Four Nights at Erickson Road Park

Our return to the NZMCA Erickson Road Park was a pleasant surprise.  I remembered coming to see this place when it was newly opened - a bare, windswept area it was back then.  But now it is covered in lush green grass, with many trees planted around the perimeter.

Parking bays have now been created in the park, with gardens planted at either side of each bay. Water, rubbish collection and a clothesline are available,  and a social room is available for gatherings.  There has obviously been a lot of work done, making the grounds look very attractive indeed. 

We arrived about lunchtime on Tuesday, and luckily managed to get three adjacent sites.

The six of us took ourselves out for a meal at the at the Napier RSA.  A very nice meal, reasonably priced too.  Oh dear, forgot to take photos of the smorgasbord meal.  Lovely hot ham and beef, lots of veggies, and a good selection of desserts too.

BIrdwoods was on the agenda, a return visit for some of us but two of our group had never been there before.  The sculpture garden is free to wander through, and we could say hello to the elephants and the hippo keeping cool in the pool.  Birdwoods imports sculptures from Zimbabwe and has other interesting items available for sale in the gallery.

The on-site sweet shop is a real delight, chock full of jars of boiled sweets to tempt us.  We bought some delicious raspberry drops to sustain us on car journeys.  The huge real fruit ice-creams were $5 each and certainly took a bit of licking to get to the end, trying to get them finished before we ended up in a melted mess.

Not far away was the Arataki Honey Visitors Centre, a must for Robin to refill his honey jars.  The place was packed with visitors from a cruise ship in port, all making a beeline for the honey tasting station.  We had to be careful when we parked the car not to get into the bee flight path as we walked to the centre.

The Saturday morning market was much smaller than expected and took hardly any time at all to look through.  After a few purchases we walked through the very pretty and historic  Clive Square.  The gardens were formed in 1884, after the area had previously been  used as a sports ground and village green.  After the devastating 1931 earthquake, the square was used as a temporary shopping centre known as Tin Town.  A friendly local took some photos for us.

Before we headed back to camp we drove by the beautiful National Tobacco Co. building.   Built in 1933 after the 1931 Napier earthquake it is a blend of Art Nouveau and Chicago School styles, influenced by the work of Louis Sullivan, famous for his Chicago buildings of 1880s-90s.  This building is a registered Category 1 by the Historic Places Trust, and is now used by a furniture company.

Summer has certainly arrived in Hawkes Bay with temperatures in the late 20s and sometimes hovering over 30 degrees.  According to those with thermometers, it was much hotter inside our vans, even with the windows and door open, so we are pleased we all have sun awnings to sit under.  Gemma enjoys being outside and has found that it is nice and cool under the caravan.  Or if she is inside, stretched flat out on the floor seems to be the way to go.

My sister Kathleen and her family live in Hastings and we spent some time with them on our last day in the area.  We had a good catch up and had a meal out at the National Service Club.

Kathleen, Lisa and Dennis – rellies from Hastings

We enjoyed our final evening having coffee and a chat with our traveling companions seated outside in the lovely evening air.  Gemma was ecstatic when we returned back to the caravan,  after being on her own for some hours and after gobbling down her late dinner came outside with us too.  There were plenty of chair legs to get her lead tangled around, exciting smells in the cool air, and people going past to keep an eye on.

Ever been to Makotuku?

After several days at Foxton it was time to move on – Hawkes Bay was the consensus.  Two caravans and a motor home started the journey, up and over the Pahiatua Track.  Along the winding road to Balance, and over the Balance Bridge, built in 1971.  This replaced an earlier truss bridge which served from 1904.

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop a little north of Woodville

Being in holiday mode, we decided to take two days to travel to Hawkes Bay.  There was no need to rush, so stopped about halfway at Makotuku Domain.  This is a lovely quiet spot in the middle of nowhere, and we have stayed several times before.

Dot and Derek had already arrived, sensibly choosing to park up by a lovely spreading shady tree.  We certainly needed that shade, as the mercury was starting to climb to hot summer temperatures.  The grass cover was quite dry – perhaps not much  rain had fallen lately.

At Makotuku Domain

The two traveling cats, Gemma and Honey, are still getting to know each other.  Gemma is still rather young and active and wants to play while Honey is a grown up girl and not too sure of this young upstart.

Gemma and Honey

Gemma tried her luck later on climbing a tree.  All natural behaviour, as she had never been close to a big tree before, but knew exactly how to start climbing up the trunk.  She was after little insects scurrying around in the bark.

Tree climbing, inbuilt behaviour

Just up the road is the historic Ormondville Station. Built in 1880, is one of a handful of early wooden rail buildings that have been preserved thanks to community efforts.

Ormondville Station and rolling stock

It was a lovely restful afternoon, enjoying the country air under the large shady tree for 4zees, and in the early evening.    Next stop, Napier.

Drop-In Rally at Foxton Beach

Catching up with Bill and Val on Friday, we made our way to the Drop-In Rally at Foxton Beach School.  Club members Don and Pamela were already on site and Dereck and Dot arrived soon after.  So we are all parked very close together and have made a nice little area to it in.  The wind is rather blustery so it is good to have some protection from the wind.  We made good use of our seating area, seemed to spend most of our time there, and in the evenings too.

Being a drop-in rally, it is all very laid back.  Vans keep arriving and slot into spots, while others leave to travel on elsewhere.  People make their own fun, meeting up with friends, and  New Year's Eve is the big night here at this rally.

