Classic Boating

A night out at Rakino on the Whaler

The forecast was fantastic, no sign of any rain or wind so we were heading off from Milford to go to Rakino Island about 9k’s away. For those overseas readers, it is one of the furthest Islands out from Auckland behind Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands.

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Rorqual at the Marina berth shortly before we set off.

Rorqual was all ready to go and we were off. A quick call to the Bridge operators by son Andrew to open the bridge and we were on our way.


Andrew driving Rorqual out of Milford Marina.
Turn the volume up to hear that 400hp Turbo charged Detroit!

We had just got out a bit beyond Castor Bay when friend Greg Fenwick rang Andrew from his house up on the cliff watching us go by. He could hear distinctive roar from the Detroit as we went past from several k’s away 🙂 he sent us the video below! Thanks Greg

After that, we stopped off Rangitoto when we saw a whole heap of fish on the depth sounder complete with measurements and a smile on their faces 🙂 Given the lack of success there in catching anything, I’m sure they were poking their tongues out at us 🙂 I did get one really good bite but he got away!

We stopped again to try later off Rakino but same luck so we went on into Woody Bay into 3metres of water and had lunch and a glass of wine. Absolutely perfect day.

All settled in Woody Bay

Andrew saw some mates in at the beach in a fizz boat so he swam in to say hello.

Looking into the beach

Half an hour later after he’d just returned, my other son Alex came into the bay with a friend of his Sam on their identical Jet Skis. They had come around from Half Moon Bay which is by Pakuranga, probably about 10k’s or so.

The Jetskis
Alex refueling his Jetski

They were out for a fish but hadn’t had much luck, just like us… until we sat in 2-3 metres of water in the bay. We were just sitting there, having a drink and the rod just kept bringing them in. Andrew was filleting them and put them on a plate with soy sauce and wasabi. Fantastic. About 3 reasonable sized fish popped onto the plate during the afternoon 🙂 Yum!

L to R, Alex, Sam and Andrew. Sashimi in the middle

Later in the day, the time came for the boys to go with their Jetskis and try for a fish round the Rangitoto Channel.

The Boys setting off
On their way out
Tea is on

Andrew put the BBQ on and we settled down to listen to some good music. The Stereo is a monster with 3 amplifiers with a Subwoofer powered by a Solar backed 450 odd AH bank of House batteries so no danger of running out of anything!

Looking back to Auckland. North Shore in the distance

While we listening to the music, the bait runner ran again and this time, in came breakfast! Yippee!

End of a great day

After a nice bread crumbed pan fried Snapper and a cup of coffee, we tidied up the boat and got ready to head back to Milford Marina. A nice weekend and nice to see Alex and Sam come in too.

More information here on Rorqual.

Auckland West Coast, My Motorhome

Jo’s Healthcare Motorhome

While I was having a look around the Piha Motorcamp, I walked past Jo outside her Civilian Bus giving another camper a Massage. Kids from other caravans were there taking photos with their cellphones. It was all very casual with lots of laughter !

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One of my neighbours Jo doing massages !

Having a chat later with Jo, its quite a normal part of her day along with making up her Rongoa Maori Healthcare medicines.

Jo with some of her Medicines

Two years ago Jo took delivery of her 6m, 1992 Nissan Civilian and adapted it so she could make her Natural Herbal medicines. She has been living in it and commutes into town two days a week to teach others about Maori Healthcare.

Jo with the Civilian
The living area

The day I took the photos, she was showing me the biggest Mushroom I’ve ever seen.

The Mushroom

She also has a great collection of walking sticks which she has gathered up with hre long walks looking for the native plant ingredients for her Medicines.

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Some of the Medicines
Where it all happens
The Nissan
Side on
Jo cooking up a storm
Jo with the Mushroom
The Mushroom

A really nice lady and she is really enjoying her lifestyle with the bus.

Auckland West Coast, Great Beaches

Lounging at the Lion – Piha

One of the trips I’ve been wanting to do for ages but I haven’t been able to get Fiona interested in is a trip to Piha. One of Aucklands better west coast beaches, it is dominated by Lion Rock in the middle and is one of the few North Island beaches to have two surf clubs.

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Lion Rock looking fantastic

Over the years the road has improved massively but it is still very windy(curvy) in places and there is no direct route. There are several ways of getting there but the best one I think is via Henderson Valley. Check the map below.

Its a slow 30k odd from the centre of Auckland but well worth it when you get here and its a nice drive.

Lion Rock

The Holiday park is a leased site off the council as part of the Domain but privately run and is on black sand. Its a big park with plenty of room and is only 5 minutes walk to the beach via a bridge over the lagoon.

All that space

At the time of this post, it was $22 per adult with power with new showers and loos close by. There is a cafe right over the road and a General Store next door for anything you may have forgotten.

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Lots of tents
The bridge to the beach
Looking along the beach
Piha Store over the road
Everyone having fun
Parked next to the Lagoon with Lion Rock behind
Dusk
Lion Rock looking fantastic

The beach is spectacular. I popped down here at dusk  to find a dozen or so amateur photographers wandering around in a group waiting to get the sunset.

