One of the nicer spots available not far from Opotiki is the Island View Motor Camp right on the beachfront between Ohope and Opotiki. The Island in front is of course White Island and it was steaming away when we were there.
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Nice little hedged parks looking out at the water.
After leaving Whakatane, we thought we’d try this Holiday Park which is also part of the Camp Saver program. Right on the waterfront too.
Great outlook
It was cold and in the middle of winter and I better it pumps during summer. Its a lovely spot with several tracks through the dunes to the sand. Some enterprising person has even made a throne of sorts so you can sit and enjoy the view.
They currently have several hundred Kiwi fruit pickers there and with Covid still on, we were advised to stay away from the bathroom facilities. I usually prefer ours anyway. All the facilities are normally available and they also have a pool, Kayaks and other water toys available for those interested.
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Office
Neat Pirate Ship for the kids
Nice parks
The Throne
Cabins too
Great spot and later we were joined by David and Michelle in their new Dethleffs Trend.
Rafe’s track to Island View Holiday Park
Great to see David and Michelle again and when we left there, they were staying on a few more days to have a good look around.
It’s been a wee while since either of us have been in this part of the country so I was really looking forward to checking it out.
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The Awakeri Campground was great with the pool too but we were leaving that behind.. we arrived in Whakatane later in the morning and checked in and settled down.
Biking past the campground
This was a very different camp from Awakeri where the sites were a lot smaller but it was only $20 a night with power and had everything you would ever want in a fantastic location.
Easy Parking
Whakatane Holiday Park is pretty much right in the centre of town on the edge of the river, protected by a raised stop bank with a walking track on top which the locals seem to really enjoy.
Close by the townThe walking track around to the town
The track goes right into town and it is only 5 minutes away. All the White Island boat services and Tourist area is based on the edge of the river just along from the park. There is also the Gardens and a model train and playground set up there too.
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Catching up
Whakatane town
Neat Mural by the coffee shop
Some tourist cabins
Looking down from the wall
We enjoyed a good look through the shops and a cuppa in one of the coffee shops and then headed back to Rafe.
Dusk with the walkers
Later in the day, we met David and Michelle who were visiting in their near new Dethleffs Trend motorhome. This is their first motorhome and they were really enjoying it. Nice people and they popped over later for a drink. It was really nice to see them.
Rafe’s Tracker trail to the camp at Whakatane
Nice spot and really handy and great value with the Camp saver.
Fiona had arranged time off for work and for me having a gap between jobs, it was time to get out in some fresh air. After packing Rafe, topping up with water and loading food and clothes in, we were away. We decided we’d stay in over Queens Birthday so we could take advantage of some of the Camp Saver deals.
Down the southern motorway with very little traffic and onto the amazing new Huntly bypass. This was our first time over it as it was finished just before lockdown. What a big saving in time and easy to get through. Now we just need a real bypass for Hamilton.
It has been a long time since I have driven around the lakes by Rotoiti, Rotoetu and Rotoma. Despite the weather being a miserable, it was an easy drive through.
Hot pool and it was nice and hot!
It has also been a while since either of us had been over to Whakatane we headed out towards Awakeri Hot springs. With over 100 powered sites and at a really reasonable rate and now the weather is colder, this seemed very sensible being close to a hot pool. 🙂
Arriving mid afternoon, we plugged in and settled Rafe and headed for the pool. Within minutes we had met some people some people also from Auckland who were doing just what we were, escaping after the Covid lockdown and they also had limited time so were counting the days away.
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BBQ area
Early morning
Nice tourist flats too
Kids play area
Nice wee hedge rows
Great parking.
Its a lovely spot and only 12 k’s from Whakatane.
The next morning, after another swim in the pool, we headed into Whakatane for some groceries and a bit of a look around.
It was cold in the morning!
Back to the camp, we headed for the pool.
A lovely park, some nice people running it. The free Wi-Fi didn’t really happen but there were so many other nice things about this park, it didn’t matter. Great pools and spotlessly clean. We’ll be back.
