Higgins Heritage Park

We did a convoluted drive yesterday, leaving the pretty alpine village of St Arnaud on the way to Wakefield.  The reason was that the nearest dump station was in Tapawera, very important as we were moving on, so that's where we headed first.  The drive was very pretty, up and down hills, and through forested areas.  The road was rather windy, so we just took our time driving along.  In fact, there was hardly any traffic at all, we noticed.

Hop growing is a big part of the local economy, and we passed plenty of these vines growing up the supports.  As every beer drinker knows, hops are an important part of the beer brewing process.  I presumed that this large building was a hop processing plant, but no, hops are grown inside under cover.

Growing hops, outside and under cover

We had previously stayed at Tapawera on a farm POP, travelling with three other vans on tour and I remember being encouraged to milk a goat.  Which I did rather tentatively, concerned that the goat would take exception and would kick me.  Our hostess gave us some goat milk to take with us when we left.  Here is that significant picture from all those years ago of my fumbling efforts!  Ten years younger and not quite so grey.

A younger version of me

There have been a lot of changes to the small town since our last visit back in 2012.  Gold was discovered in the 1860s but it was such a small amount that no one made their fortune.   Tobacco was grown in the Nelson-Motueka area from the 1840s and provided jobs and wealth to the district for over 70 years until demand reduced, pushing growers to switch to other crops such as fruit.  Tapawera currently produces blackcurrants, berries and hops, as well as farming dairy, beef and sheep.

Moving on, we made our way to Wakefield, close to Nelson for our next stop.  The traffic was definitely getting busier as we drove along.  90km later we arrived at Higgins Heritage Park, our stop for the next two nights.  This POP (park over property) has a large grassed area for parking, water and toilets available and a bargain at $5.00 per night.  Once again, we are camping on our own.

Here we are, on our own again

Higgins Heritage Park has a series of large buildings, housing specialist collections.  It runs a series of Open Days and it appears that in-between times, club members come and work in their own areas – a bit like a giant Menz Shed it seems.

Just some of the many sheds on site

From the Wahine which sunk 10th April 1968

Plenty to see

Gemma and Robin resting after a big day

The Alpine Village of St Arnaud

We were on our way to St Arnaud, traveling the length of the of the Wairau Valley Road SH63.  Both the Wairau River  and the Alpine–Wairau Fault runs along the length of the valley.  This could be well be a valley of two parts, as grapevines galore stretched as far as the eye could see.  Well established vineyards, and brand new plantings with tiny vines encased in green plastic wrappers, putting their tiny roots down into the shinglely soil as they get established.  Most of these vineyards have large frost control fans to protect the fruit from the damaging frost.  About halfway long the valley the landscape changed to forestry, Radiata Pine and Douglas Fir, and farming.  Another thing we noticed was the number of one way bridges on the road, we must have crossed about a dozen of them. 

One way bridge on route

104km later we arrived at the CAP at Beechwood Drive.  There is a very large graveled parking area, completely empty, so we had the pick of the sites.  Cost per night is $10.00 and payment is made in an Iron Maiden honesty box.  Sadly, the on site café is no longer operating, and is up for lease, but there is an Antique Boat Museum close by for those who have an interest in this sort of thing.

We have the place to ourselves

St Arnaud was on my wish list for this trip.  I remember travelling through this tiny alpine village back in 2018 and remarking that I would like to stay here for a night or two next time we were down this way.  Situated at 650mt and according to Mr Google, the population was 120 a few years ago.  But I suspect it may have well increased since then, as there is quite a few flash new homes built on the hillside by the caravan park.

The DOC (Dept of Conservation) Information Centre was teaming with people.  People were booking into the campsite or making enquiries about the tramping tracks nd huts close by.  We cannot stay at any DOC Camps because of having Gemma with us, no pets allowed.  There was an interesting display in the building, plenty to look at and read.

Inside the DOC building

St Arnaud is situated on the edge of Lake Rotoiti and we drove the short distance down past the camp to the lake edge at Kerr Bay.  There was a water taxi tied up at the wharf ready to take trampers where they want to go, and it is also available for a tour around the lake.

