While staying recently at a Motorhome parking spot in Muriwai we met John who has a massive shed on his 150 acre farm up on the hills. We were parked on his farm.
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John with a 1870 organ made in Chicago
While we were getting set up, he invited me in for a look in his shed. John emigrated from the UK with his wife Jane, many years ago with degrees in both engineering and agriculture. In his words then, “They wanted people like me”! and looking at the stuff in his shed, he’s a really clever guy.
John showing me a Pianola that he had revived.
John and Jane started an Orchard in Kumeu and grew the business to three orchards over several years. He was once of the first, if not the first to export Figs and Feijoas amongst other things too.
John playing an 1896 Clark organ made in Chicago.
Now in “retirement mode” he just sticks to his specialty of fixing Organs and Piano’s! I thought to myself, that’s a long way from being an orchardist but he is an engineer too!
Another Piano key masterpiece.
Amongst many organs in his shed is an old rotary hoe with tubeless tyres with a new petrol motor on which he has rebuilt for a friend.
Looking around the organs, John showed me the latest late 1800’s one he was working on which was a real mess when it arrived but he is slowly restoring it.
Johns bits draw with very fancy organ valve handles 🙂
He’s also a keen woodturner making serving platters and bowls from native timbers and he’s made some really interesting decorations/sculptures out of old Piano keys!
A really interesting and clever guy and you can stay on his farm for just $10.
One of the amazing finds at the Whangamata Beach Hop this year was literally parked right next to us. It was the vintage combination of a 1957 Ford Mainline Ute towing a Canadian Adventurer 5th Wheeler and it was a perfect match in scale and style.
The Ford Mainline
Coming from a Retro Caravan background, Ray and Cathie were keen to make it easier to get the self containment issue solved a so decided to start with the Ford Mainline and match it with a 5th wheeler..
Ray and Cathie with their “Bucket of Vino and their Ford Mainline
After selling their Caravan, they bought the Ford Mainline and at their home in Tauranga, fixed up some rust and upgraded the motor to a 347 Stroker Ford motor and a few other changes and with a really nice paint job, it looks spectacular.
The 5th WheelerWith its new back
Then came the 5th wheeler which they found in Whangarei and over a 4 year period they’ve nearly completed the project. Ray described it to me as a “leaky building” and they recently just put a whole new back on it. I couldn’t get over how well matched they were in scale and style when they first arrived.
The Galley living spaceDining, look at that ceiling.The Bedroom
It looks fabulous and its name Bucket of Vino suggests they’re going to celebrate their efforts with the project’s completion. 🙂
After 3 years or so of restoring their 1963 Liteweight Silver Mist, Ross and Kay finally got to get their first night away in it. What a WOW moment and huge sense of satisfaction that must be, when you’re lying there on the first night taking it all in. 😊
I’m sure there were anxious moments but it all worked out well and they looked really comfortable in it.
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Kay and Ross with the Silver Mist
Over the course of a few years in between work commitments and building a house, they have finished what I thought was an absolute gem.
Plenty of roomDinette / Bed
This is their first foray into older Caravans and they have done a fabulous job of getting all the period door handles, power sockets and then decorated it with all the period fittings.
Looking really good guys, a lovely Caravan, well done and nice to see you both again.
When I first found out about this, my first thought was to check in with friends Ross and Kay who I knew had just finished doing one of these beauties up to see if they were going to be there.
Ross and I both started as junior photographers at the NZ Herald in our early 20’s and its been a while since we last caught up.
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Love the yellow Jandals
I had a commercial job in town on the Friday morning, which didn’t finish until midday so we were late out of the starting blocks and didn’t get to Cambridge until about 4pm, but that didn’t matter as many others were still arriving.
Rafe at the Cambridge Top 10 with the Liteweight Caravans
After settling down Rafe and after having a nosey around the park at some of the old Caravans, we checked in with Ross and Kay to see their amazing Caravan ..more on this in another post coming soon!
Ross had found an Indian restaurant only a block away so that was tea sorted! We had a great night catching up on all the news.
Don Jesson’s Caravans. Don’s family started Lightweight Caravans.
The next morning after getting up late 🙂 we had a look around some of the beautiful Caravans that were arriving as the day went on and chatting to some of the people there.