They’ve had a lot of rain up here so the Sandspit Holiday Park crew suggested that we stick to one back from the water just to make sure we don’t sink!
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Nice parking
My old boating friend Alan and I were in need of some time out of the house so we decided a few days before to check out the Sandspit Holiday Park and do a trip to Kawau on the ferry. Sounded like a plan thought I so off we went early on the Friday afternoon. It is only 42k’s from Auckland and with little traffic, we were there at 3.30pm.
Its a lovely little park with a lot of permanent Baches and Caravans but what a neat spot.
With an NZMCA discount, it was $23 each a night. With their very new Showers and Kitchens, its a delight to stay at. There are a whole bunch of older interesting buildings there too and Horace the Morris is a feature as well.
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Snakes and Ladders anyone
Horace the Morris
One of the Quirky wee cottages you can stay in
Out of the way
kayaks available too
Rafe by the water
We stayed two nights with a ferry trip to Kawau in between. Lucky with the weather, after getting back from Kawau, we walked along to the newly setup restaurant on the top floor of the Sandspit Yacht Club and caught up with Motorhome friends Rob and Helen who live not far away from there.
The ferry a few minutes walk away.
The last time we were here, unbeknown to me, they had some issues with the drainage system for the bathrooms which used to be a real problem apparently in the height of summer.
The new Drainage system
This has all been upgraded and put up the hill out of the way and hasn’t been an issue since. Nice friendly hosts who were happy to help with anything. ..
A shot from the ferry. You can see Rafe in the middle.
A great spot and handy to the Kawau ferry and the new Marina at Sandspit.
The Netspeed Speedtest for here.
Download: 7.34 Mbps
Upload: 2.10 Mbps
Ping: 23 ms
I think the tower was playing up a bit as we had some difficulty with the connection over the two nights.
Yay .. its the end of lockdown.. we’re away again.. almost ! Here’s a couple more posts from early 2017 until we get away again.
We’d survived the weather as fortunately the storm veered away from Coromandel and left us with plenty of rain but no wind.
Debris after the storm
I woke up early on Good Friday and took Rafe around to the dump station and got prepared for the next few days at our prebooked beachfront site. Fiona was driving down to Ardmore to be picked up by Helen and Rob and they were due to arrive around the middle of the day. Rob was following in their new Autotrail Tracker with daughter Chloe.
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Our wee spot in paradise
When I arrived up at the beachfront site, there was another little Swift rental alongside. I jumped out to move a BBQ table out of the way and Eric from the Swift gave me a hand. Eric and his wife Mary Ann were from Victoria in Canada and were traveling around NZ.
About 11am, I received a call from Fiona to say that they had arrived and that the camp wouldn’t allow them to come in until 11:30. Seriously? This does nothing to create a holiday atmosphere!
Our little setup with the tables. The Tracker and Rafe
Half an hour went by and Rob brought the Tracker in to park. As Rafes door is on the right and the Trackers door is on the left, I suggested I move to Rob’s park so the doors faced each other. This turned out to work really well as Gary, Dianne, Neil, Christine and even Eric and Mary Ann all came around to join us for drinks and nibbles for several nights. A lot of fun.
Happy Hour. LtoR: Dianne, Gary, Fiona, Christine, Neil, Helen, Chloe and Rob
Happy at Hahei
Back to friday. As the day went on, the park got more people in but by Sunday morning, it was really only about 1/3rd full.
The Playground
Motorhomes parked behind us.
Beachfront cottages behind us.
Us at the end of the road.
Some white water
Its a great park, a stunning location where our parks on the beachfront had tracks directly down to the sand. We were effectively parked on the back of the sand dunes.
Beachfront parking
The outlook 🙂
Toilets were handy, Gary and Diannes Beachfront cottage was right next to us, it couldn’t be better.
Beachfront cottages behind us.
My only comment would be that I found there was definitely room for improvement in the welcoming process at the office. To be fair this may have been stress caused by the cancellations they would have had.
