Off to Carterton

 It seems that we have only been home for 5 minutes or so, and then it's time to head off again.  It was a wet and drizzly Friday morning when we put the last few things in the caravan, hooked up, and got on our way.

It was a wet Friday morning

We were heading to Carterton, a two hour drive, so off we went, up and over the Pahiatua Track which took us to the Wairarapa.  Henley Park in Masterton is always a good spot to stop for lunch, with plenty of parking available.  This is also a Freedom Camping area and there were about half a dozen caravans and campervans staying there.  We stopped for about an hour, enjoyed a leisurely lunch, and then I took a stroll down to the lake edge.  The ducks and geese saw me and thought I was coming to feed them, no such luck, ducks and geese, bread is bad for you.

Lunch stop at Henley Lake

From here, it was only a short drive to Carterton Holiday Park.  We were joining the Wairarapa Caravan Club who were running a combined rally, with members from our club Heretaunga CC and Wainuiomata CC attending.  There were 17 vans in attendance.

We're in here somewhere

The traditional 4zees was held in the camp dining room, and it was great to catch up with everyone.  Friday night fish and chips are also tradition at a rally, and they were very tasty indeed, with nice crisp batter, just how I like it.  We returned to the hall at 7.00pm for "Back in the Day", this one was all about old sayings.  Such as "sweet as a ?"  I never knew the term was sweet as a nut, here in Kiwiland this has evolved  to "Sweet As"  which I always found wondering sweet as what?  Mr Google tells me it means "no worries, or that's cool".  The beginnings of all sorts of old sayings were offered to the audience, some we knew, others not.  Such as Poets Day, which means "push off early, tomorrow is Saturday", Robin remembered that one.  It was certainly interesting hearing these long forgotten sayings again.

An outing had been arranged on Saturday morning to visit a local attraction, featuring old cars and model trains.  The property was a beautiful old villa, with lovely gardens.

Stoneway property

The man of the house has several interests, with car restoration top of the list.  He talked about finding old cars, and working around the difficulties of obtaining parts.

This one might be past saving perhaps

The current work in progress

Not many enthusiasts could lay claim to a separate building for model train layouts,  but he had one.  His interest in layouts was bush railways, milling and moving the native timber in years gone by.  As well as designing the several large layouts, he also 3D models items to use.  His saying was, "if I can draw it, I can model it".  Amazing stuff indeed.

Just some of the layouts

We all enjoyed dinner at the Carterton Club on Saturday night, two large tables full of us all.  There was a large group being served ahead of us, we had been warned so we just sat and chatted till it was our turn to order.  The meals were very nice, Robin ordered Bangers and Mash and I had Corn Fritters.

Don, Robin and Jenny and Rae waiting for our meals

There was a whole lot of happy campers

Sunday morning tea was the conclusion of the Combined Rally.  We provided savouries to commemorate Robin's recent birthday.  Thanks were made to the Wairarapa Caravan Club for a great rally and we all packed up and went our separate ways.

Happy Birthday Robin

Not us though, we are not going home yet.  We are both running a Safari Trip for a group of Heretaunga CC members, and our starting point was the Masterton NZMCA camp, starting on Sunday.  Here's hoping for good Wairarapa weather for the coming week.

Weekend Rally at Kai Iwi

 Kai Iwi Beach Holiday Park is a camp our club hadn't visited for a while, and the Camp Saver rates were certainly a bonus.  Five vans, two Birman cats and a dog were in attendance over the weekend.

Here we all are

Sue and Murray were the last to arrive, and certainly made a statement when they arrived towing their new van.  That's always exciting.  Everyone was very interested to see it.

Sue and  Murray's new van

The camp runs a fish and chip shop, so that was on the menu that evening.  I think we all indulged in Friday fish and chips for our meal.  Then there was the usual evening catch up - plenty of room in the lounge for our group.

Owen had arranged a visit to local car enthusiast Sandy's home to view his cars, and his brother Colin was there to help with questions as well.  This beauty, a 1952 De Soto, was in the driveway, all  bright and shiny and waiting to be admired.

1952 De Soto

Sandy wanted a sports car with a long bonnet but couldn't find a commercial option, so decided to build one himself.  No plans, it was all in his head, just waiting to be acted on, he said.  What a clever man, so talented and I'm sure not many people would be able to accomplish such a thing like this.  

Hand built shiny red long bonnet sports car

Another of Sandy's projects was to build a cannon.  This one can fire a cannon ball hundreds of feet, we were told.

