Having helped park a couple of these Rallies, they are a BIG job for the volunteers who put these together and with this one, Neal and his parking team kept the bar high with their direction and parking skills.
Click on an Image to Enlarge
Chief parker Neal with his 3m stick
This year like last year, the parking costs were covered by Covi organisers along with a free bus service which ran in a cycle every half an hour or so… it worked beautifully. There was also a storage area at the Show where you could securely store any goodies purchased and pick them up on the way back on the bus… a great idea.
Plenty of white Motorhomes
I’m not sure how many people were at the Rally but a general estimate I would say it was at least 500 vehicles on the first day all beautifully parked by Neal and his team from the Waikato group with Counties pitching in too as a joint parking effort.. well done guys.
My little place in the world
The best part for me at these events was catching up with friends I haven’t seen for a while who have come for the show.
A great effort and well done to all those Volunteers.
Rafe’s Tracker map to the show Motorhome parking – Armada GPS
I always look forward to these mainly for the new gadgets which this year, was the Drones which you can take away and use them for fishing.
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Drones that can fish!
The Star of the show for me though was ACM’s Freedom Platinum Elite. The one in the show is customised for wheelchair access but it is HUGE inside. ACM is owned by a Boatbuilder Chris and the Elite just reeks of a quality build everywhere you look.
Click on the Galley below for a look at the Platinum Elite
Looking forward in the Kitchen lounge in the ACM Platinum
Looking back in the ACM Platinum
The Bathroom in the PACM Platinum
The outside of the ACM Platinum
The ACM Platinum
The Vivaldi made by Tabbert was the first one of these I’ve seen new having seen one in Tokoroa at the Scottish Games event. Beautifully appointed and well made and really popular in Europe.
Kitchen Dining area in the Vivaldi
Its really nice to see them arriving here.
Click on the Gallery below for the beautiful VivaldiÂ
Vivaldi Exterior
Looking down the hall to the Bedroom in the Vivaldi
Vivaldi Bedroom
Kitchen Dining area in the Vivaldi
Dining in the Vivaldi
Recently I helped some friends buy a Burstner Lyseo and it was my first opportunity to see one up close if you like.
The Burstner Lyseo
They have an amazing 850kg payload! Some of its competitors in its class, only have half that, and with the Police just getting ready with their in road weigh stations, I’m sure it’ll be a big seller.
Click on the Gallery below to see the Lyseo
The Burstner Lyseo
Lyseo Galley
Looking forward in the Lyseo
Lyseo Bedroom
The Lyseo Lounge area
The Burstner stand
It was great to see some of the travel destinations like Awakeri Rail there and also the Top 10 Holiday park team.
A happy man from the Top 10 organisation.Awakeri Rail Trail
I was there on Friday and it was busy from 10am on and a couple of the dealers I spoke to seemed pretty happy with the way things were going.
Click on the Gallery below for Show Images
No 1 NZMCA
The happy team at the NZMCA stand
RV Super Centre
RV Super centres smaller vans
Niessman and Bichoff
The Autotrail Commanche
Commanche Bedroom
AutoTrail Commance shower
Outside the Autotrail Commanche
Trailite Country
Dethleffs Caravans
Inside a Dethleffs Exclusive Caravan
The Dethleffs Exclusive caravan
Another year another great show.
Plenty of white Motorhomes at Ellerslie Racecourse
The morning started a bit later with I suspect a few sore heads after the NZ-UK Rugby game and there was lots of chatter about the game. To console myself, I kept telling myself that it is only a game after all… not quite that simple but it helped 🙂
Click on an Image for Hi Res
Roger and Diane’s Fifth Wheeler opposite Rafe
I spent the morning reading, listening to some music and generally just blobbed for a few hours. The weather was amazing with a clear blue sky and as the day went on, it got much warmer after a fairly cold start.
Its Knitting time
Today was a real Music Day with a band called Tuned out Larry, Jenny and Band which was a three piece band from Tokerau. A nice sound. After that, there was the usual 4pm Happy Hour. This was the last one for the event so it was well attended 🙂
Time to dance
I went back to Rafe and had tea but was looking forward to the next band. Over in the main Hall was the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. A very slick performance by some very talented people!
The crowd enjoying the Hamilton Bluegrass bandThe two originals, Alan and PaulPam with the fantastic Voice
I’ve heard them several times before and although they’ve now got a different line up, the two original 5th formers from Fairfield High school who started the band, Alan and Paul, are still there and sounding as good as ever. Pauls ex wife Colleen was the original Fiddler and sadly she has moved on but one of their sons is the very talented Bass player and their Daughter in Law is the new Fiddle player. The Mandolin player who is also an instrument repairer and Potter from Coromandel and Pam the singer and Guitar player complete the lineup. Pams voice is something else… a great sound and I was there right to the end 🙂
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
Out in the sun
Tuned out Larry and Jenny
Jenny, Larry and the band
Jenny from Tokerau
Afternoon Happy Hour outside
One of the NZMCA’rs playing along with Paul
Appreciative Crowd
A very successful event run by a very switched on team.
