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
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Ping: 56ms
After a few weeks of being housebound and itching to get away, our friend Dianne in Taupo arranged a get together in Raglan.
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Jonas trying out a surfboard on a Mural
Raglan was deemed to be reasonably easy for everyone and a pleasant place to be. There were going to be three Motorhomes, Us in Rafe, Gary and Dianne in their Niesmann and Bichoff and Jonas and Irene with a Dethleffs Trend McRent Motorhome from their fleet.
One of the amazing shops
The weather forecast was a shocker with high winds and heavy rain forecast but when has that ever stopped us before 🙂 The Classic Yacht Association had already cancelled their annual Christmas hooley just based on the forecast a few days before !
At the campground
After staying a night with Alex and Sarah and the grandies, we set off early to the dump station at Papakura and then Raglan stopping briefly at the Countdown supermarket in Huntly for a few forgotten items.
We arrived at Raglan Kopua Holiday Park around lunch time and after parking Rafe, plugging in and opening some vents, we had a quick lunch and then set off to Raglan township across the bridge for a look around.
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Cafe
Raglan Hotel
One of the unusual shops
Classic !
One of the amazing shops
The Bridge to Raglan
At this stage we pretty much had a blue sky but the wind was blowing and it was threatening.
Raglan really is a seriously nice town full of very friendly people. The choice for cafe’s is fantastic and there seems to be a real Hippy/Surfy culture which you can see everywhere.
After an hour or so, we headed back over the foot bridge connecting the Motorcamp to the town and arrived back just in time to see Gary and Dianne arrive from Taupo.
The famous Hotel
The next morning we were joined by Jonas and Irene and had a another trip into the village for another look around and after an afternoon of chatting, cups of coffee, a few glasses of wine and lots of laughs, we headed back in for a meal in one of the towns fine restaurants.
Last time we were here a few years ago, we walked right around the foreshore to the wharf where there is an amazing fish and chip shop and some more great shopping.
One of the unusual shops
A fantastic town with an amazing atmosphere and I’m looking forward to going back sometime soon.
The Netspeed Speedtest
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Upload: 26.30mbs
Ping: 56ms
At the recent NZMCA Motorhome show at Mystery Creek, I caught up with Phil from Carters Tyres. Â After 59000 k’s, Rafes tyres were down to 2mm and I needed to replace them before my next COF so I was keen to find out the ins and outs of tyres.
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Phil from Carters
One of the things I wasn’t aware of that Phil highlighted was that many Motorhomers and Caravanners weren’t really aware of the weight limits on the tyres themselves. While we are all very aware of GVM’s and Axle weights, as that is what you get fined for if you get them wrong, many of us overlook the per wheel weights on our tyres.
Checking the rear wheels
As Carters were weighing vehicles the next morning, I moved to where the scales were and Rafe was weighed.
The scales
Both the back wheels were 1100kg’s or within a few kg’s either side (without the bikes) and the front wheels were 970kg and 1020kgs. Â The Michelin Agilis tyres that I had on have a weight limit of 1250kgs per tyre so no worries there.
While I was pleased with the Michelins and how they had worn, they were expensive to replace with prices from nearly $1800 – $2000 for four, depending on who you got at the counter 🙂
The Michelin Agelis after 59000k’s
Phil was telling me that the Giti company produced a truck tyre with specs similar to the Michelin for almost half the price.. the GT Radial. It has a per tyre limit of 1460kgs, has more belts in the tread to help it track really well and 10 ply on the sides which is plenty. Yippee!!
The new Gt radials
So I booked into Carters in Highbrook in Auckland and Patrick was the man weilding the tools to change my tyres.
Patrick putting one of the new tyres on
I couldn’t get over the technology now used to change tyres. I remember when I was 17 years old odd, I worked in a service station in between photographic jobs and for a while was in the tyre bay. Â I remember a steel pole concreted in the ground with a circular seat half way up that held the tyre while you wrestled with a long steel pole to lever off the tyre. Lots of fun ! These days, its all pneumatics.
A Tyre Changer of days gone by 🙂
Back to Rafes new tyres.. Each wheel was balanced and filled up with Nitrogen and refitted to Rafe.
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Rafe on the scales
Outside the Tyre Bay
The Michelins coming off
I didn’t realise how big those rims are
One of the new Gt’s going on
Filling up with Nitrogen
Patrick did a great job on the tyres and driving home felt very different. You could really feel the extra rubber and it seemed to track better at speed on the motorway too. They also seem quieter on the road as well.
Rafe in the Tyre Bay
They’re definitely the place to get your tyres and NZMCA members get a really good discount too!
I’ve been wanting to park here for a while but haven’t really had a reason to come out this way until today 🙂
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Room for big and small
One of the things I’m really allergic to is parking in Pub/Club carparks overnight and the Glenview club is not one of these. I has a completely separate Motorhome and Caravan parking area away from the main carpark for bar patrons.
There are 38 parks without power and another 12 parks with power all on well drained grass.