The stunning beach
All the same, I have to rate it as one of the better Motorcamps around in a great place and we had a lot of fun.
Yay .. its the end of lockdown.. we’re away again.. almost ! Here’s a couple more posts from early 2017 until we get away again.
The build up was huge and as a result, we left Coromandel early and headed to Whitianga and then onto Hahei, as we figured it was very likely that we could get blocked in at Coromandel with closed roads. The road to Thames was already closed due to slips and wasn’t due to open until after Easter. After stopping at Whitianga for groceries, I cruised onto Hahei Holiday Park.
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I parked two rows back from the beach for the first two nights until the storm went through but on the second day, I decided to park behind the office amongst some trees for wind protection drawing on old boating experience.
My hideaway with the trees
Friends Gary and Dianne were in a beachfront cottage and Fiona had gone back to Auckland on the ferry for a couple of days work but was due back soon. ..so I was flying solo for a couple of days.
The Beachfront Cottages
Unfortunately the camp was absolutely deserted as most Motorhomers had disappeared and run for cover due to the forecast which initially had Cormomandel getting hammered by the remnants of ex tropical cyclone Cook.
The primo beach spots all empty
Gary and Diannes friends Neil and Christine arrived up from Otaki way on THE day and later, when the bell struck 4pm and the promised winds were only about 20 knots at peak and the rain was easing, we decided it was a fizzer and it was time for a light refreshment.
Just after 5 it stopped raining and it was time to go and check out the beach . What a great sunset with all the clouds.
Where were supposed to park but too close to the beach!
Getting cabin fever by 5pm but dry. LtoR Gary, Dianne, Neil and Christine.
People enjoying the great sunset
Dusk at Hahei after the “storm”!
There is still some energy in that water
Empty
The next day, parked in the right spot
Great Beach
People enjoying a wa;lk on Hahei Beach
I felt for the campground people as the place was deserted and from Hahei’s perspective, there really wasn’t a storm at all. Yes there was plenty of rain but the cost to all those on the peninsula at a peak time, it really was a beat up. I suppose from the forecasters perspective, it had to be that way rather than have people unprepared and it could have been a lot worse. It seems a real pity that it affects so many people’s livelyhoods.
Out in the sunshine
The next day, everyone that was there all seemed to be enjoying the sunshine on the beach. It really is one of the best beaches around.
Yay .. its the end of lockdown.. we’re away again.. almost ! Here’s a couple more posts from early 2017 until we get away again.
Saturday was a big day. Rob and Helen were off to collect their new Autotrail Tracker RB and they were beside themselves with excitement.
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Rob and Helen looking very happy !
Their first Tracker RB had taken them and their daughter Chloe. all around NZ over the last 4 years or so.
The new Tracker looking very smart
The new Tracker is a different colour, has Automatic Transmission and has 180 horses. It has more room in the front lounge area, a separate Shower and Toilet area and lots of other little tweaks.
The new beast with Rafe behind
Having Rafe parked right behind, I was amazed with the changes in some of the vents, and other fittings which you see on Dethleffs and other makes. Even the tyres are different from the older models.. now Michelins.
Rob unpacking the sealed manual packs.
We drove down to meet them at Athenree Holiday Park as a meeting point and to help celebrate their first night away in it.
The Bedroom. The bed runs the opposite way to the older one.
We hadn’t long checked in when the first glasses of bubbly were consumed. A nice afternoon in the sun with a swim in the hotpools later as well.
Its a lovely Motorhome and they’re over the moon with it.
Its a good thing that Rob is pretty handy and technically minded and likes reading the odd manual.
As the title says.. lots of bedtime reading manuals for Rob!
Yay .. its the end of lockdown.. we’re away again.. almost ! Here’s a couple more posts from early 2017 until we get away again.
Fiona had left Bland Bay and was heading back to town to do other things .. and work so she suggested that I spend another night out on the way back. We stopped in Waipu and had lunch and then Fiona went on to Auckland.
