Weekend at Shannon

We spent the weekend with the caravan club at Shannon School.  Being a school day, there was supposeably no entry to the grounds till 4.00pm, but I suspect most were on site earlier than that.

Shannon School

It was a bit of a tight squeeze through the gates, and we were parked up on two adjacent areas.  For those, like us, with longer vans, it took quite a bit of maneuvering to slot into place.

We all managed to squeeze in

Once we got organised, and the legs wound down, Gemma found the caravan wardrobe door open and squeezed inside for a while, she loves these kinds of hidey holes. Just look at that cheeky face peeking out.

Here’s looking at you, Mum

The use of the hall was included in our fees for the weekend, and we gathered there on Friday evening.  Some of the longer term members were encouraged to reminisce about the early years of the club, places we had visited, things we had got up to in our younger years.  And how the clubs had changed over time, with several of the local clubs no longer in existence.

On Saturday afternoon Robin and I had planned a mystery tiki tour of the local area, to conclude with a BYO afternoon tea.  Cars were shared and off we went.  First stop was quite a marvel of engineering, the Moutoa Sluice Gates.  These were built in 1962 as a flood protection measure.  The Manawautu River here runs very sluggishly, and when in flood the river would overwhelm the stop banks and flood farmland.  The sluice gates cause much of the river flow to take a short cut, bypassing 30km of low capacity river channel, directing the flow down the 10km Moutoa Floodway.  This happens about every fifteen months or so.

Moutoa Sluice gates

Back down the road a short way we stopped again, at the site of the WW11 Whitaunui Military Defaulters Camp, one of two in the area.  Sadly, nothing to see now, but in it’s time the two camps housed 250 conscientious objectors. The huts used to house the men were built by the Public Works Dept., mostly two men huts measuring 8ft by 10ft together with some single men huts.  The unheated huts were furnished with beds and straw mattresses, a pillow, and old army blankets.  The men were also provided with a small table and stool.  You could imaging how cold the winter conditions would be.  The men were required to work in wet conditions, cutting flax.  One of the more famous detainees was Rex Hilary, brother of Sir Edmund Hilary.

Photo of the huts at the Detention Centre

Back in the cars again we headed up to the hills for our final stop, the Mangahao National White Water Centre.  No races down the river this day, of course, but we could see the overhead rails all in place.  Thousands of man hours were poured into making rock groynes, clearing out the river and establishing the site.  Throughout the 70s and 80s the Mangahao White Water Park hosted dozens of successful events.  Over the years the park has been upgraded to international standards, and training takes place here by locals and international teams.

Part of the course

There were handy picnic tables on the river bank so we settled down to enjoy our afternoon tea.  Out came the thermoses, the coffee and biscuits, and we all soaked up the peaceful atmosphere.

Afternoon tea on the river bank

There were walks to be had, down the path along the river, or up the road to the nearby power station.  That’s the way I went, over the bridge to view the rather old building.  The Mangahao Power Station was opened in 1924 and continues to provide power to the National grid.

Mangahao Power Station

This was the last stop on our mystery drive so we made our way back to the school and 4zees time.  In the evening we gathered back in the school hall for another get together.  Most were happy to chat the evening away, while others played a game of snakes and ladders on a rather large floor mat, tossing a big foam dice around to see if their points took them climbing up the ladder or sliding down the snake.

Saturday evening sun set

After Sunday morning tea we packed up and headed for home.  I was intrigued by the school skate boards and helmets all lined up in the hall passage waiting to take the students on rides around the school grounds.

Ready to roll

It was a great weekend away, with most of our members attending.  Good fun, and not too far from home. for us.