All posts by Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com

Founder and Creator of Buggeritweareoff.com. Ex Newspaper Photographer and Commercial Photographer for more than 40 years.
Waikato

Outside my window …..

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Yesterday morning, I pulled into Ray’s Rest mainly just to have a cup of tea, something to eat and tidy up Rafe. This included putting my towel and togs on my bike rack clothes line.

Some action at Ray's Rest
Some action at Ray’s Rest

As it does, lunch time came around fairly quickly so I closed the roof hatches, shut the windows and I was heading  into Kaiaua for fish and chips for lunch. I’d just arrived back when my neighbour came over to tell me that I had left in such a hurry that I’d left my towel and togs on the  bike rack line. The towel was still there but the togs had vanished!

I ate the fish and chips while they were hot, Gurnard and a couple of scallops. Yum!  Then set off in Rafe to look for my togs. Just down the road about 100 metres from Ray’s Rest towards Kaiaua were my togs on the side of the road in a shrub! Memo to self:  I must make sure I clear the clothesline before taking off 😳

So, feeling like a bit of a chump, I went over and thanked my neighbour giving him the good news that it was bone dry 😄  It’s just as well my togs are bright orange!

Back at Ray’s Rest, not a puff of the forecast wind, hardly any clouds to be seen, I decided to stay the night.

In the morning on the beach
In the morning on the beach

The sunset was amazing… As was the morning again today.  It’s easy to see why so many Motorhomers stay here.

looking out of the window last night at Ray's Rest
looking out of the window last night at Ray’s Rest
Dusk at Ray's Rest
Dusk at Ray’s Rest

Remember to click on the images to see them in all there glory!

The View out of my window this morning.
The View out of my window this morning.

 

Waikato

Sunset Jandals

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I’ve been wanting to check out Port Waikato with Rafe for a while now after reading such good reviews of the Motorcamp there with the Jandals covered fence in the usual camping apps.

Jandal covered fence
Jandal covered fence

The weather forecast wasn’t good. The forecast was for up to 40 knots from the south east with showers easing overnight so I thought Port Waikato would be good being on the west coast.
I booked in on the way and there was plenty of room being almost mid week.

"Ers and Mine" matching Motorhome and Bach Within the camp
“Ers and Mine” matching Motorhome and Bach within the camp next to Rafe.
Caravan setups within the camp
Permanent Caravans within the camp

I arrived and checked in with a delightful French chap who seemed to be in charge. He couldn’t have been more helpful, showing me how to get to the beach, where the cafe was.
The camp ground is well setup. Big parking spots with plenty of room for awnings. Nicely kept toilets, laundry, tv  lounge and a nice BBQ area.
Within 5 minutes of arriving, I met my neighbours who were parked quite a distance away and as the time ticked away, we had the customary happy hour or so at 5pm in Rafe.

The Waikato river at dusk
Ers and Mine
The wharf
Sunset beach looking up towards Manukau
The Waikato River
On the way towards Port Waikato, the Tuakau bridge.

After tea, I went for a walk around to the sand dunes and a general nosey around. The baches and buildings are amazing for being quite eclectic. All different colours too. There was even a pink one! I always said that I make all the important decisions, she decides what’s important! I guess his colour choice wasn’t considered important 😊

The pink Bach
The pink bach

I had a quick look around the beach with the camera before joining my neighbours at the Cafe for a quick coffee.

The Sand dunes
The Sand dunes

A neat spot to stay and it’s only 90 minutes from  Auckland. I bet it’s busy in the height of summer.

My Motorhome, Waikato

Tom and Erin’s retro Mitzi

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Tom and Erin were my neighbours at Port Waikato holiday park and are based in Fielding. They bought their very Retro looking 1988 Mitsibishi L300 from some recently arrived South Africans who brought it with them when they arrived in NZ but then decided to buy a new Dethleffs.

The van with all its colourful awnings.
The van with all its colourful awnings.

For a small van, I was expecting not enough room to swing a cat but was hugely surprised by the amount of storage and little spaces being used really creatively. There is even a drinks cabinet!

More seating and easy to get at driving position.
Luton sleeping area
Neat little spot fit microwave and jug
Drinks cabinet !
Retro awnings

They’ve had this van now for more than 11 years and have been everywhere several times with no issues.
One of the first things they did was make it NZ CSC compliant by adding grey water tanks and fine tuning a few other things. They also changed the TV setup to digital from UHF, changed the lighting to LED along with some upgrades to squabs etc.

