Over the Hill to Carterton

There is no shortcut to drive from our hometown of Levin to the Wairarapa.  We have two options – drive north and over the Pahiatua Track, or south, over the Rimutaka Hill, both reasonably long drives.   For our caravan club weekend away,  we chose the southern option, a trip of 150kms to our destination.  Driving through Pauatahanui we drove under the massive bridge, part of the Transmission Gully roadworks.  The Transmission Gully road is due to be completed in 2020.

Pauatahanui round-about

For a while we followed this car with it’s special number plate.  Such a well mannered car and driver, it seems, pardoning itself as it passes by!

Once through Upper Hutt, it was up and over the Rimutaka Hill.  There was a flurry of rain, and the temperature kept dropping lower and lower, reaching 6 degrees at the summit.  The temps slowly went up to 10 degrees as we arrived in Featherston, where we stopped to buy a hot pie for lunch.

It had been a while since we had been to Featherston and I noticed a new art installation.  The $600,000 Paul Dibble sculpture, designed to remember New Zealand's largest ever military camp, was dedicated late last year and is now on display in the town's centre.  Paul Dibble said the concept represents the soldiers' marching from the camp through Featherston and up and over the Rimutaka Ranges  through the Hutt Valley and into Wellington.  Here they boarded the troop ships which took them off to war.  This is a wonderfully evocative sculpture, showing all those young men proudly marching off to answer the call, with so many of them not returning.

Paul Dibble sculpture in Featherston

With our weekend rally being held in a school, caravans were not to arrive till 3.30pm or so, to give the pupils and parents time to clear the grounds.  There was time to spare, so we met up with Bill and Val in a lay- by off the road for a chat and a cuppa, before heading off to Carterton School.  Once we were on site, vans started arriving thick and fast.  This weekend is a Combined Rally organised by Wairarapa Club, with attendees also from Heretaunga, Wellington and Wainuiomata clubs.  It should be a great weekend.

All ready for the weekend festivities