This Weekend……

This weekend turned out nice and sunny, but with a definite Autumnal feel in the air.  We travelled over to Wainuiomata to share in the 65th birthday celebrations of my younger sister.  Goodness me, where have all those years gone?  I can remember the night she was born- at home, she obviously came with a rush, and several weeks early.  My older sister and I (11 and 12 at the time) were woken up with our mother calling out to us.  With no phone in our house, we had to run up the road in our dressing gowns and slippers in the dead of night, knock loudly on our neighbour’s door to wake her up, and get her to phone for an ambulance.  No wonder that was a night to be remembered!

Me with Karla

Birthday Cake

Several hours later it was time to head back to Levin.  But not before we drove around Wainuiomata to see all the changes since we were last there.  And I wanted to check out my very first house, we moved in to “Nappy Valley” as the place was called in the mid 60s.  Back then, house prices were relatively affordable for young couples who were prepared to work hard, and we got a Government funded house loan, and cashed in the  Family Benefit.  Even though we had two young children, both of us were working, and my hubby at the time had an evening job as well.  We moved in with no carpets or curtains, and second hand everything.  Difficult, of course, but we were young, and we managed.

First home

Robin had been chatting to one of the birthday guests about our narrowboat trip on Dot and Derek’s boat Gypsy Rover over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.  Imagine our delight when we returned home that evening to find that one of the U Tubers which Robin follows had put up a video of this very trip.   Robin cast it to the TV and it was almost like being there again.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Pontcysyllte, meaning ‘the bridge that connects’, carries the canal majestically over the raging River Dee below.  Designed by Thomas Telford and Williams Jessop and constructed by John Simpson (stonework) and William Hazledine (ironwork), the aqueduct was completed in 1805, and is a result of some bold civil engineering solutions. A cast iron trough suspended 126 feet above the river, supported iron arched ribs, carried on 18 hollowed masonry pillars.  One of the most astonishing feats of engineering from the Industrial Revolution, this in now been classified a  World Heritage Site. 

Sunday morning always means a cooked breakfast, and Robin does the honours.  Kransky sausages and eggs, with a few cooked tomatoes for me.  It’s always a good start to the day.

He’s waiting to tuck in

Pohangia School Reserve

This old school domain is a lovely place to stay.  Surrounded with beautiful mature trees, as can be imagined, the bird song is delightful  And not just during the day, there were moreporks (ruru) calling out to each other in the evening.    We arrived late morning on Friday, to find two of our club members already set up.  In fact, they arrived a day early as there was a little tree work to take care of.  A bit of trimming needed to be done on the trees down the drive, to stop the overgrown branches scraping over the caravans.

Early birds on Friday

Camping in the domain is free of charge, and for a reasonable fee, the club hired the old school room for us to use in the evenings.  There is a playground and swimming pool in the grounds, and the local children make good use of these facilities.

The old school building

The other members arrived in the afternoon and we had a very pleasant 4zees outside in the fresh air.  In fact, it was so warm that several people were sporting a touch of sunburn by the end of the day.  Robin had to make sure that he had some bottles of Tui beer in the fridge for 4zeess, the carton is stored under the bed.  Gemma seems to enjoy this bed rising phenomenon, and likes to climb up to the top of the bed and keep an eye on Robin while he is rummaging around underneath in the storage area.

Gemma is helping, she thinks

On Saturday morning three cars set off for a bit of exploring.  Our first stop was to check out the camp at Totara Reserve.  Then we drove on to Bartlett’s Ford but…….. ended up taking a very long scenic road along a never ending gravel road, kicking up clouds of dust as we drove along.  The dust caked back window on our 4WD was testament to the gravel road we had travelled over.  Eventually we arrived at Apiti, where we stopped for a quick lunch. 

Stopped at Apiti

Our trip to Bartlett’s Ford had to be put on hold as the club was booked in for afternoon tea back at Pohangia at 2.00pm.  We were running a little late, and phoned through to the rally family to tell them we would meet them at the café as soon as we could.  Afternoon tea was great, scones with cream and jam, served with coffee or tea, and very welcome after our driving adventure.

Ready for coffee and scones

Cartwheel Creamery is a small local cheese making enterprise and the makers visited us in camp with their delightful range.  It was like bees around the honey pot as everyone crowded around to see what was on offer.  It’s no secret that I love a nice cheese so purchased three varieties plus some keto crackers.

Yummy cheeses

Sunday dawned a little chilly, but promised to be a nice day.

Sunrise through the caravan window

Our BBQ had a good workout during the weekend, with Robin cooking chicken kebabs on Friday night and lamb chops on Saturday.  And as well, our usual Sunday morning bacon and eggs too.  For a change, he cooked the eggs in a slice of bread, delicious indeed.

BBQed breakfast on Sunday morning

As usual, it was a very pleasant weekend away with our caravan buddies, and we will be doing it all again in several weeks time.

Getting away early

We have a caravan rally coming up fast in the weekend, but with a medical appointment up in Palmy on Thursday, why not get away early, we decided.  So we did.  The caravan was packed and after an early lunch on Wednesday, we drove up to Kersel’s Pop on Palmerston North.  We had stayed here not too long ago, and the friendly hosts, Peter and Margaret, are members of the Palmerston North Caravan Club.  There were three other vans staying here, all good friends of many years standing.  They used to ride motor bikes, we were told, and now travel around together on van trips.  A couple of the men guided us as Robin backed in through the gate and we slotted in beside them.

Wednesday night at Kersel’s pop

The bees were busy buzzing around their hives, and we were joined by a group of young heifers over the fence.

