All posts by Chris Miller - Buggeritweareoff.com

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

It is all go at Pukekohe

It has been a while since I was last out here in Pukekohe, a few years perhaps but boy it has grown. There are new houses everywhere you look, and the town has grown too.

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I checked in with Sarah at the Pukekohe A&P grounds where they’ve provided Motorhome parking for some years now.  She very kindly showed me where everything was and after parking the van, I went for a walk over the road to the Z Zone.

I stopped in at the local Hollywood Bakery for a coffee and then popped into a few local shops. before heading back to the park.

When I first started coming here about 8 years or so ago, it was all grass with lots of mud when it was wet and a couple of power poles.

Ian was the man in charge, and I understand he is still involved. He has done a magnificent job over the years of developing this into a really nice area to stay.

Now there are Toilets, showers and a coin operated Laundry in the new(ish) amenities block. There is a circular gravel road which runs past many of the sites and on past the dump station. So no more muddy exits 🙂 .. Ans all at a reasonable price too.

The Amenities block, now with a Laundry
And a Dump Station!

There are a lot more power points all set out with plenty of space on big sites. It’s a fantastic setup.

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

The Amenities block, now with a Laundry

Just across the road is one of Pukekohe’s big shopping areas with the Warehouse and several other big stores. Pukekohe’s main street is just a few steps further on.

Having not been here for a while and seeing the changes, Ian, Sarah and the crew have done a fantastic job providing some Motorhome and Caravan accommodation in an area where there wasn’t any.

Here’s a link to my previous visit where I got to talk with Ian some years ago.

Rafe’s tracker map to Pukekohe – Armada GPS
Waikato

Motorhome Veterans go for space!

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Valerie and Murray built one of their early Motorhomes themselves for accommodating horses and themselves at shows. Horses were at the back; they were in the front.

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Murray and Valerie

Since then, they have had “6 or 7” with them being a mix from pop up Caravans, Pop up and small Motorhomes, to more recently a Swift Bessacar, Autotrail Commanche, a borrowed Roller team and now the main prize, the Swift Kon-Tiki.

Great entertaining space
The Bed room

They picked up the Kon-Tiki just 8 weeks ago from Wellington and what a beauty.

It is 9 metres long, has 2.5 litre motor and has everything that opens and shuts.

Galley

With the entertaining area in the front with seats down each side facing each other and a table in the middle. The Galley behind with a new tall Dometic double opening Fridge opposite. Behind this is the Bathroom with doors on each side and then the centre island bed at the back.

Its light and well-lit and they’re really happy with their new baby. They have done their first big trip in it up to Kerikeri and it went well. A very nice Motorhome with plenty of room.

Waikato

Antique Heaven in Paeroa

On the way from Waihi, I saw that the free parking in Paeroa was empty so I figured it might be timely to visit Countdown for some food and a look around Paeroa.

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It was quiet when I arrived 🙂

I parked Rafe, paid for the parking and it was time to check out Paeroa… in the rain. It was pouring down. The Antique shops are amazing, but I had a feeling that there were a few more.

Antique Alley

Peter at Granvilles

It wasn’t until later in the day when I popped into the Pub opposite the parking, The Paeroa Hotel that I found out sadly that several shops had not made it through the Covid lockdowns and the downturn that went with it. Several Antique shops too. Its always a shame to see a business fail especially when its outside your control to some degree like the Covid lockdown.

The Hotel was fun. I met several of the locals, had a few laughs and after a couple of glasses of wine headed back to Rafe.

Downtown Paeroa

The parking is essentially free unless you use power. That costs $5 a night and it’s all laid on by the Hauraki Council. It’s great to see a council that recognises that if you give Motor homers access to where the tills are and something to buy, buy they will so it’s a win win 🙂

Later in the day

Anyway, it’s a fantastic facility and so handy right in the middle of town.

I have always stayed in the Paeroa RV centre. Great folk there and a reasonable price but it’s a good half hour walk from town.

Rafe’s tracker map to Paeroa – Armada GPS
Waikato

Hot Pools, Olde Buildings and Parking.

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One of the nice things about small towns dotted around the Waikato is the ambience of some of the old character buildings and Te Aroha is one of those towns.

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Downtown Te Aroha
One of the corner sculptures
A Great old building

Along with its famous Hot Pools, sculptures on street corners, and nice old buildings, it also now has its very own NZMCA park. The best way to describe it is “long and skinny”, but it also backs on to a track that takes you straight into the town in minutes.

