Off to The George

The phone rang on Saturday – Robin’s sister Kaye was in town.  Up from Nelson to visit their daughter, Kaye and Jan had also scored tickets to the All Blacks – Ireland Rugby Test.  How about a family lunch on Sunday, Kaye suggested?  That's a great idea, the other two brothers were contacted, and I made the booking.  My first choice couldn’t fit us in, so we were off to The George.   Roll on Sunday.

Eight of us settled down at the table, caught up on the news, and consoled the rugby enthusiasts amongst us on the All Blacks loss.  We take our rugby very seriously here in New Zealand, and a test loss is almost akin to a day of mourning.  What to order – the eternal question.  Choices made, we settled back to wait the arrival of our meals.  Which were very nice, I remember burgers, fish, steak sandwich, pasta, and an omelet being delivered.  Finishing up with coffee, I asked a young waitress to take a photo for us.  Oh no, a real camera, that was outside her experience and she really didn’t know what to do!  A little later an older staff member came over, well used to using a camera as opposed to youngsters only used to taking pics on a phone.

Family lunch

As everyone was still chatting away when it was time to leave, we invited everyone back to our home for another hot drink and to carry on the conversation.

Where did we park those cars?

Luckily I had done some baking the previous day so had something home made to offer the guests with their coffees.  Kaye (the youngest) wanted a photo with her three big brothers.

 

The Benton Family, Neil and Kaye at the back, Gary and Robin

It was nice to meet up with everyone again, then Kaye and Jan left to travel up to Taupo, and the other two brothers and spouses headed off home.  And with a family wedding being planned early next year, that means an even bigger family get-together to look forward to.

No Rally for us this Weekend

Our caravan club members are happily ensconced in in the Wairarapa this weekend.  Not us though, here we are at home.  You may remember that our caravan had a mild altercation with a car at Sanson in February, and we are only now getting repairs done.  Yes, it’s taken a while, first there was the new panel to order and get sent down from the factory.  And our preferred repairer is very busy indeed, especially when Covid swept through the work force, but finally there was a slot found for us.  Here is our caravan at Marty’s Panel and Paint with the lower panel removed – seems there may be a minor leak or two to check out.  We will find out more on Monday.

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Waiting for repairs

As we weren't going away for the weekend after all, I decided to treat the pair of us to a “Lunch and Movie Date”.  Off we went to the local Cinema for an early lunch.  Robin chose a pork belly and mushroom pizza and I had soup of the day, with a nice coffee each, of course.

And what did we see, you may be wondering?  It just had to be “Elvis”, didn't it.  The story was told in the words of Col Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks.  What a schemer he turned out to be, and a serial gambler.  As it turned out, he wasn’t a colonel, he was using a fictitious name, in fact he was an illegal immigrant to the USA.  The young actor, Austin Butler playing Elvis, was superb, and must have spent a huge amount of time perfecting the voice, the actions, and those wiggles.  The theartre was packed full of grey haired patrons, and with so many strangers in close proximity we both decided to keep our masks on the entire time.  That didn’t matter, I could sigh over those wiggles behind my mask  to my heart’s content.   What a film, from the young Elvis growing up with black neighbours and being exposed to Gospel music, his first record with Sun, and the effect he had on the young girls when he first started appearing on stage.  “Forbidden fruit”, Col Parker supposedly said, and he wanted his share of the phenomenon.

Elvis, the movie

As it happens, I’m a real Elvis fan (Robin not so much) and can remember back in the 50s when he burst onto the scene.  My girlfriend had older brothers who purchased new records each week, so we listened to the songs too.  Once I heard “Love me Tender” I was smitten. I can certainly recommend this film for any other Elvis fans out there.

Going Exploring

The plan for Saturday at our rally weekend at Dannevirke was to pack a picnic lunch and have a bit of a mystery tour around the area.  First up was a drive into nearby Norsewood to visit Johanna’s World (gold coin donation) and local man Gundy brought the story to life.  Settled in 1872-75 by Scandinavians and others from Northern Europe, who on their 40 acre blocks, made a living by clearing the dense bush. Norsewood has retained its Scandinavian heritage, and streets carry the original names.    Johanna Christiansen arrived with her family from Norway in 1872 and there a replica of the log cabin where Johanna was born in the Norwegian woods all that time ago. 

