On our way north by the Hukerenui Pub is the Jack Morgan Museum. I was interested in this as my old Whalechaser Rorqual was built by a Jack Morgan in Picton and although I was certain there was no connection given the distance, one never knows 🙂
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The Museum
It turns out that the Hukerenui Jack Morgan was a real character and was a local identity an on retirement started his collection which now makes up the contents of the Museum. Some of the locals have done a great job of the gardens next door too.
The Museum
Parking
The Garen with the Pub behind
Nice outdoor seating
His parents owned the pub next door which is where he was born.
The Parking, plenty of room
A really interesting place and if you visit the Museum, you can stay for free on the grass behind. It is $6 a night otherwise. There are toilets there too.
A great place to spoil yourself as well as rest your legs and get something sweet. It is also very easy to park Motorhomes in the car park as long as you pick one of the end parks on each row. There is also bus parking around the back for caravans and longer vehicles.
Tasty Treats
Easy parking
We visited a Chocolate factory on the outskirts of Blenheim, last year and that was their South Is store.
Easy parking, lots of nice sweet things and great Coffee.
The NZMCA parks are amazing value. Where else can you stay for $3 each overnight and have that nice warm fuzzy safe feeling of not waking up with a mattress van or worse a few inches from your pride and joy.
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The Entrance
We checked out the Rainbow Falls park recently and after some pretty heavy rain too. After seeing some comments about how slushy it was, its nice to see enough gravel has gone down to provide parking for 6 or so big Motorhomes or Caravans. I gather this is slowly going to spread as the grass grows. Great idea.
The local crew have done a fantastic job of the gardens around the Lighthouse too.
Great Gardens too
There were only two caravans there when we arrived and with a fine day forecast for the next day, we made plans to walk down the river right next door with the amazing Rainbow Falls, down to the historic Stone Store. The idea was to have lunch down there and walk back.
Interesting too that the Falls were used to generate one of NZ’s power as one of the first power stations.
We hopped over the fence and got about fifty yards to find the track had been closed off due to “upgrading” so took the car out for a look around instead. I wandered around the top and got some piccies of the falls which was about as far as you could go.
We have been here before in the middle of Summer and it truly is a magic spot. Fiona did the walk last time and I met her down there.
Outside the Stone Store at Kerikeri last time we were here.
Its a lovely spot now and will be popular in Summer and once the Gravel program is finished, it’ll be a great all year round spot to stay.
Well done to those involved.
The Netspeed Speed test from this site.
(Pre Aerial upgrade)
We were on our way back to Auckland from Kerikeri when we found out our old friends Gary and Chris were at Uretiti Doc park for a few nights. We thought we’d surprise them.
As we arrived right on the dot for “elbow exercise time” (with a glass in hand) at 5pm. We started on some wine while Fiona made us all a nice chicken tea.
We weren’t far into the conversation when Gary filled me in on the new Netspeed Router firmware upgrade and what a difference it had made for him.
With all of my speed tests around the country and comparing notes with Gary’s tests, it became very obvious that his speeds were generally 5 mbs a second or so faster than mine. I put that down to the fact that the sides of his van are fibreglass and the sides of mine are composite with an outside shell of aluminium. I’d assumed from that despite us having external aerials, that the router in automatic mode with aerials, was favouring the internal aerials which gave Gary a better signal. Well. .. No more 🙂
The good folk at Netspeed have released a router firmware upgrade which gives you the option to tell the router to only use the external aerials. The firmware upgrade is free but you will have to install it yourself or get someone slightly techy to do it for you. Netspeed will also do it over the phone with you too. It only takes five minutes and is not complicated and well worth doing. The big thing with this upgrade is not to be rushed and let the upgrade finish before fiddling with anything.
Wait for that magic moment when you get the box pop up that says “Success!”
Back to our elbow exercise.. While chatting away, Gary brought out his laptop which had the upgrade file on it for my router and in a few minutes had it installed on my router. Â In Uretiti, I immediately went from 2 bars of 4g to three and that added about 15 Mbps odd to my download speed as I was able to get my roof aerials really pumping rather than let the router do as it pleased with my useless internal aerials… Useless inside a metal cage anyway.
What a wonderful sight
Thanks heaps Gary.. We had a great night. Nice to see you both again too.
The Netspeed speed test at Uretiti earlier
Download: 24.42 Mbps
Upload: 2.45 Mbps
Ping: 49 ms
After with the external aerials pumping!
Download: 46.62 Mbps
Upload: 3.39 Mbps
Ping: 35 ms
Connection Type: Wi-Fi
The upload speed is still awful but it is an iffy spot but it’s well worth doing the upgrade !!
How to do the upgrade.. Call Netspeed for the link for the download then download the right file for your router.
Log into your router as administrator.. For security reasons, I’m not going to tell you how to do this here but look at your router instructions.
Follow the instructions in the following screens.
The login screen on your router once you’ve logged in. Open browser.. Type in 192.168.1.1 Â to get here.This is in Update. Click on Local update to upload your file and WAIT until it finishes!Once it has finished, you can go to this screen in Settings and set your aerials up. I’ve got mine on External only
Have fun and enjoy the extra speed. Call the fine team at Netspeed if you get stuck or need help.
