Tag Archives: Extra Value Parking

Coromandel 2019

Motorhomes and Classic Cars

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The week ended with Fiona getting a cold and wanting to blob  and get better so we thought we’d escape the big city and head to Pauanui.

Fiona spent the first day in bed while I went out in between cups of tea for a bike ride around the peninsula.

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The park

There is only ever one place for us to park at Pauanui and that’s the Pauanui Club. I’ve done a few posts about their Motorhome Parking and it is just the best value and easy parking around for miles.

Parking at Pauanui

They’re also really good and easy to deal with. Always a smile and nothing is ever to hard. They’ve now also got their Laundromat up and running and now have a full Dump station. At $10 a night per van including power, water and access to the bar, it is exceptional value.

The Club entrance

Its amazing how many walkways and how easy the biking is. Someone really thought about this when the early Pauanui subdivisions were first planned.

Having your plane tied to your doorknob!

I headed down towards the waterways and met our Motorhome neighbours out on their bikes. They were from Motueka and are checking out the North Island with their friends from Okarito (North of Franz Josef).

The next day, Fiona was feeling much better and we went for a wander into the township which is only 5 minutes walk away through a tunnel under the adjacent airfield.

Perfect

Later that day we went to the Club and watched the Bingo which was fun and then the Rugby on the big TV. One thing I really noticed here was how friendly everyone was.

Our morning sleep in was nicely disturbed by that great sound of some big motors as the Pauanui Classic Car people met in the club car park before heading off in convoy to the Matatoki Cheese Factory for lunch.

Click on the Gallery below to see the Cars

Having your plane tied to your doorknob!
On the way home
The crowds around the cars
Nice tails
Corvette Interior
Rafe at the park
Some of these cars were really rare. John the organiser has a Covette  Cove Convertible. A friend of mine who is a real Corvette buff has always wanted one of these but good ones are normally worth Telephone numbers!

John heading off in his Corvette

There were some really nice vehicles and the locals all came out in the sunshine to see and admire the cars and see them off for their lunch.

Mini Golf next door

A great atmosphere, great people and a nice spot to park.

Rafe’s Tracker map
Northland

Leigh Central Motorhome Park

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We popped in here a year or so ago when Ian and his wife Heather had not long been at the helm of this neat little place.

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Looking across to the the parking

It also has quite a large Motel and Wedding reception area as part of it and since we were here last, they’ve added some some nice wee chalets which they call the Boathouses.

The Boathouses

The trees have grown, the loo and shower complex which they were installing last time are up and running and it is all looking really good.

Great view out across Omaha Bay

Being part of the NZMCA Camp saver program for off season parking is a bonus too.

Plenty of room

As we arrived, Ian and Heather were out wielding their tools adding baseboards to their accomodation at one end of the complex and although they were ovbiously busy, they couldn’t have more accomodating helping us to get setup.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

The Lounge
Kitchen
Inside one of the Boathouses
Great view out across Omaha Bay
The Wedding Reception parking
Nice Wedding area
The Boathouses
The new Loo, Laundry and Shower block
The Motels
The Motels

It’s nice to hear that they’ve been so busy as it really is a top place and very handy to a good Cafe and the pub is just around the corner.

The Reception area

The view out to Tawharanui Peninsular is spectacular.

View out to Tawaharanui

We really enjoyed coming back here and will be back more often. A lovely spot.

Rafe’s Tracker Map
Friends, South Island 2019

The Pine trees on the beach

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While we were at Fairlie, I met our neighbours Peter and Val who were heading to Amberley to see their daughter. She just happened to live near the Campground at Amberley Beach. This was to be our next destination too.

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Rafe in the Park

After leaving Fairlie, we checked with old friends Ray and Margaret who have settled now in Geraldine. We met them at Peskis and they later showed us around Lake McGregor when we were with them at Tekapo. We had lots of fun together and it was neat to catch up with them again and see their house.

From here it was a quick stop at Christchurch to get some chemicals for the loo and then off to Amberley Beach.

The Non Dog area

We arrived there about 4pm and the shadows were already starting to get long. The camp is split into two bits. On the right is an area for Dogs and on the left is an area without Dogs. We went to the left and signed up and put our money in the “wooden maiden”. The cost is $5pp plus $5 for power.. very good value with some new loos nearby and the beach just through the sandhills.

