Pinnacles Tour

We were due to be collected for our pre-booked Pinnacles Tour at 7.20am, so you know what that meant.  Once again, we had to set the alarm clock so we were up bright and early to be ready in time.  The big blue bus from Adams Coach Lines rolled up and we were on our way.  It was going to be a long day, 11.5 hours and covering  500kms.

First stop was the Caversham Wildlife Park where  the tour guide took us around to check out the animals.    Some of the kangaroos had Joey's in the pouches so we could see legs or heads sticking out as Mum hopped around.

Next stop was the wombat enclosure where one of the keepers was sitting with a male wombat on his lap, and we were invited up to have our photo taken.  The wombat was perfectly content and didn’t move at all, as one after another, the bus passengers filed up for their photo opportunity.

Posing with the wombat

Then it was on to the koala enclosure, where, sure enough, a young koala was waiting with the keeper. As we were allowed to gently touch these animals, we  had to use hand sanitiser as we entered each enclosure, to protect the animals.  Koalas are such beautiful animals.  Nearby were some adult koalas, all snoozing away, and we were told that they sleep for most of the day, in between eating and mating!

Time with the koala

Time and coach tours wait for no one, we boarded the bus again and went on our way.  Our lunch stop was at the Lobster Shack, on the coast at Cervantes,  where we had a tour through the processing factory.  The information wand told us what we were looking at as we walked along the viewing walkway.

Lobster processing factory

The price for our coach tour included fish and chips for lunch, with the option to upgrade to a lobster meal for an extra cost.  And why not, I thought, it isn’t often that I get an opportunity like this! Robin was happy with his fish and chips, as long as I gave him a little taste of my lobster.

Lunch for the two of us

The Lobster Shack is a family run business The rock lobsters are fished off the coast and the company export  much of their catch overseas.  Their fleet of modern boats were moored up by the jetty.

Next was a visit to the amazing Pinnacles at Nambung National Park.  It seems that the experts cannot agree how these formations came to be, and there are several theories trotted out.  Whatever the real answer is, the Pinnacles were certainly amazing to see, stretching out into the desert as far as the eye could see.  Some were brown, some grey, big, little, jagged and broad.  We didn’t expect there to be so many, they stretched on and on.

Plenty of Pinnacles

Our last stop was to the gorgeous snow white sand dunes at Lancelin, where we changed vehicles to a grunty 4WD bus, specially built for these conditions. 

Our guide invited us to have a go at sand boarding down the dunes, and gave instructions.  The hardest thing, he told us, is walking up the slope, it’s much easier sliding down!

Several of the younger ones took up the challenge, and really enjoyed themselves.  Not us though, it was fun enough just to stand by and watch then as they trudged up to the top of the dunes, and whizzed down on the dune boards.

Here they come

The white sands aren’t really sand at all, we were told, but crushed coral from eons ago.  Our guide had fun driving up and over the dunes, bouncing us all around – just one more hill, he told us on our way back to the blue bus.  As Robin commented, this is a man who really enjoys is job!

The white dunes of Lancelin

Then it was back into the big blue bus for the long trek back to Perth, and I’m sure that most of us nodded off in the coach on the return journey.  Doing the tour was certainly the easiest way to see these amazing sights, and  it was a most enjoyable day.  

Hello Perth

Our day started in Auckland with the alarm clock going off at 6.00am, followed by an early breakfast to set us up for the day.  Then we boarded the Yellow Bus, which calls at all the local hotels taking passengers to the airport.  Sent the bags on their way, went through Security, and sat and waited for a while, as you do.  Oh look, there’s our plane out the window, surrounded by all the support vehicles and crew while the plane is being provisioned, loaded, and fueled.

That’s our plane

The trip from Auckland to Perth is a reasonably long flight at 7.5hours.  But we were well looked after in Premium Economy, with the big difference being very generous seating and legroom.  Yes, the ticket prices are more expensive, but well worth the extra, we feel, for the comfort and the service.  We were welcomed aboard with a hot towel, followed by a glass of bubbly, to get us in the holiday mood, our air hostess stated.

Robin spent time watching a couple of movies.  Not for me, I like to check where we are going, and make sure the wings don’t fall off the plane, plus spend time reading my book.  As we were flying at 36,000 feet with an outside temperature of –62F there was a lot to keep me occupied.

Lunch was lovely, choices from the menu, and served on china plates with real cutlery, no plastic utensils here.  Coffee with Whittaker's Chocolates (so delicious,made in New Zealand, and endorsed by Nigella) followed by a rather fancy afternoon tea.  All very tasty indeed.

