“Close to Home” Caravan Rally

With just a km or so to drive to our rally destination for the weekend, we arrived at the Levin Kiwi Holiday Park in no time at all.  Managers Debbie and Repi warmly welcomed us back, although it had been a while since our previous visit, they certainly remembered us.  The ground was quite wet and slushy and sadly it continued to rain during the weekend, but we certainly didn’t let the precipitation dampen our spirits.

Early arrivals

Things had certainly been happening at the camp with quite a bit of work taking place. The large central grassy area had been dug up, with new cabins and tourist flats being added to increase the accommodation options at the camp.

Work being done at the camp

Friday evenings are usually casual get-togethers at a rally weekend.  We were fortunate to have the use of the small hall, and met to socialise and relate our usual Friday night jokes.  The pretty sunset coloured the sky just long enough for me to take a few snaps, before fading away into darkness.

Sun set at the motor camp

This sight rather took my fancy the following morning, a long row of sparrows lined up on a caravan roof.  Wonder if they were waiting for a hand out for breakfast?

Sparrows on top of the van

On Saturday afternoon our planned drive our for coffee was delayed a little by a minor catastrophe – Rally Family Don and Pamela’s car  had a flattie.  Or as one of our blokes commented, “all the air had gone to the top”.  Luckily several of our club members were only too willing to help Don out and the question was, “how many men does it take to change a tyre?”  Several it seems, with a couple looking on at the sidelines to make sure the job is done correctly, plus another interested party (me) snapping a few photos.

Helping to change Don’s tyre

Once this little job was accomplished we car pooled and drove up to Murrayfield Café.  With orders taken we sat down to enjoy our coffees and cake, with several up our end of the table deciding to indulge in a milkshake instead. 

Afternoon Tea at Murrayfield’s Café

Don and Pamela had organised a couple of brain teasers in the hall on Saturday evening.  Everyone was asked to bring a baby or toddler photo of themselves, and most remembered, although some admitted to not having any early photos.  The photos were numbered and laid out on a table, and then we had to guess who was who, not an easy task at all.

Just who are these youngsters?

Earlier in the day we had been invited to bring in something unusual from our vans, to see if the items could be easily identified.  There was much head scratching going on as these items were closely inspected, picked up and turned over.  Some were relatively easy for us to make an inspired guess, while others kept their secret till the owner disclosed what it was and what it was used for.

 

Checking out the mystery items.

Our weekend concluded after morning tea on Sunday, and we all packed up and went on our way.  With all the wet weather and mud and puddles underfoot, there was no point in staying over for lunch as we often do on nicer days.  Wet weather or not, it was still a great weekend, it’s always nice to get away and meet up with our caravan club friends.

Winter is almost here

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday was fine and there was a sprinkling of snow on the hills behind our home.  It did look so pretty in the cool autumn sunshine when I was out and about yesterday. 

First snowfall of the season

Then the rain came down and washed the snow away.   In fact, it’s hardly stopped raining today – it’s wet, cold and miserable.  Both of us had separate Morning Tea get-togethers with a couple of groups we are involved with, and it was nice to stay home in the afternoon all warm and cozy.

No sign of the hills over the back fence today

It’s just as well we are not away in the caravan at the moment – overnight temperatures have dropped down to the minuses in various parts of the country.  And it’s not quite winter yet, but it’s coming up soon.  The first day of winter will be next  week on the 1st of June.

Anyone for Eels?

It’s Sunday morning here and that only means one thing – bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Cooking Sunday breakfast is Robin’s job and bacon and eggs it usually is, with a cooked tomatoe on the side for me.  I asked him today just how many Sunday breakfasts he thought he had cooked over the years.  Who knows – but they have all been delicious!

Yesterday a group of keen Menz Shedders and any interested spouses gathered in the rain outside the Levin Eel Trading factory.  I can remember eating smoked eel at a rather posh restaurant many years ago, so have long been interested to visit this local business.  We were welcomed by the company founder Mark who told us all about the processes involved.

Levin Eel Trading’s contracts fishermen to catch the eels from rivers and lakes throughout the North Island and top half of the South Island. The eels are then transported live back to the factory using purpose built trucks.

A truck full of live eels

Mark built his factory to his own design and utilises gravity to pipe water from one level to the next.  We watched as the eels were unloaded from the truck and entered the tanks through large pipes.