Replica of Joanna’s cabin

We also saw a replica “Stave Church” on the grounds, the only  Stave Church (Stavkirke) in the Southern Hemisphere.  Sadly it was locked up tight so we couldn't go inside.

Stave Church

We couldn't visit Norsewood and not say hello (again) to the trolls.   There is Father, Mother and Baby troll, all doing a bit of photo bombing.   These strange Scandinavian creatures are dotted all over the small town, and are considered good luck by the locals.

Watch out, troll alert!

Although we had visited this small town several times, we had never been to the local museum – entry was a  gold coin donation, and Gundy was on hand here too telling us of the exhibits.  Stepping into the old house was like stepping back in time, rooms were furnished just the way they would have been years ago.  At the rear of the house there was an extensive area showing all sort of tools.  Sadly this had to be fenced off as some of the tools had been stolen.

Norsewood Museum

After some retail therapy at NZ Natural Clothing, formerly Norsewear, Robin took the group to visit Mathews Park, not too far away at Namoko Road.  This is a small camping spot, for self contained vans.  Not everyone was aware of this camp, a good one to keep in mind for an overnight stay in the area.

Next stop was at Ormondville Station  was built in 1880 and is one of a handful of early wooden rail buildings that have been preserved thanks to community efforts. Since the closure, in 2001, of the region’s last passenger service, the Bay Express, the station has offered ‘unique boutique accommodation’ for tourists.  There are several examples of old rolling stock in need of attention across from the station. Once again, this was a first time visit for some of our friends.

Historic Ormondville Station

Our last stop of the morning, another new experience for some of our members, was the Makotuku Domain.  Camping is available here for a small charge, and there are a couple of power sites available, as well as toilets and showers.  There is plenty of room in the domain to hold an off power summer rally for our caravan club, we will have to keep this in mind for next year.  The main claim to fame here is a cute little grandstand.  We had originally planned to eat our lunches in the grandstand, but then decided to make the most of the warm sunny weather instead.

Picnic lunch at Makotuku Domain

That was the end of our tiki tour around the area.  Many thanks to Pat for arranging the Norsewood part of our morning, and to Robin for taking us to several “new to some of us” places.

Next Stop - Dannevirke Rally

Saying goodbye to our ICA friends, we left Hastings to drive down to Dannevirke for our caravan club rally.  The fog/mist was rather thick and we could barely see a thing for a while.  It always seems rather spooky to me driving in these conditions.

Mist everywhere

Bill and Val were travelling with us and we arranged to stop at Waipawa for lunch.  Brrrm, brrm, a large group of motor bikes drove into town and parked up.  They were on a trip to Porangahau they said, and were waiting for the latecomers to catch up.  This strange beast certainly was worth admiring, part car, part bike, obviously a one-off.

What is this?

Parked up for lunch

Well fed and watered, we continued on our way.  There was snow on the top of the Ruahine Ranges, sparkling in the winter sunshine, always a lovely sight to see.

There's snow on those hills

We arrived at Dannevirke Motor Camp in the mid afternoon.  The camp is way down a long drive, we passed an aviary, and there were deer in one of the nearby paddocks.  This camp in situated in a dell and can get rather chilly, luckily we were all on power sites for the weekend.  Report at the office, the sign said – that caused a little consternation as the office used to be part of the house at the top of the drive, but was nowhere to be seen.  We found out that the office is now situated in the camp ground – you can tell it’s been a while since our last visit here.

At Dannevirke Camp Ground

It was great to catch up with everyone again.  There was a lot planned for the following day, Saturday, including a mystery trip, wonder where we will end up?  Sounds like fun.

Sitting outside the kitchen area

ICA Rally, Hawkes Bay

Billed as the “0 & 5 Rally”, this six day adventure was a busy time indeed.  Each year the ICA Club runs this rally to celebrate with those who are celebrating a major birthday or wedding anniversary during the year.  This takes place on the final evening of the rally, so more about this later.

We had two nights at the Hawkes Bay Caravan Club grounds in Eskdale.

  After several days of rain, the grounds were very wet and soft indeed.  New members Peter and Ruth certainly made an impression on their first rally when their motor home got stuck in the mud.  Try as they might, it wouldn't budge, and the van just dug itself deeper and deeper into the mud.  A group of members jumped into action, pushing and rocking to get the van out of the hole, but to no avail.  It really needed to be towed out, just the job for Robin and his trusty Jeep.  Success at last!

