Solway Showgrounds, Masterton

It was just a short drive to our next stop on our ICA Rally “Art Deco to the Capital”, staying at Solway Showgrounds for the next two nights.

Solway Showgrounds is a Category 2 historic precinct of 29 buildings, some dating back as far as 1878. The showpiece of the group of buildings is the restored grandstand, built in 1910, and the grounds themselves embrace about 2ha of the last remnants of lowland forest in the Wairarapa region.

Grandstand at Solway Showgrounds

Our group made the most of sheltering under the large shady trees for Happy Hour.  The clock has just ticked over to Autumn and already the ground is carpeted with fallen leaves.  These crunchy leaves almost want to make you to get out there and kick them around, and one afternoon a trio of ponies did this as they were ridden along the fence line, making quite a din as they trotted through the dry leaves.

There was no day time activities planned while we were in Masterton, so people had free time to shop to replenish their supplies, catch up with the laundry, or explore the area.  We took a trip to the Wee Red Barn and came away with punnets of delicious strawberries and blueberries, as well as some blackberry ice-cream.  That should see us right for a while.

Wee Red Barn

We finally have our new wheel, sent down to Masterton for us to collect from Bridgestone.  Robin got to work taking the spare wheel off and replacing it with the nice shiny new one.

Off with the spare

All this seemed to be done in a flash, not like the trying time when the wheel with the puncture and damaged rim had to come off on the side of road.

On with the new

With the spare wheel put back in place, we are ready for more adventures.

On our final night we gathered in the President’s Hall for a musical quiz, organised by Bill and Margaret.  Couples were mixed up and we were put in teams of four, two men and two ladies.  A little of each song was played, and we had to guess the song title and the singer.  Seemed easy to start with, but then it got harder.  My team won, comprised of Roger, Scotty, Val and myself, and we were awarded with a souvenir mug of our trip.  Just what I wanted to win!

Next morning everyone took off with a hiss and a roar, I looked up to find we were the last ones there.  Never mind, there were a few household chores to do, and we had an early lunch in these lovely surroundings before getting on our way.  Next stop is a POP at Cape Palliser, a new place to stay for us.

All alone at Solway Showgrounds