I was really looking forward to this one.  After about five years of being chief bottle washer organising these events, it was nice to simply turn up and enjoy it. Richard and Carol were now in charge, and they had a reputation for being well organised having run a few of these before, so I knew we were in good hands.

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We stopped in at Turangi on the way down and parked up in the corner. The sun was shining, and we were already starting to slip into party mode.

The next morning, after topping up with diesel, we headed down the Desert Road towards Waiouru.

Being from a staunch Army family, you can’t drive through Waiouru without popping into the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa and café. I always love the signs along the Desert Road: “If your kids are giving you trouble, drop them off here” and “Stop for Rations.” Very clever.

A bit further down the road we stopped at Hunterville. What an amazing little town. There’s been a fantastic community effort to help the local publican rebuild the Argyle Hotel on the corner. Spare bedrooms have been converted into boutique retail shops, each accessed from a new verandah facing SH1. What a brilliant way to regenerate business and bring life back into the building. We also heard it’s soon to be set up as a Park Over Property for motorhomes.

After coffee and cake, we were back on the road towards Feilding, arriving at our park by the Coach House Museum just after 2pm. Richard and Carol were there, along with several other Dethleffs motorhomers we knew. It was shaping up to be a fun few days.

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up, and later we all sat in the sun with a few drinks in hand and plenty of laughs. Richard and Carol had everything sorted: name tags, brochures, and lots of information about things to see and do in the area.

Top of the list was visiting the museum, only a few steps away and we also discovered the Feilding stock sales were happening just over the road.

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The next morning, we wandered across to the saleyards. They were huge. I was seriously impressed by the skill of the stock truck drivers backing their big truck-and-trailer units into tight spots in one smooth move without blinking.

With the sales due to start in about an hour, we headed into the market in the square. After bumping into Brendon and Helen from our group, we decided to try a well-recommended café called the The Rosebowl Cafe just off the square. With so many options, we certainly weren’t going hungry. We met a few more from our group there, then all wandered back towards the saleyards together.

What an amazing operation. With so many animals involved, it could easily be a logistical nightmare but it ran like a well-oiled machine. Watching and listening to the auctioneers and their assistants was fascinating as the sales rolled along.

After an hour or so, we drifted back to the museum and our motorhomes.

At 4pm, we gathered in a room at the end of the museum for a glass of something and a debrief of the day’s adventures.

A fantastic day in Feilding and a great start to what was shaping up to be a memorable get-together.