Sandy's cannon

Time for lunch - but with the first choice closed up tight, we backtracked to Pukeko's Nest Cafe.  There was a group from a car club in attendance taking up a lot of tables,  but we managed to find a couple of tables for our group, and settled down to enjoy our lunch.  Soup was on the menu so that was my choice, and Robin enjoyed his bacon and egg sandwich 

Time for lunch

Driving back to camp to tool a slight detour, driving through the tiny Mowhanau Village down to the coast.

Although the estuary is pleasant, this is a rough and wild coast, with a sign telling of the dangers.  There was a tiny Life Savers hut perched on the cliff overlooking the beach.

The wild beach

At 4zees we had a very interesting talk from the camp host, telling us how he moved on from a high powered IT job advising Government Agencies to purchasing the lease on Kai Iwi motor camp.  He is enjoying the slower paced life and is active in the community on several committees.

It was quiz night on Saturday night, (guess who won) followed by Sue and Murray telling us about the highlights of their 3 month South Island trip.  Our final morning tea was enjoyed sitting in the sunshine, then it was time to pack up, hook up, and head away home.

Whanganui Vintage Weekend

 Friday morning and it was time to move on from Dudding Lake to Whanganui Racecourse for the Vintage Weekend.  There were half the number of vans on site compared to the previous year, we were told, probably because of another NZMCA event in Marton.  When we arrived, we mentioned we were three vans traveling together, so we were placed right next to the race course itself.  

Our three vans on the end of the row

The rest of the attendees were parked in a different area, they all seemed to be squashed up together, I thought.

Everyone else was parked here

On Saturday morning  the two of us together with  Russell and Maureen  walked the four blocks into town to view the vintage cars parked up on Victoria Avenue.  It was another very hot day, and we joined the throngs all admiring the various cars on display.  People were everywhere, some in 50s costumes, some with dogs and children, and plenty of vintage age people on sticks, all intent on checking out the cars.

 

There was plenty of entertainment too, to keep the crowds happy.  Some were dancing to the music, and we noticed that others had brought their folding chairs along, to sit in comfort and enjoy the music.

One of the bands performing

By this stage we were all quite hot and bothered, and luckily found an empty table in one of the very busy cafes and thankfully say down.  Iced coffees for Russell and Maureen, an iced chocolate and a chocolate milkshake for me and Robin certainly made us feel a lot better, together with a sandwich for lunch.  It was nice to sit down and get out of the hot sunshine.  The two guys had a hankering for a hot dog from the food stalls, so we joined the crowds again .

Bratworst in a bun

By this time we were more than ready to head back to camp, but couldn't face the long walk in the hot sun, so traveled back in style in a taxi.  No sooner had we arrived back and the rain came down in torrents.  That kept us inside for a while.  Geoff was showing off his Christmas tee-shirt, and I just had to take a photo.

We are all getting older, Geoff

There was so much going on over the weekend in various venues, we just couldn't see it all.  We missed the steam traction engines, there were boat rides on the Whanganui River, art exhibitions, tram and double decker bus rides, and planes flying overhead.  Something for everyone.

Visiting the Rally

With our caravan still up at Ohaupo and Robin’s recent knee operation meaning he was unable to drive, there was no way we would be attending the weekend rally at Rangiotu School.  So we did the next best thing and visited the rally for morning tea.  I was the nominated driver and we had a whoopsie on the trip up.  The only damage was to a pukeko who tried to cross the road in front of my little grey car – these birds have no road sense at all. 

It was a grey drizzly morning and we arrived at the school to be warmly welcomed by the rally family Russell and Maureen.    Morning tea was held in the kitchen/dining room and everyone soon arrived with their cuppas.  We had brought along some cream sponges to celebrate Robin’s recent birthday – no wonder everyone was pleased to see us.

Yes, he will be sharing that sponge cake

As we hadn't been to a rally for a while, as you can imagine, there was plenty of catching up to do.  We are so lucky at this school to have this room available to meet in, I imagine there wouldn't be much chance of sitting outside with the weather forecast promising a wet weekend.

The sponge cakes all got eaten

Originally we had planned to stay on for lunch, and I had packed a picnic lunch accordingly, but Robin’s knee was getting rather painful so we decided to head for home.  Many thanks to Geoff and Eileen who invited us in to their van for an extra chat before we departed, and to Russell and Maureen for suppling some Lemonade lemons to us all, I took a couple of these home to try.

Happy Campers

The drive home was uneventful, although the rain was setting in, and luckily no unwary pukekos ventured into the road in front of me.  These birds have been called “god dammed purple chickens” by USA visitors, we understand. 

Robin needed a little nap after our “at home picnic lunch”  - guess the morning had taken it out of him a bit.  After an easy evening meal we settled down to watch Jurassic Park, the very first film in the series.  It had been ages since this was released, and although I remembered bits and pieces as the film evolved, it was still very exciting and well worth watching.