Crossing to the pines

We went for a walk down to the beach just for a look and it looks fantastic with Pines on the foreshore in the sandhills.

Fabulous beach

It reminded me of when I was growing up in Christchurch, we used to have family holidays somewhere up this coast and I remember the pine trees that you had to run through to get to the beach and there were lots of old Cribs.. ahh the good old days !

Late Colours

It looked a bit bleak this time but this was only because it was getting late.

In the morning we left there and headed through to Kaikoura. Coming down from Wellington poured with rain all the way so we didnt get to see much but this time it was brilliant sunshine.

Its amazing what has been done here by the roading and railway people fixing things up after the earthquake. We saw some of the brave abseiling workers fixing back wire barriers to stop rocks falling. Amazing

The Pier Hotel

Arriving at Kaikoura for lunch, our first stop was to the Pier Hotel where we’ve eaten before. Looking across from there its amazing to see all the rocks that have been pushed up by the earthquake.

Looking across Kaikoura with all the new Rocks

One of the things still noticeable is the state of the roads around the area but Kaikoura is looking great and its great to see the good folk of Kaikoura bouncing back after such massive damage.

The Netspeed Speedtest Amberley
Download : 42.05 mbps
Upload : 12.16 mbps
Ping : 50 ms

Rafe’s Track North
Friends, South Island 2019

Biking to Lowburn

Moving from the Queenstown Holiday Park after my job was complete, we were looking forward to catching up with Rob and see Helen who had arrived in Lowburn from Auckland the day before.

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Motorhomes and caravans down at one of my favourite parking spots

We were at Rob and Helen’s place for the weekend and Sunday was planned for a quick bike ride down to the lake by Lowburn Inlet.

Rob had some chores he wanted to deal with and was going to walk down later so we all set off.

The bikes ready to go

Fantastic sunshiney day and warm as toast as long as you kept out of the shadows!

Fiona and Helen heading to Lowburn

We ended up down by the inlet where we’ve stayed in Rafe right by the lake. Its interesting to see that the absolute lakeside has been fenced off but it is still a wonderful place to stay. I believe the loos have had a bit of a makeover too.

Lowburn lake

We didn’t stay long and we biked back up the Lowburn Valley to check out some of the newly built houses. The real estate scene down here is cruising along nicely and I’m not surprised looking at some of the fantastic homes being built here.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

By the Lowburn lake
Lowburn valley
A shot from up on the hill looking over the valley. Lake Dunstan on the right
Looking across the trees and stream at the back of Rob and Helen’s place
Fiona and Helen getting back
When we arrived back at the house in time for friends Ross and Karen afternoon drinks, Rob was just arriving back from a walk. He didn’t say where he’d been but Rob doesn’t do small walks 🙂

Fiona getting back to Rob and Helen’s

A great day out in the sun.

South Island 2019

Off to see the Red Shed

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After parting ways with Rob at Alexandra, we set off towards Queenstown and then Glenorchy. Good old GPS took us right through the main shopping area of Queenstown. We were heading for the pedestrian mall at one stage 🙂

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On the way to Glenorchy

Once out of Queenstown, it was a fun drive. We stopped along the way at a lookout over Lake Whakatipu for lunch and then carried on. The road was up and down all the way to Glenorchy but amazing scenery.

The Glenorchy Hotel
The Motorhome parking at the Hotel

We checked in at the Glenorchy Hotel where they have CSC Motorhome parking for $12 with power which is great.

Amazing little town. The main street

After settling down Rafe, we set off to have a quick look around and of course ended up in the Pub in front of the fire.

Tourists on the wharf

In the morning, we used the Laundry here to get through the washing before the forecast rain came.

Looking up from the main street at Mt Larkins

Later, the weather was closing in and we had an amazing thunderstorm which went on for about three hours. Its amazing hearing the boom echo off the mountains and the ferocity of the lightning was something else too.

Looking westward towards the weather!

It was fun tucked up listening and watching 🙂

Looking across to Mount Bonpland

After breakfast, we set off for a walk down through the town as the wind got up, the sun came out and the mountains around us looked amazing.

