It was time to pack up and leave Timona Park, and move on to our next stop, Solway Park Showgrounds in Masterton, a distance of 121km. We were a little late leaving as we had a family breakfast to attend at one of the local cafes. Once back in camp, we hooked up, and made the obligatory visit to the dump station. Then off we went, driving over the Saddle Road. And there they were, those wind turbines up on the hill, working away to turn the power of the wind into electricity.
We hadn't travelled too far when we came to a grinding halt, stopped by a young women in high viz holding a stop/go pole, which we noticed was taller than she was! After waiting in line for ages, a slow stream of cars and trucks trundled towards us. Finally we got the go signal and off we went, driving past the problem on the road, a tree had come down in a land slip and was covering one of the lanes. A team was working hard to clear the road and get traffic moving properly again.
Hold up on the road
Once over the Saddle Road, it was easy driving from there on. Oh look, there’s the “world famous in Mangatainoka” Tui Brewery tower. There is a freedom camping area across the road from the brewery down by the river, but we weren't stopping here, and continued on our way.
Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka
We soon arrived at our destination, found a site and Robin went to pay for our three night stay here. This is a lovely place to stay, beautiful grounds surrounded by magnificent mature trees.
Solway Park
The historic grandstand peeking through the trees
With a brand new NZMCA park at Riversdale we packed a picnic lunch on Thursday and set off to check it out. We drove through pine forests, meeting up with heavily loaded logging trucks on the road, finally arriving at Riversdale. The newly opened park is quite small and can accommodate 28 vans. At this stage there is no water or rubbish facilities available, and we were surprised to see about a dozen vans on site.
Riversdale Beach NZMCA
The pretty little St Joseph’s Catholic Church is close to the camp
Riversdale Beach was a bit wild
Next stop was at the tiny hamlet of Tinui at the cemetery and the start of the Tinui Walkway. Tinui was the first place in the world to have a formal celebration of Anzac Day. Back in 1914 there were well over 1000 single men in the area, many volunteered to the services and some lost their lives. In 1916 Rev Basil held an Anzac ceremony at Tinui on the hill top and erected a cross. This cross was later replaced and is in the original position on top of the hill overlooking the village. The popularity of this Anzac Day Service has grown enormously over the years, with visitors and locals alike making the early morning trek up the hill. In the car park we saw the Memorial to Peace boulder, donated by a local family. This huge rock is local sandstone/shale concretion and dates from 70-80 million years ago.
Memorial to Peace Boulder at Tinui Walkway
Back in the car again and we drove to Castle Point Beach to see the lighthouse. Castle Point Lighthouse is the North Island's tallest lighthouse standing 52m above sea level and is one of only two left in New Zealand with a rotating beam. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. There is a walkway up to the lighthouse which we had walked up previously. Not this time though, not with my sore back and Robin’s sore knees, we decided to admire it from the car.
Castle Point Lighthouse
Some heavy duty boats parked up on their trailers
We had taken a picnic lunch with us, so sat in the car looking out over the beach while we enjoyed our sandwiches and coffee. This beautiful sandy beach seems much more suitable for paddling and swimming than Riversdale Beach, and we noticed several family groups enjoying the water. Not too bad for April, we thought.
Castle Point Beach
That was the end of our coastal adventures so we made our way back to Masterton, stopping off to buy some fresh strawberries from the Wee Red Barn cart. They will be nice for dessert, and maybe some for breakfast as well. Back at Solway Park we noticed that horse jumps had been erected in the show grounds. There is going to be a 3 day horse jumping event taking place, so things will be very busy, and noisy too, we were told. Just as well we are moving on tomorrow.
Ready for the horse crowd
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