Tag Archives: Extra Value Parking

South Island 2022

Staying at the Racecourse

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Another great weather day was there to greet us as we rose to leave Reefton to go to Richmond.

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The grand entrance

We were gagging for a coffee by the time we approached the Nelson area. There is a nice wee place at Kohatu called the Flat Rock CafĂ© where we’ve stopped several times before.

Easy parking for big vehicles and a good coffee so we stopped there for half an hour or so before we carried on towards the Nelson Racecourse in Richmond.

Rafe parked under the trees

At $20 a night with power, water, rubbish, toilets showers and laundry its very affordable and in a nice spot.

Relaxing in the sun

After parking, opening vents and settling down, we went for a 20 minute walk into Richmond to have a nosey around the shops and a coffee. Last time we were here, they had half the main street all ripped up and it was impossible to get anywhere. It was nice to see it all finished and it looks good too.

A happy James with his car

The next day, we met our neighbour James who was on his own in his Motorhome. We were keen to visit upper Moutere and when James found this out, he asked us if we could take him up to Woodstock so he could retrieve his car. He was getting it fitted with an A frame and going to tow it behind his Motorhome. There is no public transport or any other way for him to get his car.

We’ve never been to Woodstock and it wasn’t far out of our way so we were off with James to get his car.

We took a wrong turn and for a moment we weren’t sure that James knew where his car was as he wasn’t familiar with the area but after retracing our steps for a few k’s, James recognised where we were and we found his car. It’s so easy to get lost up there as we found when we tried to get from there to Upper Moutere without the GPS.

The Moutere River at Woodstock
My chatty friends at Woodstock

After we dropped James off, I found a bridge that crossed the Motueka River that flows through the Woodstock valley. After parking in a gravel pit so I could get some pictures of the river from the bridge, there were two cyclists coming the other way and I got chatting to them. They were local Caravanners who regularly did 30 odd k’s every few days around the area. We must have chatted for about 20 minutes about all sorts.. lovely couple.

It was time to head to Upper Moutere for lunch. This is when we got lost !

One of the nice things about these small towns is its usually pretty easy to get a park.. there was one big park left when we got there and we sort of fitted in it 🙂 See the pic.

The main drag at Upper Moutere
The old Post Office

We headed for the old Post Office which now sells Fancy pickles and breads and also has a very talented Jeweler making some amazing stuff. She used to work in the UK but returned home to NZ after winning a bunch of awards for her work.

The Oldest pub in NZ

After this we headed for the oldest Pub in NZ, the Moutere Inn.  We came here a few years ago so we knew the food was good and it didn’t disappoint!

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

The grand entrance
Rafe parked under the trees
The main straight
The Moutere River at Woodstock
The main drag at Upper Moutere
Moutere Inn

I had Nachos with Bacon and Cheese .. Wow and Fiona had a Seafood Chowder.. washed down with a local cider made less than a few paddocks away 🙂

Amazing Nacho lunch

After this we headed back to the Racecourse.

We were sitting in Rafe enjoying a cup of tea when there was knock on the door. It was James with a nice bottle of Scottish Gin he’d bought for us for taking up to Woodstock. We were bowled over as he had offered us money for diesel which we’d turned down.

If you’re reading this James.. a really nice surprise! a big thank you mate and it was lovely to meet you and be able to help you out.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Richmond – Armada GPS
Rafe’s Tracker map to Woodstock / Upper Moutere – Armada GPS
South Island 2022

The Rustic Pub in Oxford

A big chunk of my family came from Oxford so its probably no surprise that we like it here.

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We popped into the cemetery to check on my grandparents.

The last time we were here, we popped in at the Museum and there was a few notable relatives who were in some displays in the Museum.  They’ve done a wonderful job of expanding the Museum and adding to the collections.

Great pub

We called in a the Rustic Hotel at the end of the main st in Oxford. For $20 they provide powered parking behind the hotel. They also provide a nice meal to with it.

