Many of you will have seen Nelson and Marees Trailite with Caniwi across its forehead along with the NZMCA wings. Nelson is originally from Canada hence the Cankiwi name!
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Nice big lounge area
They’ve had their van for 3 years now. Amazing as it seems like yesterday when they got it!
The van is a 2015 Trailite Karapiro powered by a 3 litre Turbo diesel on a VW base. They’ve done 32000 k’s over the last 3 years and spent a lot of it in the South Island and it still looks brand new!
Galley
Their favorite spots were the Tekapo NZMCA park and Pinders Pond in Roxburgh..both our favorites too.
The Bedroom
It was nice to catch up with them at the Waihi Beach NZMCA park opening.
Dave and Anne were away for their first adventure in their new Jayco Eagle pop up Caravan and were my neighbours at Whangateau.
Jayco Eagle
Having a quick look through, its amazing how much room there is inside them and what you can fit in. They slept in one end and had their luggage at the other end with plenty of room for living space in between.
Dining area
I’ve always wondered how cold you would be in these in a really cold night but in the morning they both said they were as warm as toast so the inuslation in them must really work.
Galley
Apparently it tows beautifully and although it took him about an hour to put together for the first time today, it generally should only take 15-20 minutes once you’ve done it a few times and you get more familiar with it.
Master Bed area
From Kaiwaka, they were staying here in the lovely Whangateau Holiday Park for three or four days to try everything out with their friends.
Dave was telling me that they bought it from a retired School Principal three months ago, who is clever with his hands, and along with lots of other little modifications he added a stay and pulley system so that the Pop Up Top wouldn’t sway around in the wind.. a great add on.
The Stays to stop it wobbling in the wind
Having had a Motorhome before, they were happy to return to the more basic camping setup and were having fun.
Visitors Berth
Although they said it wasn’t an issue, I still wondered about the 2C overnight 🙂
6 years or so ago, Cantabrians Liz and Gordon upsized their Trailite to this beautiful 1999 Mitzibishi Fuso bus. 12 months or so ago, they rented their house in Christchurch out and now it is their home away from home.
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Liz and Gordon with their dog
It was originally a bus for the disabled in Japan with only 4 seats at the back so hadn’t had a huge mileage. With a 12 litre rear engine and running on a 15 ton ticket, it is defintely one of the nicer buses I’ve seen.
Oodles of living space
They left Christchurch late last year and after doing the South Island, are now getting around the North.
Galley
I caught up with them at the brand new NZMCA park in Dargaville in between showers for a cuppa and it was nice meeting them.
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The Dogs spot
The Helm station
The Hand basin
A great couple out enjoying the country in their palace on wheels.
When you’re self employed and the busy time is the weekend, its hard to get away and clear the head.
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Rick and Suzanne with their Caravan
Cafe owners, Rick and Suzanne from Greenhithe, were my neighbours at Mangawhai and they were having a quiet few midweek days away in their Elddis Caravan before having to head back and get back into it again.
Galley and Living space
They’ve had their 5.4 metre Avante for nearly 3 years and although they’ve been mostly doing short trips to escape their work, they have been up as far as Cape Reinga.
Galley area
The Elddis is one of the better English caravans and is really nicely kitted out. This one has the dinette and one end, with Kitchen amidships and a french bed on the right with the bathroom across the back. It is a popular layout and when you see it you can see why. There is still plenty of room to move about in.
French bed
One of the accessories that they were really happy with was the awning for over their door which looks great for a windy or showery day.
When I first arrived, they arrived soon after and promptly set up a table for lunch with a very celubrious lunch with wine. It looked fabulous. They certainly know how its done. 🙂
Living area
One of the other interesting things with the Elddis Caravans is that they are now part of the massive Hymer Group.
Its always a pleasure seeing an older Motorhome getting a new life from a bit of and overhaul or some good old fashioned TLC.
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Looking Good
Alan and Keitha fom Matamata have had their 1990 Mazda Triton for about 15 years and about 5 years ago decided it was time for a makeover. The 9 month do up was mostly about the exterior but lots was done of the inside too.
Alan with his album of “Before” pictures
I really liked the hidden Waeco fridge in the double drawer. Nice touch.
The Waeco fridge hidden away in a drawer
The exterior was completely reclad and repainted with Aluminium panels with Insulation on the inside.
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Galley area
The social end.. now a bed
Bruce and Keitha with their Home away from Home
Alan proudly showed me a small photo ablum of how it was and when you look at where it is today, a different beast.
A lovely truck and a great do up.. well done to you both.
Meeting Peter, Wendy, Grant, Sharron, Mike and Pam in Northland and checking out their American buses was a lot of fun. They’re a great bunch and have been travelling together for a few years. Three of them even knew each other from back in their school days !
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L to R, Peter and Wendy, Pam and Mike, Grant and Sharron with their Motorhomes.
The Holiday Ramblers are on a Ford chassis with 6.8 litre V10 petrol engines with 6 speed auto gearboxes and honestly, when you stand next to them outside, you can barely hear them running. They’re so quiet.
Peter and Wendy’s Rambler
They’re 10 metres long with centre island beds on a 9 ton ticket. They all have slide outs which makes them huge inside. The décor is very similar with the only difference being that Mike’s has a bigger single slideout on one side.
Home on the Range!
