Marton to Taupo

We finished packing up the food, hooked up the caravan, said goodbye to the neighbours and left home just after 10.00am on Wednesday morning.  After a short 75km trip and we pulled into Marton, our stop for the night.  The Marton NZMCA park is a lovely little camp, not too far from home, and a good stopping off point when travelling northwards.

We needed a quick trip down-town to visit the hole-in-the-wall money machine.  That was out of order, ran out of the folding stuff perhaps?  Plan B was to visit the bank with a difference.  Believe it or not – this is housed in four containers joined together.  Seems that some work is needed to be done on the bank building, quite possibly earthquake strengthening.  It may well be in a metal container, but it was lovely and cool, with two air conditioners roaring away.  In the winter, the tellers said, the machines  work just as well on heating to keep the building nice and cosy.

The container bank in Marton

Back at the camp we beat the worst of the heat as we sat under the shady trees.  We enjoyed our evening meal outside, and sat chatting while enjoying the cooler early evening temperatures.  Various sized caravans and motor-homes rolled in during the day, with one late-comer arriving close to midnight, it was reported next morning.  Not that we heard it, we were sleeping away like babies, after all that fresh air.

Marton NZMCA park

There was quite a crowd at the dump station the next morning, so we had to wait till everyone else had finished before it was our turn.  Well worth waiting patiently as it is always sensible to travel with the waste tank empty and the fresh water tank full.  And for goodness sake, don’t get the waste hose confused with the fresh water hose!

A necessary stop at the dump station

It was a longer trip today, just over 200kms from Marton to Taupo.  But we just took our time, and the weather was glorious again.  We drove up SH1 passing  the Rangatira Golf Club where we had stayed several times previously, and under the  Makohine Railway Viaduct

Makohine Railway Viaduct

Then it was up and over the Desert Road.  With all this hot summer weather, Mt Ruapehu just had a few touches of snow left.

Mt Ruapehu from the Desert Road

Mt Ngauruhoe (7,500 ft) has an almost perfect cone rising 3,000 ft above the southern slopes of Tongariro, was completely devoid of snow cover.  All the peaks of Tongariro National Park, was regarded as highly tapu (sacred) by the Maori.  According to legend, the name Ngauruhoe – the peak of Uruhoe –commemorates the slave whom Ngatoroirangi, archpriest of Arawa canoe, sacrificed in order to add mana to his plea for fire to be sent from Hawaiki. When this arrived, Uruhoe's body was flung into the crater that bears his name.  As we drove past there was a bus parked on a lay-by, with all the tourists standing on the roadside clicking madly on their cameras.

Mt Ngauruhoe 

We arrived safe and sound at the Taupo NZMCA park, found ourselves a site, and settled down to a late lunch under another shady tree.  The parachutists kept us entertained as they swooped down from the skies to land in the adjacent area.  Most of them appeared to float down sedately, but a few, we noticed, came down so fast we feared for their safety.  It all must have gone to plan as we didn’t hear any sirens from ambulances rushing to pick up the pieces of shattered bodies.

Taupo NZMCA park

This camp has recently been extended so we will have a good walk around to check things out later on – when the heat of the day has abated.  And we have to make the most of all this good weather, so have a BBQ meal planned for this evening.  Nothing beats the smell of food cooking on BBQs,  no doubt Robin will be watching the steaks cook with a can of Tui in his hand.

Can’t complain about the weather

Our weather has been glorious lately.  Hot and sunny, just like it often is in February.  Too hot to sit outside unless you are sheltering under a shady sun umbrella.  So we can’t complain at all, especially when we see the recurring news of the devastating weather in both UK and USA.  I’m sure all those cold, flooded people, with their power cut off,  would like some of our good weather for a change.

We hope that this good weather will be sticking around for a while longer, as we are hitting the road again in a day or two.  Robin has been pottering around with our 4WD, checking the connections, the tire pressures, and has been to top up the fuel.  Tomorrow we will move the caravan to the front of our villa, and get on with the packing. 

