Fiona had left Bland Bay and was heading back to town to do other things .. and work so she suggested that I spend another night out on the way back. We stopped in Waipu and had lunch and then Fiona went on to Auckland.
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The cricket pitch with the campground behind
I rang the good folk at one of my favorite spots when the weathers good, Whangateau by Matakana. A great campground run by Auckland City.
In the Grandstand
Today was a bit different as when I arrived, the tide was out and there was a friendly game of cricket with two families involved. One was from Whangaparoa and the other from the UK visiting. They were having a ball. I had to get some piccies.
Looking out to Omaha
Kids enjoying the pontoon
The Estaury
It is a fascinating place to watch as the tide comes in really quickly covering hundreds of metres of exposed mud in just under an hour… Amazing to watch.
The water is coming in
A nice campground if you’re looking for somewhere not to far from Auckland. See my earlier Whangateau post here.
Fiona’s cousin Iain has been coming here for years, every holiday break and he calls it his “Happy Place” and I heard somone else call it this too… and its all true 🙂
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A Happy Place
Kaiteriteri is just a magic place in the world and with an off season deal for NZMCA members at $98 a week, it truly is happy time sitting there amongst other nice NZMCA’rs looking at the beach literally in front of your front bumper!
Long termers in the middle rows
We’d just stopped and parked in front of the reception and I was walking in to check in when I met Selwyn and Lynda. This was before I’d even checked in ! They were off on a walk over to Little Kaiteriteri via a lookout on a track through the bush. They showed me how to get there so we could do it to. What a welcome !
Close to the water
The receptionist was amazing too. She insisted that if we weren’t happy with the site, I could shift which we did later.
Huge
Its a huge campground with muliple ammenties blocks. In winter, they cut costs by closing all but one block. There are more than 400 powered sites and several cottages. They even have their own small supermarket and nearby are several bars and restaurants to suit all tastes . A very well setup campground.
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Plenty of space
Looking down the back
Little Kaiteriteri from up by the lookout
In the bay
Flash beachside apartments upstairs. Supermarket downstairs with hot bread!
Some of the cabins
After checking in on a brilliantly fine day, we went for a walk up to the lookout at one end of the beach and Fiona carried on to Little Kaiteriteri for more exercise. That afternoon, we sat around the beach and checked out the camp.
Fiona at the lookout
Later in the day, we met up again with Selwyn and Lynda who were only parked two away from us so we commandeered an empty barbeque table and enjoyed an hour of laughs and something cold with them. They hadn’t come that far as they lived in Motueka or “Mot” as its known locally. This to me gives you some idea of how good they think it is at Kaiteriteri when they could be anywhere.
Looking down from the lookout
The next day, we took off in Rafe over to the next bay around Marahau. It is a really bendy, twisty road and we averaged probably 30 k all the way there. Interesting though to see and it is another lovely bay. From here you can go right up into the Abel Tasman Park. We headed back on another easier road and stopped for a cup of tea at the charming coffee shop in Riwaka.
The last time we stayed at Wenderholm, we stayed in the public carpark by the beach. Although we had a great night and its a great spot, compared to other Auckland CSC parks where Motorhomers were safely fenced off, this was somewhat of a disappointment.
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After discussing this with our veteran Auckland parks motorhoming friends, Rob and Helen, they told us that the Schischka park was THE place to go so here we were and it was fabulous.
There is a big electric gate with a digital keypad and after a 500 metre driveway it opens up to a massive grassed parking area by the water with brand new flush toilets in the middle. There are also some baches where you can stay if you don’t have your own accommodation.
Schiska house where you can stay
Schiska House from the CSC parking
The new loos
Rafe parked with the Estuary
The Puhoi Estuary
The Walk to the beach
Couldrey House
The Beach
We could only spend one night here but it is stunning. We went for a walk down a waterfront track to the beach and checked out the old Historic Couldrey House. There are new toilets there too. There are walks all over the hill there too so plenty to do and see.
The camp from the Estaury
A great place to stay and so handy to the big smoke of Auckland too.
One of Rafe’s tracking maps below.
Just in time for the Silly Season .. Here’s the first of some preloved posts of nice places to go this summer! .. Enjoy
With no jobs in the book and with the sun shining, it was time to hit the road. I had just paid for a years Auckland City Parks pass so I thought I’d try Tauwharanui at the end of the Takatu peninsula, north of Kawau Island.
Check these in Hi Res by clicking on them!!
Stunning!
We stayed here more than a year or so go with friends, Gary, Chris and Rob, Helen and Chloe. We only had the one night here so exploring the area wasn’t really on the agenda that particular trip but it’s just a magic place.
