Coromandel 2016

The Pauanui Club

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A shocking Friday’s weather left me thinking that Fiona might not be too keen to drive down to Thames after she’d finished work at 6pm.

The plan was for her to drive down to Thames, park the car at Thames and we’d go to Pauanui in Rafe to catch up with the Grandkids. She had to be back at work on Monday as the holiday period meant standing in for people away.

The rain was just relentless and although it was supposed to be finishing around 5-6 pm, one can never tell with weather forecasts!
The rain slowed around 4pm and the roads all started to dry out.
Around 8:15 odd, she arrived in Thames and we settled down for some Tv.
Saturday, the weather was looking much brighter so I parked the car and we were off to Pauanui in Rafe.

Pauanui beach
Pauanui beach

The trip through to Pauanui is virtually up, then down the other side and you end up in Pauanui or Tairua.
We stayed in an amazing ground run by the Pauanui Club. Excellent value and lovely people to deal with. For $8 a night, 4 big areas to park plus power and access to toilets and a cold shower. You also get membership of the club for a day which means you can buy a drink or two and get great meals there at reasonable rates. The park is right next to the mini golf course and you can bike ride anywhere so take your bikes.

Rafe at the club park with the mini golf behind
Rafe at the club park with the mini golf behind

When we arrived, we settled Rafe down with the power and opened some vents for fresh air and jumped on the bikes to head down to the water. We arrived just in time to see son Alex and his family trying out their new Christmas Kayak. They tell me they got caught by the wind in a few inches of water in front if a queue of people and youngest grandson Liam (3) shouted out Help at the top of his voice while older grandson Ayden said “get a helicopter”!
Isn’t it funny what kids come up with.

Fiona and Alex walk home with the Kayak
Fiona and Alex walk home with the Kayak

After a nice lunch with the family, we spent a couple of hours at the Pauanui Club and then biked around to my grandchildren where other grandparents, Paul and Mary put on a fantastic Bbq tea.

The next morning, Alex biked around with Liam in a child’s seat and Ayden on his own bike and we all rode into the township “for a treat”!
Pauanui is quite a neat place. There is a airstrip where the houses are built along the side, many with hangers instead of garages, some with both.

A house with a plane outside
A plane takes off from Pauanui airfield.
House hangers
The Pauanui club

The town is completely flat so it’s a neat place to take a bike. Although we were the only Motohome at Pauanui club that night, as we left, two arrived. A fantastic place and I’m sure they be well patronised once the word gets out !

Rafe at the Pauanui Club
Rafe at the Pauanui Club

A lovely place to stay.

Coromandel 2016, My Motorhome

Nana & Poppa Bus

After 15 years of owning their 7m 1990 Nissan Civilian, Engineer Dave and his wife Josy are finally enjoying their now completed Motorhome.
About 10 years ago, Dave and a friend got started on the restoration of two buses, a Hino for Daves Friend and the Nissan Civilian for themselves.
The NissanAfter years of using it while the restoration carried on, it now looks fantastic.
Daves friend had access to a CNC router which they used to make the Matai bench top and bathroom hand basin and the results are amazing. The floor was hand made using strips of native NZ timbers put together to look like parquet flooring but a whole lot nicer.

The Galley showing the pantries opened
The swivel tv above the bed
The Helm
Looking forward
The Bedroom

The swivelling drop down TV which can be watched from anywhere. Two slide out pantries.

The CNC routed Matai bench top
The CNC routed Matai bench top
The routed bathroom bench
The routed bathroom bench

With the centre island bed, it is very comfortable.
I met them both at Te Mata point as we enjoyed a cold drink. It’s great to see them enjoying the results of their hard work.

Te Mata point.
Te Mata point.

They tell me that although they’ve been all over NZ, there are still nooks and crannies that they’re yet to explore.

Coromandel 2016

The Gold Town

I’ve just spent two great nights in the centre of Thames for free. As I first arrived, I met Dave and Janice, a retired couple from Taranaki who live in their well kitted out Caravan and were lots of fun. We were stuck inside for several hours when the heavens opened and spent it wisely having lots of laughs in their caravan. I met several other Motorhomers there too who wanted to have a look at Rafe and were keen to swap notes. Lots of fun.

Chocker at Danby field
Chocker at Danby field

The park is next to Goldfields shopping centre where there is a Warehouse, Pack N Save, McDonalds a KFC and numerous other smaller shops, everything you need. There are also a brand new toilet block and a playground as well.

Goldfields Shopping centre
Thames
Danby filed from across the road
The famous Brian Boru hotel
Marina
Marina
Shortland Wharf. The boat in the foreground was for sale!

