There and back again

It was a long day – a 500km trip to Napier and back on the big white bus.  The happy band of 60s Up members met bright and early, climbed aboard and headed north.  Our morning started out fine and sunny, but the closer we got to the Manawatu Gorge, the worse the weather behaved.  Once safely through the gorge we carried on to the Black Stump Cafe in Dannevirke for morning tea.  Situated in the main drag, parking was at a premium, and Peter the bus driver had to park the bus around a corner or two at the railway station. Oh dear – by this stage the rain was falling in a continual down pour.  We raced around to the cafe, trying to dodge the rain drops, but that didn’t really work, and we arrived damp and dripping.  Obviously we arrived at just the right time, as out came a plate of date scones, straight out of the oven and smelling devine, Robin’s favourite.  Can you guess what we had for morning tea?

Arriving at Napier, the iconic Norfolk Pines seemed to welcome our bus full of intrepid explorers as we drove along the Marine Parade.  The first trees were planted in 1888, with more added over the years.  Noted for tolerating salt-laden winds, these hardy trees have thrived.

Norfolk Pines along Napier’s Marine Parade

Lunch was at the Napier RSA Restaurant, and after a little confusion with two large groups arriving at the same time, we we soon settled in our respective tables and got down to the serious business of eating lunch.  And very tasty it was too, with plenty of choice from the hot buffet, plus dessert and coffees.  We would certainly return here for another meal next time we are up this way.

Lunch at Napier RSA

Fully fed and watered, our next stop was to the National Aquarium of New Zealand along the Marine Parade.  Everyone disembarked and made their way inside, but as we had been there very recently, decided to explore the waterfront instead.  There was one less sea creature to view, as Inky the octopus had just made a daring escape when it broke out of its tank, slithered across the floor, squeezed down a 50-metre drainpipe and disappeared into the sea.

 

Parked outside the Aquarium

Is that Inky, the missing octopus?

Artist Alan Strathern's sculpture “Trawlermen”, dedicated to the commercial fishermen who toil at sea, came about because of a long term overcharge on a power account, of all things!  The story goes like this.  In 1973, the Municipal Electricity Department discovered that over many years it had overcharged for power supplied to New Zealand Cement Holdings Ltd. The financial tangle was unravelled, and the upshot was that the cement company and the power authority agreed to donate $10,000 of the overpayment to the Napier City Council to fund an artwork.  The  life-like bronze was originally in the forecourt at the Hawke's Bay Aquarium which opened in December 1976 at the southern end of the Parade. It was later relocated to its present site adjoining the aquarium in 2002.

Trawlermen, by Alan Strathern

Further along the Parade we came across a rather innovative way to teach youngsters the rules of the road.  The Junior Bike Track is designed for children to ride their bikes in a safe environment.  Inside the safety fences is a  mock road complete with speed bumps, give way and stop signs and traffic lights to teach children road safety skills.

Junior Bike Track to teach road skills

The cold wind was blowing the cobwebs away, and the rain was threatening to fall, so we made our way back to the aquarium to check out the gift shop and wait in the cafe until boarding time.  Here we spotted a Bearded Dragon looking rather ferocious with his spikes and claws as he disdainfully looked out at us looking in.  These reptiles live on insects and can live to the grand old age of 14 years.

Bearded Dragon

Our time in Napier had come to an end, and we all climbed aboard once more for the long drive home.  The return trips are always much quieter, we have noticed, and soon the bevy of grey heads was gently nodding as the motion of the bus lulled quite a few 60 Up members asleep.  It had been a long day, but a good one, as usual, and we finally arrived back in Levin at 6.30pm.

Taking the Slow Road

Trips away in the caravan are always fun, and what is nice these days is that we can take our time, if we want,  getting to our destination.  Not at all like the trips when we had to work for a living.  Then we had to rush from here to there, often over long distances, trying to see as much as we could.  Taking the slow road is so much more relaxing.

After a couple of days at the Drop In Rally at Foxton School, just taking things easy and enjoying the lovely hot weather, it was time to move on.  As planned, we stayed at several “new to us” venues over our holiday.  Such as the car park behind the Dannevirke Services and Citizens Club.  Lovely friendly staff, and we stayed here at no charge, so made sure they received some patronage from us at the bar.  Just a shame we were too early in the week to enjoy a meal in the restaurant, otherwise we would have dined there in the evening.

