Northland

Tucked Away

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Driving along the waterfront in Paihia while I was trying to decide where to stay, I passed Terry and Ruth’s Dethleffs White Magic A Class Motorhome parked on the side of the road. I’ve been meaning to try to catch up with Terry as I’ve been following their progress around the bay with their friends on Facebook. I turned Rafe around and parked a few spaces behind and as it was lunchtime, wandered along the waterfront to look for something to eat.

There was neat place about 50 yards along which was doing $10 roast lamb meals which I thought sounded good and ordered a glass of Chardy to go with it. While I was sitting there, I thought I’d facebook message Terry and see if he was around. I’ve never met Terry or Ruth before so had no idea what they looked like. I simply said I was parked behind them, be nice to catch up and where I was having lunch.

Within two minutes, I had a response back and my neighbours at the next table were looking around for me. How’s that for small world stuff and technology.. I shifted to their table and we swapped various stories for the next hour or so. .. Fun times in the fast lane 🙂 It was nice to catch up and I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.

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After a memorable lunch with Terry and Ruth, I decided on staying at a little tucked away waterfront site called Beachside Holiday Park owned by Dusty and Aroha Miller.

Right on the water

In their office they have a picture on the wall taken in the early 70’s of the park and it looks completely different. Dusty and Aroha have been here for 15 years, progressively working to a plan they had done for the transformation of this fantastic site. They say there is still things to do but the place looks fantastic.

Dusty with the older pic and the plan behind

The Dump station is what you wish for everywhere where you don’t even need to get your grey water hose dirty. Simply back up over the grate and let her rip !

Great Dump Station
The 70’s pic
Terraced bush camping
Nicely laid out parks
Right on the Water

The laundry looks like a Space Station with industrial machines right along one wall. Toilets and showers are all in new condition and kept very clean. Walking around there are non powered sites for tents on little grassed terraces carved out for camping, most with great views of the water.

Beam me up laundry!

There is a boat ramp there and a rack of kayaks which are available for guests.

For the first night I was parked by the water but Rafe was poking out a bit on the roadway so I moved to a bigger site one row back for the second night. I was also parked under a tree so I had TV reception the next night too!  The charge is $20pp which is pretty much normal at this time of the year around Paihia but right on the water parking with all the facilities, its fantastic.

Nice people and nice to see someone investing in the future and doing a great job of it.

The Netspeed Speedtest
Download: 21.03 Mbps
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Ping: 59 ms

Rafe’s Track to this site

How I got there, you can see where I turned around to catch up with Terry.
My Motorhome, Northland

The Trusty VW

I bumped into Russell and Pearl at the Kaikohe Equestrian Centre. They were behind me as we drove in so it was nice to have someone else around in that huge carpark.

It wasn’t long before it we introduced ourselves and had a quiet cold one while we watched the local Pony Club pack things up.

Russell and Pearl

They’re Ex Publicans from Alexandra in Otago and are following a book called the Great Kiwi Pub Crawl which they were given for Christmas. So far it has been 3 months and they’re really enjoying themselves. They’re both veteran Motor homers and Caravanners with their current LT35 VW being their 5th recreational vehicle of any sort.

The galley

They bought the VW 3 years ago as an ex renter. Russell was telling me that its done over 300,000 k’s and apparently their engineer was telling him, they don’t touch them until at least 800,000k’s.

Plenty of k’s left there then.

Inside

They are coming up to their 25th year membership of the NZMCA!!. their number is 6000 something  .. I think the current new members are around 75000.

With their 25 years in the NZMCA, they get another badge to add to the 7 they’ve already got.  Well done!

Preparation

The Crystal Cabinet

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It has been two and half years in the making but we’ve finally solved the Glass cabinet problem.

When we first picked up Rafe, unlike other Dethleffs, the Esprits, the Sunlights, the Magic series’s and the Trends.. all of them had Glass cabinets you could fit a glass in. The Globe 4’s cabinet had two shelves in it and was so narrow that only shot glasses and really small glasses would ever fit in.

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One of he narrow shelves. The Glasses don’t fit on them

The first thing I did was remove the shelves so normal sized glasses would fit if they were narrow enough. Then there was the problem on how to fix the glassware so it wouldn’t rattle or get damaged as we moved from place to place.

A couple of lengths of pine  screwed in across the cabinet and some tool clips to hold the glasses and we’re all done.

A tool clip around the stem of the glass

While we were in Martinborough earlier this year, Fiona found 11 cystal glasses in an antique shop by the square. They suited perfectly.  Her new name from friends Gary and Dianne is “Mrs Waterford” and I think she suits the name quite well 🙂

The shelf with the crystal glass base sitting over the edge.
Tool clips
A tool clip
The screw taking the weight of the pine

I’ve set the cabinet up for these glasses as we have a few spares if a couple get broken.

The Cabinet all done looking pretty sharp

Both “Mrs Waterford” and I are both pretty pleased with the way the cabinet looks and there no rattles at all.

