Trip to Hawkes Bay

 We have a family Memorial to attend in Hastings this weekend, so decided to set out early and have a four day trip, instead of rushing there and back.  Our trip up was anything but rushed, due to a couple of detours and the  huge amount of orange road cones everywhere.  The first detour we encountered was close to home, when the road out of our village was closed and we went all round the streets to get back on track.  That took a little bit of time, but soon we were on our way.  

We were joined by a long stream of motor bike riders just north of Levin, and they traveled just ahead of us up and over the Saddle Road.  There was not too much wind blowing up the top as some of the wind turbines were very sluggish indeed.  Just before Dannevirke we were directed on a very long detour indeed, taking us along Top Grass Road.  We estimated this detour was about 15km long, taking us along some roads not traveled before.  

At last we rejoined SH2, and stopped for lunch at the Matamau Diner, north of Dannevirke for a coffee, to go with our lunch, something I had prepared earlier, as the saying goes.  Our caravan looked very tiny indeed, dwarfed by the huge trucks which had also stopped for lunch.

First time we have stopped here.

Then we continued on our way, meeting up with more road works, stop and go signs, and millions of road cones.  That's the way to make money, we reckon, manufacture road cones for all these miles of road works!

At last we arrived at Napier NZMCA park, this was a really slow trip indeed.

Eriksen Road Park is very roomy,  but much of the area had been roped off.  Not because of flooding, as we thought, but because areas of the lawn had been reseeded.

There was still plenty of sites available, we found ourselves one, settled down, and made a cuppa.  Yes, we needed one after the long slow trip.

Home for the next four nights

It was fish and chips from the Filter Room for dinner, they certainly are delicious.  Robin had a bit of a wait as several orders delivered by Uber Eats went out first.  

Robin is on dinner duty tonight

It will be a chilly 6 degrees tonight.  But we are tucked up tight, nice and comfy with the diesel heater keeping us warm.  I'm sure Gemma will spent the night cuddled up on the bed with us too.

Final Days in Napier

 The Easter weather in Napier was a mixed bag, reasonably fine but with cold winds, making sitting outside a rather chilly experience.  Luckily it had warmed up on Sunday morning and we took ourselves off to the Hastings Market.  Geoff and Eileen had been experiencing battery troubles so decided to head home a day early.  We waved them goodbye with a few Easter Eggs from the Easter Bunny.

What a crowd there was, families with kids, people with dogs and plenty of golden oldies like us.  My aim was to purchase some fresh seasons apples, found them easily enough.  Then we did some cheese tasting, and three lots of cheese jumped into our bag.  A couple of nice fresh bread rolls for our lunch, and some beef from the meat stall, and that was our lot.  We came away feeling quite pleased with our purchases.

After lunch back at the van we took a trip with Owen and Helen out to Esk Valley to see how the Hawkes Bay Caravan and Camping Club was faring after the disastrous Esk Valley floods.

As we had been told, the club had lost their small apple orchard in front of the camp.  The club rooms had been gutted and the club members were waiting to be told what could be done.  Obviously, there had been a lot of work done clearing silt and debris from the grounds, but now everything is at a standstill.  Power and sewerage will need to be reconnected.  So sad to see.

HB Clubrooms will need a lot of work

To cheer ourselves up we stopped for a fruit ice-cream on the way home.  And I just needed to purchase a pumpkin, it will be soup time before I know it.

Helen, Owen and Robin enjoying their ice-creams in the sun shine

We enjoyed  4zees  back in camp with some Easter Eggs the Easter Bunny had dropped off for us to enjoy.

 Oh yummy, Easter Eggs

John and Flo departed the next morning, so then we were down to two vans.    Our anticipated  family lunch didn't go ahead as my niece was not well, so we took ourselves off to check out the delights of Napier.  The Six Sisters row of houses were worth a photo shoot.  Apparently they were built by an architect who wanted a two storey house for each of his daughters.  They are among the few survivors of the massive 1931 Napier earthquake.  Some of the  houses are now owned by commercial businesses, with a few  reverting back into family homes.

