Up in the Snow

New Plymouth has a brand new NZMCA Park at Bell Block, opened in July 2018.  Transformed from a gorse covered piece of land, to a site with all weather parking, water, rubbish facilities and a dump station.  Trees have been planted around the outside of the section, and something we hadn't seen before, site boundaries are marked for vans.  There is an area in the middle of the camp to accommodate large buses. A new wooden shed houses the sign-in book, local info, shelves of swap-a-book, and for those who really must keep the laundry up to date while on holiday, a sturdy clothesline in a nice sunny area.   It is all very well done, and a credit to all those involved.

New NZMCA Park, New Plymouth

Hearing about a recent fall of snow on Mt Egmont, we took a drive to to the North Egmont Visitors Centre.  The road took us through 6 km of dense rainforest, past rimu and rata trees, ferns and mosses, a very pretty drive indeed up a fairly narrow, winding road. 

Driving up the mountain

Snow started appearing on the edges of the road, getting thicker the closer we got to our destination, and some cars on the way down had packed snow onto the bonnets.  The car park was full – being a Sunday it seemed everyone was out and about.  Children were having fun playing in the snow, throwing the occasional snowball, and slipping and sliding about.

View of Mt Egmont from the car park

We walked carefully up the snow covered walkway to the Look Out, which gave us a rather hazy view over New Plymouth.  And look – someone’s had fun making a snow man family.

It’s more years ago than we can remember when we were last slipping and sliding about in snow.  Lovely to see up close, and great to see so many people out and about enjoying themselves.  For some children, it would be their very first time in snow, so that is rather special for the families.

The Visitors Centre also housed a café, so we carefully negotiated the snow covered steps and deck.  Don’t want to slip and fall and do ourselves a mischief, do we?  A hot drink was in order, which we enjoyed looking out at the view through the large picture windows. 

North Egmont Visitors Centre

We noticed a sign in the Visitors Centre prohibiting dogs – “not even in your car” it stated, and with a huge fine of $100,000 to those who flout the law.

No dogs allowed

We had a lovely time enjoying the snow on the lower part of the mountain.  In his younger days, Robin has climbed right to the top of Mt Egmont, and has a certificate to prove it, he tells me.

Next Stop, New Plymouth

Our one night stay at Otorohanga was beset with rain and the temperatures dropped low overnight.  Another day of warm  clothes and socks - what’s happened to Spring?  The weather will improve, we are sure of it.  We left mid morning heading south, and it was a slower journey, with lots of climbing involved.  We bypassed the centre of Te Kuiti, and stopped briefly at the pretty little village of Piopio.  Such a lovely place, and we have stayed here twice in the past.  Driving up hill and down dale we admired the interesting rock formations of Mahoenui, they are truly amazing, in my view.

Rocks at Mahoenui

You have to admire the guts and determination of the men who chipped away to dig tunnels through  solid rock, and on our trip today we drove through two of these.  The first was at Awakino, a single lane but both high and wide enough to accommodate our caravan, thank goodness.  No doubt trucks can squeeze through these tunnels too, driving very carefully.

The second tunnel was at the top of Mt Messenger, double laned this time, but we were pleased we didn’t meet a big truck coming the other way.

Mt Messenger tunnel

The scenery around this area is fabulous

The whitebait fishermen were out in force along the river banks we noticed, but well out of our price range.   Fresh whitebait was for sale at Mokau, and there is nothing nicer than whitebait fritters.  We can dream, can’t we, and will make do with lamb chops tonight.

Driving along the coast, we passed through Urenui and Waitara, eventually arriving at New Plymouth.  This is Robin’s old stomping ground where he did most of his schooling (from 7 years onwards) and spent many happy summers at the surf beaches.  We are staying several days, always a bonus not to have to pack up and move each day.  The plan is to catch up with his old school mate Gary while we are here, and perhaps do a little sightseeing.  Wonder if we will see Mt Egmont in all it's glory, without it’s cloud cover, as it is today?  I’ll keep my camera handy, just in case.

Gemma has settled down well with this traveling business, snoozes the whole trip and doesn’t get too upset.  It’s even better, she thinks, if she can sleep on my lap.  Her harness and lead are attached to the back seat car belt so she is quite secure but has just enough lead to move from the back seat to the front, and to keep her from being flung against the front window.

