I used to joke with my old friend Gary who lived here, about Rantartica but over the 4 days we spent in the new NZMCA park here in Ranfurly, the temperature ranged during the day between 24 and 26 degrees every day. Beautiful blue skies with only one morning with a bit of drizzle.
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The NZMCA Park in Ranfurly
Stunning weather and a lovely town.
Rafe with the awning out in the heat of Ranfurly
The people are really friendly and the buildings are amazing.
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The NZMCA Park. Dave and Therese’s caravan on the left. Rafe on the right.
Bins, checkpoint Charlie and the water.
In the grounds of the railway station
The Railway Station
The famous Ranfurly pub
Railway station and Rail Trail
Vintage Tractor Museum
The Tea rooms.. great building
Rafe with the awning out in the heat of Ranfurly
Around the time of the war, the town was struck badly by a string of suspicious fires where a significant number of iconic buildings were burnt to the ground.
Once the tea rooms, now a museum.
At the time, money was scarce and the cheapest and quickest way to replace them was to do the Art Deco style. The town is blessed with these lovely old buildings with some real class.
The famous Ranfurly pub
The drizzly day we had was when the town had its market day at the railway station and it was just great to see the whole town come out to play, even in the dreary weather. It was only shortlived and an hour two later, there was brilliant sunshine again.
The entrance to the park
We were originally only going to stay for two nights but its such a great place to stay so we stayed for four! The NZMCA park is right in the middle of town and is huge.
Looking down the road to Dunedin towards the St Bathans mountains
One of the things I wanted to do when we got to Invercargill was go to Bill Richardson’s amazing truck Museum. We settled for the Coachmans Inn which is just down the road from the Museum and was $34 a night for two. The receptionist was ex Auckland and we had a great old chat about things Auckland and other things.
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The Coachmans Inn Motorhome Area
Its has a whole bunch of powered sites behind the Hotel surrounding the amenities block which while it was nice and clean, it did seem a little tired.
Amazing new building
We had a lie in with the sun coming in the windows and eventually walked down the road to the Museum. Fiona was walking into the city, another 1k down the road and was going to walk back and meet me in the cafe.
The Texaco TankerEarly Fords
The Museum is a fantastic place. From first walking in, there is an amazing Texaco Tanker. I forgot to look at the details of what it was but what a mean looking machine. Then onto the early Fords.
Later Fords
It seemed like there was every single model of Ford from 1904 onwards into the 40’s and 50’s.
British Beddy
Every model of truck you could imagine and there were some early lawnmowers too. There was an interesting collection of tools for service stations and I was really interested to see an early tyre changing device.
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One of the old Fords
A 36 Roadstar V8
A dennis
Henry Ford and some Bowsers
Ye olde Ford
Ford Trucks
A Hybrid Volvo Electric/Diesel
Lots of Trucks
An old Lawnmower
These single cylinder Tractors were hugely popular in Germany. Bought out by John Deere.
A Shell Bowser and a Tyre Pressure repair station behind
Houghtons Oils
A GM 1-71
I worked in a service station in Glenfield when I was a teenager and had to use one of these beasts. Swinging on the end of a tyre lever with grease. Lots of fun. It brought back some old memories.
A Tyre Changer
Petrol Bowsers, Oils and some motors along with a GM 671 setup as a generator and a 171 too.
A Gm 671 set up as a Generator
My old boat Rorqual had a GM Turbocharged 671 in it so I was interested to see it setup as a generator and normally aspirated too. In all the *71 series motors, all the pistons, conrods and bearings, valves etc are the same so easy for parts.
A Bean!
Fiona rang and said that just about everything was shut (saturday afternoon) and she was heading back. I was just about finished so I headed for the Cafe where a few minutes later, Fiona wandered in.
Fiona in the café done up as a 50’s Kitchen. “That’s the oven we had in Waiouru”!
An amazing place and a must see if you’re in Invercargill.
The fire was blazing, the bar looked fantastic and owners Paulette and Mark couldn’t have been more welcoming. I ordered a Chardonnay and paid the $10 for Rafe’s park with power and we had a look around this amazing pub in Ross.
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Fiona with the fireThe Bar. Amazing working cash register
Paulette informed us that as it was Sunday, they had 30 odd people coming for tea and that we should join in. For $20 each for Roast Pork or Beef and $5 for Pavlova and Steamed Pudding, it was a no brainer and we wanted to be at the front of the queue 🙂
The Empire
We went for a walk up the street and checked out the Gold Mining area. It is all really well set out and well signposted with explanations of what happened during the late 1800’s with lots of photos and some of the original buildings still there.
The Museum up the road
Unfortunately we missed the Museum and seeing a replica of the biggest Nugget found there but we got to see Raymond the friendly Goat over the road from the Empire along with a lots of historical bits and bobs.
