Category Archives: Day Trips

Auckland Parks, Close to home, Day Trips, Friends, Hot pools

Keeping warm in the big Freeze

The forecast was definitely sorting out our location for us this weekend.. Parakai so we were plugged in for the heat and close to the pools.  Parts of the Hawkes Bay was without power and roads were closed everywhere with snow. Somewhere warm and close by was the order of the day.

The last time we were at Parakai, it was hosing down and there was mud everywhere. It was very much the same this time except we were lucky in that we got to see a lot more of the sun but jeepers it was cold!

Muddy bits roped off. All the grass was muddy
Muddy bits roped off. All the grass was muddy. Gary and Chris’s Fuso next to us. The latecomer with his wheels down next on the right.

One of our neighbours who arrived later in the night missed the concrete strips (easy to do) and his rear dual wheels were a good 4-6 inches down in the mud.

The pools were fantastic and it was nice to see our fulltiming friends, Gary and Chris again after their trip up North.

Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow

I had just bought a new toy through the Noel Leeming / NZMCA discount scheme. It was a Philips Induction plate and what a little beauty. I’d just put enough frozen peas in the pot for four with some warm water. Then I hit the go button, wow, I wasn’t timing it but it wouldn’t have been much more than a minute and it was ready to eat. Then we did the steaks in a Staub pan while the girls were getting some chips from over the road. These took a lot longer and as its so easy to control the heat, better cooked and quicker than gas.   Well worth getting.

After a good feed, we blobbed for a while and then went for a swim. Later, Chris made some nice scones for tea and we had a couple of glasses of Italian red to finish the day.

The Permanent area
The pool entrance
Outside the Railway Museum

the next morning, Fiona was keen to re visit the Antique shop at Helensville railway station so we went around there and quickly checked out the Railway Museum and café for a cuppa.

Chris and Gary (walking away) with their Fuso
Chris and Gary (walking away) with their Fuso

Gary and Chris headed off for Rays Rest and we headed home.
A nice weekend and despite the cold, Parakai definitely looks better when the sun is beating down.

Close to home, Day Trips

Lots of Lemons

Heading back to Auckland after a great weekend in the Helensville area, we stopped at a place called Provenance which we’d been to before a long time ago when it was Beesonline.

The Parking
The Parking

A huge carpark which makes it easy to get a Motorhome into and a very park like environment with a bridge to get to the Café.

Click on the images to see them in Hi res or slideshow

parakai

When we went there, there had been thunderstorms the night before and the weather had been misbehaving badly so the pictures don’t show it  at its best.

Nice outdoor area
Nice outdoor area

I imagine their outdoor areas would be nice in the sunshine. It was also really interesting to see they had a huge garden where they grow a lot of there own veges and herbs.

Someone knows how to grow Lemons!
Someone knows how to grow Lemons!

They also have about 10 or so absolutely laden Lemon trees. Someone here knows what they’re doing.

Looking from the Carpark
The Garden
The Garden
The Entrance
Great Fireplace
The Bar
You can see your van from the cafe

There was a big fire raging when we got there and it was all very warm and toasty inside despite the weather and we sat down and ordered some lunch.

Corrugated Cow on the roof
Corrugated Cow on the roof

As I was still nursing my implanted tooth, I went for a mushroom penne  type of meal and Fiona had the same. It was just amazing.

When it was Beesonline, it was very popular and its good to see the same high standards still apply. They still have some hives out the back too.

Bees out the back
Bees out the back

If you’re heading out west to Muriwai or beyond, it is just on the left before you get to  Waimauku on the main road.

Close to home, Day Trips

Tyers Magic

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Before we enjoyed a great lunch at the Helensville Railway Station Cafe, we visited the Helensville Train Museum right next door.
Run by the Helensville Railway Station Trust by volunteers, this is well worth checking out.

Helensville Railway Station with the Museum behind
Helensville Railway Station with the Museum behind

parakaiThere is a gigantic model railway based on Helensville, even replicating well know local buildings and known points. There is even a little orange sign that says, “You are Here” 🙂
The chap that built the model spent 30 years putting it together.

Click on any photo for Hi Res or a Slideshow

Helensville Station. Note the pub in the background
Helensville Station. Note the pub in the background
The Pub over the road
The Pub over the road

After spending an hour or so, checking it all out, one of the volunteers came over and said to me, “come and check this out, I’ll demonstrate it for you”.
There were two red boxes with buttons and bells.
This was The Tyers Tablet system which railways in both Great Britain and New Zealand used up until 1994 on single lines to prevent head on collisions.
It involved a sophisticated coded bell system with switches with electromagnetic locks that allows a small disk, a Tablet, to be released for a train driver when the line is clear. The system was setup between railway stations at each end of a line.

