Heading into Dairy country

Our four caravans hit the road and headed into dairy country. Taranaki is the home of dairy farming and Fontera has a huge milk production facility in Hawera. We stopped for fuel at Waverley but had to wait some time as a huge truck and trailer loaded with cut logs took up most of the forecourt while the driver filled up with diesel. He was very chatty and when we told him where we were heading his advice was, “You really must call in to the pub at Whangamomana”. We certainly plan to. $376 dollars of diesel later his tank was finally full and he was on his way. There was plenty of fuel left for us as we only needed $60 of diesel to top up our vehicle.

Fill ‘er up

Next stop was Hawera to visit White Heather, the caravan, motor home and camping specialists. They have a well stocked parts and accessory shop and the men enjoyed poking around to see if anything took their fancy. Don and Pamela found a nice dinner set which was just right for their caravan and happily made the purchase.

White Heather shop

Who doesn’t love cheese? We certainly do so we stopped at Eltham to visit the Ferndale cheese shop, part of the Fontera group. Plenty of choice and lots of specials made choosing difficult. A bit of blue, some brie, and how about that interesting looking garlic and chive gouda. Add that nice piece of vintage tasty, and we are all done. That should keep us going for a while. Then it was just a short drive to Stratford, where we were spending the night.

Stratford Holiday Camp is tidy and well appointed with flower filled hanging baskets adding splashes of colour around the camp. We took a very pleasant walk along the river amongst the native bush. We strolled along the path and over over a foot bridge to watch the sun dappled stream babbling below.

The river bank walk.

Enjoying our river walk

It was another lovely sunny day and tomorrow we start our journey along the Forgotten World Highway.

Scoutlands, Wanganui

The rural countryside flashed by as we left Ashhurst, driving via Bunnythorpe, around the outskirts of Feilding, through tiny Halcombe, past Marton and Turakina, to arrive at Scoutlands, situated just before Wanganui. After our 88 km drive we arrived just in time to put the caravans on site, and make our lunch to enjoy in the sunshine.

Welcome to Scoutlands

A school party was spending the day enjoying the many facilities. The pupils and teachers were no doubt surprised when 4 cars and caravans pulled in amongst them. The youngsters were from the local Intermediate School and we watched in amusement as teams of four were walking together on long planks while holding on to ropes. “Left, right, left, right” the leader called as the teams worked together to walk the planks. Later in the afternoon the children enjoyed kayaking and sailing on the lake. Also available at Scoutland is fishing for trout, perch and eels, conquering the abseiling towerand enjoying toasted marshmallows around the campfire.

This was our first time at this camp so of course we had to explore the grounds. There is a confidence course with all sorts of interesting challenges for athletic youngsters to try. Lake Wiritoa is prettily edged with trees and reeds and is obviously a draw card to these facilities.

Scoutlands Camp on the edge of Lake Wiritoa

Geoff decided it was time to top up his half empty water tank. I was astounded to see the water hose snaking in through the door of his caravan next door. There was nothing to get concerned about, I was assured. Seems the water tank on Geoff and Eileen’s English caravan is situated under one of the front seats.

Filling up the water tank

Ashurst Domain

Picture this – camping area on one side, with a cemetery just through the trees. That’s what we found at Ashurst Domain, so make sure the caravan doors are locked at night in case the ghosties and ghoulies are wandering about. That’s certainly camping with a different outlook. Leaving Carterton after an early lunch our three caravans travelled up country to Woodville, and through the Manawatu Gorge. 111 kms later we arrived at Ashurst Domain to find Geoff and Eileen waiting for us. This is Day One of our Safari Holiday.

Ashurst Domain camping area

The Domain is covered with large Totara trees so there is plenty of shady areas to relax in. Just across the way we could see the large local cemetery through the trees. The guys wandered around looking at headstones and came back with a new word. What does “relict” mean?, they came back and asked us. Nobody knew so we looked it up in our trusty dictionary. The word means “widow”. So that is something new we all learnt today.

The cemetery though the trees

Walking around the Domain we came across a very strongly constructed viewing platform (maybe a result of the “Cave Creek” disaster), looking down over a wet land area. This area was originally a lake, which has silted up, and a restoration project is planned to restore it. The group Ducks Unlimited is also involved and they breed and release water birds to areas such as this.

Not far away we found a cafe which has a very imaginative solution to the question – what to do with the dog when you want to enjoy a cup of coffee? The answer is to leave them here, in this dog parking area. And ask inside for a free dog biscuit to keep the dog happy!

On nearby Whariti Peak hundreds of windmills keep turning to add electricity into the National Grid. They look almost hypnotic as they slowly spin around and around. The Manawatu area is known as the Windfarm Capital of New Zealand.

