Castle Point and Waiokino Gorge

 

Thursday 21st December 2023

We went to Waiokino Gorge this morning for a look. There is a very high swing bridge that we walked out on to. We both felt most uncomfortable when we were taking a picture. We got off as quick as we could. We went down to the edge of the river and felt much better. Looking at the bridge from below, it looked an awfully long way up.

From there we went to Castle Point. Eddie took his fishing equipment, but it was a bit windy and he didn't think he would be able to caste out far enough, Castle Point is a lovely beach with a lighthouse at the point. It seemed to be a nice safe beach. Unfortunately it is about 100 ks away, so we won't be able to go there too often. It was a nice day out.

 

Castlepoint Lighthouse

Waiokino Gorge Swing bridge

Waiokino Gorge from the bridge

Friday 22nd December 2023.

The weather continues to be summery, which is nice, if rather hot. We mustn't grumble.

It was 34 degrees between Masterton and Greytown. when we came home yesterday. 

I got a good bit of  gardening done this morning. The front garden, where Eddie has sprayed, has lots of dead grass in it. I pulled it up and found quite a bit of fresh yarrow growing up underneath. I will have to keep on top of it before it takes over again. 

We are getting more customers in now that it is summer time and everyone is on holiday. Soon we will be busy bees. 

rambling rose

Friday 15th December 2023

The day started off nice, but the clouds and the wind came up this afternoon, so not so pleasant as the morning.

We had a lot of rain one night earlier in the week. The wind blew the rain under the iron on the roof of the stables where we store things and made a bit of  a mess. Eddie got some wooden pellets that are around the place and put them on the floor to stack things on.  Everything is off the ground now, so if it floods again, they should stay dry. The toilet rolls we use for the toilets got soaked. Luckily there was only 1 left. Eddie went to get some more and there none there. Matt had to go and get some from Masterton ( I think). He dropped them off this morning. They look nice and tidy now, so I will have to not make them untidy, otherwise  I will be in big trouble.

Saturday 16th December 2023

It was cloudy today and I thought it was going to rain at lunch time, so I brought the washing in and hung it on the clothes horse. It didn't rain, so I put the hose onto the garden this evening. The silver beet looked a bit droopy. 

Sunday 17th December 2023

The weather has been quite odd today. We have had wind, some rain, some sun but not cold. I went for a bike ride this morning for half an hour. I had to put my rain coat on, on the way home, but it had almost stopped by the time I got back.

The wild flowers are looking very pretty and the bees are enjoying them. I shall try and remember to take a picture for next week's blog.

Tuesday 19th December 2023

We had a proper summer's day today. We got to the high 20s. 

Yesterday we did a bit of weed whacking near the gate. The committee was supposed to have done it, but a typical committee and nothing has happened. It will be a fire hazard if it is allowed to dry out too much. Eddie used the whacker and I raked it out of way with the leaf rake. We did an hour and we had had enough. It wasn't very sunny, but it was warm. We were going to do some more first thing this morning, before it got hot, but we decided to give it a miss today and got the shopping instead.

Wednesday 20th December 2023.

Another hot day today, but a bit windy. We went and got Eddie a couple of high vis singlets and a new aerial for the CB. We think it is the aerial that is faulty and not the CB. He thought he didn't need a bit to attach it and now finds that he does, so we are going to Masterton tomorrow to get it.

We have a couple of vans in for the weekend. They are here for a wedding tomorrow

Some poppies have popped out today. Red ones. I think they are the ones that grew on Flanders Fields.

Below are a couple of pictures I have taken this week. The roses are on a fence that I walk past on my walks and smell really nice. The bees like them too. The other one is a spider web that I thought looked rather cool with the sun shinning on it.

Jet Sprints

 

Friday 1st December 2023

It was showery today. It was supposed to come out fine this afternoon, but no such luck. Eddie got the lawns finished and did some weed whacking. I got some of the gardens done. The wild flowers we planted in the garden by us are starting to flower. It is easier to see what are weeds and what are the flowers now.

