Awning Repairs and Welcome Bay

 It was just as well we were up  bright and early while overnighting at Cvana, in Tauranga.  We had parked the van in the workers car parking area and needed to depart.  The factory is situated in a busy industrial area and cars and trucks were tooing and froing, arriving for work and going about their business.  The helpful staff guided us out and in front of their workshop, the car was unhooked, and once again we were free for several hours.  Taking Gemma with us too, of course.  

Where to this time?  We weren't too far from The Mount (Mount Maunganui) so drove there and found a parking spot overlooking the beach.  What a busy bunch the locals were.  There were people climbing up the pathway on the Mount, tiny dots in the distance.  We watched as a never ending stream of people walked, jogged, ran and cycled along the pathway adjacent to the beach.  Fit youngsters  effortlessly ran by, older couples walked together, young Mums wheeled their babes in pushchairs, it was great to see many people out and about enjoying the morning.

  Mt Maunganui and the beach

After a couple of hours we got a call to say the repairs had been completed, so back we went to collect the van and get on our way.  Our stop for the night was not too far away, a 14km drive to Welcome Bay NZMCA Park.  This park has plenty of room, with large grassy areas for parking.

Welcome Bay NZMCA Park

A couple of the nearby properties have peacocks, and their distinctive calls rang out.  It's almost as if they are crying "Help".  There is a large meeting room with books to swap, and several boxes of kiwi fruit had been donated for the members.  "Help yourselves", we were told.

Zespri kiwifruit on offer

I don't remember seeing the "Tree of Knowledge" last time we stayed here, complete with a swing, but here it is.

The Tree of Knowledge

In the evening we met up with friends Louise and Robert who live in nearby Papamoa, and went out to dinner at the local RSA.  The meal was very nice, salmon for me, and a lamb shank for Robin.  For some reason, not a single photo was taken.  The weather changed overnight, and we woke to wind and rain, not at all nice after our days of sunshine.

Heading to Ohaupo

 We farewelled our caravan buddies and got on our way, taking a few days to reach Ohaupo to get our Leisureline caravan serviced.  First stop was not too far away at Sanson, to go to the dump station and fuel up.  It was lunch on the go from the Z Service station, coffee and a pie while we started on our trip - means we wouldn't have to stop on the way.

Lunch on the go

Our stop for the night was at a private property in Ohakune, newly available for fellow Leisureline caravan owners.  It was a lovely rural property, and we certainly appreciated the opportunity to stay overnight.

Leaving the caravan on site,  we just had to call into the "world famous in New Zealand" chocolate eclair shop.  We were served by the former owner Steve, who told us he is "living the dream", making the tasty goodies, chatting with customers and getting paid for it, without the worry of running the business any more.  The new owners have set up a coffee lounge in one corner of the shop, a welcome addition I'm sure.  

The Chocolate Eclair Shop

 Ohakune is also famous for the Big Carrot, proudly standing on the edge of town!  Plenty of carrots are grown here, as well as potatoes and swedes.   In case you are wondering, the name Ohakune means "an opening to a new world" and refers to the descent from nearby Mount Ruapehu into the valley and swamps of the area.

The Big Carrot at Ohakune

A site worthy of stopping for a photo stop is the Makatote Viaduct.  Building was completed in 1908 and the viaduct  is recognised as an important part of New Zealand's engineering heritage.

We drove past Mt Ruapehu as we continued on our journey, it's always such a lovely sight to see.  This is a view from the Western side of the mountain.

Mt Ruapehu

We stayed the next two nights at the NZMCA Otorohanga Park, fairly quiet at this time of year with about 10 vans here each night.  The name means "food for a journey".  There is a legend which tells of a Maori chief passing by, who chanted incantations that stretched out his meagre supply of food to last the full journey.  

Staying at Otorohanga NZMCA Park

We enjoyed  a celebratory birthday dinner for me at the Otorohanga Club while we were here.  The meal was delicious, roast pork and veggies,  bubbly for me, and a beer for him.

Enjoying my Birthday dinner

It was just a short 43km trip to Ohaupo the next day for our caravan service.  The Leisureline service team allow customers to stay overnight and we were joined by Geoff and Eileen - it was great to catch up with them again.  While we were getting a caravan service done, they were collecting their van after repairs had been completed.  The four of us visited the local fish and chip shop for dinner that night, so no cooking for us again.   

One waiting for a service, the other waiting to go home

Day out with SLG Friends

 It was a lovely day out with our Super Leisure Group friends.  A real "Blue Sky" day, lovely warm Spring weather, what could be better.  We drove down to Lower Hutt, my old home town where I was born, did my schooling, grew up, and lived for quite some years.  It always feels like coming home to me when we travel to the Hutt Valley.

Five of us met at the Bluebird Eatery, the cafe at the Dowse Art Gallery.  We had a nice lunch, but commiserated about paying for parking.  (Most of the parking is free where we live, except for the main street, and I always park behind the library and walk through the mall to get to the shops.)  Some dishes on the menu were a little different, I chose roast mushrooms on toasted focaccia, very tasty indeed, and Robin had delicious fish and chips.

