livestock over the fence.

And just a little further away we could watch the colourful Blokarts from the Manawatu Blokart Club  as they were put through their paces.  Some of our group walked over to have a much closer look and came back declaring they would love to have a go at this sport sometime.

Blokarts zipping along in the breeze

Being so close to Viv’s Kitchen, “world famous in Sanson” a group of us pooled cars and drove there for afternoon tea.  Most chose a very large cream horn, and for a change, I tried a (new to me) Matchbox pastry, which took rather a lot of eating, I can tell you!

My Matchbox and Robin’s slightly demolished Cream Horn

We had use of the school hall, which was very handy to gather in.  The Wellington Club had organized quizzes and  games to keep our brains active,  and we all  brought along a dish for the Pot Luck Shared Dessert on Saturday evening.  The expected rain arrived just in time for packing up on Sunday morning.  Luckily the gale force winds which had been promised never arrived, so we really got off lightly.  There is nothing worse than towing in heavy wind, is there?

What’s he doing out there?

The rain had eased to a drizzle when we arrived home and unpacked the van, so that wasn’t so bad.  Next rally – three weeks away and we will do it all again.   

Wainui and Day’s Bay on Valentine’s Day

We spent Valentine’s Day with our SLG friends, starting with meeting up at our friend Trish’s home for a delicious morning tea in her beautiful garden.  As you can see, it was another lovely sunny day in paradise here in New Zealand.

Gnomes in the garden

Trish was in charge of organizing our day out, and thought we would be interested in driving up the Wainuiomata Hill to view the new Pukeatua Lookout, Bridge and Walkway.

I used to live in Wainuiomata (in a former life many years ago) and it was a busy bustling suburb filled with young families, and known then as Nappy Valley.  Three of us climbed the short walk up the hill to check out the new foot bridge.  A couple of keen joggers ran past us on their way up the hill track, and there was plenty of traffic hurtling along the road underneath us.

Lunch was next on the agenda and we drove around the Eastern Bays to Day’s Bay.  We were lunching at the trendy café/restaurant Sea Salt, although we remembered it being the best place to buy ice-creams many years ago when it was trading as a dairy.   Whitebait was on the menu, a real delicacy in this part of the world, and I certainly considered having this.  In the end I chose prawns in a creamy sauce, and Robin’s lunch was a bacon butty, sharing a bowl of curly fries.  Everyone enjoyed their meals, with several ordering the whitebait omelet.

Lunch at Sea Salt, Day’s Bay

We had a great view from our table out to the beach outside.  Day’s Bay has long been a favourite place to visit in the summer, very popular with families with safe swimming, boats for hire for the keen and active, a wharf to explore and an adjacent park over the road.  There were a few in swimming, a couple of sun bathers, we noticed.  We have spent many happy sunny days here over the years.

Day’s Bay

Our day concluded with a trip back to Trish’s home and another cuppa, then we got on with the very important job of “drawing the month” for the next lot of outings.  Everyone pulled a folded piece of paper out of a bowl to see which month they had to plan their next outing.  There were a few swaps between ourselves to enable lee-way for holidays and special occasions and we all went away clutching our little bits of paper.  Wonder what will be planned for our next round of SLG outings?  Whatever happens, it’s sure to be fun.

The Hot Weather Continues

There’s been plenty of hotter than average weather around over the last couple of weeks.  Great BBQ weather, we decided.  So out came the Weber, and on went a large chicken.  The handy thermometer which gets inserted tells us when our roast is done.  There’s nothing wore than undercooked chicken, is there?

While Robin was watching over the BBQ with a cool beer in his hand, I was busy in the kitchen preparing the rest of the meal.

All this hot weather has consequences, especially down in the South Island city of Nelson.  Often dubbed the “sunniest place in New Zealand”, the city is hoping for rain.  A large fire has been burning out of control for the last seven days, spurred on by tinder dry landscape and windy conditions.  The fire has been burning for nearly a week and 3000 people remain evacuated - most from the town of Wakefield.  Hot dry and windy weather is expected for the Nelson-Tasman region for at least a week.

Family Lunch

How long was it, we wondered, since we four siblings had all been together?  Too long, of course, and this was finally rectified last weekend in Masterton.  Big brother Brian flew in with his wife Noeleen from Brisbane, to stay with younger sister Karla.  Elder sister Kathleen, with daughter Lisa and G-D Kate came down from Hastings.  And, as it happened, Robin and I were camping in Masterton for the weekend, so it all worked out well.

Jenny, Brian, Kathleen and Karla

As to be expected, there was plenty of chatter going on while we ate our lunch at the Cafe Strada.  Travel plans were discussed - LIsa and Kate are heading over to the UK soon, and we want are going to rebook the Indian Pacific train trip.

Kate, Karla, Jenny, Brian, Kathleen, Lisa and Noeleen

It was so nice to catch up again, let's hope it's not too long till the next get-together.

Solway A & P Showgrounds, Masterton

Solway Showgrounds has just opened up their grounds for campers about a year ago.  Our Caravan Club spent a lovely weekend here.

Agricultural and pastoral shows have been held nearly every year in Masterton since 1885. The present site  was purchased in 1908, with the showgrounds completed in 1911.  Lots of delightful buildings are on site, to accommodate the sheep, pigs, cattle  and poultry during the A & P Show days.

Most of our group arrived extra early on Thursday, and we made the most of sitting outside in the evening enjoying the beautiful sunset.

The final two vans arrived on Friday. The weather was scorching, so we made the most of sheltering under the large mature shady trees.

There was a handy water tap nearby and Selwyn took over the duties of water monitor, with a bit of help from the others.

Gemma enjoys being outside investigating fluttering leaves, and sharpening her claws on the tree by our van.  But she was a bit perturbed when a large magpie landed on the grass close by.  She was keeping a wary eye behind a tree on this unwelcome visitor who has a rather large sharp beak.

There was plenty organized to keep us busy over the weekend.  A trip out to a local café Clareville Bakery for Afternoon Tea was very pleasant indeed.  This building has seen a lot of changes.  Built in 1872 by W W Corpe as a Chapel and Sunday School, it was later known as Clareville Hall.  In 2002 it became  Country Charm Antiques, and then 2007 the café Devine at Clareville, and now trading as the award winning Clareville Bakery since 2013.

Then we had a BBQ meal followed by shared dessert, where everyone took along a dish to share.  Later in the evening there was a quiz to keep our brains active, won by us, Team Benton.  Our camping area emptied out on  Sunday after lunch, with just two vans staying an extra night, us and Don and Pamela.