Sneaking in a week day break

June 23, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

When you’re self employed and the busy time is the weekend, its hard to get away and clear the head.

Click on an Image to see Hi Res

Cafe owners, Rick and Suzanne from Greenhithe, were my neighbours at Mangawhai and they were having a quiet few midweek days away in their Elddis Caravan before having to head back and get back into it again.

They’ve had their 5.4 metre Avante for nearly 3 years and although they’ve been mostly doing short trips to escape their work, they have been up as far as Cape Reinga.

The Elddis is one of the better English caravans and is really nicely kitted out. This one has the dinette and one end, with Kitchen amidships and a french bed on the right with the bathroom across the back. It is a popular layout and when you see it you can see why. There is still plenty of room to move about in.

One of the accessories that they were really happy with was the awning for over their door which looks great for a windy or showery day.

When I first arrived, they arrived soon after and promptly set up a table for lunch with a very celubrious lunch with wine. It looked fabulous. They certainly know how its done. 🙂

One of the other interesting things with the Elddis Caravans is that they are now part of the massive Hymer Group.

Close to home, Day Trips, Friends

Away in the Wet

June 19, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com Leave a comment

Our friends Rob and Helen were keen to get out to play Motorhomes and we were keen too!

As the weekend weather was looking pretty naff, we thought somewhere local would be the ticket. After some false starts, we settled on Pinewoods at Red Beach.

I last came here a year ago and back then they were setting out some new concrete parking for Motorhomes. Thats all done now and it looks great and apparently they’ve been working really well. So well that they’re looking at putting some more in.

Pinewoods is run by a company of Bach owners and the Motorcamp is run as part of this.

The showers and access to a nice TV lounge, and Kitchen are included in the price. There is also a coin operated Laundry for those who need this.

The forecasted weather was bang on and it was naff but we had a nice time in Rafe for happy hour. Helen had made a nice Lasagne and we added some chicken and bits so we moved to the Tracker later. A great fun night.

The best table Tennis table I’ve ever seen!

Early in the morning, I went for a walk around to see if I could get some updated piccies around and after that the others went for a look around.

From Jacobs Ladder looking towards Orewa

Right at the top of the camp, there are some well fenced concrete steps which run down the cliff to the rocks called Jacobs Ladder. From here you can see right up to Kawau and across to Orewa.

Around the other side is a direct track through to Red Beach which comes out behind the Surf Club.

At $18 each with the NZMCA discount, its priced reasonably and is a nice place to stay and if you live in Auckland, its not far away.

The Netspeed Speedtest here
Download: 15.13 Mbps
Upload: 2.16 Mbps
Ping: 20 ms
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=-36.601808,174.705547

Preparation

Faster, shiny Wifi !!

June 15, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 1 Comment

Just recently, the good folk at Netspeed showed me a new secret weapon for my Wifi. A new router and its FAST!

The big differences apart from it having some new shiny hidden bits that bring in a stronger signal and better management of the aerials, is that the new router is 2.4ghz and 5 ghz and also Wifi AC. The old router is Wifi N and 2.4 ghz only.

What does all this mean I hear you ask. Even as an ex ISP manager myself, I had to look it up to find out and this is what I found.

Once you have setup the router which you can do by just turning it on, its that simple. The router will send two signals for your phone or ipad, the 2.4 or the 5ghz. Its your choice which one you use.

The 2.4ghz is slower but can reach further but is susceptible to interference from some other devices as it works on a crowded frequency. This is what most of us use now and is probably good for using outside and around your Motorhome.

The 5 ghz is much faster as its a higher frequency but doesn’t do distance but within your motorhome, you won’t have a problem. It is FAST believe me!

The other Major difference….
The Wifi AC is nice and shiny and new and as one techy told me, it is the difference between a Ferrari and a sedan. It has a lot more speed, supports a lot more people on the same router and does what is known as beamforming. As I understand it, this means it finds out where you are and strengthens the signal is your direction. Sounds a wee bit spooky 🙂

The speed improvements are something else.
Here’s what I got in our driveway in Devonport.

With the old modem..
Download: 41.77 Mbps
Upload: 33.28 Mbps
Ping: 51 ms

With the new one in the same location, the same day.
Download: 94.6 Mbps
Upload: 29.6 Mbps
Ping: 41 ms

While I did the speedtest, as the dial only goes up to 60mbs, I was waiting for the guage to snap 🙂

Its fast. If you want one of these new shiny things and turbo charge your Netspeed connection, get in touch with the friendly crew at Netspeed.

Close to home, Day Trips, Marine, Quirky things

Everyone has a Jetty

June 12, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com Leave a comment

Over our boating years, both Alan and I have had some amazing moments in both Bon Accord harbour at Kawau and around Kawau so being driven around on the ferry so we could have a good look with a commentary was a real treat.

Click on an Image for Hi Res

Alan does one of the biggest, if not the biggest Wooden Boating Blogs around called Waitematawoodys.com and was on the Classic Yacht Association committee with me for several years. We have been known to sneak away in Rafe for the odd boys trip which are always fun!

We left Rafe about 9:30 from the Sandspit Holiday Park and wandered along the road to the wharf to get our tickets and check in. So after having a cuppa at the café on the wharf we set off about 10:30 for Kawau.

Being an Island and only accessible by boat, Kawau Island has only a handful of roads and a handful of vehicles.

Almost all the houses only have water only access and the way they’ve been built either on top of a hill with their own chairlifts (think electric Wheely Bin on a rail 🙂 ) with a jetty at the bottom or on the water. Some of them are amazing but I suspect most would be either baches, occupied by retired folk or who don’t have to commute.