The Amateur photographers doing their dusk pix.

Its funny as I remember when I was working at The Auckland Star, we used to get called on to judge various photographic awards for these Camera Clubs. The people were always very friendly and it was interesting to see what they were up to.  Generally it was a PR thing from the Star’s point of view and we tried to help with ideas where we could. I remember judging at the North Shore Society awards a couple of times but can’t remember any of the others.

Finished for the day

I met one of the members and gave him a few ideas while we were wandering around Lion Rock on the black sand. It was great to see them out there having some fun.

Sunset

After that, I wandered back to Rafe through the black sand and had a drink with my neighbours. A great night.

One of my neighbours Jo doing massages !

Lovely spot, close to Auckland and reasonably priced with a great Beach.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Piha
Rotorua

Good value Motohome parking with Pools.

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After a great lunch at a Cafe in Ngongotaha shopping centre (the one closest to the NZMCA park) we had to start thinking about where we were going to stay for the night. It was 36C and I was sweaty already. It was also time to wash the linen.

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Rafe between the Hedgerows

Rotorua Family Holiday Park came up on the NZMCA app as being reasonably priced and they also had a laundry and a pool!  Perfection at $34 a night with a powered site and they were just around the corner in Ngongotaha.

Kids Playground

Motorhomers Reece and Diane, have been working on this park for the last 13 years and it looks fantastic. I was really impressed with the Motorhome sites being big, between hedgerows and easy to get in and out off.

The Tourist Flats .. neat

After buying their new Motorhome about 18 months ago, their only regret was having been too busy to get away in it.. the downside of self employment but they’ve done an excellent job of doing up the park and I’m sure they’ll get time to get away eventually !

Art Deco Loos

The Tourist flats and Toilets are in an Art Deco style and have all been done up and they look great.

How are those Flats

They’ve just finished doing up the Kitchen, Laundry and BBQ area and it looks good.

The Barbeque area.. neat and tidy

Fiona stripped the bed and headed off to the Laundry while I walked around and got some piccies. After that, we both headed straight for the pool and were there most of the afternoon. It was heavenly. We did have momentary thoughts about biking in on the trail to Rotorua which is literally just outside the gate but it was just too hot!

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Indie one of the Tourist Flats (Occupied)
Some cabins too
Kitchen
The Germans in their rented vans
Nice big parks with hedges between
That pool and there is a spa pool in that building behind.

We hadn’t long been in the pool when we met some German tourists who lived in southern Germany near Isny where the Dethleffs Motorhomes are made. Nice people and they were really interesting to talk to given Brexit and other things that are happening at the moment.

Nicely setup

It was nice to find a really nice clean campground, with great hosts at a really sensible price, in what is normally quite an expensive place to stay.

Rafe’s Tracker Map
Hawkes Bay

Botannical Motorhome parking

When we’re in Napier, Eriksen NZMCA park is our go to spot to stay. Lots of room, nice and flat, never any hassle and an easy bike ride into town.

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Very Nice!

As we generally only get to Napier once every 18 months or so, there is always plenty of changes to see but this visit completely bowled me over. The extra bunds and planting for parking is amazing and I’m sure they haven’t finished. Like Ngongotaha, they’ve build a Happy Hour Hall and function centre.

Rafe hiding amongst the Shrubs

The first time I came here not long after it opened, the whole left hand side of the field was leased out to a local farmer for growing something so to see it like this is fantastic. We also came here a bit later when there was an earthquake !

Out exposed so we could get the wind!.. and it was lovely.

We arrived here with a 35C heat and decided after looking at Clifton Beach that there was not enough Westerly winds getting in to cool us down..  Then the penny dropped..  winds off the vineyards at Ericksen and so off we went.

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Fantastic Gardens
Up against the Hedge for the wind
Nice Parking
Tidy too

We hadn’t long been there when we took the bikes down and headed into our favorite Art Deco pub, the Masonic for a Cold G&T and Chardy.  With plenty of wind about, it was very pleasant.

Fiona on the bike trail to into Town

After an hour or so, we made our way back to Ericksen flying back with the wind behind us 🙂

Rafe’s Track to Ericksen
Hawkes Bay, My Motorhome

Wakerley Motorhomes

These classy Motorhomes are now no longer made which is such a shame.

Looking towards the front. Look at all that space.

I’m not sure but I was lead to believe that they boatbuilders or ex boaties so the interior was built to perfection using boatbuilding techniques and having a boat look.

Graham and Linda

Graham and Linda were parked just in front of me at Ericksen NZMCA park and were happy to show me through their pride and joy during their break from their Matamata farm.

This is their 8th Motorhome over 25 years so they knew what they were looking for when they bought this beast.

Looking towards the front. Look at all that space.

With the slideout, and being 8.3 metres long, there is room for a football match inside 🙂

Galley in the slideout.
Bedroom at the back

It is built on a 2006 Isuzu base and has a 5.2 litres under the bonnet so there is plenty of getup and go too.

From the front showing the slideout.