At Dusk .. Little Barrier
When I first arrived, I think there was only 1 other person here and I bumped into him on the beach. He’d parked down in the tents only area but I assumed he knew 😀
The next day, I set out with the camera to have a nosy around. The beach is beautiful with Little Barrier just off it and Great Barrier further out. Compared to Auckland, you could almost reach out and touch them.
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New Dunes
Rafe tucked in
The Camping area for tent people
The water is stunning with a clean deep blue merging into Turquoise, just like the tropics with beautiful white sand. As you walk further, the beach merges with two more, all part of Anchor Bay.. Just beautiful. I spent a couple of hours just sitting on a rock under a tree just admiring the colours.. sensational.
Beach from Heaven
After getting some nice piccies, I wandered back to the track to find that I’d forgotten which of the many tracks took me back to Rafe. I ended up walking about 3ks just to find my way back 😎 I can hear Fiona saying something like good exercise !
The long road back after the “wrong turn”
At nearly 600 hectares of Regional park, it’s a huge place and there are plenty of interesting walks to go on. There are information boards to guide the way with brochures available. No Dogs as its a pest proof and kiwi zone.
Just behind the sand dunes
A fabulous place and not too far from the big smoke at Auckland.
I can see myself spending lots of time here. 😎
And a screen grab from Rafe’s new tracker system to show its location.
And how we got here, from Rafe’s Tracker system
The Netspeed speed test here..given how isolated it is, this a great result.
Test Date: 3/11/2016 11:49 AM
Download: 15.38 Mbps
Upload: 2.76 Mbps
Ping: 46 ms
You’ve got black sand between your toes and at the Kopua Raglan Motorcamp right on the beach, there is plenty of that.
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The Black Sand
We’ve stayed here a few times now and one of the things that I really noticed this time is the recently done up showers and toilets. The pressure in the showers is so good, you almost don’t need soap.. let the water do its thing.. amazing.
Chess anyone?
When you check in, you get a swipe card which you use for both the automatic gates and the facilities. A good system and it worked well. There is a $10 bond which you get back as you leave after returning the card.
Lots of stripes
The camp is on a peninsula of sand basically so it there were no worries with the awful forecast of heavy rain. We knew we’d be fine on the well drained sand. It is almost completely surrounded by water but there is a well lit footbridge connecting it to the town with an easy walk in to the cafes and shops.
The Bridge to Raglan
There are more than 200 powered sites with quite a few permanent caravans and they also have Cabins that can be rented too.
The Fish and Chip shop on the edge of the camp and apparently they’re pretty good.
I heard someone comment that they thought it was a bit expensive but at $86 for two nights for two nights with power and all the new facilities with the NZMCA discount, I thought that was very reasonable.
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The amazing showers
After we arrived
One of the cafes in town
We spent a couple of really nice nights there. Yes it rained and it blew but nothing like the forecast said. Over the two days there with friends, Dianne and Gary from Taupo and Jonas and Irene from Auckland, we had several walks into town for a look around the shops and an great meal at one of their restaurants.
The Beach
Very easy accomodation, friendly people, great facilities and a really interesting town.
Rafe, The Niesmann and Jonas’s Trend
Before you ask, No Dogs but there is some free Wifi!
The Netspeed Speedtest
Download: 31.34mbs
Upload: 26.30mbs
Ping: 56ms
There is a cassette only dump station which is connected to a Septic tank which I’ve never used but plenty do and there is potable water too. I waited until I went back through Whitianga and used that Dump Station.
How good is this!
I rocked up to the “Office” door and Margaret popped her head around the door with the usual smiley face she has. A really nice lady and its amazing that she pretty much runs this now on her own now.
well drained sandy grass
All the proceeds from Camping are sent to the Charity of the moment. Last time we were here it was St Johns in Whitianga.
I met Dave and Helen who were in their Caravan from Whangamata who were with their friends who were next to us. Dave is a Self Containment officer so it was really interesting talking to him about Motorhome and Caravan things.
There was also a really nice guy from Nelson staying there called Bim who is travelling around the North Island with his friend in his Motorhome with a boat. With the wind blowing Dogs off Chains that day, neither Dave or Bim were keen to battle the elements out in the bay in their boats.
Whitianga around the headland in the distance
I went for a couple of walks along the beach and got some updated images.. Its a sensational place to stay and its a place you never get sick of.
With a river flowing around it and easy to walk through bush, this really is a lovely spot to stay.
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The River
I dropped in out of the blue and with my NZMCA card was charged $10 with power which I thought was amazing. This included some Wifi, access to Toilets, Showers and a well set up Kitchen.
Plenty of space
After settling down with Rafe, opening some vents and plugging in, I set off to have a look around.