It is one block from the Main Street of Thames, the Famous Brian Boru hotel and only a stroll to the Port of Thames and marina where I’m told is another of NZ’s great Fish and chip shops.
From a year or so ago when the Thames Coromandel district council were banning freedom camping and were being taken to court by the NZ Motorcaravan Association, it is fantastic to see a win win outcome where now, the TCDC are now one of the most proactive and better councils in NZ for providing freedom camping and managing it as well as they do. There are now great parks all over the Coromandel peninsula and it’s fantastic to see them now being enjoyed by self contained Motorhomers from everywhere.

One more tried to sneak in ..
One more tried to sneak in ..

A fabulous park, thank you and well done Thames Coromandel District Council.

Quirky things

Amazing home built Airflow

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How is that lovely verandah cover.
How is that lovely verandah cover.
The interior
The interior
Looking the other way
Looking the other way

Check out these amazing piccies from Facebook. A home built Airflow caravan. The workmanship is extraordinary!

My Motorhome, Northland, Quirky things

Retro colour

While we were getting ready for New Years Eve, I couldn’t help but notice and amazing retro looking Mercedes based motorhome on the other side of the park.
It was built in Germany as a Micro Supreme branded Motorhome.

Brian, Kim and their daughter Maddie and the Mercedes.
Brian, Kim and their daughter Maddie and the Mercedes.

Owned by Brian and Kim from Auckland, they bought this two years or so ago and it became Brian’s project do up. The Mercedes D307’s are really popular in Europe as delivery, courier vans and small trucks and enjoy a great reputation as reliable runners and Brian was saying, he has no problem getting parts for it. All he has done mechanically was put in a bigger radiator which is apparently a must do for motorhoming. It also has a real “unimog” look to the front of it which I think reveals its Mercedes truck DNA.

The retro paint job
The retro paint job

Mercedes

The Tv station iutside
The Tv station iutside

Inside, well all I can say is what a great job they’ve done. New toilet and shower area and a new galley area. The minute you walk in, you get this amazing feeling of big volume. Brian has done amazing things with a TV/ sound station including a server for movies, a wifi router and a pop out Tv station in the awning area.

Inside
Inside
The Galley
The Galley

A great achievement by them both, a nice van and although at 1988 it is not really that old, the improvements that they made are amazing and it was nice to see them enjoying Sullivan’s Bay in the sun with friends and family.

Great Beaches, Northland

One of Aucklands best parks

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Our friends Rob And Helen have stayed here regularly and really recommended it as a great place to stay so we booked in a few weeks before Christmas for two nights.

Awnings out while the sun was shining
Awnings out while the sun was shining

Sullivan's

A wonderful place and this would have to be one of Auckland City Parks better camping spots. On the western side of Mahurangi Harbour almost opposite Scotts Landing, there is a beautiful beach and the foreshore is divided into several areas. There is a general camping ground, for those that need water, toilets and rubbish collection. There is a self contained camping area (where we stayed) and there is parking for day trippers.

Fiona on the beach
The info centre at Sullivan’s
Rob and Helens AutoTrail and Rafe with Fiona off to the beach
Fiona walking on the beach,. Looking towards Scotts landing
The tidy up before the rain came down

In a past lifetime when I was Launch Captain and on the Classic Yacht Association committee, we used to come up in Rorqual for the Anniversary Regatta and organise and help arrange the launch racing from this bay. We often anchored in here too. I remember a dreary day in Sullivan’s with the rain pouring down watching DVDs in Rorquals front cabin with my mate Alan while waited for other boats to arrive from Auckland. Being here in a Motorhome and seeing how well set up it is from a motoring perspective leaves me with a much greater appreciation of how good it is, despite the worsening weather.
The New Year’s Eve forecast wasn’t good and during the day, the wind steadily increased. There were a couple hardy souls anchored out there today but they sensibly moved on given the 20 odd knots blowing in here now.

Our site on New Years eve
Our site on New Years eve

By 5pm, we’d moved around the back of Rob and Helens van for the start of our New Years Eve celebrations. We were joined by John and Heather who we met in winter at Miranda when they were enjoying their first night in their 7m plus Trail lite which they had just bought. It was nice to see them again.
We barbecued tea and sat outside out of the wind before the clean up started about 8ish and before it rained. A great night in a nice park with good company.
Later: The forecast has got worse so rather than risk being blown off the ridge road by predicted 50knot winds, we’ve booked to stay another night and hunker down.
I couldn’t think of a better place to be.😎

Great Beaches, Northland

Water all around

After a few nights up by Tutukaka, we decided to splash out for a day in Whangarei.
We parked in the town centre Motorhome parking and checked in at one if the restaurants overlooking the marina for lunch. It cost a wee bit more than a bread roll but it was very pleasant for an hour or two.
After getting back to Rafe, we thought we’d check into a Motorcamp for the night.
Our friends Gary and Chris had talked about a neat park along the northern side of Whangarei harbour which was on a peninsula almost surrounded by water so we though we’d give it a go.