Saturday 2nd December 2023

It's been a summery day today, which has been rather nice. Eddie picked up all the bits of trees that he had cut off yesterday. He used the side by side and the trailer. When he had finished, he washed the side by side. Goodness knows when that was last done. I joked that it would probably break down now.

We have a few people in this weekend to watch the jet sprints tomorrow. The weather is a bit doubtful, so it maybe postponed. There is water in the middle of the track all ready to go. 

3rd December 2023

It was quite a different day from yesterday. Not sunny and a bit of rain that barely laid the dust. I ended up watering my little vege garden, as the rain wasn't any use.

We had the jet sprints on today. We went and stood at the fence and had a bit of a look. We were at the fence of the race track, so the photos are a bit small. They just about empty the water from the track when they zoom around the corners. They must have to keep filling up the track as they spill out so much as they go around the corners really fast. There is a "track" in the centre of  the the race track, which they fill with water from the river. Some years the event has to be canceled as the river is too low for them to take out any. They are flat out of the gates until they get back to them. Sometimes the time keeper got showered with water as they went by. We didn't go in, but stood at the fence to watch some of the heats. Someone described it as the Scotsman's grandstand. 

The boat isn't that easy to see, but you can see the spray they create. When they are going around a corner, they disappear completely from view, because of the spray.

The top of the fence post I was leaning on at the jet sprints was covered in yellow lichen, so I took a picture.

Home again

 Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Another lovely day today.

Eddie went surf casting this morning, but had no luck. After lunch he took the drone down and caught 3 nice snapper. We had 1 for our tea tonight. Very nice too. It's been a while since we had fresh caught fish.

Tuesday 28th November 2023.

Eddie went and had his medical for his truck lisence this morning. The doctor said that she didn't see why he had to keep having a medical every year when has been well since his heart attack. She wrote a note on the medical to that effect. Perhaps he won't have to have one next year. They cost $70, so it would be could if he didn't have to do it.

Louise woke up this morning feeling unwell and tested herself. She has covid. She probably got it off the ship. So far everyone else is ok. Fingers crossed we don't get it. We don't think we got too close to her, so fingers crossed

We didn't leave Edgecumbe until 10 30, so we never got home until 6. We had a good trip down. We stopped at Turangi for a Burger King lunch and a wee wee stop. We had a brief stop at Woodville for a breather and another wee wee stop. We parked outside a nice park. It is called Foutaine Park. The land was gifted by a settler for the town. His name was Mr Foutaine. Not sure if I am spelling it correctly. It was complete with band rotounda and a playground. One of the trees was planted by the Prince of Wales in 1920. 

There was a lot of broom in bloom along the side of the road at Waiouru. As the picture below shows. Very pretty, but such a weed.

When we got home, Tony, Darren and Tony's friend Nick were having a bbq tea.  We got a great welcome from them all. Even from Gypsy, Darren's dog. Nick and his partner Leigh are staying here for a while. Darren has done a good job looking after the cleaning and the vege garden is doing ok too.

Back to Thornton for a week

 Wednesday 15th November 2023

It was sunny again today and the wind wasn't bad as earlier in the week.

We've had a couple of overnighters come in this afternoon and Eddie did some of the lawns. Tomorrow he is helping to put up the glamping tents for the weekend glamping weekend, which we will miss. Darren is going to do the cleaning while we are away. We are heading back to Thornton for a week to look after the place while Louise is away.

Thursday 16th November 2013

Another nice day with not quite so much wind until the evening.

I did the cleaning and weeded a bit of the garden at the gate. A lot of the weeds were dead from when Eddie sprayed them, but it looks tidier if they are gone. I wonder if anyone will notice.

Eddie went and helped put up the glamping tents this morning for the Taste Masterton weekend. They put up 9 altogether. They were going to put up the centre poles first, but Eddie said no; do the corner pegs first and go from there. They started about 10 and he was home again just after 12, so they did alright. He was pretty tired when he got back and had a nap straight after lunch.