The Stairwell complete with the old phone

One of the chaps I was talking to who was a regular turned out to be a crane driver who did the lifting required for a cousins house not far down the road in Rangiora. Small world!

The Back parking area

We dropped in after parking Rafe and met some really interesting people at the bar and had a good look around. It was a fun afternoon and very reasonable parking.

An amazing old building with a very friendly helpful publican Ross, in a neat town.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Oxford – Armada GPS
South Island 2022

Catching up at Cromwell

Our old friends Ross and Karen were always the people to visit here whenever we were in Cromwell, but they recently moved to a lovely home in Dunedin to be closer to their family. It was lovely to see them on the way down.

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The Historic Precinct

Gary and Dianne with Ian were in town in their Motorhomes so we were keen to catch up with them at the Cromwell Town and Country club where they had been staying. They had been in the South Island  together doing the Alps to Ocean bike trail, amongst other things so it was good to see them and hear their news.

Parked with our almost Lake view site at the Cromwell Town and Country Club. LtoR Rafe, Ian’s XLI and Gary and Dianne’s Niesmann and Bichoff

The Cromwell Heritage Precinct Farmers Market starts at 9am so it was an early rise at Creeksyde in Queenstown to get through the Kawerau Gorge (60k) and be settled to join them in Cromwell and walk down to the Market. Fiona LOVES markets so I knew things would be grim if I was late 🙂

The Historic Precinct

We got to Cromwell just in time with minutes to spare and we all headed off down to the Heritage area. After having a look around we settled down at the Tables by the lake to enjoy a coffee and a bun and who should rock it through the gate but old boatie friend Mark who was staying in Wanaka with Tina and his brother in law.. small world stuff.. nice to see him too.

The Crew, LtoR Ian, Fiona, Gary and Dianne

After walking back to the Motorhomes and later in the day, we set out in Gary and Dianne’s toad(car) and looked for somewhere nice to have a vineyard lunch but with Covid and everything we struggled to find somewhere to go. We ended up at a really nice place that we been to before on the edge of Lake Dunstan called the Stoaker Room .. fantastic ..nice food and I can’t remember which Chardonnay I had but I remember it was a goodie.. Fiona had a nice G&T.

Great Outlook

After a drink back at our Motorhomes at the Town and Country Club, we hit the hay. I’ve always enjoyed our time at Cromwell. Love the history and the atmosphere there.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Cromwell – Armada GPS
South Island 2022

Donegal House Kaikoura

This fine establishment was created by Murray Boyd over the course of three years.

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Murray at the Bar

Murray descends from a long line of early settlers of the area from Ireland and has done wonders with his creation from scratch of an early Irish Hotel, complete with the mud hut look. Its an amazing achievement and to top it off has also created a Motorhome and Caravan park along with some amazing gardens.

There’s a mountain range there somewhere

We popped in here on an earlier trip south and spent a couple of days here waiting out some very dreary Kaikoura weather but had fun here all the same.

The Gardens

The weather this time wasn’t much better but with a great Irish welcome from Murray, a nice Gin for Fiona and a Chardonnay for Moi, we were very happy.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

Good parking
The Parking
The Gardens
The main bar area with the History on the walls
Amazing fireplace

Looking around with the family history on the walls, you really get a sense of what a huge job he’s done and its a great spot to stay. They also do a lot of events here.. great spot.

The main bar area with the History on the walls

The last time we were here, the weather was slightly nicer.. check it out here.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Kaikoura – Armada GPS
Northland

Paradise at Ruakaka

I haven’t been able to get away recently so here is a post that was first published July last year.. fantastic campground which is also participating in the NZMCA Campsaver scheme.. enjoy.

From the moment I stepped out of Rafe at Ruakaka Holiday Park, everything about this place is HUGE. There are more than 260 powered sites and the camp is spread out over 13 hectares. The camp is divided into several regions each having their own ablution blocks.

