One of the nice things about small towns dotted around the Waikato is the ambience of some of the old character buildings and Te Aroha is one of those towns.
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Downtown Te ArohaOne of the corner sculpturesA Great old building
Along with its famous Hot Pools, sculptures on street corners, and nice old buildings, it also now has its very own NZMCA park. The best way to describe it is “long and skinny”, but it also backs on to a track that takes you straight into the town in minutes.
The Museum BuildingThe Well know old Grand Tavern opposite the Museum
I was last here a few years ago at a rally next door to the park and it was a lot of fun. There was Kayaking down the river, the bike trails were busy, and the cafes did a roaring trade. Here’s a look back at that event here.
The NZMCA park with Mt Te Aroha behindNZMCA park
It’s a neat wee town and perfect for the bike trails up and into the Karangahake Gorge.
Waihi has an atmosphere all on its own and it doesn’t matter how many times I come here, there is always a nice historic vibe to absorb. This time it was just nice standing up beside the big Martha hole in the sunshine and taking it all in.
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That big HoleThe Cornish Pumphouse next to the MineThe Cornish Pumphouse in front of Waihi
After checking out the Goldfields Railway parking to see if there was any room as they have a few of the sites off limits due to the sodden ground. I was in luck. It wasn’t perfect as it was hard getting level, but it was only for a night.
Station just in front
It’s good to support the railway where I can as it’s a charity and they do a really good job of keeping the old Trains alive. Most days of the week, they do trips through to the Waikino station where you can get a coffee and walk the Karangahake Trails and walks. You can also take your bikes on an open carriage and do the trails from Waikino.
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One of my all-time favorite places to stay and very good value. It’s also close to a couple of great Restaurants and Bars for later in the evening. I see too that the loos have had a bit of a do up which is great. Nice bright Scottish paintings on the outside.
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On the way back from Whangarei after topping up with fuel, we stopped in to see some of our old boatie friends from Auckland in Ruakaka. After lunch with Chris and then a pop in with Tina and Mark and their family, we decided we would just stay in Waipu in our old favourite park.
The Museum
They had just had a big festival there and some of the trucks had carved up the wet ground quite badly, so you had to be selective about where you parked! I parked on the outside edge closest to the driveway where it was unmarked and pretty dry.
Nice and safe next to the gravel.
It was blowing dogs off chains, so I set Rafe back a bit from the trees just in case and also for a TV signal 🙂 The weather looked iffy too!
The plan was to get something in town to eat but in the end, we snacked in the van and had an early night given that we were heading home the next day.
A great 10 days or so away and nice to do the bits we’ve never seen in Northland.
Rafe’s tracker map to the Waipu Caledonian Park – Armada GPS
Years ago, we had friends up here who lived in Hihi. We used to come up here and stay over the New Year period with them and other friends. We stayed in a pup tent under a Ti Tree:-) It was always heaps of fun and Mangonui was the local big town if you like.
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The Famous Mangonui Fish Shop
So, Mangonui was on the must do list for this trip. We stopped at a parking area just as you enter the town with Toilets, a dump station and is also a freedom camping area between the trees. A nice spot.
The parking by the water.. Toilets, and Dump station along with freedom camping.The Old Oak Boutique Hotel
We then walked about 15 minutes around to Mangonui Fish shop passing all the lovely historic buildings, the Pub, a big shopping building, the over the water 4 square store, and lastly the fish shop.
Walking along the waterfrontThe 4 Square shop
It’s a great spot and the fish is so fresh having the boats come in right next door. Some of the Lemon fish is actually caught from the shop.
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The parking by the water.. Toilets, and Dump station along with freedom camping.
Opposite the parking area
The walk into Maunganui
The Old Oak Boutique Hotel
The Famous Manganui Fish Shop
Local Fishing wharf
The Hotel
Neat Buildings
The walk back to Rafe
After an hour or so of indulging in this delicious food, we walked back via and ice cream shop opposite to Rafe and started heading north again.
We were up early on Good Friday in an attempt to beat the traffic heading north. Transit NZ had opened the road over the Bryndrwyns just for easter. By 9am we were filling up at the Whangarei Caltex truck stop!
After a trip out to the coast to see if we could squeeze into a pop out there, we decided to keep going North and stopped in at The Kaikohe A&P and Equestrian centre.
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Oodles of room
I stayed here years ago and its extremely good value on asphalt with plenty of powered sites with Toilets showers and a laundry. Just down the road is Ngawha Springs Hot Pools. Kaikohe is just 5 k’s or so away. Amazing!
The check in box used to be an old red Telephone box which is still here but barely red anymore but replaced with a small shed. The Laundry had an old washing machine and wringer is now replaced by a modern automagical machine so big improvements.