The Museum Building
The Well know old Grand Tavern opposite the Museum

I was last here a few years ago at a rally next door to the park and it was a lot of fun. There was Kayaking down the river, the bike trails were busy, and the cafes did a roaring trade. Here’s a look back at that event here.

The NZMCA park with Mt Te Aroha behind
NZMCA park

It’s a neat wee town and perfect for the bike trails up and into the Karangahake Gorge.

Rafe’s tracker map to Te Aroha – Armada GPS
Waikato

2023 Dethleffs Owners Knees up!

39 Dethleffs Motorhomes of all shapes and sizes arrived in Miranda ready to catch up with old friends and see other Motorhomes. There were quite a few first timers at this event but also the old hands that could remember others names to catch up with people they met earlier.

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The Coupes Arriving

The first day was about settling the vans down and wandering around to see where everyone was and having a swim in the hot pool.

Later in the day, there was happy hour for everyone to get together and there was an impromptu shared meal between a dozen or so friends in the evening.

There was a really funny moment after the meal when we were all sitting around having a few drinks and a few laughs.  There was a group of about 20 odd teenagers on the table next to us and there were about 8 of us by then.  A lady in the group stood up to make a speech and as soon as she started, one of our group started singing happy birthday and others joined in. She was saying no no, then gave up but our group stopped singing.  Everyone was laughing. Then we found out it was an engagement so there were lots of congratulations from us too! Great time. 😂😂

The pot luckers on Friday Night

Because Fiona was working late on the Friday, she arrived in the car around 8:30.

The cyclists setting off for Kaiaua and the Cafe 

The next morning was the bike ride to Kaiaua or to a cafe up the road. There were about 19 bike riders on bikes! A great turnout. Most were riding the 13k’s or so to the Kaiaua for lunch.

On the trail to Kaiaua 

Fiona and I followed them and got pictures of them at stops with the car.

On the trail to Kaiaua 

When we arrived at the pub, well before the cyclists, Quin the Manager had just arrived and was about to open so perfect timing.

At the Kaiaua Pub for lunch 

At the Kaiaua Pub for lunch 

We all went out to the back beer garden with the bikes and ordered coffees and lunch. Fiona and I had an amazing pizza.

The bikes at the pub 

About an hour or so there, we started the trek back.

To see an Enlarged slideshow, click on the Gallery below

Bruce and Judys Globe 4 (Rafe’s twin)
Catching up in the driveway
Liz and Nolina
Catching up on Friday
Friday night happy hour
Friday night
Friday night Happy Hour
On the trail to Kaiaua
On the trail to Kaiaua
Rays Rest
On the trail to Kaiaua
On the trail to Kaiaua
At Rays Rest
The Team piccy
Saturday night
Steve and Troy still behaving 🙂
Saturday night eating fest 🙂

Back to the hot pool and then later at 4, we had the team photo. Where we normally do the piccy was really boggy, so we had to move out to the motorhome parking.

The Team piccy 

Happy Hour came next, and the place was chocker with people.

Pot Luck heaven 

Sat Night with the shared meal. 

The Buffet 🙂 

Then came the shared meal and the meals were restaurant quality… just amazing and everyone got a great feed with some going back for seconds. Fantastic.

On the last day (Sunday Morning) we caught up again for a farewell coffee together.

Bruce and Judys Globe 4, Above, (Rafe’s twin) 9 years old and over 100000ks and never missed a beat… a testament to the old 3 litre Ivecos! Rafes got 102000ks, exactly the same Motor, Motorhome and colour! 

Dethleffs everywhere you look 

A great event with lots of fun and thanks to everyone for coming.

Here’s a reminder of our last get together.

Bay of Plenty, Coromandel 2023

The Train Town – Waihi

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Waihi has an atmosphere all on its own and it doesn’t matter how many times I come here, there is always a nice historic vibe to absorb. This time it was just nice standing up beside the big Martha hole in the sunshine and taking it all in.

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That big Hole
The Cornish Pumphouse next to the Mine
The Cornish Pumphouse in front of Waihi

After checking out the Goldfields Railway parking to see if there was any room as they have a few of the sites off limits due to the sodden ground. I was in luck. It wasn’t perfect as it was hard getting level, but it was only for a night.