The Six Sisters

We then drove around the port to check out Perfume Point freedom camping area.  There was plenty to see, ships and tugs off the coast, families playing on the beach, even a couple of brave people taking a dip.

Whose is this we spotted?  It was Doug and Desma, our friends from the ICA group, who had also arrived for a breath of salty sea air.  We joined them at the picnic table and had a nice long chat.  We couldn't make it to the previous ICA rally so it was great to catch up with them again.

Desma and Doug from ICA group

Back in camp again I started to feel unwell so decided to drive back home in one day, instead of stopping somewhere overnight as we had planned.  Up and over the Saddle Road we went, dropping down into Manawatu, and we were nearly home.  Thank goodness, I was feeling quite peaky.

Wind turbines on top of Saddle Road

My Covid test came back positive - oh dear.  After several years of feeling smug because I had never contacted Covid, my time has arrived.  Guess I wont be going anywhere for the next week or so.

THings to Do, Places to see

 The Archer's and  Benton's went out and about sight seeing on Easter Saturday, starting at Silky Oak Chocolate Cafe for lunch, always a favourite of ours.

Lunch was very tasty, a nice big bowl of Fish Chowder for me, Robin and Owen had a BLT each, and Helen enjoyed avocado on toast.

Fish Chowder for me

An added bonus was catching up with my daughter's friend Heather, who was bussing a group of people from a cruise ship to see some of Napier's attractions.

From here we drove to the Hawkes Bay Golf Club to show our friends the caravan power sites available at this facility.  Good to know about in the cooler winter weather coming and the sites are quite reasonably priced too.

Our next visit was the  Arataki Visitors Centre, a place which neither Owen and Helen had visited before.  We were after some comb honey, and there was honey tasting to do, glass fronted hives to check and and see if we could spot the Queen Bee.  Plus plenty of honey to buy and a great selection of gift ware.  

Arataki Visitors Centre

Another "new to them place" was  Birdwoods.  We had told them about the cutest little lolly shop around.  Oh no, they said, we are not buying any lollies! And guess who walked out the door with a bag full, firmly clutched in his hands?

They couldn't resist the lolly shop

We were in need of a coffee after all this excitement, so went into the rather posh Birdwoods cafe.  We were escorted to our table, and a friendly young waitress came and took our order.  We noticed a group of ladies partaking in High Tea with the gorgeous tiered tray full of delectable morsels.  But when we inquired the cost per person, we gulped and decided no, it would have to be a really special occasion to warrant that price.

Jenny, Robin, Owen and Helen

We had a lovely day exploring, and showing Helen and Owen a couple of our favourite Napier places.  It was going to be a  busy weekend, with even more sightseeing planned for tomorrow.

Start of the Easter Rally at Napier

We took it slowly heading up to Napier for our Easter Rally, stopping at Dannevirke and Takapau on the way.   Arriving at Napier on Thursday, we commented on the many cars leaving the city and heading southwards.   Our venue was the Erikson Road NZMCA Park, nice and roomy here with plenty of sites.  Owen and Helen parked up next to us, and we were joined later in the day by Geoff and Eileen.  

On Friday morning after morning tea Owen got his ladder out, climbed up and helped remove our rather tatty faded NZMCA stickers.  It was a difficult job until he borrowed Helen's hair drier, that really made all the difference, and the old stickers peeled off easily.  Then he climbed up the ladder again and smoothed on our new stickers - what a difference, we can read them now.

Geoff, Owen and Robin replacing our old NZMCA stickers

With that job done Owen decided to check the torque settings on our wheel nuts, on the caravans.  Thanks Owen, for all your help.  What a busy bee you have been.

He was very helpful indeed

John and Flo joined us for the rally later in the afternoon, now we were four.

Turnbull's, Benton's, Archer's, John and Flo

We met in the meeting room for 4zees, and it was Easter buns all round, thanks so much Owen and Helen, they were very tasty indeed.

Easter buns for 4zees

Leisureline 2019 Get Together

It was a great gathering of the Leisureline Owners Club.  48 of these caravans met at Eskdale School at Napier.  What a great sight to look out from the school hall balcony and see all those caravans lined up.