Morrinsville and Back

It was a matter of getting up bright and early, a quick cup of tea, make the bed, and do the dishes.  Mustn’t forget to pack the kitten and her requirements in the car, rather like the days of going out with toddlers and packing a baby bag.  Our van was then towed around the back into the Leisureline factory, ready for the annual service, plus a few other small jobs as discussed and written on the work sheet which needed attention.  The tradesmen will take care of everything while we are out and about.

Ready for the tradesmen

With no time for breakfast yet, that was the first requirement for the morning.  A nice cooked breakfast was ordered, scrambled eggs for her, and French Toast for him, with coffee.  It was a great start to the day before we started exploring.

 

This will set us up for the morning

Although the weather was wet and miserable we had already decided to take a drive out to Morrinsville, another  small town which has developed a theme.  As dairying developed, the district became one of the most intensively farmed in the Waikato. Morrinsville grew into a prosperous farming town, with large sale yards, farm machinery outlets, agricultural services and engineering firms.  So it is no surprise that Morrinsville has a collection of life-size cow sculptures throughout the town.  With more than 40 decorated cows gracing the town, we couldn’t track them all down  - here are some we saw in the main shopping street.

 

The sculptures have been sponsored by businesses and individuals, and really make a statement through the town.  This one below is supporting the Waikato Rugby Team, known as the Mooloos.

Mooloo, the rugby cow

Next stop was the old dairy factory at Waharoa, now the Kaimai Cheese Factory and a trendy café.  It was doing great business inside, cheese for sale, and delicious cabinet food.  We were still full from our big breakfast, so just had a drink while we waited for the showers to stop.  There were a whole series of interesting historic photos on the walls, showing how the cheese making process was done in the old days.

Kaimai Cheese factory and Café

Old photos line the wall

By mid afternoon our van was ready for collection, we hooked up ready to go on our journey again.  But not before Liz from the Leisureline office and her young daughter came out to ooh and aah over Gemma in the car.  It was time to go, and we drove past imposing church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Temple View.  The church is currently closed to visitors with scaffolding around, repairs being made it seems.

 

Temple View

We are spending the night at the NZMCA Park at Otorohanga, a fairly new park bordered by a stream on one side, and cows on the other.  It’s certainly not crowded, with eight vans staying overnight.

Staying at Otorohanga tonight

Horo Hora and Hamilton

As we departed Tokoroa in the morning, we spotted three (new to us since our last visit) talking poles (pou) on the outskirts of town.  Tokoroa’s Talking Poles were first suggested in 1996 as a feature for the town’s retail area, and now the town boasts 50 or so of these sculptures, dotted mainly in the CBD area.

Talking Poles of Tokoroa

After a quick visit to the dump station, we were on our way heading northwards on SH1 passing through Tirau.  Like Tokoroa, this town has made a name for itself, with a large variety of quirky signs made from corrugated iron and several interesting buildings.  A big sheep and a big ram, herded by a big dog, look out at the visitors and traffic on the highway as it passes through the town.  The Big Dog houses the I-SITE Visitor Centre, while the Big Sheep hosts a wool and craft shop in its stomach. Both were constructed in 1990s, but the sheep came first and when it came time for the visitor center to be constructed, it was designed to match. Local artisan Steven Clothier created its head.  The most recently added member of the corrugated iron clan is the big ram, which was completed in 2016.

Passing through Tirau

We had plenty of time to get to Hamilton so stopped of at the delightful Hora Horo Domain for lunch.  The Domain looks over Lake Karapiro - a man-made lake on the Waikato River and is renowned as a world-class rowing venue. A number of water sports events are held at the lake including yachting, powerboating, canoeing and water skiing.  It was a lovely place for a leisurely lunch, relaxing and enjoying the views, and the domain is very popular with boaties, day trippers and self contained campers.

At the pretty little beach well away from the boat launching area, we saw families paddling in the water, enjoying themselves in the sunshine.

Lunch stop at Hora Hora Domain

And then, as promised on the weather report, the rain came down.  It was time to get on with the last part of our journey, and drive on to Hamilton to the Leisureline Factory.  It’s time for the annual caravan service, and we had arranged to stay overnight outside the factory.  As soon as the factory workers had departed for the day and there was room in the car park, we were ushered onto the site and plugged into power.

