Round and About in Christchurch

 There has been plenty to keep us busy in Christchurch.  I was quite keen to have another ride on the Gondola but it was rather expensive, so we decided against that.  So instead,  we took a drive up to the top of Dyer Pass, a narrow twisting road very popular with cyclists, who seem to dice with death with the cars as they whizz along.  We were doing a return visit to   the cafe The Sign of the Kiwi, famous for their date scones.  Yes, we had been there last time we were down this way, but it was well worth another visit.  We secured a table, and sat and enjoyed our afternoon tea.

It was a lovely sunny day

The Sign of the Kiwi was one of four rest houses built to provide access and refreshments for people walking on the Port Hills, back in the 1920s or so. 

In the old days

There are wonderful views from the top of the pass, looking down into Christchurch from the front of the cafe,  and looking the other way towards Lyttelton.  We had never driven down the other side of the pass, so decided to give it a go.  

Looking towards Lyttleton 

Down and down we drove, more twists and turns, and finally reached the the lookout over the harbour.  We looked out at the HMNZS Canterbury was docked in her home port for several days.  There was a large gazebo on the deck, which we supposed was for some sort of celebration.

Map at the lookout

We journeyed  back to camp through the Lyttelton Tunnel, which seemed to go on and on.  Mr Google told us that the tunnel is the longest in the country at 1970 mts long.

Tunnel entrance

Of course, our trip to Christchurch was to spend time with my son Michael to celebrate his 60th birthday.  He had a busy week as he had flown up to Wellington to spend a couple of days with his Dad, then flew back down again in time for our arrival in Christchurch.  I had booked a table for dinner on Friday night at the Platform Brew Barn, a riverside establishment in Kaiapoi, quite close to where we are staying at the NZMCA park.  This was a busy and popular establishment indeed, and we took a little time checking out the menu.  It was an easy choice for me, roast pork, Robin chose sirloin steak, and Michael decided on a burger.  Don't ask me why, but we all ordered dessert as well.  We really didn't need it, but it did taste nice.

Jenny, Robin and Michael at his birthday dinner

Then we met up for Sunday breakfast.  This was another very busy cafe in Mega Mitre 10 building and we ordered our breakfasts, and sat and chatted away, reminiscing about earlier times, as you do.

 Sunday Breakfast

While we were at the store, we bought a new fire alarm in our caravan.  The current one had taken to chirping at us during the night over the last few days, strangely enough, never in the daytime, for some reason.  So we needed a new one, and it is now up in the ceiling. looking after us.

Sunday is our last day here in Kaiapoi, so we decided to check out the local beaches.  They were not too far away at all, just out of town.  A choice of two, the Pines and Kairaka beaches.  Quite dangerous for swimming, according to the signs, and we noticed fishermen sitting expectantly with their rods in the water.  Wonder if they had any luck?

Kairaki estuary

Time to head slowly towards the ferry tomorrow, we don't sail back till next Sunday, so can take our time.  But where shall we stop?  Not sure, but probably somewhere we haven't camped before, we think.

Scotts Ferry and the Bess Memorial

 After our lunch at Mint, we took a little Tiki Tour.  Starting off at Scott's Ferry, which transported horses, cattle, sheep, produce and people across the Rangitikei River from 1850 to 1908.  The ferry (barge) was then purchased and  worked on the Whanganui River from 1908 to 1975, and after laying derelict for some years, was salvaged, restored and returned to the area where it first started operating all those years ago, to honour all the early pioneers.   In the early  days the coastline and rivers were the roads of the day.  

Scott's Ferry  transported goods across the river

Scott's Ferry Weather Station raised a smile

From here we went in search of the Bess Memorial.  Thousands of horses were purchased and sent overseas in WW1.  Bess was bred in the Wairarapa and was selected by Col Charles Guy Powles, an officer in the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade.  Bess served in Egypt, Sinai, Palestine, France and Germany, before heading to England and finally returning home in 1920.  She was one of only four horses who returned home after war service.

Bess enjoyed 14 peaceful years on the farm, and she was buried where she collapsed and died in 1934.  Col Powles had a memorial constructed in white marble to honour the life of his special horse.  This spot was one of the many Anzac Services held around the region on Anzac Day.

The Bess Memorial

Along the fenceline are two special young trees, Gallipoli Pines grown from seeds brought back as pine cones after WW1.  The trees were felled and used for reinforcing the trenches.  There are two pines, either side of the gate to the Bess Memorial.