We were on our way back to Auckland and were looking for somewhere to stop for lunch on the way. Rob, Helen and Chloe were about 5 minutes behind us as we came down from the Brynderwyn Hills so the pressure was on.. finding somewhere!
Just before we came into Kaiwaka, Fiona spotted a nice little rest area off to the right. It was after the Motel complex but before the bridge into Kaiwaka. We were too far past it to turn so we went into Kaiwaka to turn around and went back to it.
Just as we were turning into it, we spotted the Tracker coming down the hill ahead of us so they knew where we were.
The Tracker and Rafe
We settled down in a dry hard area and got ready for lunch.
There is a picnic table there and its all beside what looks like a tributary river to the Kaipara Harbour.
The river to the Kaipara
A nice wee spot and in a handy position. There is a bit of a hump at the entrance so for those with a big overhang, a diagonal crossing is wise. If you’re travelling north, Just after the bridge on the left before you get to the Motel complex.
Some weeks ago, our friend Helen had organised our tickets for the Arts and Tartan show at Waipu and we were really looking forward to it. Waipu is a neat wee town and we’ve parked in the Caledonian park before and its a great spot and great value.
Motorhome friends, Helen, Rob and daughter Chloe had got away early and called us to say that they had just arrived in Waipu as I was just picking up Fiona from work in Takapuna at 6pm.
The parking was going to be a bit of a battle as the grounds where we would normally park under the trees was sodden and we were going to have to stay in the carpark with 1000’s of others. I get very nervous when peeps park too close to Rafe as they do when parking is tight but its such a nice spot, it was worth a shot.
The pictures below were taken in earlier in the year in summer so you can see how nice it is.
Click on the images to see them in Hi Res
A great park and at $10 including power is just fantastic and they’re great people too. The carpark is behind the white railing in the distance.At the Caledonian Reserve in the carpark… another wet day earlier in the year.
We were underway. Fiona had bought some salads to have for tea so we stopped at the BP station off the motorway by Silverdale to eat them. It was pouring down and was forecast to pour pretty much all the way.
We arrived in Waipu around 8:30pm and the carpark was chocker so we parked around by the RSA and watched some TV until the carpark emptied out at 10pm which was easy, even though it was still pouring with rain.
A Juggler twurling some flames. The parking can be seen behind him. You can see how wet it was.
On the Saturday, the sun was shining so I parked Rafe a little more tidily and we replugged in to the power and went for a walk with Rob, Helen and Chloe to check out the Waipu shops.
What we didn’t know at that stage was there was a Rugby Club do as well so the carpark was more under pressure than ever.
As it got closer to the 2pm session which we were going to, more and more cars piled in. There were cars everywhere. All down both sides of the main street and some streets away.
The usherettes ready to go
Off we went to the show at the Celtic Barn which was right next door and it was a fantastic show. Great lighting, amazing sound and an all round slick performance by all.
I wasn’t allowed to take pictures but the local Photographer charged with getting piccies, Peter Grant, has very kindly sent me some images to share some of what it was all about. Thanks again Peter.
To see a slideshow of Peter’s images, click on an image below.
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
Done mostly by locals and local talent, it was stunning and I recommend anyone who is thinking about seeing it to do so next year. Its really worth seeing and is a lot of fun.
After the show we had tea with Rob, Helen and Chloe in the Tracker which was fun and later in the evening, the Rugby club returned. Well .. it was looking like it was going to be a wild night in the carpark so at about 10:30, we made a decision to leave and head for a park just around the corner by the river which was fine.
Returning the next day and seeing the beer bottles strewn around, it looks as though we did the right thing. It was a mess. By all accounts they had some fun.
Its a great park but when its wet, you can’t get across to park under the trees due to mud. The carpark with two events like that is really just too dodgy for expensive motorhomes with their sides exposed. Maybe we were a bit optimistic parking there given the pressure on the carpark.
Despite all this, a lot of fun.
And the last word to those magnificent men in their flying machines. Pic by Peter Grant
We came and we saw the  Wearable Arts and they were absolutely fantastic. Don’t miss it,  but from our experience, if its wet, park your motorhomes around the corner 🙂
While we had the car at Otamuri Bay, we thought it would be rude to not use it for a look around the area.Â
Fiona walking on the Whananaki Bridge
We headed back over the hill to Whananake North so we could answer texts and emails and the set off on foot to check out the Whananaki foot bridge which connects the southern shore of the estuary to the northern shore.Â
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Fiona on the Whananaki Bridge with the school on the other side.
I had to stoop to hold the hand rail where I felt the need and it takes about 20 odd minutes to cross it. It would be fun for the school kids in a blow to get to Whananake North School!Â
The Whananaki Bridge
Moureeses Bay
Moureseeses Bay
An interesting crossing so after that we headed back to Otamuri bay and beyond. The seal stopped on the road just past the Doc camp and a rather twisty, windy road takes you straight up and straight down again to a bunch of surf beaches.