The land that it sits on and its layout and the views are absolutely sensational.  Everywhere I looked I could see nice images.

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My view

It also is a participant in the NZMCA’s Camp saver program and owner Anne-Marie says it is working well for them. They also do off peak weekly stays too.

On the waterfront

I was interested to see their information sheet included how to park within your site to ensure that everyone has 3 metres separation. I think this is good news as many Holiday Parks  parking is far to close for fire safety.

Great parking

I was a bit lucky to get one of the waterfront sites facing out to Marsden Point and Bream Head even though it was pretty exposed to the easterly nasties that came through, it was really nice to wake up to a great view when the weather played the game.

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

On the other side of the peninsular
My view
A bit gloomy then

The weather wasn’t that flash with an amazing thunder and lightning storm coming through with showers before and after but there was enough fine weather to get some nice images.

And just around the corner

This campground though has it all.. the views and the sites are spectacular with great facilities.

Ruakaka Beach is just down the road and there is a Bird Sanctuary to walk through too.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Ruakaka
Waikato

Peace and Quiet at Waharau

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I’ve always wanted to find out about a POP that was reputed to be really popular on the Waharau coast and thought maybe now is the time.

Just north of Kaiaua and the famous Rays Rest, it is the perfect place to spend a few days if you wanted some of the nice things like power and a toilet.

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Lots of parking spots

I rang Andrew, the owner of the Pop and asked if they were open .It was all good so off I went.  I spent two days there and it was just bliss.

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The Beach over the road.
The Seal on the rock
Shags not happy
The Creek
The Copper
Shower Tree
Classic Loo

Andrew’s parents purchased the 200 acres of scrub in the 60’s and then had to turn it into a farm.

Rod, the campground manager’s office is in the truck

There is a small Kauri forest on the back of the farm which you can walk up to. The bigger Kauris have all been milled decades ago but its a nice reminder of what was once there.

The camp is a classic with a small stream running most of the way around one side. There are 4 powered, graveled sites, all on different levels plus some unpowered on grass sites.

The levels of parking

The loo is a classic recycled corrugated iron shed but it all works. One of the most popular items here is an old copper for heating the water for showers. With plenty of firewood on hand, you light the fire, heat the water, put in a 20 litre container (provided) and there is a winch for winding it up a tree. That’s the shower mixer with some cold water to get the right temperature. You can also use the hot water in a private shower over a bath setup if you’d prefer. A great setup! and apparently it is really popular.

Almost directly across the road is a beach on the edge of the Firth of Thames looking straight out to the Coromandel Peninsular.. just bliss.

The Seal on the rock

After parking Rafe and checking out the Camp area and being followed everywhere by a very friendly chook, I went for a walk down to the beach.

Dusk at the beach

While I was just watching the antics of the Shags sitting on the rocks, there was some movement in the water nearby. It was a Seal who climbed up on the rock ruining the Shag’s day 🙂 He was now King of the Castle.. Andrew told me later that he’s been coming to the beach for years every year since he was a pup.

There aren’t too many places left in this world where you can get a powered site for 2 for $12 and with a big welcoming smile. A lovely spot, great hosts and a fantastic place to go if you just want to do very little.

Rafe’s tracker map to Kauri View Farm – Armada GPS

 

Coromandel 2022

Goldfields with the Boys

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
Northland

With the Green things

We were heading north with no particular destination firmly set except we thought, maybe a night at Waipu and then a night the NZMCA park at Rainbow Falls if there was room.

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The traffic was unbelievable so we left the motorway at Silverdale and headed up Highway 16. I haven’t been up this was for a long time so it was a nice drive through. We stopped at the lookout spot looking out over the Kaipara Harbour just before Wellsford which was nice too.

Rafe at Caledonian park in Waipu

We arrived in Waipu and headed straight for our favorite spot at the Caledonian Park. There are only a couple of spots there where you can get a TV signal next to a power pole and we managed to snaffle one of them.