Spacious seating arsa
Spacious seating area

They plan to continue their regular weekend trips to their favourite Foxton Beach weekend spot along with more cruising around NZ.
A well kept, neat looking van with lots of charm.

Close to home

Gulf Harbour

Over the last few months there has been quite a lot of discussion on the NZMCA forum on the changes to the Free camping area at Gulf Harbour.

Nice spot for overnighting with a great view
Nice spot for overnighting with a great view

We were going to spend a night with my brother in law John and his other half Marnie at Silverdale and as we were a bit early, we decided to check it out and stop for a cup of tea. The weather wasn’t playing the game so it wasn’t looking its best as the nice overnighting spot that it is.

Nice for a cup of tea, Great outlook right back to the City
Nice for a cup of tea, Great outlook right back to the City

I think the council have done quite a good job of separating the boat trailer car parking, the Motorhome parking and the ferry parkers.

The sign writing is nice and clear and allows plenty of room for everyone.

On the northern side
On the northern side
A great spot with good facilities including a dump station
A great spot with good facilities including a dump station

My only comment for improvements would be to take a leaf out of Taupo councils book and paint the 3m fire safety gap, as No Parking between each park, so the tourists and those not aware,  don’t try to jam in late at night.

Oops, maybe here for the day
Oops, maybe just stopping  for a moment.. Nice long trailer parking for the boaties.

We only stopped for a look and moved on to Silverdale but a big improvement.

Int'l Motorhomes

The Vista escape cabin

With the weather behaving the way it is, its time for some offshore Motorhoming news.

escape-vista-1New on the market is the Escape Vista Mobile Cabin from US$27,000

escape-vista-4It is described as modern architecture on wheels and while its not the Motorhome that we’re used to it, it is too nice to ignore.

escape-vista-3It is clad in cedar, has all the essentials. A bed, fridge /freezer, sink, some storage, a shower, toilet and also has a washer and dryer.

It can be fitted with optional extras like Solar power, different glass and on board water tanks.escape-vista-2

For more info check out Escape Vista Mobile Cabin

Art Deco 2016

Bruce’s Drawers

While we were in Napier in the waterfront park, who should also be there amongst the 150 odd motorhomes but Bruce and Raewyn in their Dethleffs Sunlight.  They came in a little later than us and were lucky to get a waterfront view site where they could put out their awning.  You can see the back of us on the left in the background. We spent a very pleasant happy hour with them with some others one night.

Bruce and Raewyns Sunlight
Bruce and Raewyns Sunlight

When they took delivery of their new van just before Christmas, it was missing a knife and forks drawer and just came with a shelf where you could put a plastic tray down on non slip.

Bruce decided that he was going to go one better and took the shelf out and make some drawers so he could make better use of the space.  After finding that the veneer used in the rest of the van was almost impossible to get, he cannibalised the shelf into drawer fronts so he could match the colour of the van.

Bruce with his drawers
Bruce with his drawers

He measured up and bought some soft close drawer sliders and made three drawers to accommodate all their kitchen bits and bobs. A big improvement and one that really adds to the functionality of their galley area.

The Cupboard closed
The Cupboard closed

It really looks the part.  ..Well done Bruce

Art Deco 2016

Wairakei Steam

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I don’t know how many times I’ve driven past Wairakei over the years but as we left Gary and Diannes place this time and we had  plenty of time, I thought we’d get a closer look at where some of our power comes from.

The plumbing undera bridge and the steam
The plumbing undera bridge and the steam

After taking a couple of wrong turns and ending up at a  semi rural café and camping ground down a dusty road and getting rafe all covered in muck and another turn ending up at a Contact office block, we found the Lookout road alongside a BP service station. There is very little to say where the lookout is but the road leads along fences, past lots of expensive looking plumbing and you end up driving up a hill to the lookout. Well worth the effort.

A panorama from the lookout. Click on this for more detail.
A panorama from the lookout. Click on this for more detail.

I took a few piccies and we were on our way.

From the lookout of the Bores
From the lookout of the Bores

Amazing to think that all that heat comes out from under our feet and creates our power or at least some of it.