All Packed
All Packed

Given that it was setup in the dark old days of bleeps over the phone lines, it’s a clever system. Helensville Railway Museum is the only one that we know of still in working order and when you think of what it had to do and when it was invented, it’s pretty clever.
If you want more info on this, Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Tyers Tablet system and here’s a youtube vid of the Helensville setup being explained.

 

The Railway Station in 1910
An old train at the station
Fiona in the ticket office

The two volunteers there were only too happy to show me everything at the museum and couldn’t have been more helpful. It’s a must do if you’re in town.
It’s $3.00 each and well worth it.

Close to home, Day Trips

Xmas day

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On Christmas eve, we stayed in my sons family’s driveway and early Christmas day was spent opening pressies with Alex, Sarah, the two grandsons, Ayden and Liam and with Sarah’s parents and brother Andrew. The hard part was keeping Liam on task opening all his presents as he wanted to stop and play along the way. All part of being a 3 yr old.

Waiting for the ferry at Half Moon Bay. Liam with Fiona and Ayden with his dad Alex.
Waiting for the ferry at Half Moon Bay. Liam with Fiona and Ayden with his dad Alex.
Ferry Unloading
Ferry Unloading

After Fiona had made croissants with Cheese and Bacon .. yum! we left to catch the ferry from Half Moon Bay to Waiheke, where were to have a great lunch with the wider family at Fiona’s sister Sara and Robs place in Onetangi.

Jessa doing the bubbly
Drew’s mate Lucas (on left), Drews cousin Merryn and my son Drew
Ayden, Dad Alex(my son) and Liam
Ayden, Fiona, Liam with cousin Jessa
Son Andrew on the Shredder
Andrew on the shredder, note the Drone
Rob showing Ayden how to pilot a drone
Rob showing Ayden how to pilot a drone in the barn
Liam with his cousin Merryn

Rob has some new toys in his toy box at the barn so after lunch we went up to the barn and he wheeled out the entertainment.

The Razor: a 4 wheel drive farm bike with roll cages but souped up mechanically. The Shredder: A track driven by a petrol motor steered by a wake board like setup.. see the piccies. Remember too to click on them for hi res.

Lots of fun mixed with some nice wine and great food with great company.

We all made it too the 7pm ferry at Kennedy point in time to get back to Half Moon Bay and to Ardmore.

It was a big day and I was literally falling into bed when I got back to Rafe.

A boxing day pic of Liam and Ayden
A boxing day pic of Liam and Ayden

We’re looking forward to heading up North for the next week .. watch for some Northland posts!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas.. have a good new year and if you’re on the road, be safe.

Day Trips

Wifi for Motorhomes

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On friday afternoon, I left the NZMCA park at Ardmore and headed to my son and daughter in laws driveway in Ardmore where I was later joined by Fiona after she had finished work.

My son Alex is a Systems Engineer and has been working on a solution for Wifi in our motorhome for some time. He was given an directional Antenna which has a range of up to 5k and for being top in his course, he was given a tiny Router which will work on 12v and also has enough grunt to drive the Antenna. … and he was happy to donate it to my Wifi cause.. thanks Alex 🙂

The wee Router up behind the TV
The wee Router up behind the TV

I didn’t realise how much setup was involved but after a lot of configuration changes, he managed to get it working in the van with huge throughput from an Access point in his shed, some distance away.

The current directional Antenna
The current directional Antenna
The Antenna pointing at the shed. Its further away than it looks here.
The Antenna pointing at the shed. Its further away than it looks here.

While there is some fine tuning to be done, the concept works. I think his plan is to change the Antenna to one that’s easier to setup and get working when its permanently mounted on the roof. While we’re testing it, we had the router on our bed with a network cable out of our window with the antenna bolted to the bike rack.

I have an account with Spark and have the free gig a day thing happening from the phone boxes but they’re always positioned where you can’t park an 8m motorhome anywhere near them, and the signal they send means you’ve virtually got to sit on top of them to be any use.

Ultimately, it’ll mean that our iphones, ipads, laptops etc will log in to the wee router permanently in the van and the router with the Antenna will drag in the signal from  wherever.

This system will hopefully mean that I can be a block or so away and still get a Spark signal or any other free wifi available 🙂

Our last night at the NZMCA park on Sunday night
Our last night at the NZMCA park on Sunday night

Exciting times.