Beautiful Lake Tekapo

After buying our first ever Fairlie Pies, and stowing them safely away in the fridge to enjoy after,  it was time to say goodbye to Fairlie and head out on SH8 to our next stop, Lake Tekapo. The landscape was a mixture of rolling hills, and pine plantations, and the first stop on our journey was the quaint little settlement of  Burkes Pass.  Burkes Pass was named after Michael John Burke, a graduate of Dublin University, who discovered the passageway leading into the Mackenzie Country in 1855. This was an alternative route to the Mackenzie Pass which the notorious sheep stealer, James Mackenzie, had used to take his sheep into the Otago goldfields.

The historic village of Burkes Pass is home to Three Creeks Shop, an eclectic collection of old buildings, old cars, memorabilia everywhere, and a tiny coffee cart.  There was a large range of sturdy wooden outdoor furniture squeezed together.  Everyone seems to break their journey here, and its easy to seem why.  The place looks so fascinating, just like stepping back in time.  There were cars, caravans, and motorhomes parked up and down the road, we had to do a bit of maneuvering to park our rig.

So much to see here

We had a good look around at the interesting old buildings,  and inside the general store.  There were people everywhere.  And yes, we remembered these old rusty cars from our last visit back in 2012, they are certainly not on the list to get restored in a hurry.

In need of some TLC

Once down over the Burkes Pass the country opened up into high country farmland.  44km after starting out we arrived at Lake Tekapo NZMCA Park, another of the new parks opened up in the last few years.

 

And what a lovely place it was, down a long drive to the lake edge peeping through the pine trees.  This is a more casual camp, with metal sites laid out here and there.  We chose a site, and settled down for lunch, heating up the oven to finally try those famous Fairlie Pies.  And yes, we can see what all the hype was about, they were delicious, and packed full of filling, there was nothing skimpy about these pies. 

Lake Tekapo NZMCA Park

After lunch we drove the short distance into town.  First we stopped at the  famous dog statue on the lake edge, and is a tribute to the sheepdogs that helped develop the Mackenzie Country, who made working this rugged terrain so much easier for the shepherds.

Memorial to the sheep dogs

Right next door was the pretty little Church of the Good Shepherd, built of stone and oak in 1935.  Sadly the church is not now open to visitors, which is a shame, but the grounds are open.  There was a wedding taking place, such a picturesque place to get married. 

Wedding at the Church of the Good Shepherd

This is a lovely view from the lake shore by the church, looking out to Mt Cook.  When visitors were allowed inside the church, this is the view which would be framed by the church window, making such a pretty picture.

View from the church

Another view of the church

The town has grown dramatically since we were last here, including this new foot bridge.  No doubt good for the many cyclists around too.  People were relaxing on the lake edge, sunbathing, or going for a dip.  The shopping centre has increased in size, plenty of fancy accommodation, new hot pools and an ice rink too. As well as that, plenty of high end housing has appeared, with a new subdivision opening up.  Lake Tekapo is booming.  

New foot bridge

Back at camp, Gemma was very interested in the duck family waddling around outside.  Why oh why isn't she allowed outside to chase them, she is wondering?

Let me at them!

The following day we did some more exploring, driving up the east side of Lake Tekapo, soon leaving the seal and driving along a gravel road, kicking up clouds of dust behind us.  The day was perfect, and the scenery was glorious, yet another blue dome day.  A tiny bit of snow lingered on the mountains across the lake.

Beautiful scenery abounds here

Backtracking through town, we came across a sign pointing the way to Mt John Observatory and Café.  That sounded nice we thought, that would be a café with a view.  So up and up we drove, only to be disappointed.  The café was closed, and the gate was locked – never mind, the idea seemed too good to be true.

Then we had another idea, lets find the canal where we did a spot of freedom camping all those years ago on our 2012 South Island trip.  We don't do a lot of freedom camping, so this was something new for us.  Yes, there was the bridge we drove over, and several young men were fishing, hoping to get a rainbow trout or two, they said, but no luck so far.  Up the canal road we drove until we came to a locked gate, and just off to the side was the area our three vans parked up for the night.  The canal is part of the hydro scheme.

Tekapo Canal

Time to head back to town, we were after an ice-cream to finish off our afternoon explorations.  Different views to admire on the  drive back.

Driving back to town

The simple act of buying an ice-cream each was easier said than done.  You would think that with the multitude of cafes on the lake side some of them would have ice-creams on offer, but no.  In the end we went to the local supermarket and lo and behold, they had a whole freezer full of these tasty delights.  We chose caramel one for Robin, and a white chocolate and raspberry for me.  Delicious!  We sat eating the at the lake edge, watching the world go by.  It was a great finish to our afternoon of exploration.