I was up pretty early for me at 7:30! It was cold even though the sun was out for the first time for days.
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People getting ready for the games
Today was to be a big day with the Highland Games and it was fun. There were extra points if you wore some Tartan and many made a real effort with some great costumes.
On the bank
The first event was The Hamilton Pipe Band. There’s something about Bagpipes that just get me going.. I love it! A wonderful sound.
Boom Boom
One of the NZMCA Waikato organiser Neal was dressed up in Tartan, and had a set of bagpipes made of electrical Conduit pipes. He had a recording on his cell phone for the sound effects. A great sight. It was funny to see.
Neal with his Bagpipes
He also managed to momentarily slot himself on the end of the line with the Hamilton Pipers playing. Lots of fun.
Neal “Playing along”Watching the fun
The Games started straight after that. There was Hammer throwing (into a bucket), Caber throwing, Gumboot throwing which was fun to watch. And later there was egg throwing and they weren’t hard boiled either 🙂 Brian Stanley seemed to do pretty well here 🙂
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
The Events Centre
Throwing the hammer
The Gumboot throwing
The Caber
A bigger Caber
Walking to time
The Hamilton Pipe Band
During the performance
Egg Throwing
Raffle winner
Happy Hour
The Forest View High School provided a Sausage Sizzle with Steak Sandwiches and other niceties. They did so well that the queue created meant that the events later had to put back while everyone had a feed.
I’m really pleased for the kids at the school as they really put themselves out to make this happen and with at least 150 odd people out of approximately 600 that attended, their sports trip had every chance of being a well funded one 🙂
Marching off
The Haggis was piped in by the Hamilton Pipe band and later another big Happy Hour in the Events Centre. Lots of people this time and after that, there was a performance by Tim Armstrong and his band. Unfortunately, he was competing against the NZ Rugby world cup semi final.
I was lucky to be able to watch it with Rodger and Diane next door with a nice Pinot to finish off the day. Despite the Rugby result, it was a great day in Paradise with some really nice people.
As always, a well run and executed Rally by the good folk in the Counties team. Just under 400 vehicles were parked by Saturday afternoon and there were still more coming in.
The big picture
This year the Polo was being played in the centre of the track where the rally is usually set up so the parking was set off to the southern side of the stands beside the track. Very handy to the Pop Up Globe which Fiona and I went and saw on the Saturday afternoon.
Big girls under the trees.
Also handy for a walk to Ellerslie shopping centre for those who wanted takeways.
Sea of white (and blue)
Covi put on their magic buses for easy show access and they seemed to go every few minutes throughout the day.
Either side of the track. The latecomers went into the centre.Off to the show. The Ellerslie event centre in the background.
A great event put on by the experienced Counties NZMCA team.. well done guys.
As it was clear early on that the space at the Taradale Club wasn’t going to meet the huge demand for the Phil Collins concert, the local organisers of the NZMCA arranged to lease a paddock opposite the Tarade Club for NZMCA parking.
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Lots of NZMCAr’s
One of the organisers Tony was telling me that at their peak, they had nearly 300 Motohomes and Caravans there and in true NZMCA Rally style, they had everyone parking beautifully.
Organiser Tony
Having the Club over the road with its bar and the air conditioning for the 30 plus degree heat, and the generous meal deals didn’t go unnoticed by the folks over the road either.
Tony also was telling me that their next gig was the Art Deco parking and I’m sure they’ll also be involved in the AGM at Gisborne next month too. .. Busy times !
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
A few gaps the next day
Its great when great minds come together for a great mutual outcome. A very plesant couple of days with friendly easy parking.
Along with a few hundred others, I arrived fashionably early and we were all marshalled into a temporary parking area on the grass.
Click on an image for Hi Res.
The parking!
Kickoff at midday came and the lines formed to get in and once settled, there were old friends catching up everywhere you looked.
One of the many happy setups
The parking was superbly managed and given the huge task of parking hundreds of Motorhomes and Caravans along with Buses with Toads, the end result was just a work of art. Well done to all the volunteers who pitched in. An amazing effort.
Out with the awning
I was only there half an hour and spotted Nelson and Maree in Caniwi so popped in for a chat with them and later caught up with them for a drink after also catching up with John and Sarah Pedersen. It was really nice to catch up with them too. John does a blog called licenced to retire.
The next morning was showtime! .. I’d only just stepped in the door when Chris Nuttall tapped me on the shoulder. Chris runs the NZ Motorhome Forum and it was nice to see him. It has been a wee while!
The Swift Caravans are always a treat and this years new models didn’t disappoint. See below
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
The Swift Caravan
Inside the Swift Caravan
In the Swift looking forward
The Swift.. Nice!
With the bathroom and shower at the back, an east-west bed and then Galley and Lounge at the other end, with the finish and polish you would expect from Swift.