A great turnout of Caravans and some Motorhomes. It was a really well organised event with a slide show and BBQ too on the Saturday night so hats off to all those who organised the event. There were some great Caravans and not all of them Lightweights.
There was one there with a Penny Farthing strapped on towed by a nice old vintage Truck.
Complete with a Penny Farthing
The lengths some had gone to with their Caravans to be faithful to their origins was amazing. There were also some really creative ways of restoring these Caravans with the absence of some hard to get parts. The good old Kiwi number 8 wire mentality shone brightly 🙂
Fiona was keen to do the shops in Cambridge and wanted a decent walk so she set off towards Cambridge’s main street which was about 3 k’s away.
Relaxing
The organisers of the event had arranged for a tour of the old liteweight factories which are now a gift and furniture shop and a huge ITM store on the outskirts of Hamilton. I had no idea it was such a big operation but they apparently had two productions lines pumping out up to 10 Caravans a day. Really interesting.
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Don Jesson showing where everything was when Lightweight were there.
One of only 5 of these left, only 50 were made.
One of the 5 left, the other end.
Looking at Dave McRobbies old collection of Caravans
Very social time!
Nice combination
Relaxing
A neat wee Tear drop
Rafe at the Cambridge Top 10 with the Lightweight Caravans
After this we had a quick look through Caravan and Motorhome World which was just across the road. The owner of this fine establishment is Dave McRobbie who started as an apprentice in the Liteweight factory and later went on to set up this business to service warranty claims and service any after market issues for the Liteweight product lines. That’s Dave’s red Caravan at the top of this post.
One of only 5 of these left, only 50 were made.
He had two Caravans of a model where only 50 were made and they know of only 5 left… A really unusual but lovely looking Caravan. .. see above and below.. same caravan being restored.
One of the 5 left, the other end.
Here we saw some amazing early models of the Liteweights which Dave and his team has restored.
Looking at Dave McRobbies old collection of Caravans
On the way back from Hamilton, we liaised with Fiona and met up for lunch in an old converted church in Cambridge for lunch.
A really interesting day and lots of images and really nice to see our old friends again.
This is THE place for a stop for lunch with a Motorhome. Easy parking right over the road, good service and fantastic food.
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We were heading south from Auckland and it so often happens, it was right on lunch time and we both decided it was time to eat.
We have stopped at this Hotel before and discovered the standard of food to be above and beyond so we were looking forward to lunch.
Easy parking
Within minutes of being in there, Fiona was on the end of a big G&T and I had a glass of Chardy and we were waiting for our electronic beeper to do its thing.
Fiona at the bar
The pub was built in 1904, partially burnt down and rebuilt in 1905 and given that the Maori wars only finished 35 years or so before that, it was one of the early bigger buildings in the Waikato area.
The river flooded early this century and virtually surrounded the pub in water.
The big flood at the turn of the century – Weekly News Photo
The beeper went off and Fiona got the meals. I had an amazing Macaroni Cheese “Mac and Cheese” on the menu for $13 which was very filling and was very tasty.
Yum ! Mac N Chees !
We had a quick look around and carried on with our journey south.
There is an old Maori Wars Cemetery right opposite which is also worth a look at.
One to remember for both the quality of the food, the service, the price, the ambience and the easy parking 🙂
Rafe’s Tracker map to the Rangiriri Hotel – Armada GPS
On my second day at Long Bay Holiday Park in Coromandel, I discovered the track to get up to the Kauri grove up behind the bay.
One big tree
There is a boot washing station to prevent Kauri Dieback getting into the forest but its an easy walk in. Its mostly uphill going in and I found myself stopping a few times just to catch my breath (must be getting old or unfit) but it is well worth the effort.
The walk up
There is one massive tree that I could see, and a whole lot of smaller but really tall trees and a couple of areas where you can sit and take it all in. Its a magic spot just like the rest of the bay.
The Grove at the top with the seating area
I sat up there for about half an hour before walking back down to the Holiday Park in the bay.
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Wash your boots time
The walk up
One big tree
A bit of a peak out
That’s a big tree
A baby Kauri with the big one behind
Entrance to the Bay
Long Bay
I’ve never been one for long walks or studying trees but this is well worth seeing.
It has been a few years since I was last in Coromandel town and that is partly due to meeting an oncoming logging truck on a blind bend a few years ago. He was going for it and how we didn’t connect or me disappearing into the tide, I still to this day do not know! Scary… Thankfully it looks as though they have done quite a bit of upgrading work to the coast road and it looks heaps better.