Our cat Muffy knows how to cope in this hot weather.  Jump up on the bed and sleep the afternoon away.  When she awakes, she will walk out to the kitchen, loudly demanding we feed her.  Cats certainly have a good life, don’t you think?

RIP Geoff

Today we farewelled our friend and caravan buddy Geoff C.  The funeral was sad, and funny too, remembering amusing incidents,  as people often do at funerals these days.  Geoff was remembered as “Mr Gadget”, particularly  for his propensity for anything new in the electronic line.  Geoff and Pauline’s caravan sported many a new gadget over the years, such as the robotic looking self seeking TV aerial to the rear view camera on the van. And Geoff and Robin were both founder members of the “Red Generator Club”.  Only those caravanners with the manly red Honda generator could join – anyone with one of those pansy yellow coloured ones were certainly not eligible.  Many a phone call from Geoff started with a request to speak to the President of the Red Generator Club.

Our 2012 South Island Odyssey trip started off with a conversation between us and Geoff and Pauline.  They were so keen to join us, and we spent quite some time planning where we would like to go and what we wanted to do.  We were eventually joined by two other couples and our journey began with a cruise over Cook Strait on the Kaitaki in mid February 2012.

Starting off on our South Island Odyssey trip

Geoff was quite a train buff, as we both are too, and we planned the start of our holiday to coincide with the timetable of the vintage Weka Pass Railway which ran from Waikari to Glenmark and return.  The Plains Vintage Railway and Historical Museum at Tinwald had a steam train running and Geoff managed to talk the engine driver into letting him climb aboard for a photo opportunity.  And we all had such a fun time down riding the rails on the Kingston Flier that we took part in our very own Crunchie Bar photo shoot.  (Who can remember that famous Crunchie Bar advertisement filmed on board the Kingston Flier all those years ago?)

On board the Kingston Flier

Geoff had spent some of his working life in the Air Force, so a visit to the Air Force Museum at Wigram was a trip down memory lane for him.  He had arranged a special “behind the Scenes” tour for us all, which was very much appreciated.

Air Force Museum at Wigram

One morning Geoff decided to whip up a batch of sultana scones for us all.  These were made on top of the gas hot plate, cooked to perfection in his handy “Bessemer” cast aluminium cookware, another one of his gadgets. It was excellent for making pizzas too, we can vouch for that.

Scones for morning tea

We have many happy memories of the time spent in the company of both Geoff and Pauline.

Rest in peace Geoff, your long fight is now over and all the pain has now stopped. We will sure miss you. We enjoyed your company on our trip around the South Island in 2012. We saw some great sights and stayed in some awesome places, many many memories. Who can forget some of the times trying to decide the next place to visit, some were fraught but most were hilarious. You will be sadly missed as you are one or life's all time good guys and a great character.

We had many a chat in the last two years since your diagnosis and to me you always put on a brave face but we all knew the battle you were fighting, but those chats will stay with me forever. You are a sad sad loss REST IN PEACE my friend - Robin

Percy Reserve

Our SLG outing yesterday was a picnic at Percy Scenic Reserve in Lower Hutt.  It was many years since most of us had been there, and with new road-works, the entrance had changed considerably.  Getting there was a challenge for some, and drivers and navigators had to have their wits about them.  Luckily we all have cell phones these days, as one couple got lost.  They had driven to Petone, but were on the wrong side of the motorway.  The instructions for them to backtrack, enter the round-about and drive up the side road seemed clear enough, as they soon joined us in the car park.

Entrance to Percy Scenic Reserve

Joseph Percy built a flour mill here in 1869, with a full size water wheel powered by Percy Stream.  The mill is long gone and a model water wheel now marks the spot of this early piece of Hutt Valley history.

Model of the water wheel which powered the flour mill

Photo of the Percy Mill

Joseph’s grandsons developed the area into private gardens, using a mix of native and exotic species.  In 1939 the government inherited a half share of the Percy garden, with the provision that it be kept as a scenic reserve.  The other half was purchased, and the gardens were opened to the public in 1949.