My mushrooms are under this salad

Sadly the photo of our lunch group turned out rather dark, and my computer will not let me alter it.  Never mind, here we all are, having a fine old time together.  The young woman manager of the cafe used to board with Trish some years ago when she came to New Zealand as an overseas student.  So she was very attentive to Trish and our group.

Helen, Trish, Jenny, Robin and Calvin

After lunch we visited the adjacent Dowse Art Museum.

The jewel in the crown at the museum is the pataka whakairo (carved storehouse), known as one of the Hutt Valley's greatest treasures.  Commissioned by Wiremu Tako Ngatata and built in 1856 under the guidance  of carver Te Heuheu Tukino, it is one of several buildings created in support of the Maori King movement, and the only one that survives intact.  The storehouse, known as Nuku Tewhatewha has had several homes in the care of a pakeha family, first in  in Lower Hutt, then Thorndon (Wellington) before being carried over the Remutaka Range to Masterton in 1912.  The passing years and the weather were taking its toll on the building, and it was returned into the care of the Dowse in 1982.

Nuku Tewhatewha

We then went back to Trish's home for a chat, followed by afternoon tea.  She had reminded us at lunch not to have any desserts as she had been baking for our arrival in the afternoon.  And goodness me, were we spoilt, she had made one of her famous lemon meringue pies!

So yummy

Our mutual friend Pauline popped in for afternoon tea too, so it was great to catch up with her again. 

Pauline, Jenny and Robin

 Pauline and her late husband Geoff joined us on our epic 3 month South Island trip with two other couples way back in 2012.  The four of us had done lots of research for this trip, and had a long list of places to go and things to see, to make the most of our journey.  Here we all are at  Hakatere Conservation Park at the foot of Mount Sommers.  The DOC hut was just the place for us to sit and eat our picnic lunch after a trip to Staverley to try some of their famous sausage rolls I had read about.  

Geoff C, Pauline, Eileen, Geoff T, Robin, Jenny, Derek and Dot

On our 2012 South Island trip

Many thanks to Trish for organising such a lovely day out, we had a great time indeed.

Caravan Club lunch at Denny's

 We organised a day out for our caravan club members, a lunch at Denny's in Porirua.  The interest was excellent, 20 attended, with just a few members unable to make it.  Denny's is a casual, family style restaurant, with quite an extensive menu, something for everyone's tastes.  Our group of 20 was spread out over three tables, and the restaurant was fairly full with other family groups too.  Our members are spread out geographically, some driving over the hill from the Wairarapa, some from the Horowhenua, Kapiti, and the Hutt Valley.

Every one was chatting away, so I thought it was a good time to take some photos.

Then serious business of checking out the the menus took place and we all made our choices.  It was roast pork for Robin and salmon for me.  It took a while for all the 20 meals to be delivered and the noise from our tables certainly decreased while we ate our lunches.

Our meals

After lunch a bit of table hopping took place as we caught up with the others.  A few ordered dessert, some had coffees and we were all happy little campers indeed.  Robin can never pass by a chocolate sundae.

Chocolate sundae for Robin

It was a lovely time out, both the food and the company were great, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.  We are sure to have another caravan club lunch again soon.

Final Days on Safari

The last stop on our safari was two nights at Takapau.  It was nice to be on  power again, as we were still experiencing cool weather.  

 Takapau is a pleasant camp, with power, water, recycling, laundry, a dump station, showers and toilets, and most important for our group in the chilly weather, somewhere to meet and gather.  About half  of our members opted for power sites this time.  

Staying at Takapau

We ate together in the hall on Saturday night, enjoying our local fish and chips.  Then there was a safari wrap up, starting with the telling of embarrassing stories.  I started the ball rolling when I related my tale of woe as a young Mum driving a car with L plates, remember those, plus two kids and two dogs.  I was traveling up the Wairarapa side of the Remutaka  Hill when all the traffic came to a standstill.  When the cars started off again I found it impossible to do the dreaded hill start and kept sliding back, getting closer and closer to the car behind me.  Finally, the driver came to me and offered to start my car and drove it to a flat pull off area.  I was mortified, and stayed put till all the traffic had passed by, before slowly driving home to Lower Hutt.  Other embarrassing tales followed, most of them long forgotten and buried in the subconscious, as it turned out.

During our safari we had a competition to count the number of one way bridges (there were many) we drove over.  Turnbulls and Archers came very close to the number I carefully counted and noted down, so they were declared the winners.  Bouquets and Brickbracks over our trip followed, with Helen getting a special mention for her solo caravan towing over very demanding roads, certainly not a task I would be capable of.

Sunday was a free day with people out visiting friends and family, or in our case, a little shopping and attending to the laundry.  The grand finale was dinner that evening at Sawyers Arms in Tikokino.