We were on the Royal Mail boat which started at Vivian Bay in the north and worked its way around to Bon Accord Harbour and Mansion House Bay and then down to South Cove where there was mail to be dropped off. On the way back to Mansion House Bay for lunch, we passed the Old Copper Mine.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Their own little harbour!

Passengers getting off at Mansion House

The descent of the wheelie bin!

Kawau was huge source of copper in the mid 1800’s with a community of around 300 related to the Mine and its output at its peak. By the 1800’s it all fizzled out and most of the miners moved on to the Gold Fields.

After a walk around the Mansion House and the coffee shop, we eventually made our way back to the ferry. It was nice barrelling along at 15 knots in the sun with a glass of Pinot Gris in hand.

We walked back to Rafe in the Sandspit Holiday Park and prepared ourselves for a meal at Sandspit Yacht Club.

Rafe’s Tracker Map

Friends, Int'l Motorhomes, Motorome Friends NZ

Half a Million Hits !!

June 10, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 4 Comments

Its a huge milestone and we finally got there..

Some of you probably aren’t aware of the number on the top right of the blog but thats the total number of hits that have come our way.

You’re not alone and its really interesting where everyone comes from. Most hits come from NZ but there are a lot of you from the UK and around Europe as well. The Dethleffs Users UK have been big supporters too.. Thanks Richard!

Where the hits came from over the last year.

We started the Blog way back in August 2015. One of the first posts was about a Fiamma clothesline I installed on the bike rack on the back of Rafe which as been really useful and it was nice to see that it got some good hits again just in the last week!

When Fiona and I went to the South Island last year, it became very obvious how often we were recognised and how well read the Blog actually is. Thanks to everyone that made themselves known .
It was really nice to meet so many of you and get your feedback.

Thanks again for your support.. Now to get to the Million Hits!

Close to home, Day Trips, Quirky things

Right On The Water

June 9, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com

They’ve had a lot of rain up here so the Sandspit Holiday Park crew suggested that we stick to one back from the water just to make sure we don’t sink!

Click on an Image for Hi res

My old boating friend Alan and I were in need of some time out of the house so we decided a few days before to check out the Sandspit Holiday Park and do a trip to Kawau on the ferry. Sounded like a plan thought I so off we went early on the Friday afternoon. It is only 42k’s from Auckland and with little traffic, we were there at 3.30pm.

Its a lovely little park with a lot of permanent Baches and Caravans but what a neat spot.

With an NZMCA discount, it was $23 each a night. With their very new Showers and Kitchens, its a delight to stay at. There are a whole bunch of older interesting buildings there too and Horace the Morris is a feature as well.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Snakes and Ladders anyone

Horace the Morris

One of the Quirky wee cottages you can stay in

Out of the way

kayaks available too

Rafe by the water

We stayed two nights with a ferry trip to Kawau in between. Lucky with the weather, after getting back from Kawau, we walked along to the newly setup restaurant on the top floor of the Sandspit Yacht Club and caught up with Motorhome friends Rob and Helen who live not far away from there.

The last time we were here, unbeknown to me, they had some issues with the drainage system for the bathrooms which used to be a real problem apparently in the height of summer.

This has all been upgraded and put up the hill out of the way and hasn’t been an issue since. Nice friendly hosts who were happy to help with anything. ..

A shot from the ferry. You can see Rafe in the middle.

A great spot and handy to the Kawau ferry and the new Marina at Sandspit.

The Netspeed Speedtest for here.
Download: 7.34 Mbps
Upload: 2.10 Mbps
Ping: 23 ms
I think the tower was playing up a bit as we had some difficulty with the connection over the two nights.

Rafes Tracker Map

Close to home, Friends, Waikato

The big Wet

June 6, 2018 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

We started planning Queens Birthday quite a few weeks ago so we could book into the anticipated busy Miranda Holiday Park and get parks, for both Rafe and our friends in their Tracker.

Click on the Images to see Hi res

Rob, Helen and Chloe were joining us for the weekend and we were really looking forward to catching up with them again.

The weekend forecast was not great but we figured that our old favorite spot would be pretty safe.

We arrived around midday on Saturday to find that Rob, Helen and Chloe had already arrived and after getting Rafe level and some vents open and the power on, Fiona and I were off to the hot pool.

The rain hadn’t started yet but was forecast to arrive anytime. Later in the day, it was all on and overnight into Sunday, it just didn’t stop. It didn’t prevent us though from ducking in and out for a swim on both days.

Later on Saturday, Rob and Helen popped over for a cold one and some cheese and biccies. I was amazed that despite the forecast, Chloe was still keen to stay the night on an air bed in a small tent between the two vans!

Click on the Gallery below to see a slideshow

Wet!

Under water

Tent sites

Tent sites near us

The BBQ area

Gumboots for Happy Hour!

Sunday… It was all on, some Thunder, and LOTS of rain. The drainage ditch behind us was chocker and threatening to come into the park from the road. There was water everywhere.

Later in the day, the rain eased up and Rob and I went for a walk to have a look around. Many of the parks with Caravans and smaller vans were half under water. Most of the tent sites near us were submerged but despite all this, everyone seemed happy. The pool was busy everytime I went anywhere near it too!

The drain behind us was about to verflow

If you’re going to get stuck in a downpour, I couldn’t think of a better place to be really:-)

	bruvtravels on Sneaking in a week day break
	Chris Miller - Bugge… on Faster, shiny Wifi !!
	Chris Miller - Bugge… on Half a Million Hits !!
	Supergran (@Supergra… on Half a Million Hits !!

Bugger It, we are off – www.buggeritweareoff.com

Sneaking in a week day break

Away in the Wet

Faster, shiny Wifi !!

Everyone has a Jetty

Half a Million Hits !!

Right On The Water

The big Wet

Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.