There is an honesty box but they’re there almost every day after 2pm. Its $15 a night without power and $20 a night with power. There is a shower and Toilets and there are meals later in the week during the evenings. There is also fresh water, a dump station with rubbish and recycling.
A grand entrance way
On a week day before a big show it was really busy. Its amazingly quiet and in a great spot right on the Waikato river opposite the Hamilton Gardens.
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Hamilton gardens
I met several people in Caravans who had sold homes locally and were staying there due to work or to be close to family so there are quite a few who almost reside there longterm.
A really nice location, friendly hosts and a really quiet spot to stay.
The Netspeed Speedtest from this location
Download 15.29mbs
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Ping 82ms
From small beginnings behind a church in Howick to the brand new custom built building they’re in now in Pokeno. Jonas and Irene have come a long way with Zion Motorhomes.
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A happy looking Jonas in his last yard
I popped in to have a nosey on my way home from Waihi and it looks amazing.
The front of the showroom
The building is 1000 square metres and is in the middle of a 5000 square metre yard. Plenty of room to play with but on my visit, they’d managed to fill in all the gaps and still had some more motorhomes still to move!
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The Frankia Mline
The sharp end of the Niessman Bichoff Arto 79
In the showroom
The showroom is fantastic with a polished concrete floor and its nice to be able to check the various models out without getting in and out of the cold and wet.
in the Showroom
While I was there, I had a good look at the Niessman and Bichoff Arto 79 which is a slightly smaller version of friends Gary and Diannes Arto 88. Check out the piccies below.
Wayne and Serena have been living in their 1976 Volvo bus for more than 6 years now and a couple of years ago, they decided that as their Red Bus was looking a bit scruffy, it needed a lick of paint! Their daughter Lisa, who works with teenagers, arranged for a group of spray bomb artists to repaint their story onto the bus.
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They parked their bus on one side of a Mt Maunganui carpark and watched it all happen !
Their bedroom
The result is spectacular with bits of life in colour all around the bus.
Lisa is represented by Lisa Simpson with a background of Hahei beach, one of their favourite places in the background. The Pink Panther represents the loss of a close family member.
Wayne with Lisa behind!
On the back is Wayne respresented by the fishing bear as he is known as Poppa Bear !
Poppa bear with Fishing gear.
The front has two Kiwis on each side which is Wayne and Serena. A fantastic effort.
Wayne tells me it was a scream watching onlookers reaction when the bus was painted 🙂
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Lots of Colour
At the sharp end
Looking through the galley
Where they’ve been
Toys
Their bedroom
Serena and Wayne
Inside, its very comfortable and they have been collecting toys for sick children which are stored all around their bedroom!
It was miserable in Tauranga and due to get worse so I headed over the hills to the Opal Hot Springs Holiday Park just outside Matamata.
As I pulled up, I met Vanessa and Carrilline at the front desk, both very friendly and ready to show me where everything was..
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Happy faces, Vanessa and Carrilline
Carrilline and her husband, Brian own the business and after 3 years here, they are making some big changes. I showed her a picture on the NZMCA app of the camp and it looks completely different with all the parks now being all weather.
The steam rising from the pools
The pools are being painted later this year. The place is looking really good.
The all weather parking
I parked Rafe at one end of the new all weather parks and headed off for a walk around the park while the sun was out. The pool complex is massive with an almost Olympic sized heated pool and several others.
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Nice Units
Showwers, Loos, Kitchen etc
Kitchen
BBQ area
The pool area
Happy faces, Vanessa and Carrilline
Early morning
Nice with the trees
There are 70 powered sites, 10 non powered and a dozen or so Motels and Cabins.
More Parking
Its in a lovely position just outside Matamata heading towards the Kaimais. A great place to blob out with some heat.
The Kaimais
The Netspeed Speedtest
Download: 4.51 Mbps
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Ping: 125 ms
Along with a few hundred others, I arrived fashionably early and we were all marshalled into a temporary parking area on the grass.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
On the way to the National Equestrian centre where we were to stay for the night, there is a bridge and dam that is crossed which crosses the Aratiatia Control Gates.
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Waiting for the start with the gates behind
Every now and then, they open the gates to let the water head down the Waikato river. It is spectacular and there are always good crowds there to see it happen.
Before
The rush of water is amazing and the area below the bridge transforms from empty to full with millions of litres of water in minutes.
Nearly full
There is good parking there for Motorhomes and Caravans and while we were there, there was a visit from the Huka Falls Jetboat.
The Huka Falls jet above the gates
We quietly queued up and waited for the sirens and then the rush of water.
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lots of parking
People on the bridge waiting on the bridge
Empty
Nearly full
An amazing spectacle and you can check with the Taupo visitors centre for opening times.
After the action, we moved on up to the Equestrian Centre for the night.. another favorite place.
Toilets, Showers and rubbish right opposite
The prices have changed and are now $5 per person plus $5 for power. This includes access to a toilet and shower. A good place to stop for a night.