Water taxi

View of the lake

There’s not too much in this little village, a couple of motels, a volunteer Fire Brigade, a church, a country store, this CAP and adjacent Boat Museum, and the country store.  We noticed the store had a café so we popped in to have an early light lunch, coffees with a cheese scone for me, and a hot pie for him.  Several other travelers passing through were picking up food and drinks too.

St Arnaud’s store

There has been quite  heavy rain off and on while we have been staying here, but after all, we are surrounded by mountains.  Gemma has been keen to get outside, but once the door is opened and she feels the cold wind on her face, she scuttles straight back inside and settles down on the bed instead.  She must be a fair weather cat, I think, and likes to curl up in the lap top bag to help me while I’m blogging.

All comfy inside the van

Three nights in Blenheim

Where to from Koromiko?  We spent the next three nights at Blenheim, at Waterlea Racecourse CAP (charges apply parking).  Although not an NZMCA camp, it is only available to NZMCA members, at $12.00 per night, with a maximum stay of four nights, but is not available during race meetings.  We have stayed here before in the past, and remembered that parts of the grounds were flooded and Robin had to use our 4WD to pull out a motorhome which was stuck in the mud.   As it was raining heavily the day we arrived, we took care to keep away from the suspect areas. 

After choosing a site, settling in, and paying our camp fees, we had a quick lunch then set out to find a laundromat.  May as well spend a couple of hours doing the laundry on such a wet day, we reasoned.  The laundromat was busy, and one customer came in and commandeered five large washing machines!  She did mention that her machine at home had broken down and a  new one was not available till well after Christmas.  Seems she will be looking forward to many more visits while waiting for her new machine to arrive.

Then we remembered there was a Coupland's bakery close by – always exciting as the nearest Coupland's to us at home is many miles away up in Hamilton.  Purchasing  a Kiwi Cash Key from the information Centre was next.  We don’t need it at the moment but well may do so as we travel around.

The rain had departed the following day and I climbed up the grandstand to take a photo or two.  We are there in the crowd somewhere.

View from the grandstand

Our next door neighbours were keen e-bikers and had a little kiddie cart to take their Jack Russell terrier Tammy with them on trips.  Tammy was securely buckled in, and away they went for a morning ride.On their return they mentioned they had ridden 60km, that’s a long ride indeed.

Ready for a ride

A flick through the local visitor guide gave us a few places to check out.  “A Marlborough institution, the Burleigh Gourmet Pie is an absolute must-taste”.  Robin is always a fan of a great pie, so we drove out to Renwick to check it out.  The place was so busy, customers arriving, then departing with armfuls of pies.  One lady had gathered up about two dozen frozen pies, and told me she was a regular customer and liked to have a good supply in the freezer.  We decided on frozen pies as well, two for tea that night, and the other two for the freezer for a meal later on.  We chose chicken, leek and mushroom, and belly pork pies.  When we called in, the list of pies already had “sold out” stickers on several varieties, it is such a popular place.

Burleigh Gourmet Pies

Lunch in a classic English Pub “where you can be sure of a warm welcome” sounded like fun, so we stopped at the quaintly named Cork and Keg.

Stepping inside, we were warmly welcomed indeed.  With thick ceiling beams, a large brick fireplace, and plenty of brass and jugs everywhere, the Cork and Keg certainly had an English country pub ambiance.  We placed our lunch orders, and sat out in the beer garden, sheltered with plenty of sun umbrellas and a large sun shade.

Our lunches arrived, popcorn shrimp for me, and buffalo wings for him, and Robin indulged in a large glass of Guinness.  I’m not really a beer drinker but I can remember having the occasional small Guinness myself when we traveled around Ireland some years ago – it seemed the thing to do at the time!

Lunch at the Cork and Keg

What’s that sign we spotted?  Fresh strawberries were for sale – just what we needed.  Not only that, but strawberry snow freeze ice-creams too.  The car park was packed, and happy customers sat outside licking their ice-creams.  And if they were anything like me, trying to finish the ice-cream before it all melted and ran down my hand.