After landing, collecting our bags, going through more security, we found a taxi to take us to our hotel.  And not just any taxi – wonder what this London Cab is doing here in Perth?

 

Seen in Perth, a London Cab

We are staying at The Pan Pacific, the same hotel which took in several hundred weary and disappointed train travelers last year when the trip was cancelled.  They found us rooms for the night, and we practically took over the restaurant as we queued up for an evening meal.  So we wee quite happy to give them our custom this trip.

Our room in Perth

It’s been a long day, up bright and early and made even longer as we have gained about 4 hours in the time difference.  So after a meal it will be early to bed I expect so we will be rested and ready for tomorrow’s adventure. 

The Journey Begins

You know what it’s like with holidays – plans are made months in advance, and then it’s just a waiting game.  But here we are, it’s finally time to go.  But first our beautiful Birman Gemma had to go on holiday too, and she didn’t go willingly.  And why should she, after all, she knows she is a caravan cat and doesn't she usually come away with us on our trips away?    Not this time, Gemma was dropped off at the cattery while we took to the sky.

Gemma’s having a holiday too

This is our second try at the Indian Pacific train trip, from Perth to Sydney.  You may remember that last year we boarded the train, travelled for a couple of hours and then we sat and waited, and waited, beside some grain silos, wondering what the hold-up was.  Due to a derailment further up the line and the tracks being torn up in the middle of nowhere, our trip was cancelled and the train took us all back to Perth.  I’m sure we will have better luck this time.

We had a leisurely start to the day, deciding that we really didn’t want to do the extra early morning flight to Auckland to connect with the Aussie flight.  Instead we arrived at Palmerston North Airport in time for a light lunch, and boarded the flight to Auckland, where we will stay overnight.  Much more civilized.  For a small regional airport, Palmerston North is quite busy indeed, with planes coming and going.  No air bridges here though, we all walked out to the plane and climbed up the ramp.

Leaving Palmerston North

Flying above the clouds, which really looked just like fluffy  lemon meringue pie,  we made good time, with just a couple of bumps along the way to keep us interested.  A big yellow bus took us to the Naumi Hotel where we are spending the night.  This hotel has had several make-overs and name changes over the years, we were told.  It seems rather glamorous in it’s new guise, I thought.

Naumi Hotel

We dined “in house” at the restaurant,and the meals were certainly delicious, lamb for her and pork belly for him.  As we had ordered our meals prior to 6.30pm we qualified for a free drink.  Thanks to Bill and Val for this tip, they also stayed here a few days ago.

Tomorrow we head across to Perth, certainly looking forward to that.  Then we will really feel that we are on holiday!

Cafes and mountains

We had to travel down to the shopping mall in Paraparaumu two days in a row – have I ever said how much I dislike malls – they are the same the world over.  On Sunday as we left to drive down there was a coating of snow on top of the Tararua Ranges, always a pretty sight to see.

A rather moody day

We had something to drop off at friends home but called in to the mall first for a couple of purchases.  As we had time to spare we stopped off at Butlers Chocolate Café for a delicious hot chocolate each.  According to Butlers: “Because nothing complements happiness better than coffee, in 1998 we opened the very first Butlers Chocolate Café in a beautiful corner of Wicklow Street in Dublin’s city centre.  Our aim was to create a luxurious haven for chocolate and coffee lovers alike; a place where customers could enjoy the highest quality coffee, tea and chocolate beverages in stylish, welcoming and characterful surroundings. A free Butlers chocolate of choice is offered with every prepared beverage purchased!”  A further 15 Butlers Chocolate Cafés have now been opened – in Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

At Butlers Chocolate Café

The following day, Monday, we had a second (unexpected) trip down to the same mall.  Number one son who lives in the South Island  was visiting his Dad in Wellington and wanted to catch up with us as well.  The night temperatures had been cold and there was even more snow on the ranges than the previous day.

We played text catch up and eventually arrived at the same café at the same time to settle down, not Butlers this time .  Another coffee, and plenty of news to catch up on.  It was so nice to see Michael again.

Mother and son

Family Time at Speights

With our trip to Australia fast approaching, together with daughter Nicky’s birthday it was time for a long overdue catch up with the family.  We arranged to meet Nicky for lunch at Speights Ale House in Palmerston North.  Son-in-law Robert organized his  work day to come along too, and grand-daughter Megan took some time off work and joined us a little later. 