Here come the eels

The tanks appears to be boiling with writhing eels, but it is not the eels making all that disturbance.  The water is aerated which makes all the movement and the eels slowly move around the tanks.

Tanks full of eels

There are two species of freshwater eels in New Zealand – the short fin eel  and the long fin eel  The longfin eel is native to New Zealand, whilst the short fin eel is also found in South Australia, Tasmania and New Caledonia.   New Zealand freshwater eels are managed through the New Zealand Quota Management System to ensure a sustainable future.  The nets are fitted out with escape vents for eels under 300g to remain in the water and larger eels over 4kg are returned to the water for breeding.  The eels only breed once in their lives and these larger eels can contain millions of eggs – we didn’t know that.

Mark explained that most of the catch is exported live (chilled) to markets throughout Asia, Europe and North America.  All frozen products are blast frozen at -30°C before being stored at -20°C.  The smoked eel fillets are manuka hot-smoked with brown sugar brine and salt.  This was what I was after and gladly purchased some to take home with me.  Plus a little smoked salmon too, I didn’t know they sold that as well.

Yummy – smoked eel and salmon

Like most Kiwi boys, Robin has caught his share of eels as a lad.  Cooked and ate them too.  But those days are long gone and he wants nothing to do with our purchase of smoked eel.  What a shame – I’ll have to eat it all by myself!

World Record Licorice Allsort

What’s green, white and black and set to break a world record?  R J’s lime flavoured licorice allsort.  Local (Levin) company RJ’s licorice is a favourite of ours, and they were celebrating their 21st birthday with an attempt at making the world’s largest licorice allsort.

Crowds of people at RJ’s celebrating the 21st birthday

The Guinness Book of World Records is quite specific.  RJ’s had to advise exactly what the dimensions were to be, and then achieve them.  The giant allsort was assembled in the factory, measured and weighed.  Then the announcement was made – yes, it was official, it was a world record liquorice allsort!

The giant allsort

Then the fun began – slices were cut off and tossed into the crowd.  We saw youngsters walking around with huge quantities of bright green lolly and/or black licorice  in their hands.  Guess there will be some overdosed and sick kids later in the day. We were much more civilized and queued up to buy some bargain priced bags of  licorice.  Staff walked around the crowd with trays of free samples for everyone to try.  They didn’t last long!

Free samples to try

The rules require the product to be used, so most of the giant allsort was donated to the chosen charity, the Salvation Army.  We heard cries of “Shieldy, Shieldy”  as kids queued up to have their photos taken with the giant red shield.

After all that excitement it was time for a cuppa.  Robin went to purchase a bacon and egg roll, while I bought a much more lady-like scone with jam and cream, and two cups of tea.  And got two free mugs thrown in with my purchase – I’m sure they will make an appearance at the next caravan club rally.  We found a couple of spare seats in the tea tent and sat down to enjoy our morning tea.

Time for a cuppa

It was great to join the crowds and be part of RJ’s 21st birthday celebrations and their bid to set a Guinness World Record.  Congratulations indeed!

The Spiral Snow Express

What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday, aboard the Spiral Snow Express heading up to the famous Raurimu Spiral.  It was a good enough reason to set the alarm to ensure we didn’t sleep in, prepare our picnic lunch, collect our warm coats, gloves and hats (how much snow are they expecting?) gather some friends together, and head off to the station.

Of course, we arrived with plenty of time to spare.  This Steam Incorporated excursion was starting the journey from Paekakariki, but we had been told that 100 keen locals were boarding the train at Levin.  That’s an awful lot of rail enthusiasts, so we wanted to arrive at the station in good time to ensure we found a car park close by.  And before too long, the excitement rose as we heard the puff, puff, puff of the steam engine approaching.

Here she comes – steam loco Ja 1271

Steam locomotive, Ja 1271 was to haul the line of vintage carriages between Paekakariki and Palmerston North and then would be switched with a electric loco.  Built in 1956 at the Hillside Workshops in Dunedin, she worked hauling express passenger and freight trains on the South Island Main Trunk.  After a shunting accident and falling into disrepair, the engine was rescued by Steam Incorporated members, underwent extensive overhauls and rebuilding, and now is one of the stars of the fleet.