As far as the eye can see

Leisureline is a family run business by the Bates family, and they came along to support our weekend, and join in the fun too.  They also brought down a couple a new vans for us to see.

Colin, Liz and Merilyn

Arrivals on Friday from 4.00pm as it was a school day, and after settling in, meeting and greeting our neighbours and old friends, we met in the school hall at 6.00pm.  “Open Home” visiting took place on Saturday morning, and most took the opportunity to check out the new vans brought down from the factory.  Owners of near new vans were quite happy to welcome people to look through their pride and joy so there was a lot of visiting taking place.   It’s amazing how many tips and new ideas you pick up from other owners and their vans.  Then in the afternoon those who had booked went on a winery or brewery tour.  We saw some of them stagger back to site carrying their acquisitions with them after a happy afternoon of sampling.

Dinner that evening was at the Bay View Hotel for a Pig on a Spit meal.   The pork was delicious, and there was a great selection of vegetables too, plus dessert.

Dinner at Bay View Hotel

Then it was back to the school hall where we were enjoyed a musical evening, got to love these sing-along songs which we all know.  Some of the happy campers did a turn or two around the dance floor.

Musical entertainment in the hall

It seems to be a given at these Leisureline Get togethers we share a bacon and egg breakfast on Sunday morning, cooked by the  Leisureline family and the organizing committee.  The kitchen was a hive of activity with bacon, eggs and hash browns cooking away, a huge pot of baked beans simmering away, plus mountains of toast.  Hungry campers were queuing up, plates and cutlery in hand waiting for their breakfasts, and sat down happily to enjoy their generous plates of food. 

 

Sunday morning breakfast

This was followed by Colin’s Q & A session.  He told us he was about to step back from his company with his son and daughter stepping up to the helm.  The company will be introducing a few new ideas, and he spoke about tyre pressures, fridges, and other items which often cause a little bother to van owner.   Colin then took questions from the floor and the conversations flew around the hall. 

Sunday  morning and the school grounds started to empty out as people headed off home

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Sunday morning

We had also intended to pack up and get on our way on Sunday, but changed our minds with the opportunity to dine out again.  Colin and his family had previously had lunch at the Linden Estate Winery and was so impressed he talked the restaurant into opening up especially for our group on Sunday evening.  And because we were a large group of 68, we got a generous discount off the meal price.  The food was delightful, with choices of steak, lamb or salmon, plus dessert.

Dinner at Linden Estate Winery

Finally, on Monday, our Leisureline weekend had come to an end, and we said goodbye to our fellow campers.   It’s great to know that some members have put up their hand to arrange the Leisureline Owners Club get together for next year, and it will be in Mokau.  No dilly dallying around in the morning, we had to leave the school grounds reasonably early as the playing field we were camped on was about to get dug over.  And here’s the digger which arrived to do the job.

Many thanks to the organizing committee for a wonderful weekend, and to Leisureline for supporting the Leisureline Owners Club.  It was a great weekend, and so nice to catch up with people we had met before at previous Leisureline get togethers.

Napier Prison

A trip to the old historic Napier Prison had been on our “must visit one day” list for some time and can now be ticked off.  This was the first prison to be built in New Zealand, opened in 1906  and held approximately 50 prisoners.   The historic prison is located on Napier’s Bluff Hill, close to the old quarry where the inmates used to work their hard days’ labour to build the walls that would keep them imprisoned.

We were warmly welcomed, paid our money, collected our audio wands, and set out to explore the old prison.  The old rooms were certainly not noted for their comfort, and were double bunked in later years as the prison roll increased.  Inmates put into solitary confinement had no bed in their cells so had to sleep on the floor with just a blanket – which was taken away at 5.00am each morning.

We walked through the Exercise Yard, and into the Mess Hall.  Food was purchased to a budget, and gruel seemed to feature heavily on the menus in the earlier years.  The Hanging Yard reminded us that the death penalty was meted out here.  Executed prisoners were buried standing up, to ensure they got no rest in eternity.