Northland

Horses in Kaikohe

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I was on my way to the Horeke Tavern but after hitting some gravel road and with 18k’s to go and the weather looking iffy, I thought I’d be a wuss and head back to the Equestrian Centre in Kaikohe for a park for the night.

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Great parking

I’d just arrived when a smart looking VW Sprinter based van followed me in. This turned out to be some veteran motor homers in their 3rd month away from their home in Alexandra in Otago. They came over and joined me for a happy hour cold one.

This is an amazing place to stay. A huge carpark with power boxes dotted around so you can take your pick. In the middle at one end is a toilet block with showers and a dump station and potable water too. All this for $10 a night. They have made good use of an old red telephone box by making that the place where you pay and register for the night.

The Red Telephone box

The day we were there, the local pony club were practising. Its a great scene.

They are very careful about making sure the gate is locked behind you and for the night with the padlock. While we were there, 4 or 5 police cars raced by in different directions so they must have their reasons 🙂 .. Despite that, we all felt reasonably safe.

The neeaaaybours
HQ with the red telephone box
The toilet, shower block and dump station

The old Ngawha Springs pools are just down the road. I’m not sure if they’re still open though.

Power boxes everywhere you look

A fabulous place to stay in the North and at a great price!

The Netspeed Speedtest .. a long way from a tower!
Download: 5.94 Mbps
Upload: 2.32 Mbps
Ping: 60 ms

Rafes Tracker Map

Rafe’s Tracker map

 

Northland

The Mission Estate

Leaving Kerikeri and heading west, I stumbled over the Mission House at Waimate. An amazing old house built by Maoris under the direction of Rev Samuel Marsden in 1832, the idea was to teach local Maori some of the European tricks of building and farming.

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The Mission House

As I came into the carpark, there was one spot next to the Church entrance where I could back Rafe in and leave the front wheels on the gravel.

Rafe parked by the doorway!

The church is fascinating with some of the oldest graves you’re likely to see anywhere. There is one spectacular gravestone what must have been a local chief or Kamatua that looks well looked after. It must be of some significance but there was no one around to ask about it.

Not sure whos grave this is but its impressive

After this, I went into the house. I’m a real sucker for things old and well looked after so this was really interesting. There was even an old woodturning Lathe there too.

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The Church next door
Those stairs !
The Lathe
One of the bedrooms
Waimate
A spooky Motorhome picky!

Its amazing how well it was built given the construction methods of the day. The stairs were crazy. You’d never get away with those today 🙂

The living room

Well worth a visit and only $10 a head to have a good wander around.

Kauricoast2017, Northland

The Wagon Train Park

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When Phil Walker returned from one of his last ocean going yacht delivery trips and settled with his wife Sylvia in Kerikeri on their lifestyle block,  little did he know that he was about to get started rather than slow down for their retirement.

On a sunny afternoon he set out the picnic table for the arrival of some of his overseas yacht friends and over a few glasses of wine, they decided that the land should be turned into a an RV park with room for chalets,  and they had decided on a new name for it too.
That was 12 years ago and what a great setup it is now.

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Taken the next morning when the sun came out

I dropped in on a really grotty day where the forecast was evil and decided it was time to plug myself in, wash my linen, vacuum Rafe and generally tidy myself up.

This was on the wall in the office which sums up the layout quite well.
As you come in
The communal Kitchen area
One of the Tourist flats
Nicely laid out parks
Rafe getting very wet!
Phil’s Horse
Flash looking toilet blocks

As I arrived I met Phil  who cruised down on his metallic pink scooter. He gave me all the background and its a fascinating story. Now in his mid 70’s, he runs the park and Sylvia is still working part time locally. What about the retirement I asked ?  There’s  a shrug of the shoulders and a smile.

You don’t see too many new RV parks with the perfectly flat and manicured parking spots, its great. The standard parking charge for a powered site is $18.00. There is a complete laundry available and a fully equipped kitchen.

This would be great in summer

You’ll find it just before the turnoff to Kerikeri. It is well worth checking out for a night or two.

The Netspeed Speedtest for this site.. its awful!..
Download: 2.28 Mbps
Upload: 2.37 Mbps
Ping: 60 ms
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=-35.267769,173.938412

Rafe’s Tracker map

Off to Kerikeri
Kauricoast2017, Northland

Great Parking at the Bascule Bridge

You have to hand it to the Whangarei Council. They really have pulled out all the stops at the Bascule Bridge Parking area.

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Very civilised parking

There are white vertical strips on the fence to mark the parks with a number in the middle of each park. The parks are wide enough to get a decent sized 8 plus metres vehicle in and still be able to create a 3 metre or close gap between each Motorhome.