Day Trips

Historic place 400m

At Kawakawa bay
At Kawakawa bay

While waking up this morning to another nice sunny day, I thought I should head out to Kawakawa Bay and have a cup of tea while the cockle gatherers were doing their thing. It’s also a bit more interesting that watching small planes come and go  for another day. 💤
There were plenty of gatherers there too, making the most of the weather and getting down to business.

Kawakawa Bay cockle gathers on the go.
Kawakawa Bay cockle gathers on the go.

While there, I met an interesting couple with their newly built Motorhome who were trying to retire after giving their lifelong printing business to their adult children. There was a problem with a machine so they’d been summoned from their break  down by Kaiaua, to sort it out! It was interesting swapping notes on how our respective but similar business’s had changed over the years with technology and changes in the economy.
After an hour or so there, I headed back to Ardmore. As I went through Clevedon, I kept seeing these signs saying “historic place 400m” so decided to check it out.

The warehouse at Clevedon wharf with a ship purpose built for the river.. In the late 1860's. Pic from the sign on the wharf.
The warehouse at Clevedon wharf with a ship purpose built for the river.. In the late 1860’s. Pic from the sign on the wharf.
Clevedon Wharf, the site of he old wharf.
Clevedon Wharf, the site of he old wharf.
Clevedon Bridge
Clevedon Bridge

It turns out that the Wairoa River in Clevedon was quite a bustling place. There were warehouses, a sawmill and several other businesses on both sides of the river. They even towed barges with planes on them during the war from Hobsonville via “Port Clevedon” to hangers in Ardmore. Really interesting.
I had a quick walk around Clevedon before heading back to Ardmore MCA park for the afternoon.

The Main Street of Clevedon
The Main Street of Clevedon
Fiona's favourite shop in Clevedon and Cafe
Fiona’s favourite shop in Clevedon and Cafe

When I returned, I found my next door neighbour in the middle of the grass, under his Toyota Landcruiser doing a lube and oil! A caravanner saving some money. Isn’t it funny what people choose to do on a hot day😎

Day Trips

Classic Boat Day Out to Riverhead

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Raindance all dolled up
Raindance all dolled up

What a great start to a great day. At 4:30am, we were up ready to watch the All Blacks perform their magic. What a great game.

Don’t forget you can click on these images to see them in their full glory

Alan, Grant and Fiona before boarding
Alan, Grant and Fiona before boarding

Grant and Alan preparing the ice

At 7:30 we drove around the corner to pick up friends Alan and Grant and headed up to Bayswater Marina where Alan keeps his 1920 Lanes classic boat Raindance.
Alan runs a blog called  Waitematawoodys.com check  it out.

Fiona keeping the dinghy away from the prop in the marina
Fiona keeping the dinghy away from the prop in the marina

Alan had already prepared Raindance for the trip so within 15 minutes or so, we were leaving the marina and heading for Lucas Creek. Once we passed under the Harbour Bridge, Grant was preparing the Heart starters for the day, Bloody Mary cocktails for us all. Within half of a Bloody Mary, Fiona was really enjoying herself!

The Heart Starters
The Heart Starters
Fiona with her Bloody Mary after going under the Harbour Bridge
Fiona with her Bloody Mary after going under the Harbour Bridge
On the way to Riverhead - Auckland harbour Bridge
On the way to Riverhead – Auckland harbour Bridge

The weather was perfect and the sea was calm and an hour or so later, we were at the meeting point of Lucas Creek. There we were met by several other Classic boats and we lead the way up the river to the Riverhead Hotel, where they were expecting us for brunch.

Jenesse
Enjoying the ride
Some old timers in a Chris Craft
Unknown classic
Ann Michelle
A sight along the way
Jenesse with Ann Michelle behind on the way
At the wharf
More Boating people with Fiona on the right
Bert And Margaret enjoying breakfast
Alan, Grant with Sue and Mark from Monterey
A not so classic boat with the Chris Craft blazing past
Getting ready to leave
Monterey
Classic Motor Yacht

We were met at the Riverhead Hotel by several other Classic boaties who had arrived by car.

Getting ready to go
Getting ready to go

As always, the Hotel had turned on a good spread and it was nice to spend an hour or two meeting up with old friends with their Classic Boats. Although, it wasn’t a big turnout it was nice to see them there.

Auckland City when we were nearly back. The cloud has gone
Auckland City when we were nearly back. The cloud has gone
Where we went.. From Bayswater to Riverhead and back.
Where we went.. From Bayswater to Riverhead and back.

The last few times that we had taken Rorqual up to Riverhead, we have had up to 28 classic boats but the RWC and the Auckland Marathon probably put a few off.

