What's at Pongaroa?

 What's at Pongaroa?  For such a small place, there are quite a lot of interesting things there.  We left Alfredton and drove on to Pongaroa, a slowish drive with plenty of hills, up and down again, over and over again.  In the middle of the village is a sculpture to commemorate a famous son, Maurice Wilkins, who was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize together with his colleagues when they discovered the now familiar double helix of DNA.

Double Helix, discovered by Maurice Wilkins and colleagues

We arrived at the Pongaroa Domain, the name means many tree ferns, another pleasant camping area.

Russell and  Maureen couldn't decide the best place to park, so moved here, there and back again, getting their van stuck in the soft grass.  So it was Robin to the rescue with his handy strop to pull them out onto the hard again.

Getting ready

Robin to the rescue

Three of us opted for a power site and parked up the rise under some towering trees.  There were ewes and their little lambs just over the fence.  The others parked below us on the hard standing.

Three vans up the top

And the others parked on the edge of the road

We found out that Helen grew up in Pongaroa so knows the area well.  When having a coffee in the local cafe, she mentioned that she worked in the building as an after school job when it was a country store.  

Helen's first job here as a high school girl

The local pub, the Pongaroa Hotel,  has an interesting history, starting life as a BNZ bank.  The bank closed in 1936 and was used as a private house for 12 years.  It was then converted into a hotel, then a tavern, then back to a hotel again.  There are many interesting historic photos inside the building.

Pongaroa Hotel

We had Happy Hour in the pub, no doubt the locals wondered about us as we all walked in.  You know this is a rural area when you see the gum boots all lined up at the door.  We settled down in the dining room, checked out the menus and ordered our meals.    Generous country sized servings and very tasty indeed.

Helen, Russel and Maureen

John, Flo, Geoff, Eileen, Robin and Jenny

Robin, Jenny, Helen, Owen, John and Flo

The following day was clear but cold, and we packed a picnic lunch and the folding chairs, and headed off on an adventure.  Off we went to show our camping buddies the beautiful Waihi Falls, about a 45 minute drive from the camp.  The majority had not been there before.  Arriving at the car park we noticed a brand new toilet block, there was no sign of this when we did our reccie 6 weeks or so ago.

Brand new toilet block

The walk down to the falls was down a steep track, and I counted 105 steps.  Of course it was much easier going down than clambering back up.  We all walked at our own pace and the walking poles made us feel a little more secure.

Down the track

Waihi Falls were a sight to behold, roaring with sound as the water thundered 25m over the edge, sending light spray around to land on our faces.  Such a magnificent sight, so doubt the recent rain fall had made the flow even stronger than usual.

At beautiful Waihi Falls

Cameras were clicking as everyone posed for their selfies in front of the falls.  Then we all arranged ourselves for a group photo.

Geoff, two Helens in a row, Owen, Maureen, Jenny, Robin, Flo and John

Puffing and panting we made it back up the steps, and it was time for lunch.  There was a wooden shelter available with two large picnic tables and seats, but the wind was whistling right through.  Luckily there was a nice sheltered spot at the top of the walkway so we settled down there with our folding chairs and picnic lunches.  It was a lovely spot, sheltered by native trees, and we could hear the sounds of frogs croaking in the pond down the hill a little way.  So peaceful as we sat and chatted, eating our sandwhiches and making a hot drinks from our handy thermoses.

We took a different road heading back to camp, in fact it wasn't the road Robin intended to take at all, but we got there in the end.  We commented on the huge amount of pine trees all over the hills, new plantings, some half grown and pine forests maturing.  I'm always interested in rock formations as we drive along too, these looked interesting.

Rocks protruding from the hills

Finally back in Pongaroa, we stopped at the cafe/store for an ice-cream.  After our mammoth drive up and down all those hills, we felt we deserved an ice-cream to finish off our outing.

We can go every which way from Pongaroa

Off on Safari, Masterton and Alfredton

 Straight after the conclusion of the combined rally we traveled to the Masterton NZMCA park to meet up with our fellow members who would be joining us on the safari trip.

