Thunder and plenty of Rain at Red Barn

What a weekend of strange weather we had at the rally, it was warm, wet and thundery.  Generally, the days were fine, but by late afternoon the clouds would roll in, thunder would rumble, and the heavy rain would fall, and fall, and fall.  Although we didn't sight any lightening, Mr Google tells us these two always come hand in hand,  and it is not possible to have thunder without lightning. Obviously it wasn't happening overhead and we didn’t notice it, but the lightening would have been flashing across the sky not too far away.

The six early bird vans were joined by four others on Friday, making a total of  ten vans for the weekend.  It was very handy having the implement shed to gather in for our morning teas and 4zees, but the resident swallows were not at all happy with our presence – I think they were busy building nests inside the shed.   The birds  were rather agitated and flew about, swooping from corner to corner.  Gemma came on her lead to join us during the day  and really enjoyed the interesting smells everywhere, until one of the swallows swooped low and buzzed her!  People were bad enough, but to bring  a cat as well, just too much!

On Friday evening we gathered again in the handy implement shed and our hosts Geoff and Colleen came to give us a talk about their life in South Africa and how they came to arrive in New Zealand, settle in Auckland then come to live in Palmerston North.  Life in South Africa could be quite dangerous and they spoke of multiple locks and alarms on their doors, and motion sensors outside around their home. Certainly a different way of life than we experience here.  Moving to Canada or England were discussed, and soon rejected, much too cold.  Australia was considered, but they didn't meet the criteria, but they did for New Zealand, so it all eventually fell into place.

Collen and Geoff

Gathered for the evening talk

Palmerston North is well known for the wind turbines on the hills and we had a good view from this property.  Love them or hate them, these turbines swish around producing “clean green” electricity.

Wind turbines on the hills

Robin, Dave, Russell and Pat, wonder if they are talking about cars?

Pat planned a little 4WD adventure on Saturday, he was told that he could drive through the farm and reach the Manawatu River.  So off we went, three 4WDs in a row, with the front car opening the gates, and the back car closing them, as you must do on a farm.  The grass was so thick and lush we remarked it was rather like driving over the African  savannah.  Instead of being attacked by lions, we were set upon by a bunch of steers who galloped up from the adjacent paddock. Just as well there was a fence between us.

Here they come

We reached the stop bank, but where was the gate we had been told about?  There it was at the other end, so off we drove again.  But once there, a few of us decided that as the gate couldn't be opened, those with sore backs and knees better not try climbing over.  Some of the more energetic ones did, climbed up and over the wooden gate without doing themselves a mishap, and got a glimpse of the river.

We made it, but the river is over the stop bank

Rally Family Dave and Deb had a couple of quizzes for us on Saturday night.  Dave had insisted his quizzes were easier that his previous ones and that we would all get every answer but……….  Never mind, it certainly gave us something to think about.  All too soon the rally came to an end, and it was time to hook up and depart for home.  Many thanks to Dave and Deb for the weekend, to Flo and Deb for the home baking, and to our hosts for giving us a big bowl of mandarins to share.

We were one of the last to leave, and drove through Palmy to the dump station.  This is in a very attractive setting surrounded by large trees.  The caravan ahead of us got caught up on a steel bollard protecting the dump area, ooops, the wife was driving and hubby was not at all pleased!  Luckily Robin did much better and we drove out unscathed.

At the dump site

Forgotten World Highway

Our next adventure on Owen and Helen’s safari was a two day trip along the Forgotten World Highway, SH43) starting from Stratford.  We had done this trip a couple of times in earlier years, but for some of our friends, it was their first time, and one or two were a trifle apprehensive about the trip. There was a handy dump station at the start of SH43 and while Robin was attending to this I went over the road to see the sale yards in action.  The auctioneer was in full voice as each lot was herded in, and the farmers were watching intently as the stock was bought and sold.

Stock auction

SH43 is New Zealand’s oldest heritage trail at 155kms long and follows ancient Maori trade routes and pioneering farm tracks.  On day one we drove up and over three saddles, the Strathmore Saddle, the Pohokura Saddle, named after a prominent Maori chief, and the Whangamomona Saddle.  This one, in our opinion, had the loveliest views, the landscape was full of lush ferns and native trees.