I was really impressed with the new Dethleffs Caravans for Families. One of them has two bunks with a childrens lounge at one end, the bathroom and shower facilities, a french bed and Galley area and then a big adult lounge at the other end. Its a big Caravan but they also have a smaller one without the kids lounge which is also a little cheaper.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
The childrens bunk and lounge area. Dethleffs
Through the window
The adult area
Outside the Dethleffs caravan
Most of the big manufacturers were there, Trailite, Bailey, Jayco along with many others and it was nice to see Eldiss’s new Motorhomes too.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
And the rush is on
Trailites!
In a Trailite looking back. Dropdown bed above.
Looking forward in the Trailite.
Going from one manufacturers Caravans and Motorhomes to another all in one spot, its really interesting seeing the different design styles and layouts.
I was really interested to talk to Carters Tyres executive Phil Jackson who was at the NZMCA stand, about tyres. Phil was telling me that many Motorhomes and Caravans are actually close to the weight limit of their tyres with some even over. This isn’t something that I ever thought about to be honest as you tend to watch things like GVM and axle weights. His team were going to weigh Motorhome and Caravans the next morning including Rafe.
I also found out that they have a brand called Giti which are well suited for Motorhomes and Caravans and will perform as well as or outperform my current factory fitted european tyres, and they’re less expensive too especially with the NZMCA discount. I’m really looking forward to finding out more as mine have done 58000k’s and need replacing!!
Rafe’s tyre weights were interesting. Weighed without me and without the bikes on the back, my current weight was just about 50 kg’s under on the front (each wheel) and would have been just over on the back with the bikes. The Giti’s have another 100kgs approx of payload each compared to my current tyres… who would have known!
Rafe’s overall GVM is just under 4300kg and on a heavy day is 4100kg with water, wine, groceries and packed with two of us ready to go. After having a great chat with Phil, and Ryan from NZMCA and a few others, I headed out the other end for a bite of something. There was a huge covered area with picnic tables with food carts down both sides offering all the usual treats. Some music was provided too.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
Phil from Carters
The Rockwood stand
Autogtrails
Eldiss Motorhome
LOutside the Eldiss
Checking out the beds
At the eating space.
Plenty of choice
From here I’ll let the pictures tell the story but a fabulous show and I heard that it is now going to be an annual event. I can’s say enough about the volunteer parking people who did an amazing job with what seemed to be a zillion Motorhomes and Caravans.
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!
Click on an image to see Hi Res
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.
It was a great occasion and the Central Bay of Plenty crew did a fantastic job getting it all across the line.
Nice tidy parking
Fiona had work on Monday so wasn’t keen on a flog down there from Auckland and back for 2 days so I was on my own. So fighting a worsening cold, I jumped into Rafe and off I went.
Lots of white behind the water feature at the gate!
As I came around the last bend before the camp, all I could see was lots of white from Caravans and Motorhomes.. was there going to be room! There were 68 vehicles in the park and it was chocker.
I arrived just in time for a drink in the tent with many others which was perfect timing. It was nice to see so many old friends there too.
The park is looking good and the CBOP team had all hands on deck making sure that everything was covered.
Click on the Gallery below to see a slide show
Planting those trees
Are you there Ross
Everyone is ready for the Rugby tonight
The extended grandstand for the opening.
Happy Hour
Audrey planting her tree with Ken the Secretary
Ken with Gary the Mayor
Board member Ross planting a tree with Ken the Secretary
Secretary Ken with Peter from the council.
Early on the Saturday, it was all hands on deck for a mass tree planting of all the bunds around the park. It was great to see the party atmosphere that came with it. This was followed by a nice bbq’d sausage lunch which went down a treat.
The 2pm opening came around just inside the entrance to the park and lots dragged their deckchairs out for a ringside seat.
The grand opening by the gate
Guest of honour was Audrey who is number 164 and is now in her 90’s. She was planting a tree along with Gary the Mayor and Ross Hamilton from the board. There was also a tree planted by a senior parks manager from the council, Peter.
Audrey, Gary the Mayor, Peter from the council and Ross from the board.
After the ribbon cutting performed by Audrey and Gary the Mayor, it was back to the tent for the cutting of the cake and some refreshments.
Audrey and Gary the Mayor curting the ribbon.
Earlier in the day, I managed to get a pic of Audrey (164) with one of the NZMCA’s newer members and first timers at a Rally, Bill and Colleen. (81847)
New members Bill and Colleen (81847) with board member Ross and Audrey (164)
A nice afternoon and lots of fun.. and my cold is much better now too 🙂
This year like last year, the parking costs were covered by Covi organisers along with a free bus service which ran in a cycle every half an hour or so… it worked beautifully. There was also a storage area at the Show where you could securely store any goodies purchased and pick them up on the way back on the bus… a great idea.
The best part for me at these events was catching up with friends I haven’t seen for a while who have come for the show.
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