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Great view from the top.
It’s a great run up the coast and getting up to stop at the top lookout just before Manaia is always a treat for the eyes.
The Coromandel NZMCA park was famous for being wet and everybody crowding onto a small sealed area. Well.. no more. The whole area is gravel and it looks fantastic.
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The fridge has been upgraded too.
And a gate
Dry as a bone
The smokehouse
One of the nice things about this park is its location right in the middle of town. With the Coromandel Smokehouse right in front and a couple of pubs and the shops within easy walking distance.. what a spot!
One of the only holiday parks close to Thames is the riverside Dickson’s Holiday Park and you do actually get to park right next to an amazing river.
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Just behind where I was parked.. Nice spot
I cruised in on my way up to Coromandel and was welcomed by the owner Neil who with his wife Cindy have owned it for 4 years. Dickson’s was set up in the early 1950’s by one of the Thames district councilors and was once a Gold Mine.
Neil and Cindy
Neil was saying that where the toilets, showers and kitchen on the top of the hill are was the stamping battery and it was powered by a huge waterwheel that was alongside and fed from the river. Where the pool is now was access to the mine itself. Amazing history.
The Ablution block that was a stamper Battery. The huge waterwheel was beside it.
I was parked right next to the river where you can walk down to a grassed area with seats. Quite therapeutic just sitting there watching and listening to the water run past.
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The pool that was a gold mine.
Looking up the river.
Neat Mosaics
The memorial rock to Mr Dickson
Just behind where I was parked.. Nice spot
A lovely spot to park with easy access and big flat spaces and with 28 powered sites. There are some cabins and onsite caravans for those without a motorhome or caravan.
I found this quite a magical spot and will be back with Fiona.
Neat Caravans
The park is about 8 k’s north of Thames on the right in Tararu.
Leaving Rawene early, I headed out through quite thick fog towards Russell. “The Maui Convoy” was due back today from a quick 24 hr excursion through Manganui, staying overnight at the Hihi Holiday Park which they all raved about so I must do a trip up there sometime soon.
The guys on the ferry did a great job on trying to get Rafe over to Russell without scraping the back but getting off was a big long scraping metal sound…. horrible but there was no damage.. just a cleaning of some dirt off the chassis.
My sideways park up the top
Once I was happy there was no harm done, I set off to Russell and checked in at the Top 10 who are doing quite a good off season rate if you give them a few days notice.
Great view.. taken the next morning.
The parks are a bit smaller but they found one that suited Rafe’s nearly 8 metres and the view was spectacular. All the parks have a grey water waste gully trap and everything is absolutely in tip top order.
I plugged in, opened some hatches for some fresh air and set off into the town which is just a few minutes walk. Its a special place here with the History and the old buildings.
Looking across towards Paihia
I wasn’t long down there when one in the convoy Grant rang to announce his arrival and was on his way down to set up a tennis game. All those in the convoy are members of the Ngataringa Tennis Club in Devonport.
Grant .. all concentration
So we sat in the plastic chairs (the Grandstand) on the court for a Wimbledon experience 🙂
The fans In the Grandstand
I didn’t catch who the winners were but we were then off to the Duke of Marlborough to watch the rugby being played at Eden Park. Great game..
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
Looking down over the park
The Kitchen dining room
Looking up at the Kitchen area
Looking down at the lower parking area.
Colourful bins
Big park
The finish.. Dave, Craig, Grant and Paul
Craig playing a shot
Grant off for a shower
One of the drivers Malcolm who was travelling with his wife Bonny is a real gem on the piano. They live in Whitianga. Malcolm found a grand piano in the bar and off he went. Everybody was hugely impressed and with a few glasses of wine behind us, it was a whole lot of fun !
We were all starting to get a bit hungry and there was no food left at the Duke so we adjourned to the Sportfishing club next door where they whipped up some fantastic meals for us.
The Duke !
This was the last day of the Convoy. All the vans had to be handed in at 2;30pm in Mangere the next day!
Grant off for a shower
A bit of pool playing and then we walked back to the Holiday Park.
A great day and a lovely town. Coming here for just one day as we did is not a very clever idea, I’ll have to come back for more 🙂
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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