South Island 2019

Rolling down to Waipiata

June 23, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

Fiona wanted to bike up to Hyde from the Rock and Pillar so after leaving Middlemarch, we stopped at the Rock and Pillar area where we’d biked to the day before and got her ready.

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The plan was she was going to bike up to Hyde and I would meet her there in Rafe and then we’d go onto Ranfurly for the night for the next part of the trail.

She made it to Hyde in quite good time and decided she wanted to ride further up the trail so I stopped at Daisyside where the trail ran right alongside the road and there was an easy carpark for Rafe and we put her bike on and off we went to Ranfurly.

There was a Tunnel and a Viaduct and the complaint was the light didn’t work. Murphys law, the wires had come unplugged for the headlight just in time for the Tunnel so after plugging them back in, we were all good again.

Happy Hour in the corner at the NZMCA Park Ranfurly

We arrived in Ranfurly just in time for late lunch at the 4 square cafe and left with a bottle of wine for an afternoon in the blazing sun at the NZMCA park.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

The disaster was 1.5k’s North of this mark

The Hyde Railway Disaster Memorial

The Hyde Pub

Off to daisyfields

Nearly at Waipiata

The next morning, we got the bikes ready and both set off towards Waipiata.

Leaving Ranfurly in the fog, it was cold and the air on your hands on the trail was bitter.. I thought then, we should have thought about gloves but too late. The sun was starting to come out and more sun was appearing across the trail the further we went on.

By the time we got to Waipiata, the pub open sign was out and it was time for a Latte and time to warm up. We met some really nice people who were there as well with cups of Coffee warming up as well who were from Epsom and Greenlane. They were doing the whole trail over 5 days. They were heading in the same direction as us so after a chat, we all set off.

We followed them as far as Kokonga which was another 12 k’s or so and then turned around to head back to Ranfurly. Several bridges and some nice scenes..

Every bit of this trail is quite different and has a different look. A great day. It was nice to get back to the NZMCA park, meet our neighbours and enjoy a drink in the Ranfurly sunshine.

The Netspeed Speedtest
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South Island 2019

The Start of the Trail

June 19, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

We arrived in Middlemarch early in the afternoon and with the plan being to bike up to Hyde from there, I thought that might be optimistic but Hey Ho!

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We were staying in Middlemarch Holiday park so we had power to charge up the bikes and so we could turn up the heat as it was forecast to be pretty cold!

We were welcomed by the camp owner Susan who couldn’t have been more helpful and told to pick a site and plug in. Susan then went on to tell us that she had ridden the whole trail on her horse Wilson who was in the next paddock so she knew it well.

It didn’t take long to get the bikes ready and we were off towards Hyde. It was just before 3pm when the shadows started to get longer and as we had to return to Middlemarch, I thought if we got as far as Rock and Pillar, we’d call it quits and have a go at Hyde the next day.

What a great track and with the sun out a not a cloud around, but when we went behind the trees, it was cold. As we went on the shadows got longer but with the new Lecky bikes it was a lot of fun and basically, we did the round trip in just under an hour.

As it turned out, the sun hung up there longer than we thought and we might have made to Hyde.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Inside the Train kitchen

In the Train Kitchen

The Train Kitchen and outdoor space

At the Rock and Pillar

Heading home

It gave us a chance to get back and have a look around the camp which is neat. The Kitchen is made from an old railway carriage and fits into a covered seating area for people to sit and enjoy the area.

Another interesting town full of history.

South Island 2019

The Big Mine

June 15, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 1 Comment

Macraes is famous for its size and as it was on the way to Middlemarch, we stopped at the lookout for a look at this amazing mine. Friends of ours had shown us this several years ago but it looked even bigger this time than I remember it.

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The BIG Hole – To the left of the car on the road you’ll see the diggers in the pic below

From the top the diggers and trucks were just little specks and you really have to look hard to see them doing their thing in the mine. Its massive!

The mine was opened in 1990 and since then has produced more than 5.7 tonnes of Gold.

After this we checked out the town ship which was basically the pub and a few historic old buildings.

Its amazing seeing all these places and this was one town that I had never seen.

South Island 2019

Layers by the River

June 11, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com

We spent the night at the Oamaru A&P grounds just a couple of K’s North of the town. At $6 for two and plenty of room on the grass, its a great spot. There are lots of loos and a laundry as well.

