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.
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.
Driving past this for about the 6th time without getting some piccies was not an option 🙂
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The Service Station
The Three Creeks Trading is created from over 25 years of collecting memorabilia by Dave Taylor and it is all for sale !
Everthing you could imagine
With all sorts of Bric a Brac from days gone by, old washing machines, beautifully made Macrocarpa outdoor furniture, you name it, Dave’s got it.
Great Radio
Although most of what you see here has been brought together by Dave, more and more has been added from the Us over the last 10 years. You can easily forget the time and get lost in it. Its a wonderful spot.
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Everthing you could imagine
Service Station
Metal signs
You can order your furniture here
Love the signs
Inside the General Store
Neat Washing Machines
General Store
They also have an on site Coffee Caravan if you simply just want a break for Coffee.
Yes, you can buy Coffee here
Burkes Pass is half way between Geraldine and Tekapo and is well worth checking out. There is easy Motorhome parking in front too.
On arriving at Cromwell, we had to stock on some groceries at the New World, get some Diesel at the Truck stop and call some friends re catching up as you do!
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The Historic Precinct in Cromwell
After this we had lunch by the lake and had a good look around the Cromwell Historic Precinct. The lake looked fantastic and its a nice spot to relax in and see what used to be in this area.
By the Historic Precint in Cromwell
We were going to stay the night in Lowburn at Rob and Helens house with Rob, Helen was flying down later that week. As they’re Motorhomers themselves, they have a purpose built concrete pad with a 16 amp external power socket for friends on wheels 😄
Absolute luxury !
Rafe and Rob and Helens Tracker at their place.
After a nice night with Rob at Lowburn, we met old Auckland friends Ross and Karen and they took us around to a restaurant and we enjoyed a nice couple of hours catching up on all the news. Our kids were all Playcentre kids together so we go back a long long way.
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Rafe parked near the precinct
Lake Dunstan
Rob and Helens place
The forecast was looking very suspect so we headed back to Derek and Andrea’s Cap in Alexandra and Rob came with us to hunker down for the weather.
The view from Rob and Helen’s lounge
Its really good to see Rob and also Ross and Karen as we haven’t seen them for at least a year or two.
About 3.5 years ago, Australian friends and business partners, John and Bruce bought a beautiful huge Mansion on the main road in Winchester, just a few k’s north of Temuka. It is called MiaFlora and is just amazing. It is open from Thursdays through to Sundays.
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Miaflora
The idea was to restore the house, landscape the gardens using unusual and larger items of Garden furniture and accessories and have a plant nursery around the back with everything that you can think of.
Unusual garden sculptre
Meanwhile inside the house and on the other side beside the house, John the talented Pastry Chef with his staff run the Cafe. The food is something else and the coffee superb, and of course it is all beautifully landscaped with Bruce’s directions.
The Cafe area inside
We caught up with old friends Ollie and Pam and they bought us to the Cafe. They also introduced us to Bruce and we enjoyed a fun ½ hour or so chatting about all sorts. He’s a real character and when you see the setup, very talented with things Green and Floral 🙂
Outside in front of the House
Miaflora
Ollie and Pam reflected in a Garden display
Outside Cafe seating by the stream
Fiona Ollie and Pam in the Garden centre
Ollie Pam and Fiona on the swing
The Masonic lodge over the road
Just remembering that Ollie is a Chef and he and Pam are pretty fussy with food and things Hospitality, MiaFlora is their bolthole when they want a break somewhere nice.
Fiona, Ollie and Pam
Directly over the road is the local masonic Lodge with a huge easy access and flat carpark that could be used for Motorhome parking.
One of the yummy cakes we had there
Definitely worth checking out next time you’re in the area.. MiaFlora
We’ve passed through Foxton several times and every time have said, we should have stopped to check out that Windmill.. well, this time we did and what an amazing project.
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The Windmill
It is modelled on a 17th century Dutch Windmill with some modern changes to meet NZ building codes.
The Milling gear in the Windmill
De Molen was setup by two Dutch immigrants Jan Langen and Cor Slobbe and opened in 2003. It was established as a monument to all the Dutch immigrants that came to New Zealand and bring tourism and create some employment for the town.
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Rafe parked behind the library
The Dutch cafe next door
Looking across the town
The Windmill
There is easy Motorhome parking behind the Public Library right next door on grass. Admission is $2 for a self guided tour and from the top, you can right out to Foxton beach and also a great view over the town.