Fiona enjoying a cider
Fiona enjoying a cider. Alan driving

As the tide turned, we left the Hotel to make sure we could get out of the river before it ran out of water and returned back to Bayswater. A great day with some great people with their nice boats.

Day Trips, Ready to go

Lunch at Shakespeare

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Mike & Wendy with their Rapido
Mike & Wendy with their Rapido, Madam in the background ready for lunch.

After leaving Rob & Helens at Snells Beach after a morning cuppa, we met Mike & Wendy with their new French A class Rapido at Shakespeare Bay, Whangaparoa. I went to school with Mike last century and Fiona met Wendy at Tech not long after 🙂

The Rapido is based on a Fiat Ducato, with a centre island bed with a HUGE garage across the back. Very comfortable and very similar to the Dethleffs Esprit 
Mike likes his knick knacks so its great for him to have this amazing amount of storage 🙂

We’ve been trying to get together with them for some time so it was nice to finally have lunch together. They had spent the night at Shakespeare Park and ready to toodle back to Devonport.

The Girls whipped up some Lunch
The Girls whipped up some Lunch
Rafe & the Rapido at Shakespeare Park
Rafe & the Rapido at Shakespeare Park

After a nice lunch and swapping notes, it was great for each of us to come away having learnt something about our vans. Mike being a Certified Gasfitter and Plumber, has done some really clever things with both the gas and the water. .. Auto changing gas bottles and outside shower and other things too!

It was nice to see them enjoying their new Motorhome.

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Day Trips, NZMCA Rallies, Ready to go

kai Iwi Rally and Trounson Kauris

We are  still waiting for a tenant for the house but it has only been just over a week. Rome wasn’t built in a day as they say.

We’re really looking forward to heading south in a couple of weeks time.  Here’s another great recent trip in the meantime.

All the Vans at the Lakes
All the Vans at the Lakes
At Kaiwi Lakes Rally
At Kaiwi Lakes Rally

Late in July, we arranged to meet friends at a NZMCA rally being held at kai Iwi lakes .. somewhere I’ve have never been to before north of Dargaville on the coast. We left Auckland on a Saturday morning and arrived there just after midday.. its a good 2.5 – 3 hr run.

There were a lot of vans and a lot more of them were European Motorhomes than the traditional bus conversions that we’ve seen at these events.  A really interesting place and another well organised event by the Northland NZMCA crew. Along with meeting our friends from Snells Beach, we met many Dethleffs van owners, some who have travelled quite some distance to be part of the fun.
Remember to click on the images to enlarge them.

One of the biggest in the park
One of the biggest in the park
Ferns
Lots of Ferns

There aren’t many DOC camps around the Auckland region and on the way home, we were keen to try the Trounson Kauri park which is just up the road (15k’s or so) towards Waipoua Forest . .. somewhere else we’d never been to.

All parked up
All parked up

After plugging in to the power and settling down, we were off to explore the park. It is really nicely set up  .. a boardwalk stretches through the whole  length of the  forest.  Amazing huge Kauri Trees mixed with new growth.. It’s very clean and an easy 1/2 hour walk through the whole park.  Well worth doing.

And I took one of her :-)
And I took one of her 🙂
Just to prove that I did the walk, Fiona took this cell phone picky.
Just to prove that I did the walk, Fiona took this cell phone piccy

We got back to the van  and settled down in front of the heater to warm up with a glass of something cold .. This must be one of the few DOC parks with power. Several vans of nice French tourists arrived just before dark which was good.
There is also a building with a hot shower and kitchen facilities and nice clean toilets.
The walk was fantastic and its a great spot for a night in your Motorhome.

During the walk
During the walk

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Day Trips, Ready to go

Middle Earth (Matamata)

Middle earth
The Information Centre or I site

After Te Aroha, we headed to Matamata to see the Firth Tower Museum complex and Madam was keen for some retail therapy.

Usually, I’m passing through Matamata and only really stop at the KFC shop on the way to Rotorua or a cup of tea on the way back so it was nice to actually stop and check it out properly.
Its an amazing little town. We arrived early around 10am and went for a walk through the town, stopping for a cuppa in an Italian coffee shop as you do in Matamata!
Getting to the end of the main strip, there was this amazing I site, all done up as one of the Lord of the Ring buildings, complete with a thatched roof. Now that we’ve been in and got all the brochures, we both decided that we would save the tour to the Film set for another time.
Click on the images to enlarge

Madam in front of the Isite
Madam in front of the Isite

Madam looking happy about some retail therapy
Main street of Matamata
The I site.. easy to see we are in Lord of the Rings territory

After getting some food for tea from various shops, we decided to head for the Firth Tower Museum, where we would probably stay the night.. More on that tomorrow.