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By the time we got up and got under way, and then checked out the Historic Precinct, it was lunchtime. The plan was to head to Middlemarch and do bits of the Otago Rail Trail that we missed two years ago but already, we were running very late!

As we passed through Herbert, there was a Riverside Holiday Park right next to the river which looked good. As it was starting to get late, we popped in, there was heaps of parking and it seemed very reasonable at $28.

The very helpful hosts who were happy for us to park anywhere as it was quiet and were happy to tell us a bit about the area.Just a fantastic spot right by a river and we had the camp virtually to ourselves in that area. We met another couple who parked away from the river around the other end who were from Timaru who were just giving their van a run 🙂

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Oamaru A&P

Amazing Space

Fun on Tyres

Looking down the river

The huge cliffs beside the river showed really interesting layers of rock which suggested they were pushed up by several earthquakes… I’m not a geologist but thats what it looks like. Amazing.

We both really enjoyed this park. Everything was clean and tidy and everything worked. The Hosts were great and what an amazing spot.

In the morning we went back a couple of K’s to check out the Historic town of Herbert.

The Netspeed Speedtest (at Oamaru A&P)
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South Island 2019

Winchester’s favorite Cafe

June 6, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

About 3.5 years ago, Australian friends and business partners, John and Bruce bought a beautiful huge Mansion on the main road in Winchester, just a few k’s north of Temuka. It is called MiaFlora and is just amazing. It is open from Thursdays through to Sundays.

Click on the Images for HI Res (Cell ph pix)

The idea was to restore the house, landscape the gardens using unusual and larger items of Garden furniture and accessories and have a plant nursery around the back with everything that you can think of.

Meanwhile inside the house and on the other side beside the house, John the talented Pastry Chef with his staff run the Cafe. The food is something else and the coffee superb, and of course it is all beautifully landscaped with Bruce’s directions.

We caught up with old friends Ollie and Pam and they bought us to the Cafe. They also introduced us to Bruce and we enjoyed a fun ½ hour or so chatting about all sorts. He’s a real character and when you see the setup, very talented with things Green and Floral 🙂

Outside in front of the House

Miaflora

Ollie and Pam reflected in a Garden display

Outside Cafe seating by the stream

Fiona Ollie and Pam in the Garden centre

Ollie Pam and Fiona on the swing

The Masonic lodge over the road

Just remembering that Ollie is a Chef and he and Pam are pretty fussy with food and things Hospitality, MiaFlora is their bolthole when they want a break somewhere nice.

Directly over the road is the local masonic Lodge with a huge easy access and flat carpark that could be used for Motorhome parking.

Definitely worth checking out next time you’re in the area.. MiaFlora

Friends, South Island 2019

Yum Yum at Olivers

June 3, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 1 Comment

About a hundred years ago, Fiona trained to be a nurse with Pam. We became good friends with Pam and husband Ollie, and as they also lived in Devonport we kept in touch.

Cutting a long story short, after their children grew up, they eventually went for a change of lifestyle and bought their farm just out of Temuka and did up the farm house.

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It was a massive restoration which included lifting it up and spinning it around to face the sun.

Ollie is a trained chef and along with his cooking skills and having Pam at his side, they’ve setup and run Olivers Farm Stay’s B&B.

We had just arrived at Winchester Domain Camping ground which is about 500 metres up the road from their B&B just as we did a couple of years ago.

Fiona looked a picture as she had just washed her hair and one side of her head all done up in curlers.. think Ena Sharples 🙂 .. Ollie and Pam pull up and pop their heads in the door.. 🙂

After a cup of tea in Rafe, they took us up the road to their local cafe in Winchester.

Several hours went by here and then we went straight to Ollie and Pams home for tea.

It was great to catch up on all the news about their family and where they were up to.

While we had a glass or two of nice wine, Ollie prepared the feast and it was just stunning. No wonder their overseas customers keep coming coming back when there is this standard of hospitality.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Ollie and Pam

Fantastic Oven

Cauliflower with sauce

Roasted Kumara !

And Chicken cooked to perfection

The time ticked by unoticed as it does when you’re having fun but what a magic night and lovely to catch up with them both again.

If you’re in the area or know someone who wants to be spoiled with great food, in a comfortable place with some great humour thrown in. Check out http://www.oliversfarmstay.co.nz

South Island 2019

Feeling at home in The South

May 30, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 2 Comments

And it is in Peski’s at Geraldine which is also one of THE best parking spots.

