On the way to Takapau

We hit the road reasonably early in the morning to travel to Takapau.  There was a big weekend planned, our caravan club would be celebrating our 600th Rally.Driving up SH1 we then took the Saddle Road over the Ruahine Ranges to Woodville.  With the closure of the Manawatu Gorge Road, the Saddle Road and the Pahiatua Track are the only routes available from this area to Hawkes Bay.

The pylons on Te Apiti wind farm  on Saddle Road were turning slowly, rather a hypnotic sight to see, including one seemingly in front of the road. Te Apiti is situated within 1,150 hectares of farmland owned by several landowners, including Meridian Energy.

Te Apiti wind farm

We followed a truck up and over the hill with interesting sign writing on the back, declaring “Moo Mover, Big Dumpers Inside”. And above the number plate “Beware of fa!ling Cow Poop”, must admit we had never seen anything quite like this before on the road!

The Moo Mover

We made it safely to Takapau Caravan Park and were soon parked up, ready for a late lunch. 

With four vans who arrived a day early, we all enjoyed a relaxed afternoon.  The hot Hawkes Bay weather was beating down, with the temperatures hovering at 25deg C, so we enjoyed 4zees under the large shady trees.

In the evening  we sat down under Pat and Thelma’s awning enjoying the warm evening and convivial company.  Bill and Val introduced us to a new game called Mexican Trains, played with something similar to Domino tiles.  Don was the overall winner of the evening, not a bad effort us none of us had seen tis game before.

The rest of the club members would be arriving on Thursday, with outings planned for Friday and Saturday for our 600th Rally celebrations.  It should be a great rally.