The Famous Red Shed
Looking back at Mt Larkins from the wharf

Fiona went for a walk around the Glenorchy lagoon which she said was nice.

Its a nice wee town and interesting to see a few big back up generators around. They must have a few weather related power issues from time to time.

The Netspeed Speedtest
Download : 65.17 mbps
Upload : 13.49 mbps
Ping : 89 ms

Rafe’s Tracker Map
South Island 2019

Feeling at home in The South

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And it is in Peski’s at Geraldine which is also one of THE best parking spots.

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The Top level

We’ve stayed here several times and it just like a comfy old chair!  Sue and David .. and Tui keep the place looking immaculate and the happy hours are legendary 😃

Sue and Tui

It was great to see them both again after two years or so since we here last.

We popped in pretty much unannounced and they were chocker but Sue managed to squeeze us in next to their Garage.

The shadow is creeping over

The Happy Hour tree has had a big haircut and with the sun dropping earlier, it was a case of where the sun was for our late afternoon catchup.

We met a whole lot of people from Christchurch who were here together and they were good fun.

The Old Happy Hour Tree with a HUGE haircut

We rode into Geraldine on the new Electric bikes which was good fun. Its about 7 k’s out of Geraldine but thats about 10 minutes at 30k’s on an Electric Bike 🙂 I like Geraldine and I’ve said to various members of our family that I might just go and buy a house here 🙂 .. all attempts end up with “the look”!..

I checked out the track behind down to the river. The garden seat has washed away a few times in various weather events but David has managed to reset it again.

Peskis is $15 a night with power. There is a washing machine, a shower and a cassette only dump station which are available each for $2.

Chocker Block

A fantastic spot and they’re just the best hosts. A must stay spot when you’re next in the area.

The Netspeed Speedtest
Download : 44.06 mbps
Upload : 5.59 mbps
Ping : 51 ms

Rafe’s Tracker Map
South Island 2019

Kowhai Pass – Springfield

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The NZMCA has just started a new program called Campersave which allows us Motorhomers to take advantage of the off season when Motorcamps are not busy and also has the benefit for Motorcamps to get some off season cashflow.

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Neat spot

Its a win win for all!

A customer at the door.. old fashioned camping !

So I was keen to support one and the one closest to us was part of the Springfield Domain. It is called the Kowhai Pass Campground as this was the original name for Springfield.

Camp Caretaker Joy in her office

We rocked in and met one of the delightful caretakers, Joy who showed us where to park and where things were. The cost is $20 per van with power. There are toilets and showers as well. The showers cost a $1 which is pretty cheap. I’m sure I spotted a laundry too.

Looking along the main street of Springfield

A great spot for the night and great value with some nice people.

Fiona with the Donut

The next morning we went further west and had a look through Springfield town where there is a tribute to Rewi Alley and of course the famous Donut. A neat spot.

The Netspeed Speedtest
Dowload : 39.25 mbps
Upload : 6.94 mbps
Ping : 154 ms

Rafe’s track to Kowhai Pass
South Island 2019

Donegal House

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What a find.. Owned and run by the Boyd family on what was once the family farm, this is a superb setup and has to be one the better Park over properties sites I’ve come across.

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It is set in the grounds of Donegal House Irish Pub about 7 k’s from Kaikoura. Its only downside is it is not walking distance to kaikoura but more than makes up for it with the facilities.

What you see on postcards

We’d only been in the South Island a day and the weather was the pits with it raining non stop so we thought we’d wait it out in front of the open fire at Donegal House 🙂

Inside the Pub

We spent two nights there waiting for the weather to improve before heading further south.

Great Fire

Powered sites are $20 per van per night and non powered is free in a separate area. There are heaps of powered sites all nicely setup up in little fenced areas with Irish names on each!

This is a place with huge family history and they’re very proud of it. Their family tree is up on a board with lots of photos in side of how it was with their relatives.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Great outlook
Well organised powered sites
The Free parking
Statues of old timers in the Garden
The family tree
Family piccies
The Pub

The Gardens are amazing too and well cared for. A stunning spot.

