We’ve been trying to get into Waikite at all the wrong times it seems. At the end of the weekend, we managed to bag a spot in their camping ground for a night. There are only about 20 powered sites so that explains why a holiday weekend is probably going to awkward.. 🙂
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The campground at Waikiti
Waikite is about half an hour south of Rotorua and in its own little valley about 6 k’s from Waiotapu.
Our park at Waikiti
The campground does its best to be level but does have a little bit of a slope on it. Nothing that can’t be fixed with a wheel ramp or a block of wood 🙂
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Lovely
Lovely pools
The boiling spring at the back. The source!
View from the lookout
Waterfall
One of the bigger (and hotter) pools
There are 3 smaller scenic pools plus a big main pool in the middle. Attached to the side of the main pool are two small spa pool sized pools so plenty of choice. They are all different temperatures so you can chose your own comfort zone 🙂
View from the lookout
A walk up the back behind the pools will take to the spring where the water is so hot, it is constantly bubbling out of the ground and running down a stream beside the pools.
The boiling spring at the back. The source!
On the track back to the pools is a lookout up the hill looking out all over the area. Both well worth checking out.
And this meant Rotorua.. one of our favourite places in winter.
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Amazing covered walkways to get to the Ablutions
We left early on Friday morning to try and beat some of the motorway traffic and it worked. By 9am we were in Pokeno topping up with some tax free fuel 🙂
Check out the walkways
We arrived at Rotorua about midday and had a quick look around but finally checking into Rotorua Thermal Holiday park down by Whakarewarewa.
We were allocated a spot on one side not too far from everything.
We settled the van, plugged in, opened some hatches and after a cup of tea, headed off for the first of many swims in the pool. Its amazing who you get to meet in a hot pool.
After that it was time to walk off the lunch so we set off down to the lake front where they have recently finished a huge redevelopment of the foreshore. There is still more to come looking at the fenced off areas but what a big improvement. People everywhere so its good to see it being enjoyed by lots of young families.
The development on the waterfrontThe Lincoln and other cars at Eat St.
We walked on towards Eat st and in there was a local Hot Rod / American Car display all down the middle of it. Some great old cars.. my favourite was an old Lincoln.
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With the covered walkway
Caravans too
Nice cabins
The pools
Fiona found this french cafe
Fiona at the cafe and things French
Kids playground
Our walk in town
The development on the waterfront
As we headed back into the city, I managed to find a bus going right past the camp so we hopped on that and headed back to Rafe and then back to the pools.
The pools
There are four pools, one for families and 3 other smaller pools.. Not too hot so we literally spent hours in there off and on. What its all about!
The facilities are amazing, free showers, big kitchen area divided into sections so it can cater for several using it at once. Nice big lounge and huge dining room all connected..
The famous bridge where the kids used to dive for coins.Whakarewarewa
And right over the road is Whakarewarewa and Te Puia which is always worth a visit.
Rafe’s tracker map to Rotorua Thermal Park – Armada GPS
The Racecourse was quite handy as the Bike Trails all ran around where we were parked.
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The Richmond Motorway
We set off to ride into Nelson for lunch via the bike trail along around the waterfront. The whole Nelson area is spoilt for bike trails, they’re everywhere.
Riding along the Tahunanui
The first section runs right alongside the Richmond to Nelson motorway and goes around the back of the airport. Eventually it comes into the Tahunanui area and then onto the bike lanes following the traffic around the waterfront.. I rode on the footpath here as it felt heaps safer and there only a handful of pedestrians anyway.
Rutherford ParkNelson main stThe city council building
Coming into Nelson via the Bike trail at Rutherford park, we found ourselves virtually in the main street next to an amazing, seen only in Nelson, two level bike park. Fantastic and after a few minutes of figuring it out how it all worked, we stuck our bikes in there and off we went for lunch.
Amazing secure bike rack
Often when you’re biking it is sometimes hard to find somewhere to park your bikes safely and securely, this is the answer!
The Caravan VendorsThe Caravan vendorsPeople enjoying lunch
We opted for a Japanese fried chicken dish which was yum. There were lots of people there coming and going so it seemed to be well known around the town.
Fiona had a another look around and then we were off back to Richmond. The trip was a round trip of 36k’s so we felt like we’d done some exercise by the time we got back to Rafe.
