After getting the new Lithium Phosphate batteries installed, I was busting to get out and see how they went. Fiona was at work for the next few days, so she suggested I head away and check them out.
Click on any Image to enlargeI was thinking of heading up to the NZMCA park at Dargaville as I haven’t been there for a while but after checking the cold weather forecast and looking at some of the off-peak deals, I thought I’d check out Sandspit. Not too far and I could plug in for the freezing temperatures to come 🙂
First thing in the morning
I was right on the waterfront and with only two other Motorhomes or Caravans there, we had the place to ourselves… but being plugged in, I wasn’t checking the batteries. next time!
Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow
Down towards the wharf
Restored schoolhouse
The campground
Looking out to the wharf
Sunset
In one of the old storage sheds 🙂
Ye Olde Laundry, there’s a new one too!
Boat Parking
Baches you can stay in
Couldn’t really get closer
Nice parking
We’ve been here several times before, but it is such a magic spot and being right on the waterfront was amazing. I went for several walks over the couple of days I was there to both the Kawau Yacht club and up to the top of the hill above the campground.
Down towards the wharf
It’s a great place to come if you want to do the Kawau Mail Boat trip. We did that a few years ago and it’s a fun day out.
The View from the topThe big chair on the top of the hill
The top of the hill is great as you can see for miles out beyond the Marina and there is one of those huge chairs up there where you rest and take it all in 🙂 Stunning view but it’s a steep walk!
Nice walking along the waterfront
I also went for a bit of a trek along the beach past the cabins on the waterfront which is nice too.
There used to be a lot of old historic shop fronts and artefacts which due to maintenance have gone but the artifacts remain in glass cases by the Dining room.
One of the old cottages you can stay in
A lovely place and very good value with nice people.
I’ve been umming and ahhhing for some time about this mainly due to Rafe’s 10-year-old charging technology and what it might mean with keeping the new batteries in good shape. The other worry was my old saying from boating, “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”, where the agm setup was working fine, just not enough of it.
Jonas at Zion Motorhomes has been telling me on several occasions how good these new French batteries are and how they work happily in a Gel mode that will still stir up the Lithium the way it’s meant to be stirred!
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Great parking
Because we are in Devonport and Zion are in Pokeno, I’d decided to stay at Pukekohe for the night to avoid the traffic on the Monday morning.
Jayco corner 🙂
After lunch on a warm sunny afternoon, I checked into the Pukekohe A&P society’s campground by the railway station. It’s a neat place with all the facilities at a very reasonable price and we’ve stayed here several times over the years.
After plugging in and settling down the Truck, I went for a bit of a wander around the park. The shops are just over the road through a railway tunnel and the main street not that far further on.
A great night there with a couple of trains rumbling past which is fun.
Rafe all ready to go
In the morning, I headed off to Pokeno and my first stop was at the Truck stop for some Diesel and then onto Zion Motorhomes for the Batteries.
Mark taking out the AGMs
They were going to swap my 4-year-old AGM deep cycles for some sparkling new Lithium Phosphate 150 ah batteries that would both fit under the driver seat. I’m always a bit apprehensive when disturbing something like there is usually a surprise extra somewhere or something gets broken in the process 🙂 Yes, I got a surprise, but nothing got broken.
Out they come
Because Rafe’s charging system with the alternator wasn’t that clever, it worked by being directed by the Start battery in terms of what was required for charging. If the house battery needed it too, it got charged at the same time but never got fried if it was already full, it just went without on a trickle basis.
New batteris
It needed a Booster unit that integrated with the German Electro block management system and gave the house battery what it needed and at a consistent voltage. Pretty good really and it should probably have been there all along, so I saw it as a necessary upgrade.
The Electro block under the passenger seat with the Booster behind charging.
I’d promised the AGMs to my son Drew for his boat as his boat house batteries had seen better days and these ones were good so free to a good home and off, they went 🙂
Drew’s ne Batteries and the Driver’s seat
Mark was the Technician on the job assisted by Jack and several others when required.
Jack and Mark sorting out the charging systems.
The driver’s seat came off, the old batteries came out and the new batteries took their place all without any drama. As Mark went, he was testing the various charging systems. Changing the Solar regulator to Gel, the Electro block to Gel and adding the Booster unit to the back of the electro block.
Being a new system on quite an old charging system, there were a few moments where what was showing from the Bluetooth app on the phone wasn’t quite what was expected but it very quickly all came together.
New Lithium’s getting set up.New Batteries in and charging off the Alternator
So, the conclusion … I haven’t been away yet to really try it all out but it’s a massive upgrade for the whole electrical system.