Eight of us were travelling together, and we were very pleased to get seats either side of the aisle.  With a handy table to share, we were nice and comfy, and settled down to enjoy our trip.  Our carriage, like all the others on the excursion, was vintage   Our 56ft 2nd class carriage was built in 1938 at Otahuhu Workshops, Auckland.  We were advised that one of the features of the vintage carriages is that they have no heating, and to come prepared, hence the warm clothes we all arrived in.

Selwyn, Kath, Sandra and Don were across the aisle  -  Derek, Dot, Jenny and Robin

Once all the Levin passengers were safely settled, the excursion train set off, stopping at stations along the way to collect more passengers.  Then it was full steam ahead to Palmerston North station, where the steam loco was changed for a KiwiRail electric locomotive.  This change-over was closely watched by the train full of rail enthusiasts.  First the steam loco strutted it’s stuff and puffed out a lot of steam, before being uncoupled.

Clouds of steam

Steam loco leaving, and electric loco coming to take over

The engine taking over the trip from Palmerston North to Raurimu Spiral and return was an electric locomotive EP Class, and was built by Brush Electrical in England in 1988.  This type is the most powerful loco in use in New Zealand at 3000 KW and weigh 108 tonnes.

Coupling up

Continuing on our way, we enjoyed views of the snow covered Ruahine Ranges out the window.

Ruahine Ranges

Crossed over the Makohine Viaduct, and looked down over yet another gorge far below.

Views from the carriage window

And there’s Mt Ruapehu, absolutely covered in snow and the peaks looking wonderful against the bright blue sky.

 

Mt Ruapehu

With quite an early start, we were more than ready to eat our lunch about mid-day.  Out came the sandwiches, the thermos flasks for a hot coffee, and we all happily tucked in to our picnic lunches.  Fed and watered, we settled back to enjoy the journey and look forward to more adventures further up the line.

Food Truck Fiesta

Who would have thought that a night out in little old Levin was so exciting?  The monthly Food Truck Fiesta was inspired by the night markets of the Far East and London, filled with delicious ethnic cheap eats and a definite buzz in the air. We went down last night to join the crowds of people all milling around in the early evening as they checked out the food on offer.  This event was held in the car park by the library.

Checking out the Food Truck Fiesta

There was plenty on offer, from Indonesian, Greek, Mexican, and many more, with no sight of a McDonalds or Burger King to be seen, thank goodness.    We wandered up and down, checking out the food and prices.  Then with our minds made up, we went our separate ways to order the dinner of of choice.  I had decided on Indonesian, to try something completely different.  A tasty dish of chicken and noodles, Mie Goreng, really delicious.

My Indonesian meal was freshly cooked while I waited

Robin went all Jamaican and joined the long line of people queuing up outside the Three Little Birds food tent. Once again, something completely different was ordered, and he finally arrived back with a container of Jerk Pork.  Very tasty, he declared, but with a definite flavour bite to each mouthful, hot and spicy enough to make the eyes water and the nose run!

Robin’s choice was Jamaican

So we managed to find ourselves a table,  and sat down and enjoyed our ethnic meals together.  There were people everywhere, seated at tables like us, or perched on the seats outside the library.  Still more were milling around each food vendor as they waited for their orders, or decided what they might buy.

All enjoying the meals

Then was even a dessert cart offering all sorts of interesting things to complete our meal.  We chose a Crème Brulee for her and a Salted Caramel Brownie for him – both voted delicious.

What’s for pudding?

A lone singer/musician kept the crowd entertained as we ate our ethnic food, singing a variety of tunes.  Some rap, which I’m not too keen on, and other songs which sounded vaguely familiar, and there were even one or two which I recognised.  People moved around, coming and going amongst the tables, or just sitting still and enjoying the music.

Our entertainment for the evening

It was certainly a fun night out, and it was great to see the whole community getting behind this new venture.  There were family groups, lots of teens, and quite a few older people like us, all out to try new foods and flavours.  We certainly plan to come again when it is next on, and once again, try something new and completely different to tickle our taste buds.

Lunch and a AGM

After our very interesting visit to the Deer Story Museum with our bunch of SLG friends, we drove on through the cold and drizzly weather  to Levin.  Our lunch venue was  at the Tararua Restaurant, in the Cossie Club establishment.  With everyone duly signed in, we made our way to the large circular table which was reserved for our group.