Rafe with the water up to the edge.
Rafe with the water up to the edge.
Rafe peering over the retaining wall
Rafe peering over the retaining wall

The owner  was very helpful and after a short guided tour of the park, we popped Rafe into our hole for the night. I was amazed when Fiona tried the TV to see that we had a reception given we were half under trees. The park was busy and very full.
I went for a walk with the camera to try and illustrate where we were. The park was built up with a wooden retaining wall all around to protect it from the sea.

The end of the peninsula looking towards Marsden Point
The end of the peninsula looking towards Marsden Point

A great spot with a fabulous host. It was a wee bit on the pricey side at $59, but given it was peak summertime and everywhere else was full, top marks to the owner for being a good entrepreneur and such a nice guy to go with it.

Friends, Northland

Robs Fan

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Having spent the last few days with our friends Rob and Helen and their 11yr old daughter Chloe, Rob was keen to show us a modification he has made to his fridge to make it more efficient. Now Rob is a clever guy and is very familiar with things electrical so to see it working as well as it does is fantastic.

Rob with his fan
Rob with his fan

Robs fridge is an under the bench style Dometic 3 way fridge. They imported their AutoTrail themselves from the Uk a few years ago and of course it came with a “Northern Hemisphere” fridge. The difference between those and the “tropical” fridge is that the NZ fridges apparently are setup to be able to deal with hotter climates.
The work around for Uk fridges in NZ is to fit a 12v fan in the cavity behind the fridge with a thermostat to expel the air from behind the fridge, outside.

The thermostat
The thermostat

The 12v fans use next to no power and are really reliable.
Rob says it has made a massive difference to its performance and both he and Helen are really pleased with the way it performs.
There is a link to an Aussie web site which details the technical which Rob found that makes it relatively easy.  Here’s the technical link

Northland

Whangarei Falls

On the way back from Matapouri, we almost stumbled on these falls in a well setup park on the Ngunguru road.
Very nice new toilets too if you’re looking for good loos.

Whangarei falls from the top
Whangarei falls from the top

We spent an hour or so wandering around what’s called the inner loop walk which takes you down an easy track to a huge cavern like area with the huge waterfalls falling into a big lake about 100 odd feet below.
There is a picnic table there and a nice area to take it all in.
Well worth a look and good exercise too 😎

Great Beaches, Northland

Sun sand and lots of people

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After a good night at Whangauru bay, we went to Tutukaka for morning tea and a look around the marina. The last time we were here was 12 or so years ago when we purchased Rorqual.

Fiona on Rorquals old pier
  Fiona on Rorquals old pier
Tutukaka monument
Tutukaka monument
Looking back from the Marina
Looking back from the Marina

It was nice to see the activity around the piers, people getting ready to go away on their boats and doing last minute jobs on them. Fiona sneaked off to the shops for a look around and then we were off to Matapouri bay.

It was chocker with people and a struggle finding a little room for an 8m Motorhome.

Mayhem at Matapouri
Mayhem at Matapouri

One of the things to used to annoy Fiona during my newspaper career as a photographer over 30 something years, was my dislike for crowds and having to get in them. I worked often in crowds, either at events, concerts or just big council events. It always meant difficulty parking and sometimes carrying or running some distance with heavy camera gear.
So by the time I got home, concerts or gatherings of any sort were always off the radar… So imagine me in a huge Motorhome and all these people with narrow streets and people wanting to get home, all hot and at the end of the day.

Woolleys bay carpark
Us in Wooleys bay carpark
Wooleys bay
Woolleys bay carpark from the top of the dunes
Helen and Fiona at Matapouri
Matapouri beach

We decided to move on to Woolleys bay, the next bay north hoping there would be less aggravation parking and some space. And it was lovely. We’d just arrived in the carpark behind the sand dunes and drove right into a flat spot next to another Motorhome who had been there the previous night. A really nice chap with his wife and two girls who was a supplier to Dethleffs and knew Jonas the importer.
Fiona and I sat in our new Christmas chairs and enjoyed lunch in the sun before changing and spending a few hours on the beach. Not a cloud in the sky and a bit of surf, just nice.
Later in the day, we thought we’d better check in with Rob and Helen who had got a premo spot in Matapouri bay and were encouraging us to come back.
It was mayhem but with both Rob and Helen acting as ace parking wardens, somehow we managed to get a spot right next to them. I have to say though, a bit stressful and although it’s a great beach, I really think that the beachfront carpark isn’t setup or well suited for large Motorhomes as everywhere you park is potentially exposed to a bad or careless car parker. Most of the cars had gone by 7pm and it started to settle down and by then, really nice.

Us once the cars had gone. Rob and Helens AutoTrail on the left
Us once the cars had gone. Rob and Helens AutoTrail on the left

All those people and the extra risk to Rafe, give me a quiet little Bay any day😎

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.