The Regional Rally drew to a close, final farewells were said, and we got on our way promptly There is an ICA rally coming up fast, starting in Urenui in several days time. Bill and Val had put a lot of time and thought into the planning of this, but sadly were now unable to attend, so we have been nominated second in command. After stopping by to see them, and eating a delicious lunch, we then left with boxes of stuff, instructions, and the assurance that they are only a phone-call away to sort out any problems if they arise.
Ooops, there was a problem soon after, but nothing to do with Bill and Val, rather, our own silly fault. Crossing the busy road at Sanson to pull into the truck stop for fuel, we were too close to the car in front and the side of our caravan scraped the back right hand corner of the car. That took a while to sort out, take photos and exchange details, and luckily the damage to both of us seems very minor. We have since been in touch with the insurance company, spoken to the assessor, and will get the damage repaired when we return back from this trip.
On the road again, we traveled to Wanganui to stay the night at the Wanganui East Club. Since we were last here, this facility has gone from being free to stay, and there now is a charge. At only $5 per van a night we were quite happy to pay this small amount for safe overnight parking, and we had the place to ourselves with no other vans arriving. Being a Monday, the restaurant was not open, as we predicted, so there was no meal out for us that evening.
Staying the night at Wanganui East Club
Next morning we drove over the iconic Dublin Street Bridge and headed for our next stop, New Plymouth. I always enjoy gong over this bridge, it looks just like it has been constructed from aa Meccano set, I always think. The Dublin Street Bridge was first opened on 3 November 1914 “for traffic, trams, vehiculars, and the people of Wanganui” as was reported in the Wanganui Chronicle at the time.
Dublin Street Bridge
It was a hot day for a drive, thank goodness for A/C inside the car to keep us and Gemma comfortable. The plan was to stop for the next two nights at Bell Block NZMCA Park. There were very few other vans on site, and the custodian told us that numbers had been down lately, probably due to people not wanting to travel too far in these Covid times.
Staying at Bell Block NZMCA Park
It can be notoriously difficult to catch a glimpse of the mountain while staying at New Plymouth. Cloud and rain do their best to hide the mountain from prying eyes. No, we didn’t see Mount Taranaki (Egmont) in all it’s beauty, but how about this, the next best thing. We discovered this mural at Fitzroy while we were visiting the laundromat.
This mural shows the mountain framed by the lovely Te Rewa Rewa Pedestrian Bridge. And take it from me, the view is even lovelier in real life.
Next stop, Urenui. ICA Rally, here we come.
1 comment:
You are right - the view through Te Rewa Rewa Bridge is wonderful. And if you want a route more likely to result in seeing the mountain, then SH45 is the way to go. We often found the mountain was only hiding from the east and north, and not from the west and south!
Bad news re the scrape. Let's hope it's an easy fix/
And will the Urenui Rally be going ahead now? If not and if you are already up that way, go up to Tongaporutu and camp there down by the river mouth. It is beautiful!
Mxx
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