Bees and young cattle watching us

After a little necessary shopping to pick up a few bits and pieces, we had time to take ourselves out for lunch before the appointment - but where to go?  Decided on Joe’s Garage and after scanning in and and showing our Covid Passports, we were ushered to a table.

We both ordered “Gorgeous George” bacon, eggs, and potatoes, although I swapped my bacon for smoked salmon.  Followed by a nice hot coffee each, it was a very satisfying lunch.

Looks good enough to eat

On to my appointment, then we were free to return back to the pop.  Our neighbours had moved on to the Wairarapa, so we were now on our lonesome, with just the cattle for company.

All alone today

Although the skies wee blue, a rather chilly wind was blowing, so no chance of sitting comfortably outside.  Fourzees time rolled around and Robin celebrated with a Tui.

Cheers!

Gemma was checking what was happening with those young cattle, they make strange noises, you see.  Just as well she is safely inside, being a big brave pussy cat, she might well spook them!

What are those creatures, she’s thinking

Tomorrow we are moving on to Pohangina for the weekend rally, looking forward to catching up with everyone again.

Trip to Hawkes Bay

We’ve only been home a week and a bit, and its time to head away again – we had a family function to attend in Hastings.  Heading north to Hawkes Bay, with the Pahiatua Track closed, our route took us over the Saddle Road.  There were plenty of wind turbines ready to mesmerize us as we drove up the to the top of the hill.

Wind turbines

Then we came to a grinding halt, what was happening ahead of us on the road, we wondered?   Seems a truck had broken down on our uphill lane, and a small Ute with red flashing lights came to the rescue and took over traffic control.  After waiting for some time, our long line of vehicles drove around the stricken truck, and were on our way.  Guess help was coming to get the truck repaired, or towed away.

We stopped at Anzac Park, Norsewood,  for lunch.  This is such a pretty place to stay, surrounded by large native trees and  full of birdsong. Gemma was entranced by all the white butterflies fluttering by and spent her time gazing through the screen door at then.  Probably thinking she would like to catch some of them!

Lunch at Anzac Park

Arriving at Erikson Road NZMCA park at Napier later in the afternoon – a little later than we would have liked.  But there was plenty of space available so it was a matter of do we want to park here, there, or maybe over there?  Decision finally made, we  soon picked a site, steadies wound down, and ready to relax.  We are staying here four nights.

Erikson Road NZMCA park

What could be better than fish and chips for our evening meal after travelling?  And there was a new to us place not too far away at all, The Filter Room which consists of a cidery, restaurant, and also does take away fish and chips.  Just what we wanted.

The Filter Room, which also does take-aways

As we were waiting for our order to be cooked, Robin sat in front of a wall covered with cans.  Just look at them all, he’s saying.

I think he’s in beer/cider heaven

Our trip to Hawkes Bay was for us to attend my sister Kathleen’s Memorial Service.  Kathleen had passed away during one of Covid lockdowns, and as funerals could only go ahead with very limited numbers, it was decided to hold a Memorial Service later on.  It was a nice service with two of her children, two grandchildren, and two sisters all sharing their memories.  While writing some notes, I realised that I would be the only person present who knew her as a young child. I related stories of our home life and some of the things we got up to, going to the Saturday afternoon pictures (movies),  trying out our new roller skates – Kathleen was so much better at this than I was, and regular trips to the local swimming baths.

At the Memorial Service

Kathleen’s family and husband wanted to spend the rest of the day together, so we left them to it and caught up with them again before we headed back home.  It was a typically hot Hawkes Bay summer’s day, so there was nothing for it, we had to visit Silky Oak Chocolates and indulge in an Iced Chocolate each.  Don’t worry about the calories, we decided, just enjoy the taste!

Delicious!

Looks like we spoke too soon about the lovely Hawkes Bay weather, as the next couple of days were certainly cooler and quite windy.  We decided to leave for home a day earlier than planned and headed off on Monday, with a stop for lunch at the Hatuma Café.  This was a place we had often driven past, so it was nice to finally stop and try it out.  The food was nice, but dear me, there was a malfunction with the coffee machine.  Disaster was averted when the serviceman suggested the staff member make me  coffee before he took it to bits to see what was wrong – perhaps I was looking desperate for a coffee as we walked in to place our lunch order.. 

Lunch break

We retraced our route back south, going up and over the Saddle Road again, but instead of going straight back home decided to stop at a new-to-us Pop (Park over Property) in Palmerston North.  The owners made sure to ask us if we were allergic to bee stings, as he has several hives close by.  A motor home joined us later on and we spent a very pleasant Happy Hour chatting together.  They are newbies at this motor home lark, they told us, and confided that they had recently purchased their motor home because overseas travel has been on hold due to Covid.

Staying at Kersel’s Pop, Robert’s Line, Palmerston North

Gemma was rather excited to be outside, there must have been so many marvelous smells around the sheep pens close to where we were parked.  She sniffed everywhere, she climbed up high, she climbed through the fence, no doubt wishing those mean owners of hers would take that dratted harness off so that she could go wherever she wanted.  Not a chance, Gemma.  Just as well there were no sheep in the pen, that might have been a bit much for her to take, but she certainly enjoyed the odours left behind.

She thinks she is a country cat now

Back home once more – you know the drill, unpacking done, first load of washing in the machine, etc.  And we will be doing it all again in a couple more weeks for a caravan club rally.  We're told Summer has now ended, but we generally have plenty of nice fine days in Autumn, so we will be making the most of them.