Friday 17th November 2023

A bit showery today, but not cold. Windy tonight of course.

Matt rang at lunch time to see if I could go and help make the beds and set up the glamping tents. Gabriella (she helps Matt in the office and does the marketing). was doing them on her own and there was so much to do. I went over at about 1 and got back home just before 4, so it would have been  a big effort for 1 person. Fiona Scott (she does the cleaning of the ranch house) came and helped us too. I won't be there to take it all apart. whew! They did look lovely after we had done them. I wished I had thought to take a photo before I left, but I didn't. Very annoying.

Gabriella asked about my Baha'i pendant, so I told her about the Baha'i Faith for most of the morning.

Tuesday 21st November 2023

On Saturday I helped Gabriella to reset some of the tents as the wind had blown them about a bit and some things had fallen over. She said her and her husband had googled the Baha'i Faith and seemed to be suitably impressed by it.

Matt invited us to the bbq they were putting on for the guests, so that was a nice surprise. The catering company that works out of the race course is called Rose and Smith. About 5 years ago, the lady, Paula, came and asked the committee if they had any idea about the value of the buildings they had. They said not really, so she has built up a business using them. Last year there were 78 weddings. She called her business Rose and Simth because when they were cleaning up the building they found a little sign that said the building had been built by Rose and Smith. I thought it was a nice touch.

We had a good trip up to Thornton on Sunday, except the wipers were on most of the way. It is suppose to be wet this afternoon, but it is really lovely and quite warm.

I seem to have got my head around all the things in the office, so that's good. 

Eddie is really happy to be back. He is going to go fishing tomorrow; he says. We will see. He would like to come back on a more permanent basis. I said what about going to Australia, but he isn't too sure. Sometimes he thinks ooh an adventure and other times not so much. He is a worry.

Another week

 Friday 3rd November 2023

It was a bit cooler today and rain this afternoon. I went for a walk before the rain this afternoon.

We have put the sunscreen and the side wall up again. Fingers crossed we don't have to take them down again. We also put up the sunscreen for the front of the awning that we bought in Australia. It makes our front a bit more private. 

We went into Masterton this morning to get some parts for the laawn mower he is fixing. While we were there we checked out the 2 NZMCA camps there. One is $30 a night. It has power, showers and toilets. The other one is $10 a night with no facilities. They are both nice places.  

Mondsay 6th November 2023

We had a bit of rain over the weekend, but today is very wintery with rain and a cold southerly blowing. We have been indoors all day. At least the gardens are up to date, so it's not so bad if I don't do some every day.

There was a marathon here over the weekend, so we had a few campers in who were running.

We have had a couple in who are using their van for the first time. They did 2 days on power and then they did 2 without, to see how it work out. They seemed to be happy with the result.

The river was very brown on the weekend, so I think there must have been a bit of rain higher up the valley wherever it comes from. It was clear again the next day.

On Saturday we went out for dinner in Greytown. One of the ladies, Sally Wilding, from tramping club in Matamata was down for a garden tour. We had a lovely evening with them and their friends they came down with. 

Thursday 9th November 2023

A cool day today. There was a cool wind blowing.

The weather is going to be nice on Sunday for the first race of the season. We get free tickets and are allowed to go into the members stand. How flash is that.

Eddie  mowed the lawns with his repaired mower and they look good. Matt was impressed with them. Tomorrow we have to go Masterton to get the tyres and the scarfing wheels and then I think it is all done. 

We bought a subway for lunch today and went to the Kaitoki Regional Park to eat it. It's very big and quite pretty with lots of bush around and the Kaitoki river running along one side. There were a few campers in and some looked they had been there for a while as they had long grass under them.

Below are some pictures of the camp at Tauherenikau. I just realized I hadn't put any on of where we are now. The building you can see in the background of the photo of our van, is the ranch house which is rented out to groups. It was where the jockeys lived when it was a training race course.