Art Deco 2016, My Motorhome

Oliver and Noeline’s CI Munro / Fiat

On arrival in Taupo on the waterfront, we pulled up next to Oliver and Noeline from Hamilton.

The Fiat / CI Munro
The Fiat / CI Munro

They purchased their 2009 2.3 litre Fiat Ducato 2 years ago so they take away their grandkids. The ex rental with a CI Munro back had done 110,000 odd k’s but is in exceptional condition. They’ve added solar power and more battery power along with a bigger TV and are really enjoying it. They recently did a trip right down to Bluff around the South Island and enjoyed some time at former west coaster Noelines old  region.

Looking forward. Bed up stairs
Looking forward. Bed up stairs
The Galley are at the back
The Galley are at the back

The van performed faultlessly all the way around and they are planning a trip into new territory up to the Bay of Islands and beyond.
Bikes on the backA really nice  tidy functional Motorhome.

Art Deco 2016

Music, Motorcars, Planes and old Bikes

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We missed the shuttle for the second day in a row by all of 5 minutes! Punishment was a reasonably pleasant walk into Napier in the sun to see the Art Deco parade, the event of the festival. There were more than 250 cars, dancing on street corners, motorbikes, the NZ Army band, pipe bands, it was all on. Everyone was having fun.

An amazing car/caravan combination on the walk to the parade.
An amazing car/caravan combination on the walk to the parade.

It seemed like half of NZ was in Napier, people everywhere.
I parked myself on a traffic island after talking to a marshall and hearing the planned route.

While I was waiting for the parade to start, I received a cell phone call from John, a boatie mate from Devonport. Where was I? Standing on a traffic island in the middle of the main street of Napier was my reply. It turned out he was in Napier too within eyesight and we were catching up after the parade ! How small is NZ !

Once the parade started, I had to keep moving. Great fun.

Warbirds in action over the waterfront
Warbirds in action over the waterfront

Click on the images to see them in hi res

Entertainment in the soundshell before the parade started.
The traction engine giving people rides

After the parade finished, we looked for a cafe to have lunch.

Parade

On the way home, these people stopped so I could get a piccie if them.
On the way home, these people stopped so I could get a piccie if them.

They were all chocker with all the people so we decided we’d head back to Rafe for some lunch. As we walked, we got a phone call from John who suggested a cafe on the way .. And we met John and Katherine shortly after.. amazing. They had been house sitting out of town and had come in for the parade. We headed back to Rafe after that and joined our Waiuku friends for happy hour and later tea for our last night in Napier.

Art Deco 2016

Old metal with smiles all around

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After sneaking out if the park to get some water and groceries and sneaking back in again, we  missed the last shuttle bus to town so we walked the 1k or so into town to check out the fun and it was well worth the walk!

Is that a gun
Is that a gun

Traction engines, steam rollers and so many amazing cars.
I got talking to Dave, the owner of a one off Studebaker that he got his license in when he was 15 and later bought the car. The car was made in Hastings with a wooden frame and has steel over the top with a full genuine Studebaker everything else in it. A lovely car.

Dave with his one off Hastings made Studebaker
Dave with his one off Hastings made Studebaker
The Studebaker
The Studebaker

We bumped into Dave and Rosemarie and all the crew from Waiuku there and they were really enjoying the scene and we’re all dressed very nicely. The pictures below tell the story.

Click on the images for hi res and a slideshow

With the traction engine
Dave and Rosemarie with the cars
Dave admiring the Le Frame 14 litre motor

The retailers of Napier were all decked out in their finery, all enjoying he festival.

The good folk of Waiuku all decked out magnificently. Fiona on the left.
The ladies from Waiuku all decked out magnificently. Fiona on the left.

There was a couple who turned a street into their dance floor with a busker and did a very impressive floor show for the crowd around. Very good dancers and the crowd really appreciated it.

Impromptu dancing to the busker
Impromptu dancing to the busker

I even bumped into an old friend of mine Geoff who was also a photographer with me at the NZ Herald 30 odd yrs ago. NZ really is a small place !

As the day wore on and it got hotter, we found the 1918 Austin Bus was going our way home so after a $5 donation, we were on our way.

The view out of the windscreen of the 1918 bus. Steam roller in front
The view out of the windscreen of the 1918 bus. Steam roller in front
The 1918 Austin Bus that we came home in
The 1918 Austin Bus that we came home in

A fun day and more tomorrow.