Looking out to Foxton Beach
Its well worth doing and Fiona and I also saw the Rembrandt paintings on at the Library right next door. A really interesting hour or so,k
My old neighbours Terry and Lisa moved to Wangavegas (Wanganui) as he calls it, about 15 years ago and they love it. They’re really settled here with new friends and are currently building a new house out by the Golf course which is perfect for Terry as he loves his Golf.
Carolines Outback Bar and Restaurant
We arrived early in the day and checked in at Carolines Outback Holiday Park where I’ve stayed before. Its a great park and it is right behind Carolines Outback Bar and Restaurant which was perfect for us to have a meal with Terry and Lisa.
No Holes left
They popped in about 5pm and we had a couple of drinks in Rafe before checking in to the Restaurant at 6:30.
A fabulous meal as always and it was great to catch up and hear all about their new house and their family.
Terry with Lisa, Archie and Fiona
In the morning they popped around and we walked around the river across the bridges with their Dog Archie before checking out at 10am and heading North towards Auckland.
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The Office – Bruce’s Truck
On the bridge Terry, Fiona and Lisa with Archie
Along the River where we walked.
Caroline’s Outback Holiday park is a great spot to stay and Bruce is always happy to help. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and gloomy this time but check out the images from the last time I we were here and also see Bruces Truck.
The Tracker has popped its clogs so until its fixed or replaced there are no maps.. The Park is by the river about 1 k inland from the city on the Somme Parade.
We were staying in the reasonably newish Otorohanga NZMCA park which is only 800 metres to the Town centre.
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Otorohanga’s main street
One of the first shops we popped into was an Art Deco shop which had all sorts of stuff in it including quite a bit section on Steam Punk as well. Lots of Cloche hats and neat things.
Fiona with the poles outside the I site
A walk across the road and down through the Ed Hillary lane was a huge display of Kiwiana including a neatly displayed board of Kiwi slang and its American or English equivalent. Also there were old ads for wringer washing machines and reminders of the half pint of Milk at School. I was a milk monitor at the school I was at in Central Wellington so remember it well. Nice cold milk in winter for morning tea, Yum!
The Railway Station built in 1923 after the original burnt down
As you come out of the arcade at the other end is the railway station. We parked the bikes and went in for a couple of Latees. There we met Roger who owns the Origin coffee company that imports Coffee from their own farm in Malawi and brews it in the Railway Station. The coffee is fantastic. One of the best I’ve had for a while.
Fiona ordering coffees
Roger started Origin in 1999 and has gone from strength to strength since then. When you’re in the Station, don’t expect a big selection of food apart from Toasted Sammies and Cakes. The good news is, you’re welcome to bring you’re own food. Roger is keen to concentrate on the coffee 🙂
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The original Railway station built in the late 1880’s
The cafe with the roasting gear.
The Roasting equipment
Great parking
After half an hour or so of chatting to Roger and enjoying the Coffee, as we were leaving, the Auckland to Wellington Train pulled in… this is a trip I want to do as well.. looks great !
The Railway station with the North Island train in.
We biked back to Rafe at the park to think about when we can do that Train trip 🙂
Grandsons, Ayden and Liam were both really looking forward to seeing some boiling mud for the first time and if we could, the famous Pohutu Geyser.
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Fiona, Ayden and Liam on the way to the Geysers
We left early and walked about 100 metres to Te Puia all well connected by tunnels under the roadway. The family pass which was normally $150 odd seemed appropriate and because there was a NZ special discount, we were able to show our drivers licenses and get nearly $50 off ! A big saving.
The base of the Geysers
There just enough time to get the boys an ice cream and us a coffee before the next tour was due to head off with Guide Kiri.
Kiri with the Tour group
She was fantastic and as the Geysers were still building up a head of steam, after teaching the group of about 60 in the tour how to pronounce the full name of Whakarewarewa(and a lot more), she took us first to see the craft academy. Whakarewarewa is the abbreviated form !
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In the gallery
Wax moulds for Bronze statues
Stone work
Baskets
Carving
One of the smaller Geysers before it disappeared into the cloud
Burial ground
People watching the Geyser
Fiona, Ayden and Liam on the way to the Geysers
The site
I didn’t realise but they have a full Academy for training craftsmen from Bone or Stone carving to Wood Carving, Jewellery and many other skills. They work on show for the tourists behind and below a walkway and you finally end up in a Gallery where the work is available to buy. The trainees have uniforms and have a full apprenticeship/graduation ceremony. It is an amazing setup. Very entrepreneurial and all done very nicely. I was impressed.