Entrance to the camp

Toilet block

our set up

A trip to Cape Palliser

 Thursday 12th October 2023.

Another lovely day today, so we were in our shorts for most of the day. 

Eddie got the old lawn mower, that he found, going today. He was told it was no good and not worth doing, but he played around on it today and got it going. He was very proud of himself. Even the battery he recharged, held the charge. He did a bit of mowing to see how it went. A few adjustments to be made and it will be ok.

Eddie did some spraying this morning and managed to get some on his clothes. I put them through the wash after a bit of a rinse in cold water. Eddie had a second shower of the day, just after his first one. Better to be safe than sorry.

25th October 2023

I have been without my computer for a week. I was using it on the table and scanning photos and documents. I was stretching over the paper all over the table to write on the labels on the scanned stuff and the computer slipped off the table. If I had let it fall, it would probably have been ok, but I tried to save it and squashed it against the table, which cracked the screen. It works most of the time except when I am using web sites and then it flicks from one site to the next. All a pain in the neck. It was going to be too expensive to get a new screen. It's crazy that a new computer is too expensive to repair. Our neighbour, Tony is a computer person, and he is getting me a new one. 

We went to Cape Palliser last Thursday. The weather was lovely until we got there and then it was foggy. We didn't bother climbing all the stairs to the lighthouse as there was no view. We will have to go again another day. We stopped at Ngawi and saw all the old tractors they use to pull fishing boats in and out of the water. Eddie has been wanting to go there for ages. On a beach we walked past a young seal. We didn't see it until it began to move away from us. When it decided we weren't anything dangerous it stopped, so we were able to get a good photo of it.

Some of the road was very narrow with erosion on the seaward side and the road side.Very crumbly looking rock of some sort.

Young seal.

Road side erosion is quite bad

Boat launching bulldozers at Ngawi

Sunday 29th October.

We have had a couple of frosts over the last couple of days. A bit random when it is nearly November. 

I finally got my new computer yesterday. I got it all set up and then I couldn’t get into it this morning. Tony had a go at it, but couldn’t get it to open either. In the end we went right back to the beginning. He took everything off and we went back to as it was when it came from the factory. I must have made a mistake when I was setting it up and didn't realize. I am not that technically clever.

Monday 30th October 2023

Sunny this morning, but cloudy this afternoon. There is the remains of a cyclone up north and on Coromandel Peninsula, so they have flooding again. Poor things. I think it is going to be in Gisborne area too. We have had one weather event after another this year. 

One of the toilets is leaking. There was a big puddle on the floor yesterday. Eddie couldn’t fix it as the toilet and cistern are all in one. The plumber came today. He is going come back with the things he needs to fix it. We have only 2 toilets for a while. Luckily, we aren’t busy. One of the other toilets had a very wobbly seat, which felt quite odd to sit on. The plumber showed Eddie how to fix it and it is much better now.

A few bits of news for the week

We have had lovely days over the past few days and I have been in my shorts some days. 

Eddie's nephew, Chris, his wife, Emma and son Parker along with Emma’s parents, Chris and Mary and her brother Adam are traveling through the North Island for 2 weeks. They came to stay here for 2 days, before working their way back to Auckland. We had a lovely time with them. They live in Australia.

Parker is almost 6. He is a lovely little boy, with the Davies cheeky blue eyes. 

We took them to see the large kahikatea tree that is in our bush. We got a bit lost going in, but we found it eventually. On the way out we found the spot we should have entered the bush. We had walked right past it chatting. We had a good laugh.

Parker was a bit nervous about snakes, until we told them we didn’t have any in New Zealand.

On our way back to the caravan, we showed them the wedding venue here. On our way past one of the oak trees, which was all in flower, we could hear lots of bees buzzing. The tree was covered in them all feeding off the flowers. It was quite amazing.

We had rain last weekend and it was quite a bit cooler than it has been.

I checked to see if we were on the electoral roll, only to find that we weren’t. I was sure we were on the roll at Bay of Plenty, but apparently not. I registered us on the roll on Sunday, so we will be able to vote next weekend. 