Gallipoli Pines

Matariki Weekend Rally - Part 2

The rally continued on Saturday with afternoon tea at a local café with the delightful name “Two Fat Chefs”.  We all gathered inside, sat down at the long reserved table, then heard the dreaded words.  The coffee machine wasn't working.  Oh no – that’s a disaster.  But with a bit of perseverance the staff managed to get it going again and we sat back and enjoyed our choice of coffee, hot chocolate, or tea,  and Robin enjoyed a chocolate milkshake.

Back in the cars again and just around a corner or two and we arrived at “allenpaper”      Club member Stuart gave us a tour through the factory, explaining the processes and the various finished products he produces.  Many thanks to Stuart and Helen for the talk and also for arranging our afternoon tea venue.

Factory tour

Arriving back at Paekakariki we went to check out the new interpretation panels which tells the history of Queen Elizabeth Park.  In 1941 Japanese forces attacked Hawaii.  To keep our country safe the government agreed to New Zealand becoming an American staging base, and camps had to be built immediately for the expected troops.   Camp Paekakariki became an instant camp and housed over 5,000 Marines.  There were three main camps, all situated in or adjacent to present-day Queen Elizabeth Park. Camp Russell housed the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Camp Mackay housed the 6th Infantry Regiment, and camp Paekakariki housed the 8th Regiment. At one stage there were over 20,000 Americans stationed in the region.  The camps went up in a record six weeks, bringing monumental social change to the whole Wellington region. 

The camps were used for training purposes as well as rest and recreation for those returning from the Pacific combat zone. The steep surrounding hills proved suitable terrain for marching and mortar practice, and the beaches were used to stage amphibian invasions.

History of the American Military Camps

There was a rugby test being televised on Saturday evening, the All Blacks were playing the Spring Boks.  So the evening was spent in different vans, with the rugby mad men gathering in two vans who could screen the match on Sky TV.  A group of ladies brought their knitting to our van, and we girls had a very pleasant evening together. Several others who couldn't care less about rugby or knitting stayed in their own vans, enjoying their own company and no doubt having an early night.   And….. of course the All Blacks beat the Spring Boks very soundly!

We had our last morning tea together on Sunday morning, and the chocolate bars were handed around.    Russell and Maureen deserved an extra chocolate as they were celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary – many congratulations to them both.  Everyone then packed up and headed for home, except one van who decided to stay an extra night.  Many thanks to all for attending, and taking part in the weekend.

Weekend at Shannon

We spent the weekend with the caravan club at Shannon School.  Being a school day, there was supposeably no entry to the grounds till 4.00pm, but I suspect most were on site earlier than that.

Shannon School

It was a bit of a tight squeeze through the gates, and we were parked up on two adjacent areas.  For those, like us, with longer vans, it took quite a bit of maneuvering to slot into place.

We all managed to squeeze in

Once we got organised, and the legs wound down, Gemma found the caravan wardrobe door open and squeezed inside for a while, she loves these kinds of hidey holes. Just look at that cheeky face peeking out.

Here’s looking at you, Mum

The use of the hall was included in our fees for the weekend, and we gathered there on Friday evening.  Some of the longer term members were encouraged to reminisce about the early years of the club, places we had visited, things we had got up to in our younger years.  And how the clubs had changed over time, with several of the local clubs no longer in existence.

On Saturday afternoon Robin and I had planned a mystery tiki tour of the local area, to conclude with a BYO afternoon tea.  Cars were shared and off we went.  First stop was quite a marvel of engineering, the Moutoa Sluice Gates.  These were built in 1962 as a flood protection measure.  The Manawautu River here runs very sluggishly, and when in flood the river would overwhelm the stop banks and flood farmland.  The sluice gates cause much of the river flow to take a short cut, bypassing 30km of low capacity river channel, directing the flow down the 10km Moutoa Floodway.  This happens about every fifteen months or so.

Moutoa Sluice gates

Back down the road a short way we stopped again, at the site of the WW11 Whitaunui Military Defaulters Camp, one of two in the area.  Sadly, nothing to see now, but in it’s time the two camps housed 250 conscientious objectors. The huts used to house the men were built by the Public Works Dept., mostly two men huts measuring 8ft by 10ft together with some single men huts.  The unheated huts were furnished with beds and straw mattresses, a pillow, and old army blankets.  The men were also provided with a small table and stool.  You could imaging how cold the winter conditions would be.  The men were required to work in wet conditions, cutting flax.  One of the more famous detainees was Rex Hilary, brother of Sir Edmund Hilary.