Our next new destination was Ashcott Park, Ongaonga, in a lovely rural setting.  No other campers came to stay, and we didn’t even see the property owner, so had to leave our fee in the letterbox for him.

And our third new venue was Mathews Park in Norsewood, another rural stop, with the Ruahine Ranges in the background.  Once again, we camped alone, but the Small Bore Club next door kept things lively when they started firing their rifles.

We stayed at a couple of old favourites as well.  Ashurst Camp with it’s lovely old shady trees is always a joy to stay at, as is the apple orchard POP in Hastings.  And we enjoyed some company from our caravan buddies too.  Dot and Derek were at the Drop In Rally, and stayed a couple more days than us before moving on, and Don and Pamela joined us at Hastings for several days.  The Hastings Rellies were visited several times, we were invited around to share a delicious roast lamb meal and we caught up with all the family news. We never go to Hastings without buying some fish and chips from Hawkes Bay Seafood, the best fish and chips ever!  Then we ticked a couple of things off our Bucket List, visiting the International Police Museum at Dannevirke, and the National Aquarium of NZ at Napier. 

On reflection, we are pleased we came home on Thursday, rather than Friday as originally planned.  There have been wind warnings today for high sided vehicles (that means us), so it is just as well we are safe at home today.  As well as the strong winds, torrential rain has been falling during the day.  I think it’s my fault, as I insisted that Robin water the garden last night after all that neglect with us being away. Or maybe Robin’s to blame after all, as he washed the 4WD before the rain arrived today.  Whatever……. as the grand-daughters say.  Luckily the garden survived while we were away – just look at those beans!  Our broccoli have tiny little heads, which just need to grow a little more, the lettuce and silver beet are ready to pick, and there are even some baby tomatoes coming along.

Silver beet, broccoli and beans

Some flower pots survived

National Aquarium of New Zealand, Napier

Although we are regular visitors to the Hawkes Bay, we had never been to the National Aquarium along the foreshore in Napier.  That was rectified today, when we joined hordes of people all doing the same.  Most seemed to have a large posse of kids with them, babes in arms, toddlers in pushchairs, with several siblings hanging onto to the handles and /or parent’s hand for dear life.  Plus the grand-parents tagging along too.  No, we are not really complaining, it was nice to see so many family groups out enjoying themselves.

 

The Aquarium is a handsome building, and we were pleased to discover that our aged status entitled us to a reasonable discount, enough to allow a visit to the cafe later.

It wasn’t just about fish, we discovered, but all sorts of other  creatures who live in or around water.  Such as these Australian Water Dragons, who like to rest on branches that overhang streams.  When alarmed, they drop into the water, and can remain submerged for 30 minutes or so, waiting for the danger to pass.

Australian Water Dragon

We spotted one of the two American Alligators, the other was lurking in the water, trying to hide from us.  At six years old, they are still youngsters.   The alligator has survived in the same form for 200 million years, we read, obviously an extremely successful life form!

American Alligator

The penguin feeding drew a huge crowd, and we gathered together, waiting, and waiting until at last the keeper arrived, with a young boy and his Mum in tow.  They had paid extra to take part in a “penguin encounter” and watched carefully as the keeper explained how to feed the small fish to the penguins. Most of the penguins in residence have had some mishap or other in their lives, some are missing a flipper, or toes, and the Aquarium takes care of them as they are unable to fend for themselves in the wild.

Feeding the penguins.

From here we followed the crowds to the Oceanarium to watch the divers hand feed the sharks and other fish.  The travelator took us through the underwater perspex tunnel, and we watched in awe as fish, sharks and rays glided overhead.  There were squeals and gasps as the youngsters realised that the big fish were all around them, and so close.

On the Travelator

The diver arrived with his pail of fish, and the water began to boil as fish, both big and small, came in for their share.  Some of the more assertive fish were deftly moved aside, while the diver offered fish to others who were not getting their share. 

 

Feeding the fish

And we had to take a selfie, of course

Once the feeding frenzy was over, we looked in some more tanks and saw a turtle, swimming backwards and forwards, all on his lonesome.  Hundreds of plastic shopping bags were strung up, to remind people of the danger these pose to sea creatures, who eat them, as they look just like jellyfish floating in the water. 

Sea turtle

Mr Seahorse has babies in his pouch

Our visit over, we retired to the cafe to rest our weary feet, and enjoy a world famous Rush Munroe ice cream.  We can highly recommend the Aquarium – although you may prefer to wait until the school holidays are over.