Sawyers Arm for a country dinner

Muddy gumboots at the door

The pub was quite full with patrons  and our group was seated in the dining room on a long table, which suited us fine.  Menus were studied, our choices were made, and generously heaped plates  arrived at the table.

 

Final dinner at Sawyers Arms

Everyone departed on Monday morning, and the gusty wind made towing a little difficult.  We stopped at NZ Natural Clothing shop at Norsewood  to make a couple of purchases, then carried on till we found somewhere to stop for lunch.

Shopping at Norsewood

Our idea was to have a break at Mangatainoko freedom camping area across the road from Tui  Brewery.  But the heavy rain put paid to that idea, the grass was rutted,  very soft and water was lying everywhere.  So we carefully drove out again, and parked in front of Tui Brewery on the main road.

There's the famous Tui Brewery tower

Lunch was easy, we had planned ahead and made some bacon sandwhiches before we broke camp, and they were very tasty indeed.  Maureen and Russell pulled up in their campervan behind us, and popped in to say hello, then we were off, on the final journey home.  Up and over the Pahiatua Track, and we were on the home stretch.  As much as I always enjoy our trips away, it's always good to get back home, safe and sound again.

What's at Pongaroa?

 What's at Pongaroa?  For such a small place, there are quite a lot of interesting things there.  We left Alfredton and drove on to Pongaroa, a slowish drive with plenty of hills, up and down again, over and over again.  In the middle of the village is a sculpture to commemorate a famous son, Maurice Wilkins, who was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize together with his colleagues when they discovered the now familiar double helix of DNA.

Double Helix, discovered by Maurice Wilkins and colleagues

We arrived at the Pongaroa Domain, the name means many tree ferns, another pleasant camping area.

Russell and  Maureen couldn't decide the best place to park, so moved here, there and back again, getting their van stuck in the soft grass.  So it was Robin to the rescue with his handy strop to pull them out onto the hard again.

Getting ready

Robin to the rescue

Three of us opted for a power site and parked up the rise under some towering trees.  There were ewes and their little lambs just over the fence.  The others parked below us on the hard standing.

Three vans up the top

And the others parked on the edge of the road

We found out that Helen grew up in Pongaroa so knows the area well.  When having a coffee in the local cafe, she mentioned that she worked in the building as an after school job when it was a country store.  

Helen's first job here as a high school girl

The local pub, the Pongaroa Hotel,  has an interesting history, starting life as a BNZ bank.  The bank closed in 1936 and was used as a private house for 12 years.  It was then converted into a hotel, then a tavern, then back to a hotel again.  There are many interesting historic photos inside the building.

Pongaroa Hotel

We had Happy Hour in the pub, no doubt the locals wondered about us as we all walked in.  You know this is a rural area when you see the gum boots all lined up at the door.  We settled down in the dining room, checked out the menus and ordered our meals.    Generous country sized servings and very tasty indeed.

Helen, Russel and Maureen

John, Flo, Geoff, Eileen, Robin and Jenny

Robin, Jenny, Helen, Owen, John and Flo

The following day was clear but cold, and we packed a picnic lunch and the folding chairs, and headed off on an adventure.  Off we went to show our camping buddies the beautiful Waihi Falls, about a 45 minute drive from the camp.  The majority had not been there before.  Arriving at the car park we noticed a brand new toilet block, there was no sign of this when we did our reccie 6 weeks or so ago.

Brand new toilet block

The walk down to the falls was down a steep track, and I counted 105 steps.  Of course it was much easier going down than clambering back up.  We all walked at our own pace and the walking poles made us feel a little more secure.

Down the track

Waihi Falls were a sight to behold, roaring with sound as the water thundered 25m over the edge, sending light spray around to land on our faces.  Such a magnificent sight, so doubt the recent rain fall had made the flow even stronger than usual.

At beautiful Waihi Falls

Cameras were clicking as everyone posed for their selfies in front of the falls.  Then we all arranged ourselves for a group photo.

Geoff, two Helens in a row, Owen, Maureen, Jenny, Robin, Flo and John

Puffing and panting we made it back up the steps, and it was time for lunch.  There was a wooden shelter available with two large picnic tables and seats, but the wind was whistling right through.  Luckily there was a nice sheltered spot at the top of the walkway so we settled down there with our folding chairs and picnic lunches.  It was a lovely spot, sheltered by native trees, and we could hear the sounds of frogs croaking in the pond down the hill a little way.  So peaceful as we sat and chatted, eating our sandwhiches and making a hot drinks from our handy thermoses.

We took a different road heading back to camp, in fact it wasn't the road Robin intended to take at all, but we got there in the end.  We commented on the huge amount of pine trees all over the hills, new plantings, some half grown and pine forests maturing.  I'm always interested in rock formations as we drive along too, these looked interesting.

Rocks protruding from the hills

Finally back in Pongaroa, we stopped at the cafe/store for an ice-cream.  After our mammoth drive up and down all those hills, we felt we deserved an ice-cream to finish off our outing.

We can go every which way from Pongaroa