Photo of the huts at the Detention Centre

Back in the cars again we headed up to the hills for our final stop, the Mangahao National White Water Centre.  No races down the river this day, of course, but we could see the overhead rails all in place.  Thousands of man hours were poured into making rock groynes, clearing out the river and establishing the site.  Throughout the 70s and 80s the Mangahao White Water Park hosted dozens of successful events.  Over the years the park has been upgraded to international standards, and training takes place here by locals and international teams.

Part of the course

There were handy picnic tables on the river bank so we settled down to enjoy our afternoon tea.  Out came the thermoses, the coffee and biscuits, and we all soaked up the peaceful atmosphere.

Afternoon tea on the river bank

There were walks to be had, down the path along the river, or up the road to the nearby power station.  That’s the way I went, over the bridge to view the rather old building.  The Mangahao Power Station was opened in 1924 and continues to provide power to the National grid.

Mangahao Power Station

This was the last stop on our mystery drive so we made our way back to the school and 4zees time.  In the evening we gathered back in the school hall for another get together.  Most were happy to chat the evening away, while others played a game of snakes and ladders on a rather large floor mat, tossing a big foam dice around to see if their points took them climbing up the ladder or sliding down the snake.

Saturday evening sun set

After Sunday morning tea we packed up and headed for home.  I was intrigued by the school skate boards and helmets all lined up in the hall passage waiting to take the students on rides around the school grounds.

Ready to roll

It was a great weekend away, with most of our members attending.  Good fun, and not too far from home. for us.

Moving on to Kaikoura

After a quick trip to Hellers Factory Shop, we stowed our bargains away in the fridge and freezer and hooked up the caravan, stopping at the dump station and we were finally on our way heading up SH1.  Our first stop was at Amberley to see the statue of  Charles Upham VC and Bar.   Born in  Christchurch in 1908, he gained  a Diploma in Agriculture and his working life began in the high country and hills of the Hurunui District where he was a shepherd.  Charles Hazlitt Upham is probably New Zealand's most famous soldier. He became one of only three people ever to win the Victoria Cross twice for his actions in Crete in 1941 and Egypt in 1942. He is the only person to have achieved this as a combat soldier.  In 1953, Upham was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In 1992, he was presented with the Order of Honour by the Government of Greece, in recognition of his service in the Battles of Greece and Crete.

Charles Upham VC and Bar

We stopped for lunch at the Parnassus  NZMCA Park – only one other van was in residence.  It’s always good to stop, stretch your back and legs and have a little walk around after traveling a while.  Parnassus must have had quite a lot of rainfall, as a sign stated “Park on the grass at your own risk”.  We stayed on the hard while we had our lunch break.

Lunch at Parnassus

Well fed and rested we were on our way again, driving along as the road hugged the coast.  Oh look – tunnels.  There are two sets of these tunnels, carved through the rock.  They may look tiny but plenty of large heavy trucks pass through them on a daily basis, so there was no problem that we would fit.

Driving through the tunnels

This looked interesting, obviously erected as protection from rock fall onto the road and passing vehicles.

Protection from rock fall

We have arrived

170km later we rolled into Kaikoura NZMCA Park, the second one in this area.  This park has been open for three years and just like the Kaiapoi Park, has been developed on red zoned earthquake land.  Quite large, it is made up of five separate “blocks” with one set aside for those campers who want to use generators, and caters for about 100 vans.  We soon found a space and settled in.

Parked up in Kaikoura for the next two nights

The next day we went out exploring.  Kaikoura township was buzzing with cars and campervans, the tourists had certainly come calling.  The car park at the Whale Watch encounter was packed with vehicles as the customers had climbed onboard the boats for a thrilling trip.  Down at the coastline the bleached white uplifted rocks from the big earthquake were ghostly white in the sunshine – all this coastline was originally under water.  There were several seals basking in the sun – some people walked over the rocks and got alarmingly close to them. 

Uplifted costal rocks by the earthquake

The lookout high on the hill was calling to us, so up and up we drove.  Lovely views, but it was a matter of “hang onto your hats” while we were up there.