Riding outside the Tahuna Campground. Fiona out in front.The view out from Tahuna
Hanmer is one of those old favourite spots as we have had some epic family reunions here. Add the hot pools and it doesn’t get any better so we were quite looking forward to popping in for a night on our way up to Nelson.
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Hanmer Hotel
We arrived in perfect weather having come through from Oxford bang on lunch time.
At the NZMCA park
We managed to get a park in the main street by the trees and set out for somewhere to eat. We settled on a Home made pie from a Kiosk on the corner. Yum!
After a couple of good nights at the NZMCA park in Te Anau, we set off towards Queenstown. By the time we got to Lumsden, it was time for a coffee and a walk to stretch the legs.
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Lumsden – Great parking
We were last here a few years ago and the place looks fantastic. The Heritage Train Station project is looking really good and is now a full fledged parking spot for Motorhomers wanting to stop in for a night or two. The Train and carriages are covered over and its looking great.
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Lumsden
The Trains now all covered
Carriage done
The Station
After half an hour we set off towards Queenstown. One of my favourite drives around here is alongside the lake up to Jacks point alongside Lake Wakatipu.
Enjoying the beach at Queenstown
We arrived at Creeksyde Motorcamp right on lunchtime. The first thing we did was give Rafe a wash and a general spruce up and what a difference, it changed colour!
A clean Rafe at CreeksydeThe Gardens
Queenstown was having one of those partly overcast / cloudy days which improved as the day went on. We decided after the last few days at a hectic pace we’d blob out a bit and spend a few days here so Fiona could catch up with her cousins Heather, Jan and Jan’s other half Rob.
Fiona was also keen to have a Fergberger which we did for lunch after we’d settled Rafe after his wash and opened vents etc.
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The Earnslwa on the lake
Queenstown
Queenstown
The bow of the Earnslaw
Downtaown Queenstown
On the bike ride to Frankton
Looking out twoards the Remarkables
One of the outdoor areas at Creeksyde
Outdoor area at Creeksyde
The loos at Creeksyde
So I got the bike down, Fiona wanted to walk and I met her down at the wharf and later outside the Fergberger shop ion the main St. The burgers are everything the ad says, they are fantastic.
The Boatshed CafeThe view from the deck at the Boatshed Cafe
After that, we decided it was a good day to do a bike ride through Queenstown, around the gardens on the point and right down to Frankton. Its about 15k’s for the round trip and is an easy ride through some of the best scenery.
A great day out after which we headed back to Rafe and blobbed out with a nice G&T!
The Dump station st Creeksyde
We’ve stayed at Creeksyde quite a few times over the years. Its quite a quirky place with the plumbing decorations and the artwork.. one of the best dump stations around and well decorated too.
The loos at Creeksyde
They were doing a deal that if you stayed three nights, the tariff dropped to $49 a night down from $55 for two. Given that it is an easy walk to Queenstown shops and is well appointed with the best loos and showers around, I think its pretty reasonable and they’re always friendly and helpful.
We seem to get the short straw when it comes to getting great weather in Dunedin but we struck the jackpot this time. It was perfect.
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Ross, Fiona and Karen at St Clair for tea.
Before we left Geraldine, I rang our old friends from Devonport, Ross and Karen who have recently moved after a long time in Cromwell to Dunedin. We hadn’t seen them since Ross’s birthday party a few years ago so we were looking forward to catching up.
Nice parking
We made a beeline for Dunedin Holiday Park which was doing a off peak discounted deal and was right next to St Kilda beach. It was also not far to Ross and Karen in Dunedin South.
From the top of the sandhill between the camp and the beach. City in background left.
After settling down, Ross and Karen arrived with their son Cam, and we enjoyed a catchup reunion drink on the picnic table outside Rafe. Wonderful to see them all.
From the top of the sandhill between the camp and the beach.
Nice branding 🙂
Nice parking at Gore
The next day, we were heading to Gore and we decided to stay at the Town and Country club.
Early morning at Gore
They have an amazing setup with a brick toilet, shower and laundry setup with separate secure parking with plenty of powered sites around the perimeter of a graveled all weather parking area… all for $20. If you are a Clubs NZ member, they also do meals and have a well setup bar area. Fantastic.
On the edge of the Waikato river at Karapiro is an amazing complex set up for our competitive rowers. All the top rowing regattas are held here and most of our top Olympic and Commonwealth Games Rowers and Canoeists all train at this fantastic facility.