We have had 3 customers come in over the weekend for one night. I am quite surprised how many we get off the road

We bought a bike rack to put on the back of the dodge. We plan to take the bikes and do some trails around the area. There seem to be a lot of them.

There are some very young bunnies around the place. We see them playing when we are having our breakfast. There were some others by the drive when I came home one afternoon. Very cute. It’s a pity they are pests. I saw a mouse the other day run from one of the stables behind us and into another one. 

There are some very young bunnies around the place. We see them playing when we are having our breakfast. There were some others by the drive when I came home one afternoon. Very cute. It’s a pity they are pests. I saw a mouse the other day run from one of the stables behind us and into another one. Hopefully it won't find its way into the caravan.

We went and voted at Greytown on Tuesday, so that's our civic duty done for another round. We had to do a special vote as we have only just gone on to the Wairarapa roll.

Eddie got the old lawn mower he found going today. He was told it was no good and not worth doing, but he played around on it today and got it going. He was very proud of himself

A mouse in the house.

 The weather has been cool and showery over the last couple of days. It is only 9 degrees today and the rain has been constant for most of the day.

We spent most of last weekend indoors. Daylight savings started on Saturday night. The weather wasn’t too bad on Monday night, so I went for a quick walk to the gate and back via the bush path. It was nice with just me and the birds singing their good night song. Very serene.

We have a mouse in the caravan. In the 6 years we have been living in it, this is the first mouse we have had. We have no idea how it got in. Eddie spotted it on Sunday afternoon scuttling across the floor. We went to the shops on Monday morning and bought some mouse traps to set.

We have put the awning back out and the canvas wall by the steps, so they don’t get wet. Although it gets windy here, we don’t want to be putting the awning up and down all the time, so we are going to leave it up. It is well tied down.

We found the mouse in the trap on Tuesday morning. It was in the one Eddie put up in the bedroom wardrobe. We have left the traps out for a few more days in case it had any friends or family with it.

Begining of Arbour Day

Eddie got the lawns all done this week. It is looking much better. He did some of it twice as it was quite thick in places. Matt was pleased when he saw them and rang to say so. We thought that was nice.

I went for a walk one day last week and decided to go and find the big Kahikatea tree again. I found it easily enough, but had a bit of trouble finding my way out again. I didn’t retrace my steps, but went in a circle. It was quite funny. Luckily it is only a little bush and hard to really get lost.

We survived the wind over Wairarapa during the week. We took the awning and the tv aerial down, just to be safe.

The wind blew open the door on one of the toilets in the wind. The bottom hinge had come away. It took us about an hour to fix it. I had to hold the door while Eddie worked on it. We put wood blocks under it in the end to help me hold it up. There are big dents on the shower door next door where the door crashed back. The whole toilet block is metal as it is a converted container.

On Saturday morning, Eddie got the side by side and the trailer and we went to the river and got some sand to fill in the hollows under our awning mat. It has been a bit tricky to walk on because we can’t see the hollow under the mat. It is nice and level now. There was a tree lucerne down over one of the tracks down to the river. We told Bastion and he will chop it up for firewood. 

There were a few little trees in the gardens that were leaning over, so we firmed them up in the soil. It is stony, so the soil doesn’t hold them very well. We replanted a couple that hadn’t been planted very deep at all.

Louise rang today to ask Eddie about her tractor as she is going to sell it. She wanted to know what he thought it was worth.  She was relieved when he told her we would be coming up to do the office while she is away in November. She didn’t think we would be able to go when we are working, but we told Matt we had a commitment for then.

It was really windy all day Sunday, so we hardly left the van all day.

Eddie went and had a nap and I caught up on all the Young Sheldon programmes I had recorded. Eddie doesn’t really like it, but he watched the last couple with me and chuckled a few times, which made me laugh at him. 