 

All hands on deck!

Dinner was provided on our first night together, soup and bread rolls.  Very tasty indeed, there was pumpkin soup, ham and veggie, and tomato.  Plenty to go around, and most of us went up for seconds too.    And for morning tea the next day, we were treated to scones with jam and cream, didn't we do well.

Soup for dinner and scones for morning tea

As expected, Robin’s help was needed when it was time to move on, and several motorhomes were towed off the wet ground.  Next stop was the Hasting Race Course – luckily the ground was much firmer to park on here.  A climb up the grandstand gave a great view of all the vans laid out on the grass.

Hastings Race Course

Dinner that evening was “Pea, Pie and Pud” at John’s Café, we had preordered our choice of pie to make things easier for the staff.  The main course was followed by cheesecake, and coffee.  It was a tasty meal indeed.

Enjoying our meal

On Thursday we moved on to the Ellwood Function Centre for our final evening.  The two caravans in the group, along with a large Wakerley bus were parked up together, and all the other motorhomes were in another part of the parking area.

Dressed in our glad rags, we made our way to the Function Centre and enjoyed a lovely catered meal.  Baked ham, roast veggies, followed with tiramisu.  I thought it prudent to take a photo of the large cake before it was cut – this was a carrot cake with cream cheese icing, made for us by John’s Bakery.

The celebration cake

And the big birthday celebrations this year ranged from 75, 80, 85, and a 90.  Well done to the birthday people.  Kathie had made beautiful hand made cards to be presented to all celebrating this year..

Happy Birthday

There were three couples celebrating major wedding anniversaries this year, all 60th anniversaries, how wonderful!

Happy 60th Anniversary to you all

Robin received  the Benton Recovery Award for his help in towing out those members stuck in the mud.  It was no trouble at all, he really enjoyed it.

Thanks for helping, Robin

Bev cutting the cake

The next morning our ICA Rally came to an end, we said our farewells and went on our way.  It had been great fun, and we enjoyed meeting up with everyone again.  Many thanks to Desma and Doug for all their planning and running another successful rally, and all those others who helped behind the scenes.

Heading away again

After all the terrible weather we’ve had lately it was a blessing for those strong winds to drop, and the heavy rain to stop falling.  We were heading away again, this time to join up with out ICA friends for a rally in Hawkes Bay.  And just because we could, we decided to leave a couple of days early.  The caravan was moved into the handy car park outside our home, making it so much easier to pack, and plugged into power to get the fridge cold. 

Getting ready to go

We were a little later leaving than we wanted, but never mind, we can stop somewhere on the way for a late lunch.  Up and over the Pahiatua Track, through Woodville and we pulled into a handy layby.  Look, I said, there's another Leisureline there too.  It was Bill and Val – who were also travelling up to the ICA rally.   Their lunch break was over, and they were ready to hit the road again, while we stayed behind for a while.  We’ll catch up with them later.

Lunch break and a little RnR

By the time we arrived at the Hawkes Bay Golf Club Bill and Val were already there and all set up. The club offers a small number of powered sites to visitors, and  now it’s winter, it is always good to get a power site.  We joined them for 4zees and discussed our respective plans for the next day or two. 

The next morning was rather misty and it took quite some time to disperse.  Mist always looks rather spooky, I feel.

A rather misty morning

After breakfast I took my camera for a walk to take a few photos.   The car park was full of keen golfers who had arrived for an early morning game on the tees.

 

Club rooms and car park

This row of sheds are rented out to golf club members, I found out, to keep their gear in.  Power is available to charge up their buggies too, seems a great idea to me.  I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't asked a lady golfer who had her door open and was organizing her gear for a game of golf.

Storage sheds available to golfers

Here we are, side by side, and a campervan arrived in the evening a well.

We met our niece Lisa (my late sister’s daughter) for lunch on Saturday, always nice to catch up with her.  Lisa had booked a table at Rosie O’Grady’s, and Irish Bar/Restaurant in town.  The food was delicious and quite reasonably priced.  The only downside was that they didn't serve coffee!

At Rosie O’Grady’s for lunch

On Sunday we move on to Eskdale Valley for the start of the ICA rally.  There is lots planned, so it should be a fun week.  But the rain has set in again, everything is wet and soggy again.  But we can be sure of a warm welcome from our ICA friends at the rally.