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Nice parking on the lower camping areaDown by the river
Attached to this is the Campground run by Liz and her assistants and it is HUGE. There are two campgrounds and they’re dead flat. The top one is set back a bit from the river but has a view through the trees and the bottom campground, right on the river.
The Dethleffs Rally on the top campground
We had arranged to host the 2022 Dethleffs Rally here tip toeing a bit around the Covid outbreak which was at its peak. We lost a few due to Covid and about 8 or so more wanting to keep their heads down.
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Heading for our next stop in Waihi with Ayden and Liam in the back, we stopped just out of Tokoroa when someone spotted a Subway store, the boys favourite 🙂
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At the Goldfields Park
From here we cruised on up to the Waihi Goldfields Railway. A great place to stay and they’ve really tidied it up since we were last here.
Waihi Station
Its the perfect stop as we could take the boys on the Train to Waikino and then later meet their Dad Alex at Ngatea where he would take them to Pauanui.
Grandsons Ayden and Liam with Fiona
I was a wee bit concerned as it was getting late in the day and you can’t really book parks here but there was plenty of room.
Leaving Waihi
The next morning, we went over to the station and got our tickets and were ready for the ride to Waikino. The boys were quite excited and had a lot of fun encouraging the drivers alongside the railway to toot their horns.
Toot that horn
They liked the Taniwha too by the track on the way. After a 20 minute Ice cream stop, we were on our way back to Waihi. If we had more time, we would have taken them over the river to the Victoria Barracks and the Museum .. next time. We did come here a few years ago and biked the trails right to Karangahake. That can be seen here and the Windows walk is well worth doing, see that here.
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All Aboard
Boys waiting for the train
Crossing the highway
Toots away
When we got back to Rafe, we realised how much progress Alex was making from Auckland so we needed to get cracking ! After a quick look at the big Waihi Mine hole, we set off towards Ngatea.
Checking out the Taniwha
The Goldfields Railway parking has improved dramatically. They seemed to have levelled it slightly and clearly labelled the parking but generally, it all looks great and for $15 a powered site per vehicle, it can’t be beaten.
Rafe’s Tracker map to the Goldfields Railway – Armada GPS
Its a huge farm on many acres doing all the berries under the sun. At the moment they’re just about out of Strawberries but there was plenty of everything else 🙂
Parking was easy with a big parking area for Motorhomes and Caravans so easy there too.
Easy parking
It was stinking hot so we chose to sit outside under the shady pergola and the food was perfect.
Popular Mini GolfFun and Games
We had these amazing strawberry sundaes. They were $9 something each but just the best, we even came back the next day to do it all again.. 🙂
The ice cream sundae
A must do if you’re in the area.. on the way to Whakatane on the Tauranga side on the main road in, about 3 k’s before the Hub in Whakatane on the left.
Rafe’s Tracker map to the Berry Farm and Cafe. – Armada GPS
Its the silly season and we were looking for somewhere to go.. many places jack up their prices in the hot spots, think $70-80 a night for two and good on them but we would rather go somewhere off the track than pay that and often its just as nice.
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Hot, Wet and just good fun!
We settled on Bledisloe Holiday Park at Little Waihi right on the water.. Just a magic spot and the prices were very reasonable .. 5 nights for just under $200 with power, beachfront parking, fantastic showers(free) and loos of course.
Plenty of Jandals
The camp was busy and slightly chaotic being New Year holiday period but what a spot!.
Fishing at the entrance to the Estuary
On our first day we took Rafe down the road to check out Papamoa. We were parked up on the hill in a Freedom camping spot looking over the beach next to the campground. Fiona was getting ready to go for a swim. I noticed some people all standing on the sand checking something out and there it was.. about a 3 metre shark swimming through the 2 nd breaker along the beach.
There was a woman with her 2 yr old toddler just in the water running to grab him.. she also went down the beach further to alert other swimmers and I’ve never seen them get out of the water so fast. Needless to say, Fiona never made it into the water.
After a great lunch we headed back to the camp and settled in for the next few days. We met some great people and I have to say, I really enjoyed the change for us of sitting in one spot for a few days and swimming, reading and just taking it all in.
Fiona reading her Ipad
A wonderful park in a superb spot. You can walk over the estuary at low tide to Pukehina Peninsular for somewhere else to explore.
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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