Start of the Long Weekend at Pohangina Reserve

Pohangina Reserve started life as a school, and as often happens, families move away from the area and the school closed in the 1980s.   The school grounds are now a reserve for people to use and enjoy.  This reserve features the historic 100 year old school building and landscaped grounds, including a swimming pool, tennis court and playground.  Our caravan club is camping here over  Wellington Anniversary Weekend.

Old school building

The 80km trip from home saw us arrive just after midday on Friday, to join Bill and Val who had just arrived a short time earlier.  The sun was beating down so after we were settled we joined them for lunch under their shady awning.  4zees was enjoyed under a huge spreading Maple tree, and locals came to make use of the swimming pool and play ground.

The others vans arrived over the next couple of hours

4zees, dinner then a get together outside in the early evening was on the programme for our first day.  We played the dice game with 20 cent pieces and the winner was Helen, taking home a large assortment of 20cent pieces, about $8 worth.  Not enough to change her life, but would certainly buy an ice-cream each.  We drifted off to sleep with the sound of the moreporks calling from the hillside close by.  The native morepork (owl) is known for its haunting, melancholic call - this sound gives it the Māori name 'ruru'.

On Saturday afternoon we pooled cars and took a tiki-tour to check out the camping at Totara Reserve.  This large camp was full of tenters and caravanners making the most of the long weekend.  There are BBQs available and a rather smart ablution block.

There was also a smaller, more rustic camp just across the road – our club had camped there in the past.  We went to check out the river behind the camp, remembering the terrible tragedy several years ago when the towering cliffs unexpectantly collapsed, killing three children swimming in the river.

 

Pohangina River

Back in the cars,  we  traveled a circular route to return to the camp.  The Pohangina Valley is certainly a very scenic place.

Back over the river

Robin provided the Saturday evening entertainment and presented a slide show of our recent 20 Tunnel Rail Cart Tour in the old school room, which we had hired.  Several of our caravan buddies had done an earlier trip with us a few years ago, and this current trip was organised by our Probus Club.

20 Tunnel Rail Cart Tour

Saturday was an extremely hot day, as was the evening, so we went to bed with windows open and the vents wide open.  “Murphy’s Law” had Robin scrambling out of bed at 4.00am to close the vents as a very heavy down pour came overhead!

Found it – at last

One of the “things to do” on our recent trip to stay at Napier was to visit the Waipawa Butchery – it’s world famous in the Hawkes Bay.  Unfortunately it was a stat holiday when we passed by, so the shop wasn’t open.  The Smith family of Patangata Station in the Tukituki River Valley featured on the popular TV show, Country Calendar a while ago, and told how they recently purchased the Waipawa Butchery.  Duncan wanted to ensure they had the same quality product on the shelves every week. “We set up some rules around what kind of stock we would supply to the butchery. That meant ensuring all the animals coming into the butchery are female and they have been killed at specific weights. We find meat from female stock, including pigs, is tastier and juicer every time”, he said.

We were delighted to find a large stand featuring Waipawa Butchery set up outside Mega Mitre 10 during a trip to Palmerston North today.  (They will be there every Wednesday, they assured us.)  Business was booming, and we finally got to purchase some of their famous meat.

We purchased several cuts of beef and lamb, plus a couple of home made lamb and kumera pies for our dinner tonight.  And a chilly bag to take our purchases safely home.  I’m sure the meat will be every bit as tasty as promised, can’t wait to finally try it.  We will give it the taste test and let you know.

Ferry Reserve – camping between two bridges

Geographically, this is a very special place - the scenic divide between the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges.  The Manawatu Gorge was formed over thousands of years by the Manawatu River.  It is the only place in New Zealand where a river begins its journey on the opposite side of the main divide to where it joins the sea.  Bill and Val joined us for the last night of our Christmas/New Year trip staying at Ferry Reserve.

Ferry Reserve offers free overnight parking for self contained motorhomes or caravans on a large slightly undulating grassy area overlooking the river.  The vans were parked up and after getting settled, we went for a walk to see what we could see.

The area is bordered by two bridges.  The Balance Bridge was constructed over the Manawatu River in 1904 and served until 1968 when it was closed, as it was thought to be unsafe. This wooden bridge was then replaced by an iron-concrete bridge which opened in 1971.

Balance Bridge

A road through the Manawatu Gorge was constructed 1871-1872, opening up Manawatu to Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay, and the original Upper Gorge bridge replaced the ford in the Manawatu River in 1875, with a toll gate to collect revenue for the maintenance of the road.   The wooden bridge, built of heart totara, was replaced in 1931 allowing for two-way traffic.  The Manawatu Gorge Road is now closed due to recurring landslides, and a new road is planned.

Upper Gorge Bridge

Several buildings have been added to the reserve since our last visit.  Whare Three is one of eight dotted about the region and information boards tell of the history of the area.  According to Rangitane tradition the Manawatu River Gorge was formed by a giant totara tree known as Okatia who once stood on the Puketio Ranges to the east.  Okatia became incensed with the desire to reach the sea and traveled west from his home, encountering the great Ruahine and Tararua mountain ranges.  This it overcome, creating a great mountain pass known as Te Apiti, the Manawatu Gorge.

Whare Three with information boards inside

There is also a BBQ shelter and a rather smart tiled toilet block in the park.

And that’s us away in the distance, overlooking the river

A lovely touch in the park is the Sacred Grove of Trees.  These were planted by the children of Woodville School in memory of the servicemen of Woodville and surrounding districts who did not return from active service during the Great War of 1914-1918.  Each man now has a personal living memorial so that his sacrifice will be forever remembered.

Sacred Grove of Trees

Our last evening was spent together  having a tipple and reminiscing about our trip.  The weather had changed overnight and our journey home the following morning was rather wet.  But, as often happens, by the time we reached our home town, the weather had improved, making unloading the caravan so much easier.  It was a great trip away, plenty of time for relaxing, some exploring, dining out, and time to catch up with family too.  We've unpacked the caravan, done a couple of loads of washing, getting ready to do it all again shortly, our next trip away is in two weeks time.

Driving home in the rain

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.