Ye olde Telephone box with cabin
A lovely quiet spot and a great place for 24 hours while we got our ongoing itinerary sorted 🙂
A local with their horse
There was lots of comings and goings and our neighbours from Matamata were telling us that they are having an Equestrian celebration in the hall the next night which they are setting up for.
Toilets, showers, Laundry and Dump Station !
A lovely safe, cost-effective spot for a day or three and nice people too.
Rafe’s tracker map to the Kaikohe A&P and Equestrian centre – Armada GPS
It was Saturday morning, and it was time for a bike ride!
At our Dethleffs Rally at the Happy Hour the evening before, we had sorted out somewhere to go so it was all on! The bikes were organised and led by Tony and Neal, 14 of us headed down through Cambridge towards the river and the start of the Trail.
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Our park at the Raceway
Some were heading all the way to Hamilton Gardens, some going to Tamahere to a Coffee Shop and others to the Velodrome.
The Bike group as we left
The Te Awa trail is all pretty new still but what an amazing setup. Because I went as far as Tamahere (40k round trip), I didn’t get to see all the flashest boardwalks over the river .. next time!
Amazing engineering
We left Cambridge at 10am and it took about 2.5 hours to do the round trip including a good stop for lunch 🙂 Very easy though on an electric bike.
I’d stupidly left my bike keys behind so couldn’t get my bike off the rack on the back of Rafe. The Kryptonite lock and cable is a force to be reckoned with, so it wasn’t even worth thinking about the grinder.
John very kindly lent me Kirsty’s bike as she wasn’t riding. The bike is fantastic but has an older electric system with a Turbo function which is a bit scary if you’re not used to it 🙂
The short version: I was about halfway along the trail when I came around a corner, but the turbo kept running quite a bit… ending with a full lock up of the brakes sideways into these massive retaining poles onto my shoulder.
Looking down to the river
Chris was just behind me and immediately stopped and said something like “that might hurt” 🙂 Initially it didn’t really. Back on the horse and we were off again 🙂
A stop half way
We were about halfway so by the time we got to the cafe; with my recently acquired sore ribs, I was looking forward to a rest.
On the way back
Although 14 started with us, several split off into different groups to go on to Hamilton Gardens or to the Velodrome.
Our crew on the way back
After about 20 minutes or so, we headed back to the Raceway… a lot of fun and a nice ride with good company. Thanks again to John and Kirsty for the use of their bike. A great day and a fantastic place to ride.
Steve biking backLooking down to the river
You can stay at The Cambridge Raceway if you’re a member of the NZMCA for just $10 a night so an easy base for the trail and you can go as far as you like in either direction.
These events are always fun to organise and fun to be at too. Organising this was made a lot easier by some useful tips from Brian who runs the Frankia group after they had a Rally here at Cambridge. Vicky who runs the event management at Cambridge was very helpful too along with Amy who works with her. Thanks heaps to those people for making it easy.
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Our park.
We all started arriving at the Racecourse around Midday and during the afternoon. As we were down in numbers from the Miranda do where we had 47 vans, we had 22 but I don’t think that we really had room for many more without splitting into two groups. Apparently, there was more parking just along by the stables. It worked and was very easy. We had some big gaps between us which was great.
I was really pleased to see quite a few new people with new Motorhomes and first timers at an event like this. Nice to see you guys too.
We now have 322 members in this group. These rally’s give you a great opportunity to mix with other Dethleff Owners and pick to their brains, tips and tricks with storage, electrical stuff, all sorts. So come and join us at the next one.
The Team .. click on this to enlarge.
As more people came in, there was lots of cruising around catching up with old friends and people checking on other Motorhomes. I even saw a few pairs of legs sticking out from under vehicles looking at things 🙂
An Interesting wrapped Dethleffs Esprit
Fiona was not feeling well so she decided to sit this one out and I made the stupid mistake of leaving all my bike keys behind so I couldn’t get my bike off the rack when the time came.
Kirsty and John very kindly lent me Kirsty’s bike as she wasn’t riding .. Nice bike and it was fun but there was an operator error oops 🙂 .. more on this later.
Lined up in the back row
That night, I had tea with my old friends, Walter and Nolina from Taupo who were parked right next door. The last time we caught up was at the Miranda do and it’s always nice to see them. They’re a lot of fun.
Happy hourHappy HourHappy hourNolina at the Happy Hour
Then it was time to go the Clubhouse Bar to watch the Warriors game. I’m not sure why I think this, but I often think I’m going to see them lose but they played brilliantly and won. Fantastic. It was a really good game, and I might have to watch them more often like I used to.
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Great Tshirt.. probably quite true too 🙂
The next morning, I was surprised how many people were up early.
The cyclists amongst us were organising ourselves and getting ready to go. After a team photo, we were off!
The Bike group as we left
We were heading to the Velodrome and Tamahere. More on the Te Awa trail soon.