The base of the Geysers
The steam was building up so Kiri took us down to the Mud Pools then onto the Geysers. Unfortunately there was a grey sky and the steam and the clouds all merged so it was impossible to really see the water let alone photograph it. The boys enjoyed it and also got to sit on some warm concrete which was nice as it was only 10C!
Boiling Mud
We spent about 4 hours there all up and we decided it was time to head back to Rafe and go and warm up in the Hot Pool.
Pohutu Geyser is in there somewhere
As I say, I was very impressed with the way it was all setup. Paths and bridges are a long way from what I remember from the old Whaka village with them all being well engineered and maintained.
A fun day for young and old 🙂
While we were in Tekapo with our neighbours, Ray and Margaret who have been living in their bus for the last 4 ½ years or so, we found out that we had probably missed the best part of the Rail Trail while we were in Ranfurly. We had a few days up our sleeve before catching up with Helen in Lowburn so we decided to spend another couple of nights at one of our favorite stops in Central Otago, the Omakau Hotel.
The Omakau Hotel is well setup for Motorhomes with a whole set of Ensuite cabins and concreted Motorhome parks out behind the Hotel. See my previous blog on this.
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We were travelling from the NZMCA park in Cromwell so it wasn’t that far.
Getting ready at Omakau behind the Hotel
We used the time to have a good tidy up. Vacuuming and washing Rafe inside and out! The only problem is that the fresh water in these parts has a high level of calcium which dries on as water spots.. ugly! At least it was clean 🙂
At Omakau
The next morning, we up early and set off on the bikes to Lauder on the bike trail. The first bit to Lauder was slightly uphill but barely noticeable. There were a couple of bridges but it was largely a dead straight track across open fields most of the way to Lauder.
Arriving at Lauder
We stopped briefly at Lauder for a couple of sandwiches which we took with us and a glass of water.. the last of the big spenders !
Viaduct 1
From here is was a slight uphill grind up to the hills until we came to a curved viaduct crossing a river which was amazing. We stopped here for a look then headed onto some amazing tunnels which had to be walked through.
Real lord of the rings type of landscape
Both tunnels were reasonably short. We continued a slight climb through a really rocky Central Otago landscape to cross the main Viaduct.
The first Tunnel
From here we were on the edge of the Ida Valley and could pretty much see right down towards Ranfurly.
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The road to Lauder
Glass of water and a cake and we’re off again
At Lauder
The first Viaduct
Off the first bridge
Looking back
On the way back to Tunnel 2
Crossing the second Viaduct
Amazing view. Apparently this Viaduct took three years to build and the workers lived up here in the hills in little shacks. It must have been pretty unpleasant. There are some great signboards which give you the history as you go along.
Viaduct 2 took three years to build.
It was sandwich time before heading back to Lauder. We’d done the bits we missed !
Viaduct 2 with the Ida valley behind
The ride was great and it was nice to see the Tunnels and Viaducts that we had missed. We worked out that we did approximately 36k’s there and back.
On the way back to Tunnel 2
This was the easy bit. Feet up downhill really all the way back to Omakau. We stopped in at Lauder for a cuppa and something else to eat before heading back to Omakau.
In the tunnel
While we were in Lauder having a cup of coffee, I received a phone call from my old neighbour, Terry. He was on the road on his way to Alexandra and was keen to catch up.
Fiona nearly back at Lauder
We arranged to meet at Omakau and we had not long been back when he arrived armed with a bottle of Chardonnay and some cheese and biccies.
On the way back to Omakau
It was really nice to see Terry and we ended up having Tea at the Omakau Hotel which was great.
Update on Omakau Hotel 12-05-2019
We popped in here on the way through to Alexandra and checked in with Stacey to see if we could stop over for the night.
We planned to splash out and shout ourselves a meal in the restaurant and then crash in Rafe in the park behind later.
What used to be $15 a night for a powered site is now $35 plus another $10 if we wanted to use the ensuite shower/toilet !
I mentioned that at $45, that was fast approaching TOP Ten prices but without the amenities.
I suggested $20 just for a powered site might be more reasonable given that we were also planned to have a meal there.
It was $35 or nothing so we left.. For a powered site in the middle of nowhere, that’s getting expensive!
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.
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.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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