Driving over the Whangamomona Saddle

Eventually we arrived at our stop for the night, the Whangamomona Campground, formerly the local school.  We all slotted into spaces, and over the afternoon the camp filled up with more and more caravans and motorhomes, including two cyclists from Austria.  We watched them erect their tiny tent, they must have been exhausted after biking up and over all those hills all day.

Whangamomona Camp

This settlement, first settled in 1895, was once a bustling frontier town.  The 300 residents worked on roading and railway construction, and farming.  Farm mergers and rationisation took place in the 1960s, and the population declined to about 20 residents.  When changes to the local boundarys were mooted, the locals strongly disagreed and declared themselves a Republic in 1989, and held their own Presidential Elections.  The famous Republic Day is held every two years and attracts visitors from far and wide, and Presidents have included a dog and a goat, with the occasional local wearing the chains of office too.  We spent our “happy hour” at the famous Whangamomona Hotel and the boss would have been delighted with our 14 strong visit.  As well as enjoying beer, wine, or in my case coffee, four of our group purchased a black Whangamomona tee shirt – Robin already had one so made sure he wore it down to the pub.

 

Whangamomona Hotel

Gemma was intrigued by the chickens and a very large rooster patrolling the camp grounds.  She watched them safely behind our screen door, oh, to be free to chase them.  By the size of the chooks, I think she would come off second best.

 

Come closer, chickens

The next morning we continued on the second half of our journey, with one more saddle to conquer, the Tahora Saddle, and next up was the Moki Tunnel.  The single-lane 180m long Moki Tunnel was built in 1936 and is known locally as the 'Hobbit's Hole'. Home to fossilized giant crabs, the floor of the tunnel was lowered in 1989, increasing the height to 7m to allow access for triple-decked stock trucks. It has a timber gabled roof and hand carved walls. 

Moki Tunnel, Hobbit’s Hole

Then we stopped at the lay by close to the burial place of Joshua Morgan, who surveyed this rugged area in the 1890s.  He had proposed five tunnels to be constructed along this route, but the Moki Tunnel was the only one which went ahead.  In March 1893 surveyor Joshua Morgan, aged 35, was working in the Tangarakau Gorge when he became ill, probably with peritonitis. Two of his chainmen walked to get medical help from the nearest doctor, 50 kilometres away – but they were too late, and there was little a doctor could have done. Morgan was buried where he died, on the banks of the river. His grave is now a sobering stop for travelers on the remote, winding Forgotten World Highway.

Grave of early surveyor, Joshua Morgan

We continued driving along the Tangarakau Gorge, which seemed to go on and on, eventually arriving at Taumarunui where we were stopping at the Piriaka NZMCA campsite for the evening.  We must have forgotten just how long the second part of this trip was, mind you, the road was extremely narrow and winding, so we had to keep our speed right down.  This site was previously the home of the Kaitieke Co-operative Dairy Co which opened in 1912.

At Piriaka

So all our group have safely driven SH43 and lived to tell the tale.  Yes, the road is narrow, and at one stage we had an approaching  truck and two cars back up to give us room to get past.  Towing a big van can sometimes be tricky, but if all motorists are courteous and drive with care, there shouldn’t be too many problems on this road.

Gentle Annie

Gentle Annie is one of those roads not often travelled, from Taihape to Napier.  140kms of steep, winding road, up and over several mountain ranges with the scenery changing from steep grassy slopes, pine plantations, and National Parks.

The day started off wet  and misty as we climbed up one hill after another.

After a while we arrived at our stop for the night, free parking at  the Springvale Suspension Bridge.  When the rain eased, we went for a walk to check out the bridge.   Opened in 1925, it was an economic necessity to open up more remote land for farming.  Despite the rough and winding nature of the road, the bridge carried a lot of traffic, and after 45 years the suspension bridge was considered unsafe for heavy traffic.  In 1970 the road was realigned and a new bridge was built alongside the old one.  Saved from demolition by Tony Batley, the bridge is now owned and managed by Heritage New Zealand.