And that’s when the fun started.  With such an extensive menu and various specials written up on the board, how on earth could our bunch of OAPs possibly make up their minds?  Eventually, choices were made, orders were placed, and we retired back to our table clutching the electronic buzzers which would inform us when the meals were ready.  And buzz they did, one after the other, to much excitement and loud exclamation.  Honestly, it doesn’t take much to amuse our group.

Plates of Hoover Hog pork, fish and chips, salmon or scallops, toasted sandwiches, and omelettes were duly delivered and eaten, and most seemed very happy with their meals.  A few glasses of wine were consumed, along with water and coffee for those not wanting alcoholic beverages. And for once in my life I forgot to snap a few photos of us all – that’s never happened before. Obviously too much talking was taking place.

Next stop was back to our home for a home baked afternoon tea.  The Afghan biscuits went down a treat, along with date loaf, cheese and crackers, and tea or coffee.  Then we had our so called AGM, which really consisted of the “drawing of the months”.  Each person selects a piece of paper which informs them what particular month they have to arrange an outing for our group.  Our Super Leisure Group has been operating this way for close on 30 years, so we have been enjoying each other’s company for all this time.  And been to a lot of places too, attractions, museum visits, lunches out, movie dates – you name it, we’ve done it. 

 

Our cute little lemon tree which was spotted through the sliding door came in for many compliments, as it is absolutely covered in juicy lemons.  This tree was a “Welcome to your New Home” gift from our SLG friends three years ago.  As our pretty rose bush called “Precious Pet” was also a gift, given to us by the group when our beloved cat Muffy passed away.  We are not very good gardeners, so thank goodness they were both thriving.

Gifts for the garden from our SLG friends

With all the business taken care of, our friends said their goodbyes, and headed off to their respective homes.  It was a good day, Robin was pleased that his arrangements went well, and breathed a sigh of relief that he doesn’t get another turn till May next year.

Music in the Night

There was wonderful musical entertainment put on every evening at the NZMCA Easter Rally – singers, musicians, and bands. The hall was packed full of campers all out to enjoy themselves, and those who arrived early secured the best seats.   But by far the most enjoyable, in our view, was the performer on Thursday evening, Steve McDonald, who kept us enthralled with his Celtic music.

Imagine this – a passionate kilted man,  long hair flowing from his cap, putting his heart and soul into his singing and music.  Yes, my Scottish blood was completely in tune, and I loved every minute of his performance.  This Kiwi born bloke, with proud Scots McDonald blood flowing through his veins, had the whole hall listening to his Celtic songs.  And with St Patrick’s Day being celebrated recently, he even obliged with a few Irish songs to keep the green clad brigade in the audience happy.

 

Steve McDonald

Playing keyboards and the rather strange looking red instrument, he replicated the sound of bagpipes, drums, guitars as he sang the old songs of Scotland, plus some of his own compositions.  I was rather taken with  “100 Pipers” and did not know the story behind this song.  Written around 1814 the song tells of a force of Scottish soldiers numbering 1000 who swam the Esk river to do battle with the English. The Scots would always have their piper(s) pipe them in to battle, so in a bid to make the English think they were a much larger force, they had 100 pipers blow their war cry. So grand was the sight and sound that the English ran without a single sword being drawn.  And just to show that I wasn’t the only one who was smitten – at the end of the show Steve McDonald received a standing ovation – how often does that happen!

There was a “double bill” on offer on Friday evening.  First up were Coasters Musical Group who performed a variety of theatre songs, with the highlight of the evening being a rendition Queen’s “Somebody to Love” by a young female soloist.  It wasn’t until she performed this number that we realized what a wonderful voice she had – it had been rather hidden away when she was singing with the whole group.

Coasters Musical Group

This group was followed by Gil Mohi, who sung the lovely deep, rich ballads which I love, like those from Elvis, Tom Jones, Engleburt.  There is nothing nicer than a passionate love song, is there?  And he sung two of my favourites, Save the Last Dance for Me, and ……..Ten Guitars, otherwise known as the New Zealand National Anthem.