Some of the vans in the school grounds

School art

Robin met up with former workmate Bruce who as more than happy to show off what he had under the bonnet of his car.  It’s always interesting how the blokes will congregate and have a little look-see at anything mechanical.  Bruce and his wife Rae, also have a Birman, a big Blue boy called Misty.

What’s under here then?

Dave and Rae from the Wairarapa Caravan Club are staying nearby and came visiting on their electric bikes.  They certainly looked the part in their helmets and high-viz jackets.  It was so nice to catch up with them again.

One afternoon we heard music playing which sounded suspiciously like a Mr Whippy ice-cream truck.  It wasn’t Mr Whippy at all, instead it was a close relative, Mrs Cool.  We joined the crowds and lined up for a chocolate dipped ice-cream.  What a mess I got myself in, the ice-cream was melting faster than I could eat it.

Ice-cream time

New Years Eve rolled around, and we decided to have our own little party under the awnings.  Some of the campers had gone up to the hall early and set up their tables and chars to reserve their places, so there didn’t seem to be any spare room.  We would put in an appearance at the hall just before midnight we decided.  THere was plenty to talk about as we sipped on bubbly, and shared some supper together.

Our very own New Year's Eve party

Then at 11.45pm we walked up to the hall to join in with the other revelers to welcome the New Year in.  The DJ played my favourite song, “Ten Guitars” so I sang along with that as we watched the hall full of dancers.  The count-down started, and there were calls of Happy New Year resounding around the hall.  The evening concluded with a spirited version of Auld Lang Sine, and Now is the Hour.

A hall full of dancing campers

We  wish all our readers, bloggers and friends  a Happy New Year and may 2019 be a good year for your all.  Full of good health, fun and friendship, and happy travels.

Christmas and Away

Christmas morning got off to a good start with our usual Christmas breakfast fare.  The first cut from our ham went into some croissants, cheese added, and warmed through in the oven.  Nice and tasty, and easy to prepare.

The pork roast was soon sizzling away in the Weber BBQ and was smelling delicious.  The inserted thermometer tells us via the cell phone when the meat is cooked.  I’m not sure how that works, it’s all a bit new fangled to me but Robin seems to understand the technology.

We welcomed our guests in the pouring rain so there was no lounging about outside on the patio.  They brought copious quantities of food, and added with ours, no one was ever going to go hungry.  We toasted each other with bubbly, ate our Christmas Lunch and sat back in the afternoon, replete!  Robin’s brother Gary and his wife Debbie arrived later in the afternoon, and there was so much talking going on that I forgot to take any more photos.

On Boxing Day we loaded up the caravan and headed down to the NZMCA Park at Plimmerton.  It was just as well we were traveling south as the northbound traffic was practically at a standstill for much of the day.

NZMCZ Park at Plimmerton

Plimmerton is a handy place to stay if you want to visit Wellington.  The railway station is just a short walk away from the camp, so we planned a day in the Big Smoke, traveling in style on the trains.  Using our Gold Cards, train travel is free.  But wouldn’t you know it, the trains were off the rails for the next week or so for track maintenance, and the services were replaced by buses.

Bus from Plimmerton

Arriving in Wellington we wandered up the so called Golden Mile, marveling at all the changes which had taken place since our last visit.  Then we decided to get the Flyer Bus to Wellington Airport and have lunch there.  It’s amazing the conversations you hear on public transport.  As we drove past the St George Hotel one old bloke commented that his daughter had been in the crowds outside the hotel in 1964 when the Beatles stayed there.  I always regret that I wasn’t one of the crowd too,  my first and last chance to see the Beatles.    Another lady was loudly critical of the driver when he stopped to help passengers on and off the bus as he was making her late for her flight – how rude was that, I thought.

Airport Flyer Bus

Even the airport had changed since our previous visit.  We were in awe of the giant eagles hanging over the café eating areas.  One of them had Gandolf riding on top.  Made by Weta Workshop, one of them was shaken loose during an earthquake and had to be re-installed using a new hanging structure that is able to handle considerably higher loads.

Giant Eagles at Wellington Airport

We sat in front of the large picture windows, watching the planes arrive and depart.  Perhaps we will have another trip away soon, we hope.  Lunch was Pie and a Pint for him, and Salmon Pasta for her, all very nice and tasty.

Then we retraced our steps, taking buses back to Plimmerton.  It was a great day out exploring.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our readers who follow our travels and adventures around our beautiful country.  Best wishes to all the other bloggers who keep us entertained with their own adventures – we enjoy reading your daily/weekly tales too. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.   Perhaps we will see you on the road one day soon.

Farewell to Danny

Danny is our very popular village care-taker who was sadly leaving us due to ill health.  We couldn’t let him go without acknowledging his years of helpful service, so the Body Corp Committee  organized a presentation for him.  Donations came flooding in, and we were able to purchase a very generous “Pressie Card” for Danny to spend as he wished.  An extra gift came from Stafford, who made a beautiful Rimu bowl, turned on a wood lathe down at the Menz Shed, for Danny.

Rimu bowl for Danny

Many of the village residents gathered in the Village Green to farewell Danny.  Robin and Derek made the presentation, thanking Danny for his years of work around our village.

Robin, Danny and Derek

Then Bruce, Julie, and Heather sang “So Long, it;s been good to know you”, with everyone joining in the chorus.

Musical interlude by Bruce, Julie and Heather

There were plenty of hugs from all the ladies and hand shakes from the men as they came up to wish Danny all the best for the future.  He will certainly be missed.