Springvale Suspension Bridge

Looking down from the bridge to our caravan

Geoff and Eileen arrived later in the afternoon and we enjoyed 4zees together.  It was a chilly night indeed out in the middle of nowhere but the day promised to be fine.  We set off along Gentle Annie to complete our journey, up and over even more hills.  What’s this on the road?  A fine lot of black steers being moved along the road.  There was nothing to do but stop and let them walk around us.

Cattle on the road

There was another stop along the way, at the HB (Hawkes Bay) Panorama Lookout.

Panorama of Hawkes Bay

Down from all the hills, our trip over Gentle Annie was almost over.  Next stop, Napier.

Weekend at Sanson

Sanson is not a place which originally springs to mind for a caravan weekend away.  But camp there we did, at the Sanson School over the weekend, a total of 9 vans joining in with members of Wellington Caravan club for  a combined rally.  Sanson (originally known as Sandon), is located on the junction of State Highways 1 and 3, and was named after Henry Sanson, the secretary of the Hutt Small Farm Association.

At Sanson School

The school backed on to farmland, and we kept an eye on the livestock over the fence.

And just a little further away we could watch the colourful Blokarts from the Manawatu Blokart Club  as they were put through their paces.  Some of our group walked over to have a much closer look and came back declaring they would love to have a go at this sport sometime.

Blokarts zipping along in the breeze

Being so close to Viv’s Kitchen, “world famous in Sanson” a group of us pooled cars and drove there for afternoon tea.  Most chose a very large cream horn, and for a change, I tried a (new to me) Matchbox pastry, which took rather a lot of eating, I can tell you!

My Matchbox and Robin’s slightly demolished Cream Horn

We had use of the school hall, which was very handy to gather in.  The Wellington Club had organized quizzes and  games to keep our brains active,  and we all  brought along a dish for the Pot Luck Shared Dessert on Saturday evening.  The expected rain arrived just in time for packing up on Sunday morning.  Luckily the gale force winds which had been promised never arrived, so we really got off lightly.  There is nothing worse than towing in heavy wind, is there?

What’s he doing out there?

The rain had eased to a drizzle when we arrived home and unpacked the van, so that wasn’t so bad.  Next rally – three weeks away and we will do it all again.   

Owlcatraz

During our weekend in Shannon, the caravan club members took a trip to Owlcatraz, native bird and wildlife park.  Entering the café building, we paid our fees and got reacquainted with Big Red, or rather, what was left of him.  Sadly, Big Red is now confined to the wall, but in his day he was a real draw card.  Reputably  the world's biggest cattle beast, Big Red weighed in at 2.8 tonnes and stood 2m high at the shoulder.  All that weight had given him trouble with his hips and legs, and he died during an operation on his feet.  We remember getting our photos taken standing beside him some years ago on an earlier visit.  

The remains of Big Red

Derek made friends with Joey the Cockatoo outside.  Who’s a cheeky boy then?

Derek with Joey

The peacock was busy displaying his gorgeous tail feathers while the two peahens showed not the slightest bit of interest.  No doubt they had seen it all this posturing and tail feather shaking before.  We were quite impressed though.

The resident peacock

The guide led us to the main aim of our visit to see the native owls (ruru) in their owl house.  Photography was not allowed inside the darkened house, and we were told the exciting news that two new owlets had recently hatched.

Then we were taken on a farm walk, and helped feed the Kune Kune pig her dog biscuits.  She is so well mannered that she sits down waiting for visitors to toss the biscuits in her mouth.

Oha Kune waiting for her treats

What else?  Donkeys and alpacas, all coming up to the fence when the visitors arrived, waiting for some treats from the public.  Children in particular (and the young at heart) love to feed the animals. 

Donkeys and alpacas

The path meanders through native trees and took us on to the man made Lake Owlsmere, home to many varieties of ducks and birdlife.   Our guide stopped and we looked for eels in the streams, yes, they were there all right.  This is a lovely property, with much to see and do.

Tranquil Lake Owlsmere

Returning to the gift shop we sat and enjoyed a complimentary cuppa, while Joey the Cockatoo kept us amused at his antics.  His favourite thing to do is to tear up cardboard boxes, and have fun with the visitors.  It was a great afternoon out.