Fiona likes watching her TV and things electrical in Rafe haven’t really had a real outing so we’re looking forward to being able to turn things on now and not be too concerned about power. You might recall my recent blog on the change we made to the TVs with the Mi Box. This will save a lot of power with the TV’s. The stereo and the subwoofer can be turned up and the lights can all be turned on 🙂
The pros: We’ve gone from 200ah Agm to 300ah Lithium Phosphate with a much greater DOD ( depth of discharge) which means instead of being limited to about 90ah of power on the Agm setup, we now have full access to 240ah without damaging the batteries. The batteries charge much faster so the solar panels charging should take roughly the same time for a moderately bigger charge. The batteries are about 1/3rd lighter. They’re guaranteed for 5 years and will last a lot longer than the agms. These smart french batteries will work happily with a gel charging setup so less to change for most of us!
The only con: the cost is more but that is technology for you 🙂
The Bluetooth info from the phone.
A pretty painless exercise and Mark did a fantastic job. Thanks guys.
Rafe’s tracker map to Pukekohe A&P Showgrounds – Armada GPS
After 18 months of open homes and saving madly for the 20% deposit you need these days, my son Alex has just moved into his first house. I can remember when Fiona and I first got ours and what a great sense of achievement it was to be there on the first night. Of all the open homes they looked at with his two sons, that was their favourite too.
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Big parking area next door for the busy periods.
After spending the Saturday unpacking boxes and watching the moving guys, we retired to Rafe outside for a tea which Fiona had made and heated up in Rafe. We then left him to it and set off for the NZMCA park at Ardmore where we spent the night.
Magic spot in the middle
Arriving at 8pm and opening the gate at Ardmore, we quietly drove in and looked for a park.
The parking spaces have all be changed since I was last there and there was little or no light at the time, so we popped into a site in the middle.
Front row views of the airfieldPart of the view from the front row
After a visit to the local Cafe for breakfast, Fiona left in the car and headed back to Alex’s to help unpack and set things up in his house. I left in Rafe and headed to Pukekohe for the night for my Monday morning appointment at Zion in Pokeno for new Batteries.
Rafe’s tracker map to Ardmore NZMCA Park- Armada GPS
Our Motorhome Rafe is just coming up to 10 years old so it’s no surprise that there have been a few things I’ve had to replace or upgrade in the last couple of years.
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The LTE (Internet) aerials when they were installed, with the Dome.
A couple of months ago we were down in Kaiaua in the NZMCA park when our Apollo 400 dome finally popped its clogs. When it was two years old, I had to pop into Apollo to have a belt for the LNB put back on after it fell off, so I was aware that the dome has been superseded 2 or 3 times by various dish receivers and there were no parts available in NZ. Over the years since then, we’ve had nothing but a trouble-free run with only location-based issues.
I’d sort of resigned myself to the fact that it was a doomer and time to bin it as we use the Netspeed Internet system for anything we want to see anyway and cast onto Chromecast on the 10-year-old TV’s 🙂
The 4G + router in Rafe’s cupboard.Aerials on Rafe’s roof
My son Drew has just upgraded the TV on his boat Rorqual (used to be mine) and replaced it with a smart TV and told me about MI Box that he had on the old TV which essentially turns it into a smart TV.
Sounds like me I thought so after he gave it to me, I installed it on one TV and then bought another for the second TV. What a difference. Easy to load anything and you can add apps as well like Three Now and TVNZ. It’s essentially an Android device and done by Google. The new one is badged Google TV. The Dome was now mentally consigned to the bin and unnecessary.
In our latest Dethleffs Get together in Rotorua, I had a problem with my Dometic fridge not wanting to play the game. Same age. As soon as we plugged it in elsewhere it burst into life and ran faultlessly. I’ve had this problem here before. Same campground so thought it was time for a check over anyway.
“There’s a wire lose!”.
Vantage RV in Silverdale originally installed and setup all this stuff when Rafe was brand new 10 years ago so after arriving early one fine day, they got ready to take the dome off and bin it and check over the fridge along with cleaning the back and the flue.
Once the lid was taken off the Dome, the Technician wobbled a couple of the signal wires when one looked a bit lose. Being a Dome it was like new inside. After taking a few connections off and cleaning them and reconnecting, I was told to go and turn it on… off it went 🙂
The Vantage Technician putting the cover back on.
Amazing so he climbed down to get some different sprays and protectants and gave it a quick going over. On with the cover and a couple more tests… perfect! So, it got to stay on the roof 🙂 Can’t believe it! So, we made the decision to keep it!
The Dome with an aerial. One on the other side too.
The fridge got the big tick as well after testing it and cleaning it.
So now we have an easy backup system for TV. One of the downsides of the Dome though is that unlike its more modern counterparts, it doesn’t completely turn off after connecting to a satellite, powering a solenoid to keen the signal feeding into the TV’s. This draws roughly .75 of an amps per hour so with the TV, it makes freedom camping with TV not to be background noise!