Surfing at Moureeses Bay
We stopped at Moureeses Bay where some surfies were having fun. Another stunning Northland Beach which you would never know was there.
Fiona arrived at Waipu just after 11 from Auckland so we set off for Whananaki . We’d never been there before and were looking forward to it. Fiona followed in the Qashqai and after a quick stop at the dump station in Whangarei, we were off. The turnoff is just after Hikirangi and from there it 20 odd k’s of a really windy road in parts.Â
Coming in to Whanakake
As we came into Whananaki, it was a sight to behold. What a lovely place. It is largely populated with amazing little baches but there is a Camping Ground there. We were heading to the DOC park in Otamuri bay over the hill.
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Otamuri. The camp is behind the treesOtamuri .. off peak !
It’s a huge park right on the beach with all the usual DOC non smelly long drop loos but not much else but a beautiful spot. After all the rain we have had, the sun was out and for the middle of June, it was quite hot and very pleasant.Â
I went for a drive back over the hill in the car to get some piccies of Whananaki and a walk on the beach for a look around.Â
Whananake from the top of the hill
Whananaki Baches
Whananaki Baches
Whananaki Baches
The beach at Otamuri
Otamuri Bay
Otamuri bay
We sat out in the sun with a cold one, with some cheese and crackers and after tea in the Mitzi, retired to Rafe to watch some rugby.
Us enjoying the sunset at Otamuri – Cell ph pic
No cellular coverage so no internet. We got to talk to each other 😃 But a fantastic spot to stay.
I headed to Uretiti Doc camp armed with my NZMCA Doc pass which is in its last month, to meet up with Gary and Chris who had been there for a few nights strategically hiding behind a big bush from the north easterlies. There was almost enough room for Rafe too but the winds were dying off and it was really about the rain now.Â
Gary with the Mitzi and Rafe
Stuck inside due to the rain, we spent the afternoon watching an amazing Tv series done by the Norwegians set in the Second World War about the Heavy Water factory on Netflix. It was so good that we had to keep watching it and ended up watching the whole series!
The Netspeed speed test at Uretiti Download: 24.42 Mbps
Upload: 2.45 Mbps
Ping: 49 ms
Connection Type: Wi-Fi
Server: Wanaka
There were a few good puffs overnight but it generally settled down and by the morning it was just a drizzly, dreary light rain.Â
Click on the images to see Hi Res
Uretiti Beach .. Chris on the beach, which way?
In a moment of madness, we decided to go for a walk on the beach but got as far as the sand and decided it was indeed a silly idea so headed back to dry off.
Chris escaping back to the Vans to get out of the rain.
It was nice to catch up with Gary and Chris. They had a few things to do in their new hometown of Ruakaka where their house is rented out and then we were going to catch up again in Waipu where I headed and parked at the Caledonian park.
Due to the rain, I thought the grass was quite soft so I parked on the gravel.Â
Later in the day, we walked into town and enjoyed a great meal at the Indian restaurant. Chris reckoned it was one of the best meals she’d had! Fiona and I have been there a few times and it has always been good.Â
Waipu main street – cell ph pic
As we returned to the park, we met James from Castor Bay who had just squeezed his 11m bus through the main gate and parked on the grass. I was impressed. 1 because he’d parked on the grass with 8 tons and 2, he’d squeezed through the gate in a big bus in the dark! Well done that man🤓. Two other smaller vans parked there too and nobody had any problems.Â
The main entrance from the road was all chopped up and muddy so getting to the parking was the real problem but we were happy on the gravel just for a night and it was nice to have some power too.Â
With nothing happening in my diary for a few days, Fiona suggested I head north and catch up with our old Boating, and now Motorhome friends, Chris and Gary Parkes.
Fiona will join us with the car at the end of the week.
They’ve cashed up and are now full timing in their Mitzi Fuso, Ci Munro truck for the next wee while and seem to be really enjoying it.
The remains of the weather that hit Sydney’s beaches was, due to hit Northland so I thought I’d try a campground away from the gale north easterlies hitting our coast.
I arrived in Paparoa, on the road to Dargaville mid afternoon and checked in to the Paparoa Holiday Park.
Remember to click on the images for hi res or slideshow
The view of the camp from the entrance.
This park was built from a paddock by the current owners and is all gravel with lots of small trees and cabins which offer good protection from the wind and rain. On my own, it cost $15 which is extremely good value with power.
Kitchen
Rafe in the corner
Small cabins
General Store
The river with the shops in the background
Part of the redeveloped Landing
The area redeveloped and now called the Landing. The National Bank building in the middle.
I got the bike of the back and went for a toodle into the Paparoa village for a look around. The Pub is just around the corner and the village is loaded with history. There is a river which comes up from the Kaipara which was used to get supplies up for the locals and dragged up a bank by wires from the boats. The old National Bank building is built into the shape of the corner which is interesting too.
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.
Its well worth a look through with all sorts of knick nacks from years gone by and there is a café next door in the pub to finish off with a cup of tea.
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