The Netspeed Speedtest… Awful! .. I suspect there was an issue with the local tower as it did improve before we left.
Download:  1.48 mbps
Upload:  0.24 mbps
Ping: 76ms

Rafe’s Tracker Map
Auckland Parks, Close to home

Narrow Neck Sunshine

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Our first night out of the house was spent at a friends Garage Forecourt in Devonport. Mark very kindly said we could stay the weekend but the first two nights away from the house were fantastic and with the remnants of a cylcone bearing down on us, it was nice to half tucked under his forecourt verandah.

We met our regular Friday night friends Alan, Grant and Robyn, just around the corner at a Bar and enjoyed some good nerve settling banter with them before joining them for a great Italian meal up by the Victoria Theatre in Devonport. Fantastic night.

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Waking up early on Saturday, Rafe’s grey tank said it was full (which it wasn’t) so a quick trip was made to the dump station at Albany and we did a complete dump and top up of fresh water so we were right for a few days. Fiona followed me in the car up to the lockup with some last minute leftovers from the Packers like vacuum cleaners and cleaning stuff to squeeze in the door 🙂 .. It is packed to the rafters literally !!

Good easy parking

With the weather improving, we headed to Woddall Park in Narrow Neck, a well known freedom camping spot. Its interesting as one of the recent less than intelligent moments from our Council was a decision to ban Motorhomes staying at this park without any discussion. The locals however were outraged and promptly got them to reinstate the parking as the presence of Motorhomers meant the hoon element had completely dissapeared.
Fan bloody tastic ! .. A classic case of Council plonkers making arbitrary decisions and not listening.

My intermediate and High School years were spent not living very far from this beach so I know it pretty well.

Fiona lived on the beachfront reserve for a few years as it was Army housing as her dad was CO of Fort Cautley, so she was really familiar with it too.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Yachts being setup
Great Beach
And theyre off

A lovely spot. The day we were there, there was a big day for small yacht racing out on the beach.

Its neat to watch the Dads all pitching in helping their kids rig their yachts and set them off racing.

Dad’s waitiung

Lovely to see them having a cuppa at the club house and waiting on the beach and helping them in too afterwards.

Narrow Neck with Browns Island behind

The pictures tell the story really but a fabulous spot for a night and great walks from here to Cheltenham and most of the way to Takapuna too.

Rangitoto Island

There is also a bus stop to the ferry or to Takapuna right next to the park.

The Netspeed Speedtest
Download:  64.84 mbps
Upload: 36.68 mbps
Ping: 37 ms

Rafe’s Tracker Map
Hawkes Bay

The Phil Collins Concert

We’ve been to quite a few Mission Concerts now and they never seem to fail to entertain.

Click on any Image for Hi Res (Cell ph pix)

Earlier in the day

This year, we had Phil Collins along with a couple of local bands which warmed up the crowd.

The day started with breakfast at the Taradale Club which was supposed to include a shuttle ride around to the venue too but when the time cam for the shuttle, the driver went AWOL 🙂 so we walked and it wasn’t far and it was fun.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Perfect way to start the day.. Breakfast
Taradale Club dining room
Dianne, Gary and Fiona finishing breakfast
Looking good
Rain coming down
On Stage .. cell pic

Breakfast was great and at $10 each was very good value. By the time we had finished breakfast, it was pretty much lunchtime so at 2pm, after a bit of a snack, we headed off around the corner to the Mission Estate.

Fiona, Dianne and Gary all rugged up.

The weather was supposed to shower in the morning and improve as the day went on but the weather was late.. so the showering happened during the early bands. By the time Phil came on, everyone was damp, it was cold but it had pretty much stopped drizzling so as the night went on, we dried out and it was quite pleasant.

Phil had had some back surgery and had a duff leg so was aided by a walking stick and sat on a stool at the front of the stage but as a drummer, he is very used to singing sitting down and it sounded as good as it ever does.

His 17 year old son Nicholas is now the drummer and is very very good. One of the early songs they played had a huge quite complicated drum solo in it and he did a great job. He’s also a good piano player as well and you could tell that Dad was very proud of him.

Phil with Nicholas playing the Piano (Cell phone pic)

All in all a great concert which I’m pleased we went to despite the timeing with packing our house with moving just a week or so away. A good trip..

We headed back to Auckland after a nice night at the NZMCA park at Taupo.

On Stage .. cell pic