Masterton NZMCA Park

The instructions were to top up with fuel, have full water tanks and empty waste tanks, and have plenty of supplies for the week.  There were limited shops and fuel stops along our safari route.  There were five vans overnight, with one arriving the following morning.

We are going on safari

We enjoyed lunch and 4zzees outside in the sunshine on Sunday, but the cold weather arrived on Monday morning.  Robin gave a briefing about the day's travel, and we all set off to Alfredton Domain.  The drive took us through some pretty farmland, with plenty of cattle and sheep grazing contentedly.

The turn from the road into the Domain was rather sharp and we had to go through a narrow gate, so it was important to have the car and caravan lined up correctly.  Robin started the entry, checked in the mirror, then decided to back up and try again.  This approach was much more successful, after all, we didn't want to scratch the side of the caravan, did we.

Originally named and known as Moroa, Alfredton was formed in 1868 and was part of the Small Farms Association.  These days it is a tiny village with a school and a church.  The Domain is an attractive place with ewes and small lambs everywhere.  The calls of our beautiful native bird, the tui, were heard overhead in the large trees.  We sorted ourselves out and found a park for the night.

Staying at the Alfredton Domain

A free camp, with water available, and a rather rustic toilet block.  There was no internet available in this rural area.

Rather rustic, but functional

Off to Carterton

 It seems that we have only been home for 5 minutes or so, and then it's time to head off again.  It was a wet and drizzly Friday morning when we put the last few things in the caravan, hooked up, and got on our way.

It was a wet Friday morning

We were heading to Carterton, a two hour drive, so off we went, up and over the Pahiatua Track which took us to the Wairarapa.  Henley Park in Masterton is always a good spot to stop for lunch, with plenty of parking available.  This is also a Freedom Camping area and there were about half a dozen caravans and campervans staying there.  We stopped for about an hour, enjoyed a leisurely lunch, and then I took a stroll down to the lake edge.  The ducks and geese saw me and thought I was coming to feed them, no such luck, ducks and geese, bread is bad for you.

Lunch stop at Henley Lake

From here, it was only a short drive to Carterton Holiday Park.  We were joining the Wairarapa Caravan Club who were running a combined rally, with members from our club Heretaunga CC and Wainuiomata CC attending.  There were 17 vans in attendance.

We're in here somewhere

The traditional 4zees was held in the camp dining room, and it was great to catch up with everyone.  Friday night fish and chips are also tradition at a rally, and they were very tasty indeed, with nice crisp batter, just how I like it.  We returned to the hall at 7.00pm for "Back in the Day", this one was all about old sayings.  Such as "sweet as a ?"  I never knew the term was sweet as a nut, here in Kiwiland this has evolved  to "Sweet As"  which I always found wondering sweet as what?  Mr Google tells me it means "no worries, or that's cool".  The beginnings of all sorts of old sayings were offered to the audience, some we knew, others not.  Such as Poets Day, which means "push off early, tomorrow is Saturday", Robin remembered that one.  It was certainly interesting hearing these long forgotten sayings again.

An outing had been arranged on Saturday morning to visit a local attraction, featuring old cars and model trains.  The property was a beautiful old villa, with lovely gardens.

Stoneway property

The man of the house has several interests, with car restoration top of the list.  He talked about finding old cars, and working around the difficulties of obtaining parts.

This one might be past saving perhaps

The current work in progress

Not many enthusiasts could lay claim to a separate building for model train layouts,  but he had one.  His interest in layouts was bush railways, milling and moving the native timber in years gone by.  As well as designing the several large layouts, he also 3D models items to use.  His saying was, "if I can draw it, I can model it".  Amazing stuff indeed.

Just some of the layouts

We all enjoyed dinner at the Carterton Club on Saturday night, two large tables full of us all.  There was a large group being served ahead of us, we had been warned so we just sat and chatted till it was our turn to order.  The meals were very nice, Robin ordered Bangers and Mash and I had Corn Fritters.