Speights Ale House

Speight’s Brewery has always produced award winning, traditional ales & beers, using only the finest quality  ingredients & purest water.  The popular restaurant is always busy,  usually a sign of good food and service.  We took some time checking the menu and finally made our choices.  Roast pork for me and pie of the day for Robin.  Robert ordered a pie as well, and Nicky had lamb's fry and bacon, served on top of of a huge mound of mashed potatoes and smothered in gravy.  Robin and Robert’s meal were washed down with one of the award winning Speight’s beers.  With such very filling lunches, we will only need something very light for our evening meal.

Our two meals

It was great to catch up with them, and give Nicky her birthday gift, as we are starting our trip to Oz on her birthday.

Robin and Jenny, Nicky and Robert

After we had finished our meals, grand-daughter Megan came breezing in, bright and bubbly as usual.  As it was getting later, made do with just a coffee.

Megan

The conversation centred around horses, this family lives, breathes, and talks about horses and competitions.  All except Nicky, who really doesn’t want anything to do with them, especially when they get into her garden.  The two girls are excellent horsewomen, and Robert was a former jockey, so has been around horses for most of his life.

We said our farewells and went our separate ways.  We had one more catch up, had arranged to meet up with grand-daughter Emma in Feilding after she had finished work in the afternoon. And the conservation centred around, you've guessed it, Emma’s horses.  Certainly an all abiding passion for her.

Jenny and Emma

It was so nice to be able to see all members of this family before we head away.

More Fun at Himatangi

Our caravan club rally at Himatangi kept us busy, with the usual Morning Teas, 4zees, after dinner get togethers and a couple of quizzes to test our brain cells.  On Saturday morning we pooled cars and drove up to Viv’s Kitchen, “world famous in Sanson” and home of the giant cream horns.  Viv is now the proud owner of two little dinky vans, the yellow one being a recent acquisition, and they were proudly on display in the car park.

We all found seats at the reserved tables and settled back to enjoy our morning tea.  Cream horns aren’t compulsory, there are other delights available too, if you so desire.

Chocolate éclair for her, cream horn for him

The sound level dropped dramatically as everyone ate their morning tea, only to get loud again once the food had been consumed.  This crowd certainly has plenty to talk about, covering a wide range of topics.

Enjoying our morning tea

Back at camp Dave’s dog came to say hello.  Dogs are allowed at Himatangi Beach Camp, as long as they are under control.  Several of our club members now have dogs which are not necessarily welcome at all camps.

A fair bit of “male bonding” took place.  Wonder if they were commiserating about the All Blacks getting beaten by the Aussies in the Bledisloe Cup game?

Wonder what they are talking about?

The beach was just a short walk away, so after a quick trip to the local dairy I popped down to have a look.  It was rather rough, strong cold winds, with drift wood all over the beach.

Himatangi Beach

Sunday morning tea was supplied by camp proprietors Reuben and Alice.  Much appreciated and many thanks indeed.  Our new President Barry welcomed Wayne into the club, (his first official duty he commented) after Wayne had completed the necessary three rallies.  Everyone then packed up and left before lunch as bad weather was on the way and we all wanted to get home before it arrived.  Thanks to Selwyn and Kath for arranging a great rally.

Off to Himatangi

We went off to Himatangi Beach Holiday Park for the weekend, and decided to arrive a day early, just because we could.  In fact, there were six vans from our caravan club with the same idea, so there was quite a little gathering of us making the most of an extra day away.

The camp cat was waiting to say hello as we walked past.  Wonder if she knows that we have a cat in our van?  Perhaps she will want to come and play.

The camp cat says hello.

Colourful jandals decorating the fence

The weather was fine and sunny, pleasant enough to sit outside under the awning.  That’s what life should be all about when camping, sitting outside, chatting with friends, enjoying the fresh air.

Our little part of the camp

Gemma came outside to enjoy the fresh air too.  Her head kept turning this way and that, as she kept an eye on all the birds flying about.  She certainly has a well honed hunting instinct and no doubt would love to be free of her harness and able to try this bird hunting lark!

Watching the birds

Dot arrived in her new (to her) van.  This was a good first rally for her, not too far from home, and with plenty of caravan club members around to help with any questions, such as why the TV wasn’t working!  After a twist and turn of the knob, Selwyn soon had it up and running.

Dot and her new van

Other vans rolled in on Friday, there was certainly a good turnout for our weekend at Himatangi.  Selwyn and Kath were the Rally Family and had some fun things  arranged for the weekend.