While I was standing in the main carpark helping traffic get from one side to the other at the Tokoroa Timber Town Romp, in came John and Joan in their massive 11m long Motorhome.
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Joan and John
They originally came from Rotorua but have recently moved to Matata and “Homely” is their mobile Bach which they’ve had for more than 20 years. In that time, they’ve completely rebuilt the interior including putting in features like slide out cutting boards and bench extensions.
The magic pull out extensions
John tells me that it is two Ford D750 chassis’s welded together powered by a Hino eh700 with a Manual Gearbox. It has a Leyland Bison Cab and the the exterior is colour steel. On top is a Butynol roof.
From behind with the 4 wheel drive tray on the back.
They’ve been all over in it and travel with their two small dogs Bear and Wolf.
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The front end
The Main Bedroom
Bunks for the grandkids.. one used as storage.
The Fireplace
Great Galley
The magic pull out extensions
Looking forward towards Wolf and Bear
Homely
Magic Graphics
They got a very clever friend of theirs in Rotorua to do the fantastic graphics on the side which make it quite distinctive.
Very comfortable
As I walked away after chatting to them for half an hour or so, they looked very settled and content in their very comfortable Motorhome.
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 🙂
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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 🙂
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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 🙂
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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.
Yes, it was at Tokoroa. Tokeroa is not somewhere I’ve spent any time at and after a walk around, its quite a neat wee town. Everything is handy and the locals all seemed super friendly.
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Rafe in his spot surrounded by vans
I was heading to the latest NZMCA Rally being the Timber Town Romp which was looking like being a real hoot. Hosted by the good folk from the Waikato area of the NZMCA, it was held at the recently setup South Waikato Events centre which was a fantastic venue.
After registering inside the centre, I met Des and Cathy who were manning the desk along with some others clocking everyone in. A big job.
All those white things
That night I bumped into lots of people I knew which was fantastic, including Rodger and Diane who were parked right next door. I knew Rodger from his time as Custodian at the Ardmore Park. A great guy who most will know from the park and has been involved in several of the Covi shows parking at Ellerslie.
Tokoroa’s main street is undergoing some major road works so the original plan of opening the gates at 11am was quickly found to be impractical as the Motorhomes and Caravans starting queing earlier than planned. In the interests of safety and not cloggging up the main street, the decision was made to open early and get everyone safely parked.
I was in the main carpark making sure Motorhomes and Caravanners took a wide track so they could line up correctly for the entrance.
That carpark filled up around 11:30 so we started the other paddock. While another friend who I was pleased to see, Alan marked out several rows of new parking sites, I stood in the entrance way and directed them in. Others were parking them as they came onto the field. Everyone pitched in and we covered each other for cups of tea and lunch breaks etc..
The second park with the first in the distance behind…
It was a fun day and there were no disasters either which was a bonus 🙂 So after starting about 9am, most of us had finished about 4pm, we think we parked about 400 odd Motorhomes and Caravans ! Fortunately it got warmer as the day went on starting out around 5 degrees !
Raffle winner
It was time for the first Happy Hour of the event and that was held in the Events Centre main hall which is HUGE! One of the biggest Happy Hours I’ve ever been to.
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Des with part of his team Registering everyone
My next door neighbour who’s wife makes amazing pickles.
Chief parking person Neal, parking someone.
Crowd watching Ebonivory
Neal enjoying the music
Crowd enjoying the music
Getting onto the floor
Neville Ormsby
Happy Hour friends, Nelson, Maree, Keitha and Alan.
Ebinivory
At 7pm there was a show from a solo performer Ebonivory Neville Ormsby where many got up onto the dance floor. Very slick too from a one man show. And this was just Day One!
This has to be the biggest Motorhome and Caravan rally ever held in NZ. Apparently nearly 1700 vehicles parked over the course of the 4 days.
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Huge
As I came down the hill, all you could see in all directions was lots of white roofs of Motorhomes and Caravans along with a few other colours but mostly white of course!
The early morning walk past Rafe
The volunteer parkers did a fantastic job. I arrived at the bottom of the hill and then realised I didn’t have any cash but with a rustle through Rafe, I eventually found some Washing machine money and had just enough!
Friends, Bruce and Judy’s Globe4 in the crowd.
Early the next morning I went for a walk around the edges and it was just amazing to see so many here. Despite the early hour, there were plenty of people out walking their dogs and enjoying the sunshine.
People leaving early
Breakfast Time
From the top of the hill in the fog
On the road
A great job done by the organisers and fantastic job by the volunteers. Thanks Guys.
This is a must do event in my calendar now. Not just as a social occasion to catch up with everyone in the rally and on the stands, its also great too to see some new things available to make our lives easier on the road.
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Coming down the hill – Wow
I arrived long after everyone else on Saturday around lunchtime as we had things on in Auckland that I had to do. Fiona wasn’t coming on this trip either as it we really only had time for an overnighter.