Don, Robin and Jenny and Rae waiting for our meals

There was a whole lot of happy campers

Sunday morning tea was the conclusion of the Combined Rally.  We provided savouries to commemorate Robin's recent birthday.  Thanks were made to the Wairarapa Caravan Club for a great rally and we all packed up and went our separate ways.

Happy Birthday Robin

Not us though, we are not going home yet.  We are both running a Safari Trip for a group of Heretaunga CC members, and our starting point was the Masterton NZMCA camp, starting on Sunday.  Here's hoping for good Wairarapa weather for the coming week.

Final Days down South

You know you are in wine country when you travel along with vines planted on both sides of the road.  We were heading for Blenheim, where there are vineyards galore.  The vines have been pruned back hard for winter, waiting for the spring growth. 

Vines growing everywhere

Our stop for the next couple of nights was the Waterlea Racecourse.  Some of the grassy areas for parking had been roped off, but we found a suitable gravel site.  This CAP (charges apply parking) has water, dump station, and toilets available, but no rubbish bins.  

There we are, not far from the grand stand

The weather was a combination of rain, showers and occasional sunshine.  We took the opportunity to visit the local laundromat early one evening.  Our cunning plan was to take care of the laundry, then buy fish and chips from the shop next door for our dinner.  That worked well.

The next morning we drove out to Renwick, the home of Burleigh Gourmet Pies.  We discovered this bakery when we were down in December 2022, after reading about the famous Burleigh pies.  We bought one each for lunch, and some frozen ones to take home with us to enjoy later.

Who doesn't love a great pie!

Then it was back to where we started, Koromiko.  This camp has now been purchased by NZMCA after quite some time spent on negotiations.  New signage has been installed, and shortly the main road will be extended to add a turning bay into Freeths Road  in time for the summer traffic, we were told.  The weather was wet, with strong wing gusts shaking the caravan.  

The lasted NZMCA park

Just a few vans on site

The weather had been overcast over the last few days with little sunshine charging the batteries so Robin set the generator running for a couple of hours.

Generator time again

A storm came rolling in as the day wore on, and was fully fledged by night time.  We could swear that the thunder was right over head, and each noisy clap spooked Gemma.  She ran around the van looking for a hiding place, hunkering down on the carpet at the foot of the bed, with the overhanging duvet giving her the illusion of cover.  Lightening cracked around us, torrential rain came down, and the caravan was buffeted all night by strong wind gusts.  Dear oh dear, what would our sailing be like the following day, we wondered.

Luckily the storm had gone the next morning, just leaving the wind gusts behind.  Time for the final part of our journey, crossing Cook Strait.  We were hoping the return trip would not be too rough, after all that bad weather the previous day.

Boarding Blue Bridge again

Gemma stays in the caravan

We had a light lunch in the cafe as the trip got underway.  Gliding through the Marlborough Sounds, I went out on deck to take a photo or two.  This part of the journey is sheltered and usually nice and calm.

Marlborough Sounds

The remainder of the journey was surprisingly calm, hard to believe after the terrible weather the previous day.  A friendly Irishman (yes, we have traveled to Ireland, we told him)  saw my camera and asked if we would like a photo.  He and his wife were very impressed that we made such good use of our caravan and traveled far and wide around our beautiful country.  "You two are enjoying life and living the dream", he commented.

Two happy campers

Oh look, we are almost in Wellington.  Time to head down to the car deck and get ready.  Off we went, passing the Sky Stadium, known locally as the Cake Tin, and we got on to the motorway.

Sky Stadium

We decided to stop at Plimmerton NZMCA Park for the night, as it was getting dark, and we didn't want to arrive home and unload the van at night time.  A quick meal, and it was early to bed, it had been a big day and we were exhausted.  The next morning after  breakfast we hooked up for the final leg of the journey.

Our final night at Plimmerton

Driving up the Coast Road there was no sign of Kapiti Island, it was was out there somewhere but hidden away under the cloud.  All I could see was the rocky coastline as we drove along.

No sign of Kapiti Island

Home at last we unpacked the van, put the first load of washing on, and sat and relaxed over a late lunch.  Phew, it's good to be home again.  We had 10 days away this trip, and traveled 1110 kms.