Spending the night at the factory

It will be an early start to the day tomorrow, we must be up and ready to leave as the service technicians will be moving the van to the factory at 7.00am to start working on it.   We will be out for the day, taking the car, and Gemma, returning back later in the afternoon for the van when the service is completed.

Taupo and Tokoroa

With our annual caravan service due it was time to head off to the Leisureline factory at Hamilton.  Driving up SH1 we were making such good time that we decided not to stop where we had originally planned but kept driving on to Waiouru Army Museum for our first night away. 

Campers are permitted to stay overnight  at the back of the museum for a donation, and we have the added bonus of regular security checks during the night.  After a busy day on the road, Robin and Gemma were both worn out and needed an afternoon nap!  (Don’t tell him I’ve taken this photo.)

Two sleeping beauties

The National Army Museum is a great place to visit while passing through.  With a nice café, extra clean toilets, security staff, and plenty of parking for day trippers and overnighters, it can’t be beaten.  The only downside is that the  high altitude (2600 ft) and close proximity to Mt Ruapehu keeps Waiouru’s climate cool throughout the year and rather chilly overnight.  We were eventually joined by about a dozen other campers for the evening. 

National Army Museum at Waiouru

I noticed a new statue in the grounds, the New Zealand War Animal Memorial,  honouring all animals used by the army in conflict.

Mt Ruapehu was blanketed in clouds when we arrived, but was beautifully clear the following morning when we set off, driving along the Desert Road. 

Mt Ruapehu

We bypassed Taupo and stopped at Wairakei Truck Stop for a lunch break.  With home made corned beef sandwiches, supplemented with buying a coffee fix from the café, we enjoyed a nice quiet lunch in the caravan.  Poor Gemma was rather bothered with all the huge noisy trucks driving in and out – she is still very young for this traveling lark and gets frightened with loud noises.  Traveling along after lunch we noticed a large herd of cows walking up the race, making their way to the milking shed.

Follow the leader to the milking shed

Tonight we are staying at the Tokoroa Club, excellent value at $10 night for a powered site.  We are here on our own, so far.

Later in the evening we went to have a meal in the club restaurant - fish for her and steak for him.  We joined another couple in the dining room, who as it happens, own a camper.  So there was plenty to chat about, places visited, and trips we wish to make in the future, a very pleasant interlude indeed.

A Morning at the Movies

We had a morning at the movies the other day, both going to see something different.  Robin’s choice was Spitfire, with anecdotal stories from the people who made, delivered, and flew the craft, covering the aeroplane's crucial use in the Battle of Britain.  “The aura surrounding the Spitfire is more a post-war phenomenon than a war-time thing. It was just an instrument of war then," says one of the few remaining RAF Spitfire pilots still alive. As this documentary makes crystal clear, the iconic World War II fighter plane, which has since been idolised and romanticised, was a design of practicality made to do a job.

My own movie choice was Christopher Robin.  Now a family man living in London he receives a surprise visit from his old childhood pal, Winnie-the-Pooh. With Christopher's help, Pooh embarks on a journey to find his friends -- Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. Once reunited, the lovable bear and the gang travel to the big city to help Christopher rediscover the joy of life.  Believe it or not, I had never read any of these delightful stories before.  My favourite character would have to be Eeyore – such a sadly loveable donkey, who always expected the worst to happen, a real “glass half empty” type of personality.  Guess I must be one of those too, as I could really relate to Eeyore!

After our little taste of culture, we had a taste of a different type, stopping off at Butler’s Chocolate Café for lunch.  The hot chocolate was divine, and we decided to ignore just how many calories it must contain as we sipped away at our cups of chocolatey deliciousness.

Home again, work has been continuing on the lawns in the village, and the big pile of topsoil has disappeared and spread over the lawns.  With the soil gone, we could move our caravan close to our villa to plug it into power and load up before our next trip away in a couple of days.

Topsoil and lawn seed on our lawn

Work in our Village

We have a contractor in our village helping to improve our lawns.  The long hot summer last year burnt off and killed a lot of the grass, reducing some of the lawns to bare earth.  Today a truck arrived with a load of rich black topsoil, backing up to the car parks outside our villa.

 

And there it sits, waiting to be loaded onto a wheelbarrow and spread about on the lawns.  I bet Robin’s thinking how lucky he is not to have to move and spread all that topsoil.