We went to Greytown to do the grocery shopping on Tuesday. We had a wander around and looked at the shops. There were a lot closed for no apparent reason. Some were supposed to be open too. We found a cycle shop that had a bike cover that we needed to replace, so that was a bonus. We haven’t been able to find one for a while.

We had a nice morning tea scone at a cafe for morning tea. 

I needed new jandals as mine broke. I didn’t think we were going to find any, but found them at Farm Source. They are red bands, which made us chuckle. My gumboots and my jandals all match now.

We went into a shoe shop and after a bit of chat we discovered that she was our neighbour in

the farm next door. The racing club is surrounded by their farm. Their names are Tracey and David Donald. The Donalds have been here for many years. There is a stream crossing the road just out of Featherston called Donalds Creek.

We emptied our grey water tank at the dump station just inside Greytown in a small park. There was a cairn there so I went to look at it. It is to commemorate the 100 years of Arbour Day, which started in Greytown in 1890. Who knew? I am not sure if it happens anymore now. I can remember planting trees at school when I was in primary school. Or do I just remember being told about it??

Stonehenge Aotearoa.

The power went off one afternoon last week. I was making bread, so I had to knead it by hand instead of in the mixer. I went for a walk later in the afternoon and went past 2 men from Powerco working on the lines. I said, so it’s your fault I had to hand knead my bread. One of them said it was his fault, pointing to the man up the ladder and the man up the ladder, said no it was his fault. We had a chuckle together.

Eddie got the ride on out to do some mowing one day, only to discover that the motor was almost falling out. A belt had come off and when he was putting it back on the whole motor moved. A repair man came and picked it up that evening. He was hoping to have it back again the following night. It finally came back on Tuesday afternoon. There had been quite a bit to do to it. The lawns are pretty thick and because of all the rain they haven’t been mowed as often as they might have been. Eddie made a start on them that evening. We have 6 vans coming in today, so he wanted them done before they arrived.

We went to Stonehenge Aotearoa today near Carterton. We saw the sign on our way home and thought let's go.  It was all very spur of the moment. We didn’t even know such a thing existed until we saw the sign.

It isn’t a replica of the one in England, but made to fit with the stars in New Zealand, It was pretty cool. Inside the circle our voices echoed when we talked standing in the centre. The couple who built it, did a course about stars and learnt about the Stonehenge in England. They thought it would be nice to have one here. It is all measured out, so it fits with the stars above us. The spring equinox sunrise and sunset rise and fall directly over 2 heel stones just out of the circle. There is an obelisk near the centre with a hole at the top. If you look through the hole, you are actually looking at the angle straight above the south pole. We didn’t even know it existed, but worth a visit.

The entrance to Stonehenge.

The dead centre of the ring.

Eddie with the western heel stone behind him.

I have got a bit more done in the gardens. I have done the one by us and started on another one in the middle of the grounds. I am trying to do a wheel barrow of weeds a day, so it isn't quite such a daunting task. Eddie has done some spraying around the edges of the gardens, but it has been too windy to do any over the last few days. Wairarapa seems to be windy place.

Large kahikatea tree

 We have had a lovely week of sunshine with frosty starts. It is supposed to be showery tomorrow.

Someone has jammed up the washing machine somehow, so it is out of action until Monday. Eddie hasn’t been able to fix it. He was very frustrated that he couldn’t. He doesn’t like to be beaten by things. 

One of the showers wouldn’t lock. He thought he had fixed it, but I nearly couldn’t get out one night. I had to wriggle the handle until it opened. He has put a bolt on it now, so it can be used. 

On Sunday, there was a hot rod rally at the race course. The Wairarapa Hot Rod Club had a Father's day shine and show. We went over to have a look. Lots of lovely cars. Lots of hard work in getting them ready for the rally. We bought sausage sizzle sausages and chips for our lunch. There was a live band playing with a rock and roll group dancing.