The next morning, the grounds people were up early to set up for the Scottish Games so we headed towards Kerikeri and after a cup of coffee at the Pear Tree Cafe by the Stone Store, we went to check in to the Rainbow Falls park.

This has to be one of the better parks being right next to a fantastic walking track with the Falls right behind.

Rainbow Falls park with the lighthouse

Just by chance, it happened that old friends Max and Jan were staying opposite us in their new Hobby Caravan so we joined them for a drink outside their caravan.

Max and Jan’s new Hobby with the wrap around sun glasses 🙂

The next day, we went for a walk down towards the Stone Store by the river but got half way down when we realised that we didn’t have a wallet between us for something at the other end so we turned around and headed back to Rafe.

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People at the falls
Swimming at the Falls
Easy walking down to the Stone Store (takes about an hour)
Along the river

A fantastic walk with people fishing in the river, lots of people out enjoying the walk and people swimming under the falls. It is really nice to see so many people out enjoying this fantastic park.

Dusk

We had just got back when my old mate Grant rang and he Dani arrived ready for a cold drink. Max and Jan arrived back at the park not long after (Dani’s parents) and joined us as well. Lots of fun and laughs in Rafe in a nice park.

If you haven’t been to this park, it truly is fantastic having some great walks, the falls and public loos just over the fence as well. The park is now at a point where almost half of it now has gravel down with the grass growing through and it looks great.

Rafe’s Track to Rainbow Falls Park
Martinborough, Shows

The Famous Martinborough Fair

We trekked back to Martinborough on the Saturday morning to a busy Martinborough rugby ground. There were Caravans and Motorhomes for Africa. It was the day of the Fair so people had come from far and wide.

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Back at the Park

The park was an amazing place and having gone to virtually having it to ourselves a weekend before with the Cruise Martinborough event to it being as busy as it was was great.

Friends Gary and Dianne, and Ian and Lynda went to Ngawi while we were in Greytown and they arrived back the day before. We met John and Yvonne from Ruakaka in their Dethleffs Nomad Caravan and they were here again too. It was going to be a fun weekend.

Fiona checking out the Jade

We all walked into town and had a good cruise around the Market. Where there were Hot Rods and Classic cars a week before, there were stalls in every corner. It was amazing.

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next door in the Park
This guy was fantastic
The food carts were popular

One of the things I really enjoy doing at these events is simply buying a lime thickshake and a bun and sitting in a street side cafe and watch the world go by. Its great fun.

The next door Neighbour.. Nice !

After a couple of hours of checking out every nook and cranny, we headed back to the park for something wet and cold. The wind finally dropped off a bit, but was bitterly cold. It allowed us to move out into the field where there was some raucous laughter amongst some dancing and singing along.

Out in the Middle
Cold !

A great day!

Rafe’s Track North from the park via the Dump Station
Martinborough

The Roar in the Square

The big day for Cruise Martinborough is when all the cars start in Puruatanga park, where we were staying and then all roar into the town square and completely surround the main square.

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It is truly a magnificant sight. The park in the middle under the trees, gets covered in portable deck chairs from the car owners to shelter from the sun. The coffee and Ice Cream carts are doing a roaring trade. The Cafe’s are flat out and its just a neat scene of people everywhere wandering through the magnificent old Fords, Chevrolets and many others.

Grants Plymouth and Caravan
BBQ in a hurry!

The time and money that has gone into these cars is unbelievable and it is not until you get a close up look at some of them that you can appreciate the craftsmenship involved.

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People enjoying the sights
Metal Beauty
Time for a photo
The pie carts were busy
Cruising in the park
American muscle everywhere you look

We spent an hour or so having a good look around before settling for a good old fashioned lime thickshake from a milkshake bar in the square.

End of the day

An amazing scene with several retailers saying that they wished it happened more often 🙂  So do I !

Where we parked in relation to the square