Nice Bush
I was blown away by the beauty of the bush and the river. There are quite few permanent Caravans attached to buildings set up as Baches but not many of them were occupied.
Perfect spot
Although I could get some wifi via my Netspeed connection, it was a bit ropey and the cell phone service was erratic too. Even text messages were tough going but it is all about enjoying talking to each other and enjoying the scenery.
Great river
Only 3k’s from the Coroglen pub on a nicely formed gravel road, it is easy to get to.
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Kitchen
Neat Oven in the Kitchen
Great social area
One of the Bach’s
I spent a very pleasant couple of hours chatting to a couple of 20 something year old Danish Soldiers who had recently been in Afghanistan which was really interesting as my youngest son was there in NZ’s first rotation when he was 17 about 2001. They’re both travelling around NZ together in a small van.
A really nice spot, nice hosts and really good value.
Easy walks around to the beach and you can walk the other way for miles too.
Splash
We had escaped for the weekend to give our agent Lance a good crack at the first weekend of open homes without us or Rafe in the way and we weren’t quite ready to go home so it was Mangawhai.
Enjoying the water
I was here only a month or two before so knew that with the NZMCA mid winter rates and it being right next to the water, it was pretty good without travelling too far.
We’d been to the markets, had a coffee and a look at Bennetts chocolate factory and ready just to plug in and go for a walk along the foreshore.
Its a lovely area and as I think I said in my last post from here, it would be a good place to retire to being close to the families in the big smoke.. only 90 minutes or so away.
They’ve had a lot of rain up here so the Sandspit Holiday Park crew suggested that we stick to one back from the water just to make sure we don’t sink!
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Nice parking
My old boating friend Alan and I were in need of some time out of the house so we decided a few days before to check out the Sandspit Holiday Park and do a trip to Kawau on the ferry. Sounded like a plan thought I so off we went early on the Friday afternoon. It is only 42k’s from Auckland and with little traffic, we were there at 3.30pm.
Its a lovely little park with a lot of permanent Baches and Caravans but what a neat spot.
With an NZMCA discount, it was $23 each a night. With their very new Showers and Kitchens, its a delight to stay at. There are a whole bunch of older interesting buildings there too and Horace the Morris is a feature as well.
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Snakes and Ladders anyone
Horace the Morris
One of the Quirky wee cottages you can stay in
Out of the way
kayaks available too
Rafe by the water
We stayed two nights with a ferry trip to Kawau in between. Lucky with the weather, after getting back from Kawau, we walked along to the newly setup restaurant on the top floor of the Sandspit Yacht Club and caught up with Motorhome friends Rob and Helen who live not far away from there.
The ferry a few minutes walk away.
The last time we were here, unbeknown to me, they had some issues with the drainage system for the bathrooms which used to be a real problem apparently in the height of summer.
The new Drainage system
This has all been upgraded and put up the hill out of the way and hasn’t been an issue since. Nice friendly hosts who were happy to help with anything. ..
A shot from the ferry. You can see Rafe in the middle.
A great spot and handy to the Kawau ferry and the new Marina at Sandspit.
The Netspeed Speedtest for here.
Download: 7.34 Mbps
Upload: 2.10 Mbps
Ping: 23 ms
I think the tower was playing up a bit as we had some difficulty with the connection over the two nights.
While we’re selling our house and we’re stuck indoors, I thought I’d rerun some of the better posts from our 2015 trip to the South Island with friends Gary and Chris. It was our first trip south with Rafe which was then very new.
Enjoy
Kaiteriteri waterfront
It’s easy to see why Kaiteriteri Motorcamp was voted one of the top tourist spots in the country.
Kaiteriteri beachKaiteriteri beach
After driving through Nelson from Pelorus Bridge, we stopped at Richmond for lunch as Madam had booked into a hair salon there for a haircut. I had one too while we were there. After lunch we met up again with Gary and Chris at Rabbit Island where they had spent most of the day. It was getting late in the day so we decided to make our way to the amazing Kaiteriteri beach camp.
Kaiteriteri waterfrontOur friend Gary enjoying the view
Right on the beachfront, you can see why it would be popular. There is a restaurant, potable water everywhere you look and it’s nice water too, and a dump station. There are several large amenities blocks including reasonably priced laundries.
Kaiteriteri motor campNearly empty park
In summer, they have up to 1600 campers/caravanners/Motorhomes. It must be mayhem but apparently iris not. The size of a small town! I’ve only seen a handful of people here so we were pretty lucky to have the place pretty much to ourselves.
In between showers we set up a barbecue lunch under the two awnings.
Tomorrow we head to Takaka over the famous Takaka hill road, to head towards Farewell spit.
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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