That’s a very big strawberry!

Hedgerows Strawberries is a very large hydroponic operation with a huge glass house that seemed to go on and on. With thousands of strawberry plants growing happily inside.

Hedgerows Strawberries

Driving around this area we passed vineyard after vineyard.  The Marlborough region is very well known for producing fine wines, and there are many well known labels produced here.  For wine lovers, there are plenty of wine tasting tours available. 

 

Vineyards galore

While driving along we spotted a couple of these interesting signs on an undulating roads.  Be careful in bad weather!

Drivers beware

Straight to Koromiko

Departing the Inter Island Ferry we drove 8km to Koromiko CAP (charges apply parking)  opened the gate, chose a site, kept the car and van hooked up, pulled the blinds and curtains and climbed into bed.  We were so tired, but Gemma took a while to settle down, no doubt still a little anxious after her time alone in the caravan crossing Cook Strait.

WE certainly felt better after a couple of hours shut-eye.  This is a pretty camp, surrounded by beautiful mature native totara trees, and very reasonably priced at $5 a night.  For book lovers like me, this camo has a rather quirky book swap set up.  The books are inside an old fridge, with a power cord seemingly plugged into the totara tree.  I had a book to swap, and came away with a couple more.  There is nothing worse that not having book to read at bedtime.

The book fridge

Plenty of room here

The birds were singing in the trees all day long, and across the road came the occasional bleat of sheep in the paddocks.  I loved the look of this old barn, it may be old and in need of repair, but it has it’s own type of beauty, I think.

Old barn over the road

When we think of Koromiko, we remember Koromiko Cheese, world famous in New Zealand.  The factory has long been closed down, but the memory lingers.  The name Koromiko means a native white flowering shrub, of the hebe family.  This may be a tiny place but Picton Aerodrome is close by, with daily flights operated by Sounds Air.

It was one night only staying here, and we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset – just the thing to welcome us to the South Island for our holiday.  By the time I fiddled about with the camera the colour was fading sadly, next time I must be more speedy.

Sunset at Koromiko

Traveling on the Inter-Islander

Our South Island adventure was just one sleep away.  And to celebrate, it seemed that Mother Nature put on a lovely sun set for us on our last night at Plimmerton.

Sun set at Plimmerton

Tuesday was a lovely day, nice and sunny, just right for a trip across Cook Strait.  But it wasn’t to be.  We left Plimmerton in good time for check in, and arrived at the terminal.  There the staff told us that the 1.00pm sailing was cancelled, due to Covid wrecking havoc on staff numbers, and it was unable to sail!  Damn and blast, what now?  Turn around and go home we were told, keep your phone turned on, and wait for an update.  Because we were there reasonably early, I felt a bit sorry for the young girl who would have to repeat this message time and time again as the vehicles started arriving, offering apologies, and placating any who were put out with the change of plans.

There was nothing for it but to turn our rig around, and head back to Plimmerton NZMCA Park.  “We thought you had gone”, our neighbors told us, as we returned.  Seems we weren't the only ones in the camp who were affected either.  As the day wore on, we were advised that we had been booked on the 2.00am sailing on Wednesday morning.  It was a long day waiting, and we sensibly indulged in a Nana nap in the afternoon.

Back to Wellington we drove at 11.30pm, lined up in the queue at the booking office.  Here we were given our boarding pass and various large coloured tags to display on the dashboard.  I thought the “old folks label” was very apt!  We also had to fill in a declaration for Muffy – she was taking her journey inside the caravan, with all the comforts of home, food, water and toilet facilities available or her.

Our assorted tags.

There was even more waiting in line, so it was a good opportunity to wander up and take a photo of the Kaiarahi, lights blazing brightly in the darkness.

The Kaiarahi

Eventually our line of vehicles was waved forward and we were parked up for the voyage.  My goodness, it seemed a bit of a squeeze to me, here we were surrounded by very large trucks and trailers.  It seems our Easy Access tags were not noticed by the parking staff.  As we made our way to the stairs, me with a walking stick and Robin with a crutch (just in case we tripped, there were hooks and chains all over the floor) another  worker advised us to ask for easy access parking next time!  Of course we had, and next trip we will make sure to wave it about so it will be seen when we drive aboard the ferry.