As they pulled up beside Rafe, there was a whir of engines with the Hydraulic rams levelling them up, the slideouts coming out and the awnings rolling out. All of them at the same time ! This is Motorhoming the easy way 🙂
With the two slideouts. Peter and Grant’s Motorhomes are like this.You could play a game of footy here! Mike and Pam’s Rambler
They were imported as a bunch of 12 by a Tauranga importer who had them specially designed for NZ road conditions (width) and wired to conform with the NZ electrical standards, several years ago.
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Dining area with of the the twin slideouts.
Lots of Living space on Mike and Pam’s Rambler.
The large single slide out on Mike and Pam’s Rambler
The Dining area on Mike and Pams vehicle.
The Galley
The Helm station
With the large single slideout.
L to R, Peter and Wendy, Pam and Mike, Grant and Sharron with their Motorhomes.
Peter, Wendy, Grant, Sharron, Mike and Pam are either on the phone most nights planning their adventures together with their amazing Motorhomes or on the road.
We first me Murray and Faye at Weedons several years ago when they visited us in Rafe for a few cold ones late one day and we bumped into them again a year or so later as they arrived at Pauanui and we were leaving so it was really nice to catch up with them again.
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Murray and Faye
They are now custodians of the Weedons NZMCA park just out of Christchurch and are really pleased with their new baby, “California”.
It is a 1994 Fleetwood Pace Arrow with a 300HP Cummins Turbo 6 cylinder diesel engine which they got last September. It is 11m long.
Dining area / Galley
I asked him how many litres of Fresh, Grey and Black water they could hold and the numbers had many zeros on them so the simple explanation is they can go for 10 days with big showers each 🙂
Thats impressive !
The BedroomThe Lounge
Its a lovely bus which they’re slowly adding their own touches to.
The Galley
Murrays parting comment was that he can’t get over how easy and comfortable it is to drive. “Its just like a car!”
Where we were staying at Peski’s just out of Geraldine, was an easy 4k’s ride in to the town.
Geraldine has a fabulous Car, Truck and Tractor Museum along with washing machines, old cinema projectors and anything of note. Its an amazing place.
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We set off on our bikes to ride to the museum and spent an hour or so having a good look around.
Fiona with her great auntie Jeannie’s Morris
Fiona’s great aunty Jeannie’s old 1948 Morris is in the museum so we were keen to check it out as Fiona had travelled in it often as a small girl. Legend has it that Jeannie drained the radiator water every night and refilled it with hot water in the morning saying “it started so much better. Anyway, Anti Freeze will rot the engine”! And there it is tucked in the corner.
We moved on to two other buildings where we found an old Gypsy styled Motorhome built on a 1926 International chassis by John Britten when he was in his early 20’s.
John’s Motorhome
Between 1972 to 1975, John purchased the old 1926 International Truck Chassis and set to turning it into a Motorhome for his travels around the South Island.
The Tiller
Everything is hand made. All the woodwork and engineering including the Califont for heating the water was all made by John.
The interior of Johns truck
On the sides, there are two hinged wooden doors as windows. There is even some stained glass on the back. It really is stunning given he ws so young and I guess it is no surprise that he went on to do great things with motorbikes and come up with the Britten race bike.
From the back. A nice stained glass window on the back. Note the opening wooden windows.
A great find and there is a lot more to see here. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
We met Simon and Kath at the happy hour shed at Vals POP just outside Clyde. They’ve been there off and on since November last year while they work to finish off the bus before their travels start this summer. They originally came from Invercargill so know the area well.
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Simon and Kath
They bought the bus last October from a couple of chaps in Clyde and it sounds like they bought well. Its a 1998 Hino Blue Ribbon A Class probably coverted to a Motorhome in the 90’s in Christchurch. It is powered by a Volvo V8 diesel which is in great shape.
The living space
Simon had a background in Classic Cars and is very capable with a crescent spanner and a scewdriver and has lots of good plans, which include new wheel rims and finishing off the paintwork.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
Galley
Galley looking forward
Bedroom
Outside
The battery bank is all housed tidily in one locker on the side and looks impressive. All the hatches down the sides are all well kitted out with everything any Motorhomer could want with sliding drawers and lift up covers. Great Storage.
Galley
The inside furnishings are all leather and he has a couple of TV’s nicely positioned partly in a great drinks cabinet and one in the bedroom.
Some Tui’s next door
They’re really looking forward to getting away over summer in it once they’ve finished the new work. A lovely Motorhome with tons of room.
Early in the morning, Keith and Lyn rocked up in their 5th Wheeler and with minimal fuss, backed it into a nice big park in the Central RV park in Greymouth.
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Lyn and Keith on the back of their Izuzu
I met them later in the day and we enjoyed a cold drink leaning over the tray of their Izuzu 4wd while we told a few tall stories and had a few laughs 😎
Boneidle2
Their 2005 Canadian Okanagan called Bone Idle 2 is just a thing of beauty and altough it needed a lot of tidying up, when they first got it 3.5 years ago, they have done all the work themselves and done it well. Keith was telling me how they had resealed the roof, completely repainted inside, redone the floor and generally tidied it up. They have even replaced some of the wood that was a bit suspect under the bed, above the hitch on the outside with checker plate. That won’t rot!
The galley and Living areaNice and Bright
It looks fantastic and now they’re out and about enjoying the fruits of their labour !
Lots of roomThe sleeping area.
Coming originally from Nelson they’re now well and truly part of the Westport community. Lyn was telling me that one of their favorite spots was at the Anatori river.
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.
The van is a 2015 Trailite Karapiro powered by a 3 litre Turbo diesel on a VW base. They’ve done 32000 k’s over the last 3 years and spent a lot of it in the South Island and it still looks brand new!
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