Gil Mohi, soloist

Then on Saturday night we were entertained by the Andrew London trio.  And he was joined on stage with Wayne Mason, of “Nature” fame, on keyboards – this song was voted No.1 in a list of the Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time.  The evening was full of jazz, blues and country, as well as some rather amusing original numbers written by Andrew,  including one about his daughter's scary new boyfriend.  As I sat listening to the music, I become aware that “someone” was tapping in time on my posterior!  The bloke sitting behind me had one leg crossed over his knee, and his foot was moving in time to beat, through the back of my chair onto my rear.    Once I had turned around and asked him to stop patting my bottom, he hastily desisted!  No photos of this musical evening as we were late getting to the hall and had awful seats on an angle to the stage – a good reason not to arrive late!

There was a “Dressed up to the Nines in your Best Bling” evening scheduled for Sunday evening, but we decided to go out to the local Cossie Club for dinner instead.  Fellow campers Geoff and Eileen joined us too.  We all chose pork for our meal, and very tasty it was too.  This was our last evening of the Rally, and after the short Closing Ceremony on Monday morning, it was time to pack up and head for home.  By the time we were ready later in the morning, just about half the camp had departed, obviously keen to get on the road and away.  What a great Easter Rally – we caught up with old friends from earlier years, and met and chatted to some interesting people who had come from from all around the country to attend the rally.    

During the day we were busy, busy, busy

With 700 or so rigs on site at the Easter Rally, the organizers had arranged plenty to keep us all happily occupied.  We registered on arrival and collected our Goody Bags, actually a back pack, which was a really handy item to have.  Inside was info about the rally, brochures about this and that, Easter Eggs and Easter Buns, notebooks and pens, and all sorts of interesting things.

New caravans and motor homes were on display, and had a steady stream of people checking them out, us included.  We are not really thinking of changing vans at this point, but you just never know.  I was quite intrigued with the Jayco van which came equipped with built in washing machines.  And then we saw a Roller Team motor home which had a drop down bed from the ceiling – that’s certainly different. 

Kea motor homes for sale

The trade display had all sorts of things on offer to tempt the discerning camper, and Robin came away with a dashboard monitor for the backing camera on the car, and the rear view camera on the caravan.   He also had a chat to the Honda generator man – we have one of these and find it excellent when we are camping off power and need to top up the batteries.  The traders were very generous and donated a great range of prizes for the raffles.

Chatting about Honda Generators

We caught up with Robyn from RV Travel Lifestyle Magazine – we already subscibe to this, and decided to subscibe to her Today magazine as well, so she was pleased to organize that for us.

Robyn Dallimore, Editor

The food trucks did excellent business too, with fast food on offer from coffee, burgers, and chips.  And I couldn’t go past my favourite, a curly potatoes from the Hungry Monkey stall.  Yes, I did buy myself one, plus something quite new for me, a pipi fritter, served between slices of bread.   I’ve never tried pipis before – they are small molluscs, similar to a clam.

Happy with my curly potato!

All campers attending the rally with a pet were given a “goody bag” full of pet related bits and pieces, and there was even a cat and (separate) dog show held during the weekend.  We considered entering Muffy, groomed her coat to make her look extra pretty, feeling sure she would take out a prize for “The oldest Cat at the Rally”.  But then, on reflection, decided against it.  She gets rather upset these days with loud noises, and putting her through the stress of a lot of noise and strange people crowding around would have been too much for her to cope with.  She was given a ribbon for just attending the rally, so that is good enough for us.

Muffy with her Rally Ribbon

There were bus trips organized for the out of towners attending the rally – something we like to go on if we are at a rally in a different area, and a Craft Show another afternoon.  The two Open Days brought in a huge influx of visitors keen to see what these crazy campers were getting up to.  Members of our Caravan Club came calling so it was great to catch up with them.  But it was up to the individual how busy they wanted to be – we had several quite relaxed 4zee afternoons under our awning rather than join up with the 1500 others attendees in the huge hall.  And we even had balloons in the skies above us, the whoomp of the gas ignition had everyone out the door in the morning and looking skywards.

Hot Air Balloon overhead

The organizing team had been working for 4 years to put this event together, and they had done a marvelous job, starting each morning with a 6.30am breakfast meeting.  There were a huge number of volunteers to make sure everything ran smoothly, manning the gates, the Information Stand, running both the Kids and Pets programmes, even organizing an early morning walking group for those who were keen.  So congratulations to all concerned, you did a great job.  And organizing the shuttle buses was a god-send, as we were seemingly miles away from the action.  This is only the second (huge) AGM rally we have attended – who knows, we might even be at the next one.