Views from the lookout

We were wondering how many campers were staying at the original NZMCA Park by the Trotting Club so drove around to check it out.  There were a few there, about a dozen we thought.  Guess the new camp is more popular these days.  We finished off our outing with an ice-cream.  Not a real ice-cream, the vendor was selling either Gelato or Sorbet.  We chose a gelato each and sat down in the sunshine trying to consume them before they melted in the sunshine and dripped all over our fingers.  It was a nice finish to our afternoon.

Gelatos for two please

Our South Island Trip is being cut back a couple of weeks as Robin is having issues with his leg.  After two lots of antibiotics it is still not right so we decided to cut short our trip and the earliest return sailing we could get is next week, 23rd February.  Sadly, we had to miss out on several places we wanted to visit, including Hanmer Springs, not possible with Robin’s leg problem.  Never mind, we can always come back to the South Island again, and I’m sure we will.

Anzac Weekend on the farm

We spent the three day Anzac Weekend with our Caravan Club buddies at Lutz Farm,  a dairy farm  in rural Otaki.  On arrival, the first duty of the weekend was to erect the gazebo, to give us a little shelter from any wind or rain which was quite likely to occur over the weekend.  Wrestling with the gazebo certainly took some doing but the hardy bunch of volunteers soon had it under control.

Gazebo in place for the weekend

Circle the wagons

Watching through the caravan window, we saw the never ending stream of dairy cows walk along the race as they made their way to the milking sheds - about 400 or so.  The cows ambled along,  one after another, and there is a definite hierarchy in their position in the group, we were told.

The afternoon milking

There were plenty of newly weaned heifer calves

On Saturday morning we drove down to Te Horo to have lunch at The Blue Bus.  It’s been a while since we had been here, and the surroundings are just as gorgeous as we remembered.

Parking in the car park, we wandered up a winding path, beautifully planted on either side, and emerge into a clearing.  And there it is, a 1964 blue and white Bedford bus, converted into a kitchen, and surrounded by a collection of tables in the sunshine, some with umbrellas, or you could sit in one of several shelters, including the cut-off rear-end of a second vintage bus.  This establishment sells good honest food, such as hearty toasted sandwiches, Southland Cheese Rolls, and delicious coffee, all very reasonably priced, we thought.  And not only are pet dogs welcome too, but riders on horses as well.  We all enjoyed our various choices, and marveled at the steady stream of customers arriving, many of them with their canine companions.

The Blue Bus, Te Horo

This café is just a stone’s throw from the beach so we stopped off to have a look.  The beach was littered in driftwood, breakers were rolling in, and there’s Kapiti Island in the distance.

Te Horo Beach and Kapiti Island

Fully fed and watered, we drove back to the farm.  Robin spotted something out of the corner of his eye, stopped the car and backed up to have a look.  That’s certainly a big boy resting under the shelter!

A whole lot of bull!

Rally Captain Dennis had organised a milking competition, and it was just as well that a real cow was not used as some of the contestants certainly had rough hands indeed.  Poor old “Daisy” had four legs, a tail, and an udder made from a rubber glove – I’m sure she would be mooing in desperation from the treatment she received.

Bill and Dot competing in the milking competition

The winners – Murray and Val

Sunday was Anzac Day – 25th April marks the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles and open a sea route to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea.  The Anzacs were courageous and although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians and New Zealanders who died in that war. The meaning of Anzac Day today includes the remembrance of all from both countries killed in military operations.  Our group attended a 5.00pm Service at Otaki Cemetery.

Otaki Cemetery

The afternoon service was well attended , and many people wore their own or family medals, plus red poppies.  We watched as members of the Air Force Corps marched  to the flag pole, the flag was lowered, ceremonially folded then presented back to the Otaki RSA representative.  The haunting sounds of a single bagpipe, and a lone bugler playing The Last Post, together with the recitation of The Creed made it a very moving remembrance service indeed.

Anzac Day Service

Our day ended with a meal out together at Curry Town in Otaki.  Have to admit that we are not great Indian cuisine lovers so this was an experience for us.  We checked through the menu and professed to our dining companions that we didn’t really know the difference between a Rogan Josh, Korma or Tikka.  Eventually we made up our minds and placed our orders.  The food was nice, and the surroundings were very pleasant, and it goes without saying that the company was wonderful. 

Dining at Curry Town, Otaki

After morning tea on Monday we packed up at headed home, wondering just how heavy the traffic would be on a public holiday.  Although reasonably busy round Otaki, but we made it home it good time.  It was a great weekend rally, and many thanks to joint Rally Captains Dennis and Glenys, and Pat and Thelma.