Arriving back at the Racecourse, it was almost time for that “Elbow Exercise” again. We started in earnest all sitting around our favourite tree until the heavens opened up with a brief downpour which surprised everyone!
There was quick retreat to the room which was available to us for wet weather at the bottom of the grandstand. Very civilised with a bit of an outlook to the track.
Dusk
Then it was time for Tea where simply had to lock up and head next door to the restaurant. Nice food, good service although they were struggling with one of their tills which wasn’t playing nicely but it was a great evening. Everyone seemed happy and most retreated back to entertain friends in or outside their vans.
Thanks everyone again for coming.
After the meal from the Restaurant
It all went really well. Our next major get together will be in Miranda sometime in August. It’s a popular place and easy to get to and a nice park.
Rafe’s Tracker map to Cambridge Raceway – Armada GPS
The new NZMCA park has been open for a few months now but what a spot.
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The Park
After several weeks of dreadful weather and with Rafe just sitting on the pad, it was time to bust out while the weather was good.
The pub in the background
We set off about lunchtime and headed down the Motorway and headed out towards Miranda with hardly any traffic on the roads at all. Arriving an hour or so later with the sun streaming down, we parked up at the Kaiaua Park. It’s a beauty! With the Bayview Hotel right next door with a track through to the pub and the famous Kaiaua fisheries next to them, there is definitely no excuse for being hungry or thirsty 🙂
The Bayview Hotel next door
After a visit to the pub and finding them busy, we decided on Fish and Chips, and they were huge! I kept a piece of fish for the next day 🙂
Kaiaua Fish and Chips!
After lunch at the Hotel, which was fantastic, we headed off to Rays Rest for an hour or two.
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We have not been there since it was redeveloped by a storm a few years ago but it still looks pretty good to me.
Seafood Galore!
We decided not to stay though and headed back to Kaiaua and settled for a G&T at the Hotel.
The Marina
A fantastic park with room for Africa and having the Pub and Fish and Chip shop handy is a Real bonus!
Rafe’s Tracker map to Kaiaua NZMCA Park – Armada GPS
A favourite free parking spot for many.. on the coast north of Miranda.
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Lovely spot
This was probably one of our first parking spots when we first bought our Motorhome 8 or so years ago. Its handy to Auckland, its free and its easy.
Easy parking
If you want shops, museums and pubs, you don’t go to Rays Rest. This where peace and quiet happens with the odd sound of a vehicle whizzing past at 80 odd K.
Flying Kites .. perfect spotRafe on the edge
It’s a lovely spot to sit on a deck chair on the edge of the sand outside your Motorhome and watch the clouds go by.
People enjoying the sun
Its been a while since we were here and it was redeveloped by a big storm since our last visit but it still looks much the same. Just as good as it was.
Looking across to Thames
Well recommended if you live in Auckland, are finding diesel expensive and can’t decide where to go for a night or two.
We had been lucky dodging the worst of what was the storm Hale but the tail was alive and well.
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The iconic Lord of the Rings Isite centre in Matamata -iphone image
We decided to cut the trip a bit early and head for home via “somewhere in the Waikato”. Fiona wasn’t keen on Te Aroha as there had been some earthquakes there so that narrowed things down a bit.
It was pouring with rain with some big easterly puffs of wind and generally pretty unpleasant.
Great parking
I found getting through Tauranga with its Motorway system changes is always a mission and twice before I’d missed the turnoff to get to the Kaimais before Mt Maunganui and today we did it again. This time we followed a motorhome in front to see if he knew another way through, but it ended up being a case of the blind leading the blind and 15 minutes or so later, we were back where we started. We eventually found a tollway though to the Kaimais and were away laughing.
By the time we got across the Kaimai road, we were ready to call it quits and my immediate thought were Matamata for a late lunch and then Firth Tower… nice and close and since it has been about 6 years since we’ve been there, we were well overdue for another visit.
Firth Tower
It’s a great place and now run by the Matamata Historical Society has changed a lot since our last visit. It’s well worth looking at our last visit as we the pictures I took back then had the benefit of some good weather 🙂
Some of the neat buildings from around the district
The Motorhome Parking is now marked out and with more Powered sites and a complete overhaul of the loos, it’s a great spot for overnighting. It was also blowing dogs off chains, but we were well sheltered behind some big hedges and trees.
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In the McCaw House
In the McCaw House
The school
A corrugate Iron Roller
Firth Tower
In the tower
As I’ve said, the remnants of the storm were still with us, and it looked a bit grim but check out the pictures for an overview. Check out our previous visit 6 or so years ago for some sunshine in the images 🙂
Looking down through the mirk from the tower.
A great spot to stay and good value for $15 per vehicle including power and access to loos and really nice people too.
Rafe’s Tracker map to The Firth Tower – Armada GPS
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.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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