The opening bridge

I haven’t see this recently so was pleasantly surprised to see how well it was setup. I immediately went to a Hot Dog cart that was there and celebrated with a Hot Dog on a stick and some chips for lunch 🙂

Brightly painted loos

The Hot Dog man was telling me how the Rally was setup over the road and they were starting from the bridge that night with a special stage on the other side of the bridge.  The cars were due to line up on the bridge by 5pm and then set off at 7pm.

The walkway into town

I thought I’d hang about and watch the action.

The rally cars on the bridge. This was as far as I could get without paying!

By 4:30pm, the car park was chocker but it was all very gentlemanly and apart from the rally cars noise until around 9pm, it was all good. I went for a walk down to the foreshore around 8pm and met a local couple with their young kids. They had just come down for a look.

The Rally start on the bridge

A great place to park for free and there are some nicely painted up new toilets too. You can also walk or bike into town along the pathways along the waterfront.

The Netspeed Speedtest for this site
Download: 14.70 Mbps
Upload: 2.40 Mbps
Ping: 58 ms

Rafes Track to the bridge

Bascule bridge
Kauricoast2017

Staying in a Train

I rocked in to the Dargaville Campervan Park and Cabins and was immediately greeted by Donna leaping out of her live in caravan with a big welcome.  She was fantastic. She and her husband Vic have been managing the Park for some time now and love it.

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Being the only Motorhome in the park in the middle of the week, she suggested I could park anywhere. Unique to this park are a couple of the parks that have an ensuite cabin for Motorhomes where you can park next door and have exclusive use of your own private shower and bathroom for the duration of your stay. The cost of my parking was $18 for the night on my own but on gravel and the bathroom facilities are amazing. There is also a dump station available.

Rafe parked next to an Ensuite

Around the outside of the Motorhome parking are about 10 “cabins” which are actually ex NZ Railways Good wagons converted to accomodation and done really well. With decks attached, small kitchenettes and full bathrooms, they’re fantatsic.

Inside a train: The Bathroom
The sleeping area with the Kitchenette
The bedding area
Nice verandahs.
Looking down Dargaville’s shopping area

The park is right in the centre of town and with Countdown and the Warehouse at the end of the road, makes it very handy to everything.

You can’t beat the welcome from Donna and its a very comfortable place to stay in the centre of a neat town.

Rafe’s Tracker Map

Dargaville at the top of the map
Kauricoast2017

Glinks by the Sea

That sounds much posher than Glinks Gully 🙂

About 20 k’s South west of Dargaville is the small settlement of Glinks Gully. There are  lots of Baches and homes there with a fabulous beach. See Rafe’s Tracker map at the bottom for directions.

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I arrived around lunchtime with the intention of staying the night but given the state of the campground and how long and low Rafe is, I decided not to stay but its a neat spot if you’ve got a smaller and higher ground clearance Motorhome.

On the beach

The views are stunning straight down to the beach. There is an honesty box in the roundhouse like kitchen and the cost to stay with the NZMCA discount would have been $10 for me on my own.

The Kitchen roundhouse with Rafe behind

I parked Rafe thankfully without scraping on anything underneath and then went for a look around. I wandered down to the beach to check it out and once you get to the edge of the water, you can look in both directions and it is endless. The sun was shining and it was a great day so it was perfect for checking it all out.

The view walking down the road
A novel way to use an old watertank
On the beach looking south
The playground by the beach
Rafes park on the hill

I walked back to the camp up the hill and decided that I wouldn’t relax worrying about getting Rafe out in the morning so decided to head out again. I ended up having a 10-15 minute conversation with one of the local farmers parked in the middle of the road. The locals are really friendly and he was encouraging me to head down to Poutu to check out the lighthouse at the bottom of the peninsula. Another time..

Looking north

A great place to stay but I would recommend only for Motorhomes less than 7 metres and with plenty of ground clearance.

Rafes Tracker Map to Glinks Gully

Glinks Gully on the coast
Kauricoast2017

Historical Parking with a View

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One of the places I’ve been wanting to check out while in Dargaville was the Museum at the top of the hill. The GPS was giving me strange messages that it wasn’t available but it seems they’ve changed the roading to get there. My GPS just didn’t know wbaout it!

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Dargaville from the Museum

Up the hill overlooking Dargaville is the Museum which provides Motorhome parking and also has a dump station and some outside Toilets near the parking with the most amazing view over the Dargaville area.

Museum parking

I had a quick nosey through the museum and it is amazing how much happened in this area with the river and shipping. The Gum Digging history is well documented too along with the Dalmation settlers who largely were involved with the Kauri Gum industry.

On the edge of Kaipara on the way to Dargaville
The view from the parking area with the Gumdiggers village in the foreground
Amazing murals on the wall
Some bits from wrecks found around Dargaville
Some old appliances in the Museum
Parking at the Museum

Its a great wee town Dargaville, lots to see and plenty of places to stay.

One of the murals on the wall of the Dargaville Museum

This would be one of the premo places to park for a night or two and the Museum is a must do 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.