Station just in front

It’s good to support the railway where I can as it’s a charity and they do a really good job of keeping the old Trains alive. Most days of the week, they do trips through to the Waikino station where you can get a coffee and walk the Karangahake Trails and walks. You can also take your bikes on an open carriage and do the trails from Waikino.

Click on the Gallery below for an enlarged Slideshow

Waihi’s main street
Goldfields Railway parking.

We’ve had several great stays with friends in Motorhomes staying here and doing the trails and also taking our grandsons, Ayden and Liam through to Waikino.. lots of fun. After I’d settled Rafe in the park, I walked through to Waihi shops, about 1k and had a coffee in one of Fiona’s favourite Cafes.

A constant reminder of where you are 🙂
Great Sculptures too.
Fabulous old buildings, history everywhere.

It’s a neat town. It must be just about time we brought the boys back for another ride to Waikino.

Rafe’s tracker map to Waihi – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty

Rose and Ken’s new Bailey on their first outing!

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While I was at Bowentown, I spotted one of the new Bailey Adamo’s down by the beach.

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Ken and Rose

This was Ken and Rose’s first trip away in it after picking it up only a few weeks ago. Not too far from home at Omokoroa, their shakedown first trip was so far uneventful apart from a few missing groceries!

Cab area.

Following the European trend of smaller vehicles for parking in European cities and with emissions in mind, the Bailey measures in at 7.485m with a 3500kg GVM making it a WOF vehicle. Being on a Transit base, it is powered by a Ford 2l Turbo diesel. Apparently, it is the same as the motor in the 2l Ranger.

The rear lounge
Drop down bed at the back.

One of the nice things that sold it for Rose and Ken was the drop-down beds giving them a front dining / Lounge area and a nice cosy U shape lounge area at the back. Both beds are electric with a nice Galley area and Bathroom on opposite sides in the middle. A great way to save space.

Front Lounge with Bed above

It’s funny who you meet on the road as later in the day when we sat down with a glass of wine together, it turned out that they both spent many years on Waiheke Island and know a few people in our family as well as a few friends on the island. Small world stuff.

The Galley

A great couple enjoying their new Motorhome.

Bay of Plenty, Coromandel 2023, Great Beaches

Bowentown Sunshine

Bowentown is just one of those places that just works and with its fantastic beach, it is hard to beat for somewhere to stay.  Every time I walked down to the beach with the camera over the few days I had here, there was a completely different look.

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Looking down from the hill. Rafe parked at the bottom of the image.

I was parked overlooking the sea and the rest of the camp close to where I was when I was here a few years ago.  A lovely spot and only a few steps to the sand.

That amazing beach

Anzac Bay is an easy walk from the Campground and is on the other side of the peninsular.  There used to be overnight parking a few years ago but it was stopped due to congestion issues, but it is another nice bay with others beyond that you can walk to from there. If you have bikes, there is a great bike trail that takes you all the way up to the northern end Waihi Beach.

Anzac Bay

I spent some time with some other Motor homers who had stopped for lunch and were enjoying the sunshine.

Picnickers at Anzac Bay

Back to the camp… On the second day, there, I popped down to the new Froth Cafe for a coffee and a snack. They had a walking group from Waihi Beach so were run off their feet but both Shawna and Helon had the place humming. The walkers do this on a regular basis and stop for a reward at the Cafe.

Shawna and Helon at Froth, the new Cafe.

There are some amazing VW Combi Cabins you can stay in too that are still there. You can see the post I did last time I was here on those.

Click on the Gallery below for an enlarged Slideshow

Lunch at Anzac Bay
Looking out towards Katikati at Anzac Bay
The Vw’s are still there
The kid’s area at Bowentown
The view from our park .. just the best.
Looking North, Rafe down the bottom.
The Boat ramp on the inner harbour at Bowentown
One of those moods on the beach

There used to be a lovely boardwalk that ran along the top of the sand dunes along the beach but unfortunately the last weather events undermined to the point that it was unsafe, and it has been removed.

It is still one of the best beaches around and just going down to sit in the lee of the hill at the bottom of the beach with the sand between your toes is just magic, even in winter 🙂

Rafe’s tracker map to Bowentown – Armada GPS
Preparation

Oops… Another bumper repair.

I can clearly remember how upset I was when I reversed into a hidden post and damaged the rear corner bumper, not long after we first got Rafe 9 years or so ago. I had all these feelings of wanting to turn the clock back and things I could have done, too late, damage done. Time to get it fixed.