Huge
This was one of the biggest Rallies that the NZMCA has had with huge numbers of Motorhomes. Just amazing and the parking volunteers did a wonderful job of making sure everyone was in a safe spot.
I managed to park right behind some old friends of ours in another Dethleff, Noline and Walter.
Walter and Noline’s Esprit in the middle with Rafe behind
Walter is a very handy guy and has done some really interesting things on his Esprit. He has installed a Laundry Chute from his bedroom which drops down into his garage making it really easy for them to gather up their washing at the end of a trip away. .. see here for the blog. It was really nice to see them as I haven’t seen them for quite a while.
#1 at the Entrance
After opening vents and getting Rafe sorted, I went straight into the show.
Just inside the entrance was Gail looking after the #1 Motorhome which I photographed extensively a few months ago,, see here. Alan and Gail have a Dethleffs too and we’ve been at quite a few do’s together over the years and Alan was involved with the restoration of the first Motorhome.
One of the first stands was the Zion stand with a nice shiny new Mercedes based Globeline Motorhome. It is 7 metres long and apparently handles better than most cars. Its also one of the few Dethleffs Motorhomes available with a Mercedes drive train. All the stereo controls were on the steering wheel.
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The outside of the Globeline
All the stereo controls on the Steering wheel
Galley area
The Globeline interior
The front area of the Globeline
Two single beds are really popular sellers
Walking on through, I found it interesting that there was a general trend towards smaller Motorhomes but lots of huge Caravans.
I had a sneaky look at the Rockwoods which are massive and have enough room in them to almost play football in them but very nicely set out, and they didn’t seem to have the over the top heavy American furniture look which was nice to see.
Inside the Rockwood
Moving on to the NZMCA stand. I had to get a piccy of the team there complete with the two Bruce’s along with Gillian, Judy and Ryan. Nice to see Ross and Carol Hamilton too along with Brian Stanley.
The Team.. Chairman Bruce, Gillian, CEO Bruce, Judy and Comms specialist Ryan.
Not far from here was the ACM stand. These Motorhomes are just the bees knees..
Click on the Gallery below to see the ACM Motorhomes
Stairway to heaven – ACM
ACM shower
Acm’s Loo area
Galley – ACM
With a bed upstairs, plenty of room at the back for a big Lounge
Looking forward – ACM
Outside – ACM
ACM stand
They’re stunning and they come from a factory that make a lot of bespoke Motorhomes tailored for the new owners needs but they also have a range of their own designs. One of their previously made Motorhomes has even been built with a piano in it for an owner who just loves his music. Fantastic.
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A Caravan with a Deck on the end
Always nice to see the older caravans
Dethleff Caravan area
Onto the Morelos
The interior of a Rockwood
Rockwoods
ACM stand
RV super Centre
Nice to see Duncan and Chris from Apollo freshly back from the Dusseldorf show with some interesting new things too. New automated Hydraulic Rams for levelling your Motorhome along with their range of Kiwisat Satellite dishes.
An adventure anyone
Outside ther was a huge area set up for food and somewhere to sit.. Much bigger that previous years given the numbers this year. A great show.
Just past Tuakau is a lovely new Campground on the banks of the river.
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Glorious spot
It is run by the good folk at the Tuakau Hotel on land that used to be where the sand was loaded up and shipped off and its in a beautiful spot.
All weather parking
The campground has been constructed from scratch with about 8 dead flat gravelled sites with power and a barbeque table overlooking the river. It couldn’t be in a better spot and well thought out.
Perfect seating
We popped in to the Tuakau Hotel which is just a few k’s away and spoke to Tash at the Hotels Accomodation office where we were given the full rundown on what was where and in case we forgot, there was also a sheet of everything we needed to know along with a key for the water and the codes for the automated gate and shower block. The cost is $20 per site for two with power which I reckon is extremely good value.
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Well set out and tidy
Nice parking
In the morning
For the nippers
Perfect seating
Perfection
The view
After settling down and opening some vents, I went for a bit of a look around.
Looking down the river
There are three quite large self contained cabins too which can be rented which look out over the river too.
Looking across from the cabins
In the morning I went for a walk along the rivers edge to see the whitebaiters in full swing where I met Anthony who drives down here from Mt Wellington to do his whitebaiting. He was doing well and showed me piccies of his catch from the day before.
Whitebaiter Anthony from Mt Wellington
A lovely spot not far from the Tuakau Bridge on the way to Port Waikato.
The Netspeed Speedtest (Not great here)
Download : 2.68 mbps
Upload : 0.85 mbps
Ping : 48 ms
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
Download: 31.34mbs
Upload: 26.30mbs
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
Download: 31.34mbs
Upload: 26.30mbs
Ping: 56ms
At the recent NZMCA Motorhome show at Mystery Creek, I caught up with Phil from Carters Tyres. 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. 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. 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!
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.
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