It’s  always an exciting time when  either of the Motorhome and Caravan shows start to see what new knick knacks are available and what’s new. We were staying at the Ellerslie Racecourse NZMCA Rally with 500 or so others and they had put on a shuttle service to make it easy to get to there.

I must have been on one of the first buses to the Showgrounds as the bus driver wasn’t too sure where to drop us off and we circumnavigated the Show grounds a few times before we got there, even a brief tour of Alexander Park too.   🙂

This year was the first year for the new Hymers and also the Cathargo. The Hymer has arrived in force with three or four different models including a 4 wheel drive model which was setup on top of a pile of rocks just to make the point. The Hymer in the piccies is the Starline 690 which is 7.9 metre is length, has a GVM of 5.3 t and has a 3l Mercedes rear wheel drive.

The Hymer Starline 690

With the drop down bed down

The Hymer galley

Hymer Bedroom

One of the new Cathargo’s

Yes, a motorbike in the garage.

Stephanie with her Stacks

The Poptop Camper interior

Poptop Camper from the other end

Poptop on the outside. 12 ft long.

The Jayco Stand

NZ made Allisee with slide outs

Inside the Allisee

The Allisee

The Cathargo was well publicised at last years Covi show but this year is the first time they’ve got several models here. A very smart looking wagon.

The Nomad.

The Nomad Kitchen space

The Nomad Bedroom and bathroom beyond

The Nomad with all its space and Doors for the Bedroom

The Shower on one side ..

And the Toilet on the other. Look at all that storage in the Nomad

Plenty of storage in the Platin

The Frankia Platin

Living Space – Platin

Kitchen Area – Platin

Toilet – Platin

Bedroom – Platin

The Electrics all in one spot on the outside on the Platin

The other interesting story is with the Dethleff Nomad Caravans represented by Central RV. Brett at Central RV sent off his design for a Caravan specially for the local market and this was the first one in. The amount of room in it is amazing and it’s the first caravan I’ve seen with doors on both sides of the bedroom giving complete privacy. The Dethleffs Nomad 650 RQT as it is known is 8.7 meters long, it has a 700kg payload and has a total weight of 2.5 tons so she’s a biggy!  It also has an Alko chassis helping to make it tow nicely.

Jonas and Chris and the team at Frankia have received the first of the 8.4 metre Platin series.  These really are the ultimate in Motorhomes.  The electrical cupboard is a joy in itself having its own external locker with everything very tidily laid out and easy to get at. The inside is amazing as well.. The Platin at the show is 8.5 metres long and has a GVM of 5 tons with a 650kg payload.
Well appointed and is typical of the Frankia range known for its high standards.

It’s always nice to see the Lilliput Crew with their lovely old Caravans and usually matched by their amazing, beautifully restored cars.

Patricia and John were here with their  caravan and their 1955 Plymouth Belvedere. It was their 55th Wedding Anniversary.  They were also well colour co-ordinated for St Patrick’s Day 🙂

The NZMCA stand was huge. I got there fairly early so it was largely pretty empty given its size but it was nice to see the crew there and great to see most if not all of the Motorhome Friendly Towns all with their own stands promoting their areas.

A lot of the NZMCA regions had their own stands as well and nice to see them too.

I managed to get in and out without parting with too much hard earned loot which Fiona will be pleased about, settling for just a new ground mat for under our awning.

The Autotrail Stand

Inside the big Autotrail Comanche

Autotrail Comanche

The RV / Camec stand.. Where I bought my mat 🙂

NZ made Allisee with slide outs

Rob finishing off setting up the NZMCA Northland stand

Motorhome Friendly Towns

On the Dethleffs Stand

The Jayco Stand

Another great show with lots to see.