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We’ve stayed here several times and it just like a comfy old chair! Sue and David .. and Tui keep the place looking immaculate and the happy hours are legendary 😃

It was great to see them both again after two years or so since we here last.

We popped in pretty much unannounced and they were chocker but Sue managed to squeeze us in next to their Garage.

The Happy Hour tree has had a big haircut and with the sun dropping earlier, it was a case of where the sun was for our late afternoon catchup.

We met a whole lot of people from Christchurch who were here together and they were good fun.

The Old Happy Hour Tree with a HUGE haircut

We rode into Geraldine on the new Electric bikes which was good fun. Its about 7 k’s out of Geraldine but thats about 10 minutes at 30k’s on an Electric Bike 🙂 I like Geraldine and I’ve said to various members of our family that I might just go and buy a house here 🙂 .. all attempts end up with “the look”!..

I checked out the track behind down to the river. The garden seat has washed away a few times in various weather events but David has managed to reset it again.

Peskis is $15 a night with power. There is a washing machine, a shower and a cassette only dump station which are available each for $2.

A fantastic spot and they’re just the best hosts. A must stay spot when you’re next in the area.

The Netspeed Speedtest
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Ping : 51 ms

South Island 2019

In the Paddock at Oxford

May 26, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com

The Oxford Workingmans club was handy to the Anzac day service the next day so we thought we’d check it out. It was also handy to the cemetery where we went to check in on my Grandparents and see how things looked there.

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At the cemetary, the headstone was in a bit of a state and you could barely read it so we thought we’d get some potent cleanup stuff and take to it with a stiff brush. It came up really well and looks fantastic.

After that, we went and checked out the local Workingmans club which has free accomodation for Motorhomes in a well separated paddock out the back.

We decided to join the Oxford Workingmans Club and after enjoying a couple of wines, we bought some Fish and Chips and headed back to Rafe. They’re fantastic people there and very helpful. A place to remember.

South Island 2019

The Turkey Lounge

May 22, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 4 Comments

We’re 7 k’s odd out of Kaikoura parked in the country next to a country pub and along comes a stunner.

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I had just been for a walk around the grounds of the pub and was returning to Rafe when in comes Rex and Jenny with their beautiful homebuilt Teardrop Caravan and WOW!!

Its roomy too, much bigger than your average teardrop. They have a Queen size bed in it along with a wall of wardrobe and shelves.

The back lifts up for the Galley area and there is a great little hideaway for their slide out Barbeque.

Having taken 2 years to build from scratch, they’re returning to their home town of Tauranga after a 3 month trip around the South Island. They finished building it 3 years ago and are now are getting to enjoy it.

Click on the Gallery below to see a great Slideshow!

Rex and Jenny

The Galley

The BBQ pulls out of one of the rwar guards

Nice !!

The 1957 Chev . (same year as me !)

Stunning

Matched with the 1957 Chevrolet, it is the full package and sounds it too.

The ultimate sound and vision package !

South Island 2019

Kowhai Pass – Springfield

May 18, 2019 Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com 4 Comments

The NZMCA has just started a new program called Campersave which allows us Motorhomers to take advantage of the off season when Motorcamps are not busy and also has the benefit for Motorcamps to get some off season cashflow.

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Its a win win for all!

A customer at the door.. old fashioned camping !

So I was keen to support one and the one closest to us was part of the Springfield Domain. It is called the Kowhai Pass Campground as this was the original name for Springfield.

We rocked in and met one of the delightful caretakers, Joy who showed us where to park and where things were. The cost is $20 per van with power. There are toilets and showers as well. The showers cost a $1 which is pretty cheap. I’m sure I spotted a laundry too.

Looking along the main street of Springfield

A great spot for the night and great value with some nice people.

The next morning we went further west and had a look through Springfield town where there is a tribute to Rewi Alley and of course the famous Donut. A neat spot.

The Netspeed Speedtest
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Upload : 6.94 mbps
Ping : 154 ms

	Chris Miller - Bugge… on Rolling down to Waipiata
	Kevin Palmer on Rolling down to Waipiata
	Chris Miller - Bugge… on The Start of the Trail
	Kevin Palmer on The Start of the Trail

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

Rolling down to Waipiata

The Start of the Trail

The Big Mine

Layers by the River

Winchester’s favorite Cafe

Yum Yum at Olivers

Feeling at home in The South

In the Paddock at Oxford

The Turkey Lounge

Kowhai Pass – Springfield

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

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