The Mi Box on the back of the TVThe Screen. It’s just like a real one.
The upside with the Mi box is minimal power use, hi definition TV (better than the Standard from the Dome) and easy selection of programs including Netflix! They are a little more than $125 depending on where you buy them from.
Out of the box, it was simply a case of plugging it into the USB port for power and an empty HDMI port for the signal. Turn the TV on, set it to the port and there it was. I had to set it up for an internet connect and a google account (so I could download apps like three now and TVNZ on Demand) and we were all done.
We arrived in Rotorua early in the afternoon after getting a puncture in Fiona’s bike repaired in downtown Rotorua. It turned out that the Tube had completely split inside without any outside intervention. One of those things 🙂
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After checking in slightly later than planned, at the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park where we were all booked in, many of the team were already there and enjoying catching up with others. There was a great circle of chairs already forming outside Greg and Shona’s Advantage, just across where we were parked and as the afternoon went on the circle got bigger and bigger 🙂
Friday Happy hour
The Holiday Park reckon there were more than 25 Motorhomes in our group that had booked. I could only count 23 so to simplify things we called it more than 25 🙂
Click on the Gallery below to see some of the Motorhomes
Spot the XLI
Fiona and I checked in with a few people and then went for a swim which was literally only meters away from where we were parked which was really handy.
After the mandatory 4pm happy hour where we all came together, it was time for tea. We joined in with the crew at Greg and Shona’s spot. Great fun and nice to see everyone again.
Setting off for the Bike ride
The next day at 10am, we were all setup outside ready for the bike rides. We split the group into two. Steve took the more experienced, fitter riders on the Loop which was 42k’s or thereabouts and included the blue and green lakes. A decent ride.
Steve’s images from the Loop ride to the blue and green lakes. 42k’sSteve’s image from the loop ride. An event beside one of the lakes.Fiona returning on the easier bike ride.
Thanks heaps to both Steve Miller and Neal Butt for making sure we all got there and back and safely.
Neal took the other group up a pathway that he knew along the Taupo Road which was great nice and safe and an easy non tree stump and tree root route with a Cafe stop afterwards. We got back after 15k’s odd feeling like we had had some exercise 🙂 It was time for a swim!
Click on the Gallery below for some casual expressions 🙂
On time for the second Happy Hour 🙂
Happy hour on the Saturday
It was time for the 4pm happy hour and the Team photo event and it was a full turn out. Great to see everyone and this carried on for the potluck dinner at a nicely placed set of covered tables outside the kitchen. Thanks to Judy and some others who stepped in to give the table tops a bit of a clean which they needed.
The Happy Team – Click on the photo to enlarge.
The food prepared was sensational and we even had some desert too. The weather held out and we had a great night finished off with another swim in the hot pool 🙂
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The meal !
Steve and Rene having a natter… There must have been some bumps on the bike ride 🙂
Tea time
Fiona and I thought we’d stay on for another night to relax and after saying goodbye to everyone as everyone departed, we jumped on the bikes and rode into downtown Rotorua.
After stopping at a couple of shops, we headed down to a Cafe we’ve been to before down by the waterfront called Lime. After a great lunch and an Ice Cream later by Eat St, we slowly headed back to the Campground.
A fantastic weekend seeing everyone. There were quite a few people looking at other’s Motorhomes and swapping notes and all I could see was lots of smiles.
Enjoying the Hot Pools
The next Event is at Waipu Cove Campground on the 18th and 19thOctober. A big Campground right beside an amazing beach. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Rafe’s tracker map to Rotorua Holiday Park – Armada GPS
With the next Dethleffs get together coming up this weekend in Rotorua, Fiona and I headed off to one of our favourite wee towns, Cambridge. Staying at the Raceway on the edge of town, this was where we had last year’s Dethleffs do under and around a big tree.
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The Greyhounds under the tree’s where the Dethleffs do was.Great parking behind the grandstand
Getting down there with the Easter traffic was painful as we left it a bit late, and it took hours.
Looking out from the stand
This year, we left the bikes behind which was a mistake in hindsight, but we ended up having several big walks into and around town.
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The pub overlooking the town.
The Main street
Nice old Buildings
Cambridge Town Hall
There’s a big Cafe in the middle of town called the Deli which makes amazing coffee and also has some nice options for lunch. Being Easter, most of the shops were shut but it was still nice looking around.
Fantastic Cafe
The Racecourse also has a Bar and Restaurant called the Clubroom, which was open only on the Saturday night, so we headed there for a G&T. But there is an amazing Hamburger place underneath the Clubrooms all painted orange so you can’t miss it. Fantastic burgers and with the park being pretty full of NZMCA Caravans and Motorhomes, there were plenty of customers for them.
Cambridge Raceway
A nice weekend away and great parking in a nice place.