In those early days, I was able to get a spare “Lamp Holder” as they’re called, and it was a 5-minute job for Vantage RV to stick it on. They stick on with Velcro so they’re expecting you to break a few… it was then $150… They’re now $1100!!

Since then, I’ve managed to break a few on both sides. It’s usually just the plastic join breaking a part of the way up and an easy glue job with Gorilla Glue. The Gorilla Glue expands and fills all the gaps and is very easy to sand.

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All glued up and a rough hand sand.

The hidden pole I hit this time though was a real wallop and the corner piece disintegrated into 4 different pieces.  A much bigger job than usual.

So, I repaired it in two chunks, the side bit of 3 bits into 1 part and then glued that after 3 hours to the back panel. A bit of Gaff tape was used to hold it together while the glue went off. The next morning, I was able to sand it and it didn’t look too bad from a distance :-).  Enough to get home from Rotorua.  See the pic above.

On with the Ados Body Filler

Once I got home, I got the sander out and gave it a real clean up. Then I put on some Ados Automotive two pot body filler.  Great stuff which allows you to fair it properly.  See above and below, sanded.

Ados Body filler sanded by machine with final hand sanding to go.

I had to add bits a few times as I wasn’t happy with the finish and because it’s on thin plastic, it doesn’t allow you to sand the filler as much as you probably could on metal… I got there in the end also dodging the rain too.

The side that didn’t need doing which I did as well to match. Note the join in the panel.

The last bit was sanding it up to 800 grit by hand to smooth it all out and then masking it.

Then on with the paint.  The paint I used which is the same colour as the bumper. It is certainly within a whisker of it, anyway.  I used Colour Lab’s Premium Gloss paint putting three coats of paint on and then 4 coats of Premium Clear High Gloss.

The LH side masked and sprayed.
Right hand side masked and sprayed.

It certainly cost me a lot less than replacing both panels although I did replace the two marker lights as they were only $20 each.

LH side all done

Because I shaped the damaged side to hide the join completely, I had to do the other side to match 🙂

RH side looking spiffing.

I think the result is pretty good and now I’ve got the hang of this Ados Filler, I reckon I can do it better next time…!

Close to home, Great Beaches, Waikato

Bliss on the coast, a new Favourite!

Matariki weekend started with big traffic queues, so we thought we’d wait until Sunday and catch the traffic going the other way. Keeping it close and keeping the fuel costs down, we thought we’d head towards the Kaiaua NZMCA park with the superb hospitality provided by both the Pub and the Fish and Chip shop.

We last popped in here for our first time a few months ago.

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Interesting weather

We arrived at Kaiaua NZMCA park around the middle of the day on what was a grey day. There were already several 5th wheelers, Caravans and a few Motorhomes there but there was plenty of room.

As I got out of the Motorhome to register in the shed, I met Mia and Hans who were right next door to us in there new Benimar from Taupo. They were veteran Motor homers who have travelled extensively through Europe in a Motorhome. They spent a year travelling and some of their adventures sounded amazing.

Not long after this came Steve and Caroline in their 8m Delaware from Whitianga. Nice to meet them too.

The Marina

After checking out the river next to the park, we headed to the Pub next door for a pizza lunch. It was superb and very good value.

As we walked into the pub, we walked past a whole lot of vintage Morris’s out in the carpark. A lot of car and bike clubs come here for lunch in weekends and do a loop back up the coast.  Lovely seeing the old cars.

The Morris club dropped in too!

We went for a walk around Kaiaua after that ending up at the pink shop up the road a bit.

The Pink Shop
Kaiaua Beach looking down towards Rays Rest

 

Later in the day, we headed over to the Pub where we met both Steve and Caroline. Hans and Mia were sitting at another table and came over and joined us and we heard about their amazing trip through Europe including Turkey. Fascinating!

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

New arrivals
Fiona coming back from the pub
Next to the park
The Marina
The Pub
Ducks in the river around the park.

Hans and Mia joined us next door for a fabulous meal at the famous Fish and Chip shop right next to the pub.

The Fish and Chip shop
The NZMCA park from the bridge

It’s a great little village Kaiaua and the park is fantastic. Being this close to Auckland, it’s an easy escape for a few days which is exactly what we were looking for. It was a real bonus meeting some interesting people as well.

Rafe’s tracker map to Kaiaua – Armada GPS