It was nice to see all the wood and finding some owners who really appreciate the kiwi craftmanship.

From behind with their Toad.
Rotorua

How that Motorhome park has grown.

There was a time a few years ago when some big trees were felled at the Ngongotaha NZMCA park and some of us were a bit worried. The trees came down and the world didn’t end, we got our TV signals back and all was well 🙂

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Down on the lower Terrace

Fiona and I stopped off recently to check the park out and it is looking fantastic.

The New grassed area at the back

Where we all parked on the concrete in the middle, now the primo parking seems to be right at the back on a nice grassy area. The parking in the middle is still there, an addition to the check in shed / which now includes a covered happy hour area too.

Looking out to the lake over the two terraced areas

Up the front by the road are two grassed terraced levels for parking with the view out to Lake Rotorua.

Rafe parked down on the front terraced area.

For some history images.. before the trees were cut down… and after!

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Nice and quiet
The new extension
I’m sure thats the same next door neighbour that was here last time 🙂

It would be hard to imagine this park ever getting full it is so big but having been here a few times, its a great place to park and the on site Dump Station is a real bonus.

Well done to those involved in putting this all together.

Hawkes Bay

Elton’s Farewell

We were on a mission to see the last tour of Elton John and almost all of his original Musicians that he started out with 50 odd years ago. They’re all in their 70’s now and looking and sounding really good too.

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The afternoon view

We were staying at the Taradale Club as we did last year for the Phil Collins concert which worked out really well being just a 15 minute walk from the Mission Estate Concert venue. Just over the road, The NZMCA had a Motorhome parking area for members so that was handy too. They did this for the Phil Collins concert too.

The Niessman and Rafe.

Friends Gary and Dianne had bought the tickets for us and arranged the Taradale Club for us, so all we had to do was front up and enjoy it 🙂

The NZMCA park over the road.

The Club put on a BBQ tea for the first night and a Breakfast the next morning (Extra !) which made life easy. We basically loafed about in the sun until it was time to gather our stuff together and head off round the corner to the venue.

The Neissman and Rafe

There were hundreds of people but it was all very organised and we easily found a spot on the bank to settle down and watch the show.

Gary, Dianne and Fiona at the concert.

There were a few very inebriated people there which annoyed a few but the concert was fantastic. The sound was great and given that they’re all in their 70’s, I thought it was great. I have to admit to not really being a concert person but I’m pleased I went to this one. Unlike the Phil Collins concert the weather behaved itself and was fantastic.

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The Bowling green right behind
Easy peasy parking
Bouncy castle for anyone
The Taradale Club
Gary and Dianne enjoying the concert
And he’s on!

We set off down the hill when it all finished back to Rafe and Gary and Diannes Neissman for a quite Pinot to finish off with 🙂

Great Crowd
Eletons original Drummer Nigel Ohlsson in his suit.
Elton..

A lot of fun and I’m pleased I went and we didn’t get wet in the process either 🙂

Rafe’s track
Coromandel 2019, Great Beaches

Down on the Beach

Having finished with the house pretty much with the landscaping, Laundry and Kitchen bits, it was time to get back in Rafe and head south.

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A primo spot in the corner

With the 32C degree temperatures plus, we figured a beach park would be the name of the game so we picked Waihi Beach NZMCA park.

Its a busy park now and its easy to see why being so handy to the Beach and easy rides to cafe’s. There’s even a nice Cafe right next door.

Look at those plants go!

Having done some piccies of the opening, I was really pleased to see how the plants had grown and how established it all looks. Its nice too to see the 3 metre parking marks. I reckon that makes it much easier to line yourself up keep everyone a resonable distance apart.

Nice planting and they’re off

When we first arrived there was a good westerley breeze blowing across the park so the sensible place to park was on the upwind side of the park and with the 30 plus degree temporatures, it was nice to have the breeze blowing through Rafe to keep us cool.

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Great sign
Hot Hot hot!
Look at those plants go!
Catching the breeze
Nice Beach
On the way back from Bowentown
The Bike trail heading back to the park

We spent the first afternoon down in the township being only a 10 minute bike ride away and then headed down the bike trail down to Bowentown about 7ks’ south. Its a great ride and although we didn’t go right down to Anzac Bay its a great run.

The Bike trail heading back to the park

The next day we walked down to the beach. A nice spot to stop over and good to see the park is so popular.

Coromandel 2019

Waihi Beach Pod

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Waihi Beach NZMCA park is an easy 10 minute bike ride away from the centre of Waihi Beach shops.

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Easy parking for our bikes

We rode in for a look around the shops and to check out somewhere for lunch.

The Courtyard

Fiona found a setup called the Pod which is a group of Bure like buildings amongst a very pacific inspired garden which serves fantastic food and coffee. It also has a few shops in there too in separate buildings. Its on the left as you ride into the shops.

Fiona in the Bure

Quite a setup and it seemed to be very popular with the locals.
There is also easy secure parking for bikes (bring a bike lock).

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The middle courtyard
The Entrance
Fiona in the Bure

A lovely spot and quite different from your normal cafe.

One of the shops

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.