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The cricket pitch with the campground behind
I rang the good folk at one of my favorite spots when the weathers good, Whangateau by Matakana. A great campground run by Auckland City.
In the Grandstand
Today was a bit different as when I arrived, the tide was out and there was a friendly game of cricket with two families involved. One was from Whangaparoa and the other from the UK visiting. They were having a ball. I had to get some piccies.
Looking out to Omaha
Kids enjoying the pontoon
The Estaury
It is a fascinating place to watch as the tide comes in really quickly covering hundreds of metres of exposed mud in just under an hour… Amazing to watch.
The water is coming in
A nice campground if you’re looking for somewhere not to far from Auckland. See my earlier Whangateau post here.
This was first posted in Feb 2016 .. a special repost for lockdown!
Isn’t just great having the NZMCA app now running on our iPads. Even though I’ve had the gps files installed in Rafes in dash gps, it’s really nice sitting in the deck chair with the iPad and figuring out where to next with the app.
Rafe behind the railway station
The Motorhome parking behind the station
We found in the iPad, a great spot in Waihi that sounded fantastic. It’s at the Goldfields railway station at Waihi. For $10 per night, there are 6 powered sites and more space for others as well. There is also access to water and the Rail Trail toilets as the Rail Trail ends at the railway station. About 15 minutes walk away is the centre of town.
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Waihi station
The train with the Waihi station
Today’s driver
Nicely kept carriages
Rafe in the overnight area from the train
Pulling out of Waihi, off to Waikino
The traffic to waihi
Close to waikino
A nice Mitzi zooming past
Arriving at Waikino
Waikino station
Inside the cafe at Waikino station
Outside Waikino station
Shifting the loco
Allaboard
Back to Waihi
On the way back to Waihi
The Conductor watching at a crossing
We arrived and plugged in, paid for the park and we’re just in time for the last train ride to Waikino and back. The perfect way to check out the bike trails before walking or biking the Karangahake gorge trails.
Waihi station with Rafe parked behind
The train stops for 15 minutes or so, just enough time for a beer, glass of wine or just a coffee or ice cream. A great way to spend a couple of hours and fun too.
There are 3 return trips each day from Waihi.
This was first posted in Feb 2016 .. had to repost it for lockdown!
The weather dealt to the Rotoiti Classic Boats parade today. It has been postponed until Sunday so this morning, we arranged to stay here another day.
Our friends Shawn and Kathy from Taupo arrived late yesterday from Taupo with their two children and despite the rain, people came out from under cover to admire their 1960 Dodge with their new Retro Chris Craft.
Shaun’s replica Chris Craft
Shawn and Kathys Dodge with onlookers in the rain
Not long after that Tim and Pam arrived with their 2 door pillar less Chev Bel Air coupe with their custom made Miss Bel Air speed boat.
The 56 Chev with Miss BelAir
Russell Ward also arrived late with Steam Boat Romany and spent the morning getting her ready for the parade while kids were doing antics around with bikes in the rain.
The 56 Chev and the 1960 Dodge
This morning we were invited around to check out a boat Kereru that’s for sale so we went around in convoy in the Dodge and Chev and later to the Orere Point Store for lunch.
The Steam boat Romany at the jetty
Kids doing gymnastics with bikes in the rain
The Store
The Orere point Store
Orere point store
Tim and Shawns son having fun.
Alan giving me some instructions, can’t remember what they were.
Alan sitting in the Chev
Russell with Romany
The store has a really nice outdoor area complete with a stage and has a great selection of food and wines.
One of the nice things about Lake Rotoiti and the boating setup here is their lakeside covered docks where they are used as vehicles to get about in. Backing out their boats just like the rest of us do with our cars. Fantastic.
The covered docks
The boat parade is on today so we are looking forward to that.
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.
They currently have several hundred Kiwi fruit pickers there and with Covid still on, we were advised to stay away from the bathroom facilities. I usually prefer ours anyway. All the facilities are normally available and they also have a pool, Kayaks and other water toys available for those interested.
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