Category Archives: Quirky things

Preparation, Quirky things

Fast Heat

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A couple of months ago, I found out that Philips had released a portable Induction plate and they were available via our NZMCA discount from Noel Leeming.

I had to try one and since using it, I’m completely sold.  Fiona loves it too. Its amazing.

Don’t forget you can click on the images for hi res!

Induction
Its a bugger of a thing to photograph .. almost like a piece of black glass!!

Just recently I got really brave and decided to try to boil the water for coffee on it with our scruffy old kettle. From a cold water start, in the time it took to put coffee and pills into a cup and a tea bag in the other,  and milk in both, the kettle was whistling its head off. Even with gas, this would take all of 5 minutes or so.

InductionCooking a steak… cold frypan, a little oil… chuck the steak in, hit the go button and the pan is sizzling within 5 seconds !!!! .. and it tastes sensational.

Admittedly you can only use it when you’re plugged in but its neat to be able to use this instead of gas and it keeps control of the heat instantly.

InductionThe only thing you have to check is that you have pots that a magnet will stick to and it comes with a magnet so you can check your pots. The unit will scream at you if you don’t have anything on it or the pot is incorrect.

Recommended Retail is $199 from Noel Leeming  .. my discounted price was closer to $120 !! …although this was a few months ago.

A Great Christmas present !!

My Motorhome, Northland, Quirky things

The Homebuilt Caravan

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While we were in a park in the north, Sculptor Nick and partner Tracy rocked in with their girls Mila and Ruby, and their Homebuilt Caravan.

matakoheThey found it in a barn in Balclutha and after recladding it and  modifiying their table so it could add extra beds for the girls, they’ve set off around the country for a year on the road.

Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow

Tracy and Nick with their girls
They installed this heater as they didn’t really want the gas cooker to stay and the water is heated by the tank surrounding it.

They were not keen on going down the track of having a gas oven so they settled on a wood burner which also heats their water.

matakohe

Its all insulated and warm and toasty and it was nice to see them happy and getting around NZ.

Preparation, Quirky things, Waikato

The Laundry Chute

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Its amazing who you meet and what clever things they do to their motorhomes to make them work better for their lifestyle. During the recent Dethleffs Owners group meeting at the Classic Car Museum in Hamilton, I was fortunate enough to meet Walter and Nolina from Taupo and to see some of the clever things they have done to their Dethleffs Esprit.

Don’t forget you can click on the images for hi res !

Walter lying across the bed showing the top of the laundry chute.
Walter lying across the bed showing the top of the laundry chute.

Walter saw the need to have somewhere to put their laundry. In almost all the centre island bed Dethleffs models, there is a shelf which extends about 800mm along each side of the bed from the back wall.

In mine I have a speaker and some usb jacks for phones and ipads etc.   Walter very cleverly decided to use his on one side to install an opening round marine hatch which opens to a chute which Nolina made, that drops down into the garage underneath. The bottom of the chute detachs as a bag to cart away the washing.  Fabulous idea and a great way of getting the washing out of the way.

The chute in the garage with the detachable bag.
The chute in the garage with the detachable bag.

That’s an idea I’m going to use 🙂

They have also made use of waste space under a seat and in a cupboard for a glasses case and a drinks cabinet under the seat.

Nolina with the drinks cabinet.
Nolina with the drinks cabinet.

Great stuff! A great use of what could otherwise be wasted space.

Marine, Quirky things

Waterfront Parking

Sandspit Holiday Park is one of those places I’ve wanted to try out for months so I was chuffed when I found a good reason to stay here and with reasonable weather too.

It is an easy walk to the wharf for ferrys to Kawau so its well placed if you want to do a day or two at the Island. Its also an easy walk to the Sandspit Yacht club and the brand new marina that has just opened there.

Check out the images in Hi Res by clicking on them or for a slideshow.

Our spot near the water
Our spot near the water

We dropped in out of the blue after a few days of heavy rain so we were walked down to check the grass waterfront parks to see if they were up to handling Rafe’s weight. With plenty of gravel and sand about, I decided it felt pretty solid and we’d give it a go.

Neat Cottages that you can stay in all along the waterfront.
Neat Cottages that you can stay in all along the waterfront.

As it was off peak in winter, the cost for two of us was $32 with power for the night which I thought was great value.

After settling down Rafe, plugging in and opening hatches, I went for a walk with the camera.

Our spot before the tide came back in
The view with the tide out. Ferry Wharf in the distance
A Classic coming in
The TV Room
Real Snakes and Laddeers outside the Libary
Laundry
Kitchen and Toilets
Quiet a few permanents
Kitchen
The new Marina
The Ferry Wharf

They have some amazing quirky cottages and the buildings are great. There is even Horace the Morris parked in the grass.

Horace
Horace

The ablution block is almost brand new and the shower and toilets are amazing.

Bring the boat in
Bring the boat in

We went for a walk before the sun went down to the ferry jetty where boaties were coming in and a few were fishing.

A really interesting place.  We’re planning to go back with the Grandies as they could easily stay in one of the many cottages there.

The Netspeed Speedtest:
Download: 31.31 Mbps
Upload: 4.47 Mbps
Ping: 59 ms
Server: Auckland
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=-36.393249,174.728499

Quirky things

Digital Art

Over the last few years, I’ve been grabbing the odd piccie during my travels around and just tucking them away.
I did at one stage sell prints from them  through a few local Devonport Galleries and although it went reasonably well,  it wasn’t ever really something you could live off.

Muriwai Beach
Muriwai Beach

These images are literally lurking in far off directories on back up removable drives and have generally been getting in the way. This is just a small selection of them.  More can be seen here

Click on the gallery below to see them in a Slideshow.
All images are protected by copyright.

I am putting these online so those who want them can buy sensibly priced prints off them. The shopping cart isn’t configured yet but will be soon. 🙂

All the South Island images were taken when we took our wee caravan “Wee Rafe” around Otago and beyond in early 2014. The Europe images were taken when we went on a Canal boat trip and bus tour through Italy and France in 2010.

2027One last one of Burano to finish off with.

Enjoy

 

Quirky things

Gypsy Extravaganza

On our way to Wenderholm for a night, we stumbled across the Gypsy Extravaganza that was just packing up to leave the Orewa Beach park.

Click on the Gallery below to see an enlarged slideshow.

Unfortunately some had already left before I took these piccies but what a neat collection of vehicles.

Quirky things

Futuristic Motorhome – Futuria

The Future of motorhomes, the Futuria.

FuturiaWith a car and a spa pool.

From Boomarc.com.au

Quirky things

60’s Caravanning and towing a houseboat with an AmphiCar

Check out this amazing video of English caravanning from 1966

Lovely varnished boat and how is the chap towing a houseboat with a “amphicar”

Quirky things

Lego Caravan

A life-sized caravan gets built looking just like the real thing.

Built from 215,158 LEGO bricks, over 12 weeks by 12 clever people. Commissioned by The NCC and built by Bright Bricks, the caravan was built to celebrate 130 years of leisure caravanning.

Interior
Galley
Fridge
Running Water

Complete with running water, Eggs in a frypan, even one with a broken yoke and a fridge with Cheese in it!

Its now in the Guinness book of Records
From www.design-milk.com

Quirky things

Amazing home built Airflow

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How is that lovely verandah cover.
How is that lovely verandah cover.
The interior
The interior
Looking the other way
Looking the other way

Check out these amazing piccies from Facebook. A home built Airflow caravan. The workmanship is extraordinary!