On New Year’s Day we said goodbye to Steve and Rosemary. They were heading down towards Carterton.
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We were well overdue for a trip to Gisborne as it has been 7 years since our last visit!
We headed off via the coast up past Wairoa which seemed to go on forever. The forecast bad weather had arrived and was settling in.
We found a neat little Fish shop just by the turnoff to Mahia Peninsula which had the best Fish and Chips I’ve tasted for a long time then we headed off again up towards Gisborne.
The park
The new NZMCA park in Gisborne is a beauty right over the road from the beach. With the weather the way it was it was no real surprise to see a couple of cruise ships anchored off the coast.
Fiona checking out the cruise ships
The next day we spent the morning catching up with the Laundry, bedding and all. It was nice to have a everything clean again. After that we headed off to find a nice Cafe for some lunch and got some more groceries while we were right next to a 4 Square.
Waikanae BeachFiona on the beach
The new park is a cracker with the beach right over the road.
Well done to the local crew for the Garden Art, it looks great.
Thats exactly what it is too! Set out over 50 acres with Restaurants, A Wedding Venue, A Chapel, a Pub, an Art Gallery, A Gym… the list goes on.
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Nice parking
On our way to see friends on the Takaka Peninsula, we’ve driven past here a few times to it was time to try it out and see the markets on the Sunday which is Fiona’s favourite thing to do.
I booked two nights as I thought Fiona was coming too but at the 11th hour, she came down with a germ and told me not to stay around. It turned out that I came down with it anyway a few days later!
At the ride on train stationThe ride on Train
I arrived early in the morning on the Saturday and after getting settled in, I walked the 300 metres odd to the Cafe and central area. I was in the queue in the Cafe when good friends Mark and his wife Dinah arrived with Dinah’s brother Wayne.
The Cafe
I haven’t seen Wayne for years, so it was really nice to see them all. After a cup of coffee and something to eat, they headed off to a working bee at their place nearby.
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Inside Smiths, the pub.
Outside Smiths.
The Wedding reception area.
One of the Loos
After that, I went for a walk back to Rafe just as new neighbours were arriving.
I later went over to the pub to check it all out and it seemed there was a wedding on. Lots of people glammed up and had popped through from the adjoining wedding reception area.
The Gallery
I later met the General Manager Peter who was telling me that they had been absolutely dealt to by the rain and had all sorts of plans to upgrade the parking for the Motorhomes and add some new sites.
The Action Ninja World for kids
After a quiet drink with my neighbours, I packed it in for the night looking forward to the Markets the next morning 🙂
Rafe’s Tracker map to Matakana Country Park – Armada GPS
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.
After a couple of good nights at the NZMCA park in Te Anau, we set off towards Queenstown. By the time we got to Lumsden, it was time for a coffee and a walk to stretch the legs.
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Lumsden – Great parking
We were last here a few years ago and the place looks fantastic. The Heritage Train Station project is looking really good and is now a full fledged parking spot for Motorhomers wanting to stop in for a night or two. The Train and carriages are covered over and its looking great.
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Lumsden
The Trains now all covered
Carriage done
The Station
After half an hour we set off towards Queenstown. One of my favourite drives around here is alongside the lake up to Jacks point alongside Lake Wakatipu.
Enjoying the beach at Queenstown
We arrived at Creeksyde Motorcamp right on lunchtime. The first thing we did was give Rafe a wash and a general spruce up and what a difference, it changed colour!
A clean Rafe at CreeksydeThe Gardens
Queenstown was having one of those partly overcast / cloudy days which improved as the day went on. We decided after the last few days at a hectic pace we’d blob out a bit and spend a few days here so Fiona could catch up with her cousins Heather, Jan and Jan’s other half Rob.
Fiona was also keen to have a Fergberger which we did for lunch after we’d settled Rafe after his wash and opened vents etc.
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The Earnslwa on the lake
Queenstown
Queenstown
The bow of the Earnslaw
Downtaown Queenstown
On the bike ride to Frankton
Looking out twoards the Remarkables
One of the outdoor areas at Creeksyde
Outdoor area at Creeksyde
The loos at Creeksyde
So I got the bike down, Fiona wanted to walk and I met her down at the wharf and later outside the Fergberger shop ion the main St. The burgers are everything the ad says, they are fantastic.
The Boatshed CafeThe view from the deck at the Boatshed Cafe
After that, we decided it was a good day to do a bike ride through Queenstown, around the gardens on the point and right down to Frankton. Its about 15k’s for the round trip and is an easy ride through some of the best scenery.
A great day out after which we headed back to Rafe and blobbed out with a nice G&T!
The Dump station st Creeksyde
We’ve stayed at Creeksyde quite a few times over the years. Its quite a quirky place with the plumbing decorations and the artwork.. one of the best dump stations around and well decorated too.
The loos at Creeksyde
They were doing a deal that if you stayed three nights, the tariff dropped to $49 a night down from $55 for two. Given that it is an easy walk to Queenstown shops and is well appointed with the best loos and showers around, I think its pretty reasonable and they’re always friendly and helpful.
On the edge of the Waikato river at Karapiro is an amazing complex set up for our competitive rowers. All the top rowing regattas are held here and most of our top Olympic and Commonwealth Games Rowers and Canoeists all train at this fantastic facility.
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Nice parking on the lower camping areaDown by the river
Attached to this is the Campground run by Liz and her assistants and it is HUGE. There are two campgrounds and they’re dead flat. The top one is set back a bit from the river but has a view through the trees and the bottom campground, right on the river.