It’s a great area here but being spoilt for great food, we decided we’d better be sensible and make an effort on our last day here to walk off some calories, so after stopping in Downtown Coromandel, we carried on around the corner to the wharf.
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The last notable time we came here by boat. Two 12 metre launches with friends and while we parked out in deep water off the wharf, he was determined to get into the wharf for some fuel.
They got in ok but getting out again with the water running away was amazing with him sliding along the mud until there was enough water. I don’t know how he did it, but he was always a clever in this department and there must have been just enough water under him to slide with 🙂 Great yarn anyway but it is true. If it was me, I would never have made it 🙂
There were no clouds, no wind and little traffic so it was blissful just walking around looking at the boats. The wharf itself is tidal too so they sit on the mud when they’re in.
A great Bar and great food too
We dawdled back to the town and checked in for lunch.
As the sun goes down
After a quick look at a very clever Copper sculpture maker. We headed back to the Rafe for a G&T.
How does the song go? “Well, I’ve never been to Spain”! this was our first time to Colville and what a neat little place. I’d only been here a few minutes when I checked in to the General Store and the lovely person serving recognised me from having the Camera… we worked out it must have been in Coromandel.
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Lovely spot
This is the home of a newish POP Hereford N a Pickle. Great name! It is basically a fairly upmarket Cafe with lots of outdoor dining and lots of Motorhome parking in a rural area.
Colville Parking
There are some outdoor loos close to the Motorhome parking and a few minutes up the road is the General Store. Just along from the town is Colville Bay/beach which is a fairly shingly beach with some sand.
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Downtown Colville
The Cafe and outdoor area
Entrance to Cafe
The Outdoor Dining
Character Loos
Post Office
Oamaru Bay where we stopped for a swim
Omaaru Bay
We parked Rafe and checked in for a Coffee and a Scone each.
General Store
There is also a Tennis court in the middle of the town as well if you’ve got your racquets with you.
Tennis anyone?
After a couple of hours, we headed back towards Coromandel and stopped at Oamaru Bay for a swim. The water was almost tepid. Just lovely.
General Store
We headed back to the Pub and again we decided the food deserved another sampling. this time it was Pork Belly for me and a Seafood Sensation that was unbelievable.
We let Kaiaua reasonably early and started heading over towards Thames and onwards up the coast to Coromandel. After stopping at Kopu for fuel and the Supermarket for some last-minute provisions, were off up the coast.
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The sun was shining, and the wind had dropped off nicely but there still a few puffs.
The Pub
After about 40 minutes of easy driving, we stopped briefly at the Mania seafood shop for some Oysters and other amazing seafood.
The Coromandel Hotel has a very small Motorhome facility at the back which is just delightful. Don’t come here though if you’re expecting flash loos and showers! While they’re quite functional, they would best be described as very Rustic 🙂 Their business though is selling Meals and Drink, and they do this very well. The food is sensational. The Gin and Tonics are great too 🙂
A Great Bar in Coromandel
After checking in and setting up Rafe, plugging in and opening vents, we set off to downtown Coromandel which is only 10 minutes or so walk.
Coromandel shops
After a Coffee and a look at some of the shops, we slowly headed back to the pub and checked in for Tea. The food was something else… see the images below. I had a Roast Pork and Fiona had a Seafood Chowder. Sensational.
One of the handiest new additions in the NZMCA parks has been Kaiaua. Its close enough to Auckland to escape the city and bunk down for a sprint somewhere further on with fantastic eating opportunities.
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Looking back from the bridgeGreat parking
We were heading to Coromandel but with forecast 80k westerlies that day, we thought we’d delay it a day and sit tight. We haven’t been to Coromandel for ages, so we were both really looking forward to going. It was to be the next day.
The sun came out but was still windy.
We arrived in Kaiaua around midday, pleasantly surprised that the holiday traffic wasn’t too bad.
Great FoodKaiaua Pub
The first thing to do was check out the Bayview Hotel. It’s my understanding that the chef that was at Fleurs in Moeraki has started working here so that’s exciting. We kept things simple and shared a pizza which was fantastic. Later in the day, we couldn’t resist the fantastic Fish and Chips at the Kaiaua Fish shop next door.
Backed on to the pub 🙂
After generally loafing around at the park and a walk around the marina, I caught up with part of the Dethleffs Owners Group, Andrew and Pip also in the park. Nice to see them.
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.
I was thinking of heading up to the NZMCA park at Dargaville as I haven’t been there for a while but after checking the cold weather forecast and looking at some of the off-peak deals, I thought I’d check out Sandspit. Not too far and I could plug in for the freezing temperatures to come 🙂
There used to be a lot of old historic shop fronts and artefacts which due to maintenance have gone but the artifacts remain in glass cases by the Dining room.
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