On Monday morning, Bastion, his wife/ partner, Matea and their baby Katu, came and showed us the way to the big kahikatea tree that is growing in the grounds of the racing club, amongst the bush. They do a lot of pest trapping and we followed the trapping path. I hope I can find it again. At least if I get lost in the bush here, it isn’t far from civilization and I should be able to find my way back. It has had a 10 metre tape wrapped around its girth, that didn’t go right around. Matea is the track manager here. She is on maternity leave at the moment. Katu is 3 months old.

We went to have a look at Martinborough. It is a lovely little town with old colonial buildings. There is a park in the centre of the town. It is called Union Square. The roads that go into the square are the same pattern as the white stripes on the Union Jack. Hard to tell from the ground, but probably cool from the air.

Car rally

Eddie and the kahikatea tree

Martinborough Hotel

We had lunch at the Royal Hotel in Featherston, on our way home from Petone today. I had beef cheeks, which were really yummy. The meat just pulled apart. Eddie had fish and chips. The fish was john dory and was cooked to perfection.

Waiarapa Racing Club.

On our way home, from Petone to visiting my parents last Thursday, we found another campground, just

south of Featherston. It is owned and run by the Wairarapa Racing Club. It is only $22 a night, so we went

there on Saturday instead of Carterton. It is about 45 minutes from

Petone. It has all the facilities. Water, toilets, showers, rubbish and a kitchen.

The campsite is on the banks of the Tauherenikau River. It is a trout river, so Eddie is going to have a go at catching

some trout. We went to Hunting and Fishing in Masterton and got Eddie some waders and a trout license.

One day, we went for a walk along the river bank here in Masterton. We ended up at a road entrance, so we

turned around and went back to a foot bridge. It is very new and solid. It had a label that said it could hold

100 people. We came home on the other side of the river. We imagined it was a very popular place in the

summer on a hot day.

The foot bridge over the Waipoua River.

There are little carvings on the side of the bridge. Each one is different.

The river from the bridge.

It was a lovely sunny day for shifting. It was a bit odd, only coming about half an hour from our departure point.

We were here by 10.

When we arrived there was another van set up in the spot we had chosen, so we had to choose another one.

We were going to go next to Tony, who we met when we came and looked. In the end, we set up in the shelter of

some trees behind us. Hopefully they will keep the worst of the southerly winds off us. It turned out to be the

best spot, because the sun had gone off Tony’s site by 3, but it was still shining on us. 

We did a walk along the river and back. Then we went and checked out the laundry and did a bit of a stroll

back to our van. We met a lady gardening. She lives in a house on the property, which she bought from the

racing club. She has a dog called Reacher, who is a pound puppy, beardie cross. Very cute. She said he is

nothing like Jack Reacher. Not brave at all. She also has a rather overweight tortoise shell cat, called Peaches. 

Later we met a man, who lives in another house here. I think he is the caretaker. His name is Bastion. He also

has a dog ,called Ernie. He looks like a poodle, but perhaps with something else mixed in. He is quite a character and very friendly.

The racing club is 160 years old. They have 5 race meetings a year. The rest of the year is full of weddings, music festivals, car rallies and the police dog competitions.

Wedding venue

The old stand

We went and made ourselves known to the racing club secretary on Tuesday, We found him in the office and after

a bit of a chat he asked if we wanted a job as custodians. He just wants someone on site to  greet people,  do the

cleaning and the gardens. The gardens were planted by the NZMCA, but they haven’t been weeded for

a while and need doing. We said yes ( of course), so now we are here for the summer. Funny how things work out. 

checking out camping grounds

Last Friday and Saturday we have had 2 fine days in a row. Well I thought that was what was going to happen, but there were showers on Saturday afternoon to spoil it. I got the washing dry, so that was good.

We were going to go to Marsteron on Sunday, but the rain is going to be worse on Sunday, so we went on Sunday instead.

We went to Scotts Ferry, which is on the other side of the Rangitikei River. We were going to stay there when we came this way, but the lady said we wouldn’t be able to as it was so wet. We went to have a look at the camping ground and it still has a big puddle in the middle. It isn’t a big camp, with only 10 sites. The owner was towing out the electrician, who had come to do some work  and got stuck. We watched from the top of the stop bank and had a chat with them when they were out on the stop bank.