The Dethleffs Rally on the top campground
We had arranged to host the 2022 Dethleffs Rally here tip toeing a bit around the Covid outbreak which was at its peak. We lost a few due to Covid and about 8 or so more wanting to keep their heads down.
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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
We’ve had a month or so of being housebound mostly due to Rafe’s Bumper project and also a full annual service. Getting it back meant we could escape !
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Rafe in the park with newly painted bumper!
Coromandel is somewhere we both thought would be great for a few days before Fiona had to return to work. We only had 4 days so we figured somewhere not too far and where we haven’t been for a while!
NZMCA park
The Thames Coromandel District Council are making some great improvements on the coast rd from Thames. Every time I come up here its different. This time they’ve widened the road north of Waiomu.. there are still plenty of narrow bits but I saw they’re dealing with some of those too.
Star and Garter pub
We arrived in Coromandel early in the afternoon on a Sunday so many of the shops were shut. The important ones like the bars and one of our favorite ones, the Star and Garter was open and they had a special on Gourmet pizza’s $10.. that was us for a late lunch!
After a walk around the town, we returned back to Rafe in the NZMCA park.
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Home of the first National Bank
Where i was introduced to my first Husband Waiting chair 🙂
Neat buildings
The local butcher shop
You never get sick of Coromandel, the charm of the shops, even though most were shut as it was a Sunday, there were people wandering around and all of them very friendly. It has a great atmosphere with all the old buildings and everyone seems happy to have a bit of a natter.
We called in to an Metal Art shop which backed on to the NZMCA park and bought an amazing sculpture of leaves made using recycled parts of copper hot water cylinders. Clever use of old materials.
Where i was introduced to my first Husband Waiting chair 🙂
Later, it time to go down to get Fish and Chips for tea and we headed back to Rafe for the night.
A great Day in Coromandel town, it never disappoints !
Our friends from Christchurch, Rory and Henny were in town for the NZMCA AGM Rally with their friends from New Plymouth so it was a must for me to catch up with them as they had seen Fiona during a shopping trip, but I had missed them.
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Downtown Rotorua!
Rory and Henny and I met years ago when I was away on a blog hunting expedition on my own and we bumped into each other in Coromandel of all places. It turns out that Rory used to buy ice creams from my Grandfathers General Store in Diamond Harbour when he was a small boy. Later we worked out that he also knows some of my other cousins in Christchurch too.. small world 🙂
The UCC on the left and Rory and Henny’s new Burstner on the right
While parked down by the waterfront in a carpark, I thought I saw Rory and Henny roaring round the corner next to me and when I rang a few minutes later, it turned out it was them. They were heading for the supermarket and we arranged to meet after that.
Rory decided that we’d head over the a bigger carpark where we could comfortably fit three Motorhomes in while we had lunch without upsetting the car parkers.
Nice view
Rory had a plan and setup his near new Burstner Lyseo with  Tony and Sheri from New Plymouth, with an area in between where could put out chairs and tables out for a bit a knees up for lunch.
It was really nice seeing them both again and also meeting their friends Tony and Sheri and their UCC Mercedes based Motorhome.
Lunch with a great view and there were lots of Motorhomes there, possibly having a break from the rally.
A few years ago I stumbled across this amazing blocked off pedestrian section of Tutanakai St in Rotorua. It is totally set up for Wining, Dining, Craft beers and anything else food and beverage.
It is covered by a huge roof so is all weather as well.
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Looking towards the Lake
On my first visit, it had not long been opened and was closed but this time, it was all on although at lunchtime on a Saturday was not at its busiest. I’d love to see it in the evenings.
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Racetime
Nice Bars
Towards the Lake
What a great concept and being 5 minutes walk from the Lakefront and domain, it is right in the Tourist centre of Rotorua.
Looking down the main street.
If you’re heading to Rotorua, a great place to check out.
Coming back from Pukekohe, and with the weather being really rough, we thought we’d hunker down at the Murhpy’s Law Motorhome Park.
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The NZMCA App suggested it was $25 for the night which is incorrect. It’s $38 a night for two minus a 10% discount for NZMCA’rs making it $34 and you get a discount of everything you eat or drink.
Toilet / Shower block
I initially thought it was a bit expensive for parking in what is essentially a carpark but after enjoying a hot shower in their newish facilities and an hour in the bar, decided its a good spot to base yourself for a night Or two in a good location.
Looking in from the outside.. the wire fence.
The parking is inside a secure high wire fence which you access with keypad access and a fob so it is very secure and with power and water on every site, its a great setup.
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Love the building
Good secure parking
Look at the massive thing next door to us!
Rafe in the park
Fiona and I wandered into the bar to have a drink and order tea and it was a great atmosphere with a big open fire and plenty of people enjoying themselves.
A great use of what is probably a wasted space behind a pub. Close to the Motorway and with a dump station just around the corner making it a good spot to stay for a night and enjoy the banter at the Bar and not have to drive after.
Very English
The last time I was at this Pub was when it was the Jolly Farmer in the 80’s and they had their famous Wet T Shirt competitions 🙂 I was working as a photographer for the 8’O clock then which part of the Auckland Star and it was my job to cover the big Final at the time. A fun event 🙂 How times have changed.
We were well overdue for a trip to Gisborne as it has been 7 years since our last visit!
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