Easter at Feilding

In no particular hurry to rush home from our road trip, we stopped at at a POP in rural  Feilding on Friday for the Easter weekend.  As we drove along the road to our destination we passed this old Co-op Dairy Co building, established in 1893.  It was interesting to note the embossed lettering “Pakeha Brand Butter” on the building.  "Pakeha" was one of the brands used by the Cheltenham Co-operative Dairy Company, used exclusively for their premium and export butter.

Old dairy company building along Makino Road

We pulled into our POP and found ourselves a possie on the shingle road behind the house.  Across from us was a paddock with several young frisky heifers.   Other vans came a little later and parked on the grass.  It was a lovely sunny afternoon and we needed our sun awning out for some much needed shade.

This is a lovely property and we were encouraged to have a look around.  Climbing over a stile we found a beautifully manicured area, complete with an island surrounded by a moat.  This was the scene of a family wedding not so long ago, we were told.  Hidden on the island were the remains of an old truck, and farming memorabilia such as old plows were dotted around the lawns.

Our host has a real passion for collecting and the campers were invited to check out his “shed”.  Chock full of all sorts of items from the past, it was full to overflowing with all manner of interesting items, including several vintage cars.

An eclectic collection

Our hosts have quite an aviary containing doves, pheasants and a pair of sulphur crested cockatoos, which were particularly noisy when anyone approached their cage.

Hello, cocky

The farm inhabitants were interesting to see as well.  Wonderfully handsome Highland cattle grazed contentedly nearby – just check out those horns.  This boy is a family pet, I was told, a real softie who gets a daily grooming.

The pet bull

And then there were the pigs, which certainly needed investigating.  The pig man was there feeding out collected left over scraps to his pigs and I wandered over to try and take a few photos.  “Come in and see my pigs”, he invited me, opening up the gate and shielding me from the pet bull.  The pigs were making short work of their breakfast, and were joined by several sheep who keep trying to take a few bites for themselves.  As well as the food scraps there was a pile of fish heads, left over from a fishing competition – the pigs were certainly enjoying chomping through those.

Pigs on the property

The other vans departed and Geoff and Eileen arrived on Saturday to spend the next couple of days with us.

We walked back over to the piggery to check out the younger pigs.  The mid sized pigs came running up to the fence, no doubt expecting us to have food for them.  And then we saw some even smaller ones, cute little babies peeping through a doorway.

More pigs at the farm

With Easter Sunday being such a beautiful day, we decided to take a trip up to Apiti, (settled in 1886). This was a very quiet little place indeed, with scarcely a soul around.  So quiet that you could fire a rifle down the main road and no one would notice.  But we did spot some statues of moa behind the pub, along with  camping area complete with power points.  And there was a nice range of tractors all neatly arranged in the middle of town – someone has a passion for these, it seems.  We had intended to stop for a coffee at the local pub, but being Easter Sunday, it was shut up tight.

Apiti

There were two reasons to stop at Kimbolton on the way back.  First was to stop at the Look-Out and admire the glorious view looking out over the rural hills and gullies.

From Kimbolton Look-out

And secondly, I wanted to stop at the fence decorated with bras which I had glimpsed as we drove by on our way to Apiti.  It was only a small collection so far, but very colourful – and named “Kimbraton”.  With no coffee available we stopped a little further down the road at Cheltenham (named after Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England, the home of one of the pioneer settlers) for an ice-cream.

The Kimbraton Collection

After morning tea on Easter Monday we were packing up for our drive home when we had a scare.  One of the young heifers had escaped from the paddock, and even worse - the pig man had left the driveway gate wide open, we didn’t want any of the stock getting onto the road.  Robin switched into “cattle wrangler mode” and rushed to shut the gate.  And then – how to get that frisky heifer back in the paddock with her friends.  With a bit of arm waving and chasing, the heifer was eventually persuaded back to the paddock.  Although the electric tape fence was not live, it was a visual barrier to the stock, but was loose down one end where she escaped.  With a bit of judicial tightening up the fence was stock proof once again.  Thank goodness it all ended well.

Back where they belong