We were unsure where to pay our camp fees as the office was shut up tight. This was solved however, when the camp commandant turned up on his tractorised mower to collect our fees. Presumably he was off to cut the grass once he had the office work out of the way.

Don, Peter, Robin and Geoff ready to pay our camp fees

We enjoyed a very relaxing time in this camp site. The adjoining public areas are well utilised and the whole area is a credit to the small town of Ashhurst.

The gang’s all here

Here we all are posing for the “official” photo at the Wairarapa Caravan Club 70th Birthday Celebrations.

Happy 70th Birthday Wairarapa Caravan Club

27 caravans and campervans accepted the invitation from the Wairarapa Caravan Club to come to Carterton Holiday Park and join in the celebrations on their 70th birthday.  That’s a long time for any club to be in existence, especially one that started in 1940 during the War years.  The wonderful warm Wairarapa sunshine made the weekend all the more enjoyable, as caravan friends from near and far renewed their friendship.  The weekend festivities started on Friday with a Wine and Cheese Evening.  We mixed and mingled, caught up with old friends, and introduced ourselves to folk we hadn’t met before.

Harry and the Club Bike

The Wairarapa guys got busy with the barbeques at midday  Saturday  for the Sausage Sizzle.  The huge overhanging branches of the  golden elm trees provided us with welcome shade as we sat chatting, with the  delicious smell of sausages and onions cooking wafting around.  A piece of bread complete with a barbequed sausage, onions and tomato sauce, what could be nicer or more tasty for an informal lunch?

Dave cooking up the onions

That night a bus was provided to take us down to Carterton RSA club for the Celebration Dinner.  Club members from years gone by had been contacted and invited to attend so there was much reminiscing between the Wairarapa Club members.  The meal was very tasty, and the conversations and banter were flowing freely.

The Heretaunga Club contingent at dinner

After dinner, Harry, the current President of the Wairarapa Club, related a potted history.  The club started in 1940 and in those days, the caravans were home made.  The first Annual Subscription was set at 5 shillings, and in September 1940 the Club was invited to attend the the opening of the new Martinborough Camp Grounds and Swimming Poll complex.  Wairarapa Club maintains a good relationship with other local clubs, and Harry made mention of the special friendship between Wairarapa and Heretaunga Clubs, we have been both friends and competitors over the years. Craig Silbury, President of CCNZ, presented the club with an inscribed hammer and gavel from the CCNZ organisation.  The cake was cut by Una, an early club member who was one of the special guests at the dinner.

70th Birthday Cake

The weekend rally concluded with the Sunday Morning Tea, taken once again outside in the sunshine.  The Wairarapa Club thanked everyone for coming from near and far to make the 70th Birthday Celebrations such a success.  Thanks, Wairarapa, for a great weekend. 

All packed up

We are all packed up and raring to go, all ready to set off on our 2 week adventure.  Packed the BBQ, clothes and food (just need to put the last of the perishables in the caravan fridge).  Topped up the coffee and tea containers.  Checked to make sure there is enough soap powder onboard for two weeks washing, and I know I have plenty of $2 coins to feed the motor camp washing machines.  I always say, “Happiness is clean laundry”.  Cameras, books, stitching to do in case I have spare time, I think we are just about there.  Oh, oh, don’t forget the lap top.  We can write up the blog when we are power at any motor camp, but finding an internet connection can be difficult while travelling.  We do not have one of those mobile internet connection thingees yet, so will probably have to visit public libraries or Internet Cafes to do our uploads.  Or maybe, if we are lucky, we may find a free connection at someplace like Starbucks if we buy a cup of coffee.

The all important lap top

First stop will be Carterton, in the Wairarapa.  There we will be joining in with all the other happy caravanners to help the the Wairarapa Caravan Club celebrate their 70th Birthday, a wonderful achievement.  From there we will be heading off to explore Whangamomana and beyond.  If you are wondering “Where the heck is Whangamomana?”, check in again in a few days time and we will let you know!  Once we find out ourselves, of course.

Goodbye to Murray

Murray the cat is no more.  This big beautiful black and white boy belonged to our grand-daughter Emma and lived on the family farm at Kiwitea.  Murray was the most laid back cat we had ever met, nothing seemed to bother him.  He was doubly precious as he originally belonged to Emma’s boyfriend Geoffrey, who died tragically a couple of years ago. 

Murray, relaxing on the farm

Murray the cat met his end last week when he was out and about one evening.  He was crossing the road and was hit by a speeding car.  Understandably, the family is devastated.  Goodbye Murray, we will all miss you.

Technorati Tags: Cat,farm,accident