It is believed that there was a Circuit Judge who travelled around the country delivering the hanging judgement to convicted criminals.  He was accompanied by a horse and cart, several workmen and court officials, and the materials to built a kit set gallows at each destination.  The sentence for murder in former times was death by hanging, and several of the hangings at Napier Prison were carried out Irishman Tom Long, a repeat convict.  The last hanging took place in Auckland in 1957, and the death penalty was abolished in 1989.

Interesting facts we discovered on our tour were:

1:  In order to aid escape one prisoner left his boots as a decoy in front of the toilet, and escaped down the drain.  This scheme was attempted later by a particularly fat prisoner who got stuck in the drain for three days.  He had to be rescued by the fire department using copious quantities of detergent to get him out.

2:  Terry Clarke (Mr Big) was sent to this prison after trying to blow up Napier’s Post Office safe.  While in prison he worked that that dealing drugs would be much more lucrative.  By the late 1960s he was the world’s richest drug baron and the master of disguise.

3:  Prisoners would use cigarette ash, pen ink and toothpaste to make their own ink for tattoos.

4:  Prisoners made alcohol using fruit peelings, water and toothpaste, leaving it to ferment.

5:  Sadly, in the early years of the prison, children as young as eight were imprisoned for petty crime.

It certainly was in interesting visit, finding out about New Zealand’s first prison.  Things were certainly tough in the early days.  After it closed down the buildings were used by the army and went on to become a back packers where you paid for the privilege of sleeping in a cell!  Napier Prison is now in private ownership.

Who are those shifty looking characters?

Exploring Napier

After our trip over Gentle Annie we arrived at Erikson Road NZMCA Park together with Geoff and Eileen.  There was plenty of room, so the question was, where shall we park?  Sunny Hawkes Bay was living up to it’s name, blue skies, warm daytime temperatures, and light breezes.  Just right for getting that load of laundry dry.  We were joined by club members in two other vans the following day.

Erikson Road NZMCA Park

We have had a busy few days.  Took a trip along to nearby Silky Oak Chocolates to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate for afternoon tea – so decadent and delicious!  And buy a little chocolate too, of course.  We drove over to Hasting to see my sister Kathleen and her hubby, and catch up with all their news.

Hot chocolate at Silky Oak

Then today we joined Bill and Val for an adventure – they were checking out a site for an upcoming rally at Kairakau Beach and asked us along for the ride.  None of us had been there before  so it was new territory for us all.  Along the way we stopped us at the rather pretty St Stephen’s Church in the tiny community of Elsthorpe.  The little weatherboard church with its corrugated iron roof and lancet windows, is an example of the distinctly Gothic revival architecture found throughout rural New Zealand. It was built around the same time (1907-8) as the Elsthorpe Hall next door.

St Stephen’s Church, Elsthorpe

Continuing down the road we soon spied the sea in the distance, and eventually arrived at Kairakau Beach Motor Camp.  There was a nice sandy beach a stone’s throw away.   Good fishing too, it seems, as we watched a local pull his boat onto the beach.

Kairakau Beach

Bill and Val completed their inquiries with the camp custodian and we had a look around.  A rather splendid piece of mosaic work was glinting in the sun.

The ever important tractors to take boats in and out of the water were waiting at the river mouth.  Piles of driftwood everywhere all over the sand, but no driftwood further around on the beach, we noticed.

Tractors at the river mouth

Kairakau Beach with its dramatic cliffs is a beloved beach in the iconic Kiwi way: camping ground, clapboard baches dotted around.  The first baches were built in the 1920s, but Māori have lived and fished here for centuries.   The cliffs are known as the Twelve Sisters.

Some of the Twelve Sisters

The camp custodian recommended the local pub at Patangata as a good spot to stop for lunch, so we did.

Patangata Tavern

Fish Chowder was on the menu, so three of us decided to have that, and Robin went with the pea, pie and pud option.  Both choices were nice hearty meals, most enjoyable.

Lunch at Patangata Tavern

Lunch over, it was time to make our way back to Napier.  But not before we checked out the Tavern’s Courtesy Coach, real country style, it seems.

Courtesy Coach

We had a great trip, travelling on new roads, discovering new parts of the country, and sharing a nice lunch together.  Thanks to Bill and Val for the invitation.