We were given a guided tour through the greenhouses by Lisa, the head horticulturist.  She explained about the Alpine collection, 500 plants gifted to the reserve in 1994.  These were collected by Tony and Helen Druce over the course of several hundred field trips.

Part of the Alpine collection

We had seen plenty of Matagouri bushes, which can grow to metres high,  on our South Island travels, and this is the only native plant with thorns.  Goodness knows why, but it is also known as the Wild Irishman.   The Maori people used those wickedly sharp thorns in their practice of tattooing, we were told.

Matagouri, or Wild Irishman

Lisa was very interesting, and answered all our questions with ease.  After our walk through the three glass houses, including the “medical ward” for plants with health problems, maternity, (propagation) ill health or dementia, (plants not doing what they should), it was time for our picnic lunch.  Ashley came well prepared, carting in a BBQ along with his picnic basket, and got busy cooking up a few sausages while we ate our picnic lunches.  We hadn’t taken anything to barbecue, and tucked in to our bacon and egg sandwiches, but Robin didn’t say “no” when he was offered a sausage going spare.

Ashley carrying everything but the kitchen sink

Yum, hot sausage wrapped in bread

We needed a little walk after our lunch and set off to the duck pond.  The ducks saw us amble up the path and they couldn’t get into the water quick enough, ever hopeful for some bread, but they were sadly disappointed.

Ducks waiting for their lunch

This lovely reserve has featured in the past for most of our SLG friends.  We have all been here over the years for picnics and bush walks, and a couple of the ladies admitted having their wedding photos taken here in the grounds many years ago.  I remember bringing my own children, and later on, the grandchildren, to feed the ducks.  And as for that weta cave, no way would I ever go inside!  I bravely stepped inside the entrance, but that was as far as I would go.  Who wants wetas crawling all over you, not me!

I’m not going any further

However, a little preschool girl visiting with her Dad put me to shame.  She happily ran into that dark, dank, spooky cave, right to the end, and came out again, bright and bubbly, without a single tear.  And, she said, she saw a monster down the end, as well as a unicorn.  But was she scared?  Certainly not!

Our SLG friends 

Farewell to Eketahuna

Come Sunday, it was time to pack up and start heading home.  But not before Bill was called on to come to the aid of another  camper with his jumper leads who had a flat battery.  It was another damp morning so we had our last morning tea under the veranda.  The rain had made the grassy sites a bit boggy and Selwyn needed a little helpful advice as he towed his new caravan off the grass and onto the road.  Then it was time to say farewell, head off to the dump station, before the drive back home over the Pahiatua Track.

White kiwi on the main road through Eketahuna

The origin of Eketahuna, as a European settlement, was Sir Julius Vogel's Immigration and Public Works Act of 1870.  Some 7,500 new arrivals, the majority from Scandinavia, landed in New Zealand by the middle of 1873. Vogel's  scheme was  to open up this part of the country by clearing the bush, and building new roads, bridges and railways.  The settlers called their new home Mellemskov which means, 'Heart of the Forest'.   However, by the end of the seventies the name had reverted to the Maori one of Eketahuna which means, 'to run aground on a sandbank'; so named by the local Maori people to describe that location where their waka (canoes) could travel no further up the Makakahi River, which bisects the township.

Up and over the Pahiatua Track

It always seems much quicker driving home than the original trip to get there in the first place.  Goodness knows why, it must be a travel phenomenon!  Or maybe the roads just seem more familiar.  95kms later we were home.

Home again

After a quick lunch, the real work began – unpacking the caravan.  First the food, then the clothes.  In came the laundry bag, and on went the washing machine.  While I was busy inside the caravan cleaning the fridge, the bathroom, and vacuuming the floor, Robin was just as busy outside with his bucket of soapy water and the water hose.  Around the corner in our village Derek was doing the same to his motor-home.   We had driven through some road works at Shannon, and the road side sign advised drivers to wash any cement splashes off vehicles.  There – everything is nice and clean, all ready for our next trip away in a couple of weeks.