The village of Scott’s Ferry made us laugh as we drove along the road that went through it. The houses were all labeled as follows.

Dew Drop Inn; Snapper Inn; Flounder Inn, Les b Inn ( the owner’s name is Les we found out from the men we spoke to). Holiday Inn, Return Inn, Amble Inn and lots more I can’t remember. The funniest one was the empty section with the name on the gate, Nothing Inn. 

We had a good trip over the Woodville Saddle. The GPS was a bit weird. It wanted to take us through the centre of Palmerston North. It started off taking us to the road to Woodville, which was the way we thought we would go. Then it tried to take us back on to the road through Palmerston North. Eddie went the way he knew. Even when we were over the saddle it wanted to take us back to Palmerston North. It suddenly came right at Woodville. 

We followed a milk tanker over, so it was a slow drive. When we got to a passing lane, we had to let traffic behind us to go past. There are a lot of wind turbines along the top of the hills. You don’t realize how big they are until you pass one that is close to the road. We had lunch at the Tui brewery at Mangatainoka.  There was a bit of snow up on the Tararua ranges. 

On Sunday a friend came for a visit from Ashurst. We had lunch and then went to the Queen Elizabeth park and had a walk around. It is quite a nice park with a few deer in one area. They did look as if they needed a bit of care. The stag needed his feet looking after.

We went on a mission to find our next site to move to. 

FIrst stop was Lake Ferry. It is on the south coast with the southerly roaring in.  The lake opens out into the sea, so I don’t think of it as a lake really. Lake Wairarapa is further north and a river links the two. The campground is very wet and it was hard to find a spot where we wouldn’t sink. There are a lot of permanently sited caravans there and a few people living permanently too. We thought it would be ok and Eddie was happy to be beside the sea. The price was right too.

 Next we stopped at Featherston, but we wouldn’t fit in there, so on to Greytown. It was a pretty site with lots of native trees that have been there a long time, so they were very tall and of course, created a lot of shade. The sites here were wet too, but we found one we wouldn’t sink on, so that was good. We thought it was better than Lake Ferry and the price was the same. 

On a whim we went to Carterton on our way back to Masterton. It was the best of the lot, with hard ground to park on and not a lot of mud. It’s a wee bit dearer than the others, but a nicer place, so that’s where we are going to go on Saturday.

After lunch, yesterday, we went for a walk up and down the main street of Masterton. It took almost an hour by the time we wandered home again. 

Masterton is a bit bigger than we realized. It is quite a nice town. They have a lovely swimming pool complex too. We went and had a look at it on our walk today.

We have discovered a lot of the towns are bigger than we thought. When you go past them on state highway 1, you don’t realize how far back they go towards the coast. It’s been a bit of an eye opener. 

 

 

Wind turbine on the Taraua Ranges

Deer park Queens Park Masterton

Hot pools and snow

One afternoon, when we were in Taupo we went to the Wairakei Thermal Hot Springs and Spa for a soak. It was lovely and made your skin feel nice and soft. It was pretty hot in places, so we sat in different places where the water was hot and then moved to a cooler spot. The water coming over the water fall was very hot.

Our van at the Taupo race course.

The hot water fall in the pool

On Thursday we left Taupo and went to Tangimoana camping ground. It is a little wild west type village.  A lot of the houses are made of what ever was at hand and are holiday homes. There are some permanent residence. There is a rubbish collection once a week, so there must be enough households to make it worth while. We are about 35 ks from Palmerston North. 

The Desert Rd was very snowy when we came across. 

We were driving past the volcanoes and only Nghauruhoe was out of the clouds. It looked very pretty in the sunshine. Eddie pulled over, so we could take a photo of it. As we were getting out of the truck, it started to snow, so we just pretended we had pulled over to let the traffic pass and kept going. It wasn't too snowy, but you never know what can happen up there.