Close parking indeed.

For a treat, we had decided to book into the Premium Lounge, a first for us.  A little pricey, but very comfy indeed, and no children allowed. As it turned out there were only about ten of us in the lounge, but we were told that sometimes it is at full capacity.

Premium Lounge

As we arrived we were presented with a glass of orange juice.  It was  breakfast service  on this trip, so we enjoyed bacon, eggs, and other delights from the self service counter.  Pastries were available, hot tea and coffee, and a trolley of sushi was on offer later in the evening, or should I say, very early morning.  It certainly was a nice experience, and I would like to sample it again during a day time sailing.

Our early morning breakfast

The ferry arrived in Picton at 5.30am, the break of dawn, and we were soon off and away to Koromiko.  Hopefully we can get into the POP at this early hour, and get our heads down for a while.

Hello Picton

Let the Journey Begin

Packing up from the caravan club Christmas Rally was the start of of our South Island adventure.  We called into home to drop off a few extra items we took away for the rally, and collected the Christmas ham, and a bag of gifts from the family – not to be opened till Christmas Day, were the strict instructions.  And I better not forget the big bag of books to swap as we travel around.  Travelling south we drove up the hill at Pukerua Bay to come to a stand still.  This is the site of a huge slip which had this road closed earlier for quite some time, and it looks like the work is still ongoing.

That’s a big clean-up job

It wasn’t too long till we arrived at the NZMCA Park at Plimmerton, our stop for the next two nights.  This is nice and handy for the Inter Island Ferry.  There were plenty of spaces available when we arrived in the early afternoon, and sure enough, a steady stream of rigs arrived during the afternoon.

Staying at Plimmerton

This is a great park, plenty of room here with water available, a dump station, and rubbish bins, all very necessary when travelling around.  Inside the members room is a nice big bookcase, for those who like to swap books.  That’s where my big bag of books ended up, and I found several more to take on my travels.  I really can’t cope with not having a handy book or two to get immersed in during the evenings.

Swap-a Book fun

Today was a spare day so we had time for a little drive around Plimmerton.  Plimmerton has its modern origins as a late 19th century seaside resort. It is named after John Plimmer, an English settler and entrepreneur who, through the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, helped to fund and direct construction of the railway line. Regular services began from 10 October 1885. With the railway's arrival, Plimmerton became accessible to holidaymakers, and evolved into a seaside resort.  Sections began to be sold in 1888 and by the late 1890s Plimmerton had become a popular holiday destination with 30 summer cottages, two private hotels and one general store.  The estimated population today is 2,180.

Plimmerton featured in my past too and I was delighted to take a photo of this large building in Steyne Street.  Way back in 1964 in a former life I lived here as a young bride with my new husband for several months, in one of the upstairs flats.  After all this time I wasn’t sure if the building would still be standing, and wondered if it may well have been demolished and something new built on the site.

A blast from the past

Plimmerton boasts a small beach,and a rocky fore shore.  Many of the sea front houses have been replaced by those of a much more modern design, although some of the older homes are still dotted about.

Plimmerton Coast

Just off the coast is Mana Island.  We have visited this island a couple of times in the past, and can remember being part of the Forest and Bird group planting young trees under instruction.  The steep-sided and flat-topped Mana Island Scientific Reserve is a distinctive feature of Wellington’s west coast. The 217 ha island lies only 2.5 km from the mainland at its closest point. Mana Island’s name is an abbreviation of Te Mana o Kupe ki Aotearoa. This acknowledges the achievements of Kupe, the legendary 12th century Polynesian navigator.  Mana Island’s potential for threatened species conservation was greatly enhanced in 1990 when mice were eradicated – they had been present in plague numbers. Fortunately, rats and other mammalian predators never established themselves here.

Mana Island

There will be no sleeping in for us  tomorrow morning, we will have to be up and away to drive into Wellington to the Ferry Terminal.  South Island, here we come!