From Alfredton to Purple Haze

Due to the incessant rain, our planned picnic lunch at Alfredton Domain did not happen on Saturday.  But the weather cleared after our (non picnic) lunch in camp, so we decided to go for a drive anyway.  Most of our camping buddies had not been to Alfredton before, and were not aware that camping was permitted in the domain.

There are pretty areas under the trees for picnics or overnight camping.  Toilets and water are available. and we noticed a young family camping out under the trees. 

View of the domain

Sheep from the adjacent farm browse in the domain, so visitors must make sure to keep the gate shut.  A handsome peacock kept a wary eye on us when our posse of cars arrived, but I crept up behind him to snap his photo.  He probably belongs to the farmer who owns the sheep.

The Alfredton peacock

In the early days Joseph Masters, responsible for establishing the small farm settlements in Masterton and Greytown, had big plans for Alfredton.  But although street plans were drawn up, most were never built.  With the combination of poor soil and a much harsher climate than the lower reaches of the Wairarapa, and it was hard to eke out a living.   Then Premier Julius Vogel's decision in the 1880s to take the railway line north from Mauriceville to Eketahuna, rather than through Alfredton,  stopped any further development.  This is a very quiet rural area, and Alfredton has a small school and a golf course.

 

We climbed back into the cars and drove through the countryside to Mangatainoka – home of the famous Tui Brewery.  But no, that wasn’t our stop, we were having coffee at the pretty little cafe and lavender shop, “Purple Haze”.  It was pretty as a picture looking out over the lavender beds from the cafe as we enjoyed our coffee and cake.  “Purple Haze” is such a descriptive name for this business, and the lavender is almost ready for harvesting, we were told.

Lavender beds at Purple Haze

We all gathered under the veranda again in the evening, warmly dressed to keep the evening chill away.  In keeping with the New Zealand theme for our Waitangi weekend rally, I presented a short quiz as a brain teaser.  Questions such as “what year did women get the vote in NZ” (1893), “when did decimal currency start” (10th July 1967), and “which was the first town to have electric lights” (Reefton), had them all scratching their heads for a while.  It was congratulations to Bill as he got the most correct answers. 

River Walk

We took another walk along the Cliff Track yesterday, making the most of the good weather before the predicted rain arrived.    Our group of ramblers were keen to check out the old swimming pool, where we had heard the local kids making shrieks of laughter as they splashed in the river the other day.

There was a very steep track leading down to the river which needed a bit of care to negotiate.   The broken rock on the bank was reflected in the water looking just like a scary mask, Robin thought. (Can't see it myself, though).

Reflections at the old swimming pool

We had to duck our heads to get under a large tree growing over the track, and leaning over the cliff down to the river.  Guess it will topple right over and down into the river in years to come.

Our group of happy walkers 

When we arrived back in camp we found that the last arrivals for the rally weekend had arrived.  Don and Pamela bring the number of club caravans to five.  The camp also had a steady arrival of tourists in camper-vans looking for an overnight stay.

We gathered under the veranda for the evening and as it was Waitangi weekend, everyone had been tasked with writing a small poem about our wonderful little country.  Not that we are biased at all – but New Zealand is also known as “Godzone” (God’s own country).  Most people took the time to put something in writing, and Bill wrote a wonderful long poem about Captain Cook, and there were several interesting shorter poems read out as well.  My own offering went like this:

I’m pleased I’ve been to Scotland, where the purple heather thrives

And seen the sights of London, where history comes alive

But New Zealand is my birthright, with it’s mountains and it’s streams

I’m proud to be a Kiwi, and it’s coloured all my dreams

We travel around our country, and explore this land of green

From northern tip to way down south, there’s not much we haven’t seen

I’ve English blood and Scottish, with a bit of Romany too

My relatives were settlers here, makes me Kiwi through and through

I’m glad I’m born a Kiwi, and although I’ll sometimes roam

When I’ve had my fill of trips abroad, I’ll gladly come back home