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Up in the Historic Gold area
The original Gaol
One of the waterwheels
One of the old cottages with the Museum on the left.
Looking back down the main road to the Empire
Some of the Trinkets on the fireplace
The Bar. Amazing working cash register
Everybodies friend Raymond opposite the Empire
When I went for a haircut in Greymouth, the lady absolutely raved about the food at the Empire Hotel when she heard we were going there, so the word is out. The food is fantastic!
Rafe parked at the Empire
We thought about staying another night as it was so good but decided we’d move on to Franz Josef and continue on towards the Haast while the weather was good.
In 1986, some very clever people from Nelson had several problems to solve. Some old historical buildings had to be saved and to do this, they had to be moved to somewhere safe. The other problem was what to do with an old reclaimed tip area. So the clever people fixed up the tip area to be reasonably presentable and stuck the buildings on it. A trust was formed backed by the council and the momentum to create the Founders Heritage Park was all on.
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Looking down the main street with the Old St Peters Church and the Windmill behind. The Windmill was in the main street of Nelson for many years.
With help coming from all corners of the community and a lot of local businesses, this is a stunning collection of Heritage buildings and historical artefacts from in and around Nelson. Think of a smaller version of Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology.
Old Newmans and NAC buses
Some very nearly didn’t make it with some terrible stories of buildings nearly falling of trucks on the way to the museum.
One of Nelsons Fire Stations
We visited the park on a day when it was pouring with rain but it was really the only time we had left in Nelson to do it.
A section on the history of the Port complete with a manmade lake.
With 30 odd buildings from a church to Schools, a railway station and many local shops rescued from Trafalgar street in Nelson as new buildings were built.
The Bristol Freighter
There was even a Bristol Freighter which was good to see as Fiona spent 3 years or so in Malaya at a British and New Zealand Military Camp. When she returned, she came back with her parents and younger brother and sister in a Bristol Freighter. As they are unpressurised, they could only fly at 300 feet and it took 3 days to get from Malaya to New Zealand via Darwin and Sydney, with frozen sandwiches as meals :-).
Fiona on the Bristol Freighter
This was Fiona’s first look inside one of these planes since that trip as an 8 year old so it was a bit special.
Fiona with the Bristol Freighter
I was amazed by how small it was inside. I used to watch them take off from Wellington Airport from my grandparents place up on the hill in Melrose, Wellington. As a grasshopper, I always thought they were huge !
After having a good look around the plane, we checked out the rest of the village. One of the interesting things there was a replica of Sir Ernest Rutherford’s house as a child.
A replica of Sir Ernest Rutherfords house.
There is so much other stuff to see at the park, I’ll let the Gallery below do the talking.
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Old St Peters Church at the end of the street.
An old Nelson bike
Part of a section on Bikes
An old Stagecoach
A shoe repair business
Inside Old St Peters Church
The main street
We took shelter from the rain after that and had a nice cup of coffee and a really nice cake and scone at the onsite café.
Part of a great Agricultural display
Its a fabulous place and well done to those involved in rescuing these lovely old buildings and finding somewhere great to put them.
Its only $7 per adult and there is great parking for motorhomes there too. Next time you’re in Nelson, check it out.
In Arnhem, we met a friendly Dutch Motorhomer who told us about this wonderful little village called Zaanse Schans and that we must pop in for a nosey. So thats exactly what we did and it was stunning.
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Old Buildings on the other side of the riverFrom the Bridge
Original old buildings and Windmills all restored and many open to the public. It is very touristy but done very well.
Charming houses
We looked for the Motorhome parking but couldn’t find it so parked a few blocks away at a railway station parking area but it was an easy walk to and fro.
Crossing the bridge to Zaanse Schans
The Windmills at Zanse Schans
Barrels in the windmill
The inners of a Windmill
People taking photos of each other
Dianne and Gary with Big feet!
The Clogs being shaped on a machine
Clogs being hollowed out
Clogs on the wall for sale
Many of the houses were set up as museums and all offered something different. We had a nice Latte and one house, and then a Waffle at another and checked out the inner workings of a windmill.
Fiona and Dianne share a pair of Clogs !
There was a great Clog making display with all the machinery and you could buy almost anything with a windmill or clogs on it 🙂
Zaanse Schans
We spent about 3 hours here and then headed about 20 minutes south for Amsterdam.
One of the places I’ve been wanting to check out while in Dargaville was the Museum at the top of the hill. The GPS was giving me strange messages that it wasn’t available but it seems they’ve changed the roading to get there. My GPS just didn’t know wbaout it!
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Dargaville from the Museum
Up the hill overlooking Dargaville is the Museum which provides Motorhome parking and also has a dump station and some outside Toilets near the parking with the most amazing view over the Dargaville area.
Museum parking
I had a quick nosey through the museum and it is amazing how much happened in this area with the river and shipping. The Gum Digging history is well documented too along with the Dalmation settlers who largely were involved with the Kauri Gum industry.
On the edge of Kaipara on the way to Dargaville
The view from the parking area with the Gumdiggers village in the foreground
Amazing murals on the wall
Some bits from wrecks found around Dargaville
Some old appliances in the Museum
Parking at the Museum
Its a great wee town Dargaville, lots to see and plenty of places to stay.
One of the murals on the wall of the Dargaville Museum
This would be one of the premo places to park for a night or two and the Museum is a must do too.
What an amazing place. A must do if you’re in the Kaiwaka – Dargaville area and well worth seeing.
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Kauri dam
Those with self contained vans can stay the night there too and there is also the Matakohe Holiday park a short walk away.
A full steam sawmill setup
The museum is a fantastic collection of all things kauri and has a full Sawmill Hall full of all the things that were used to prepare and process kauri. There is even a model of bean Rock lighthouse made of Kauri Gum.
An early caterpillar Bulldozer
The Sawmill Hall – amazing
The last Logan kauri yacht
There was also a barrel making display and its amazing how so many other businesses benefitted from the Kauri Industry.
The washing machine section
Extracting gum
Pit sawing
Bean Rock Lighthouse made of Gum
Tudor Collins donated his massive negative library to the museum
Free overnighting outside for CSC vehicles
Local Photographer and famous for his collections of historic images, Tudor Collins donated his huge negative library to the museum when he found it was being set up. There are some fabulous images on display.
Kauri dressers and Tudor Collins images
Allow at least a morning to do it properly but you could easily spend a day there.
On our way north by the Hukerenui Pub is the Jack Morgan Museum. I was interested in this as my old Whalechaser Rorqual was built by a Jack Morgan in Picton and although I was certain there was no connection given the distance, one never knows 🙂
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The Museum
It turns out that the Hukerenui Jack Morgan was a real character and was a local identity an on retirement started his collection which now makes up the contents of the Museum. Some of the locals have done a great job of the gardens next door too.
The Museum
Parking
The Garen with the Pub behind
Nice outdoor seating
His parents owned the pub next door which is where he was born.
The Parking, plenty of room
A really interesting place and if you visit the Museum, you can stay for free on the grass behind. It is $6 a night otherwise. There are toilets there too.
Its well worth a look through with all sorts of knick nacks from years gone by and there is a café next door in the pub to finish off with a cup of tea.
It is always a great occasion once a year when the nations Dethleffs owners get together for a catchup all in one spot. Its a good opportunity to see what others have done to their vans to make their motorhoming more fun.
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View from the Museum
This year was the biggest yet with 75 motorhomes and caravans which made life interesting to yours truly and my old friend Gary from Taupo to get them all parked. We had a lot of fun as we did it with little walkie talkies that Gary had. The hard part was not being able to have a chat with everyone as they came in, that had to wait for later. As they all had the same sided habitation door, we decided we’d park them in rows with the doors facing together on a 3 metre space and the opposite side being a 4 meter space so that people could escape without skittling tables and chairs etc and it worked really well.
In the social laneFrom the road .. impressive.
The first 40 odd arrived on the Friday and everyone settled in, met old friends and checked out the car museum. The car museum is fabulous. We visited this last March and had a good look through. You can see that here. There are all those cars that we had as kids, the Mark 1 Zephyrs, the Prefects and a lot older. It really is something to see. Outside is normally a NZMCA POP where you can stay overnight and it was nice to see friends Marama and Karen pop in for the night.
The Cord
Dodge trucks
The Auburn
Inside the Museum
The front of the Auburn
Fiona’s favourite, the Messerschmitt
Corvette
An Alvis
A car I had as a teenager, a Mark 1 Zephyr
The back of the Auburn
The next day after a good breakfast in the Juke Box Diner onsite, we caught a bus to a local Tea Estate and got to taste and learn about locally grown tea which was really interesting and on the way back popped in for lunch at the Hamilton Gardens Café. Some decided to walk off their lunch around the amazing gardens.
Off to check out the tea
Arriving at the tea place off the bus.. Fiona, Gary and Dianne
Sussing out the Tea
Gary Aroma checking
Dianne smelling the aroma
The Gardens
Lunch at the gardens café, Graham from Tauranga, Fiona, Gary and Dianne
The latecomers on the other side and the Marquee
Open homing
Bev in her and Bernies Esprit
Peter and Bernie on their tables!
Fush and Chups
cell phone pic
After getting back to HQ at the museum, it was open home for motorhomes so a quick vacuum and a tidy up of Rafe and it was visits all around. Lots of fun and it was nice to see people we hadn’t seen for a long time.
Open Homes
At 6pm it was time for a drink in the Marquee and a feed in the Diner which was immediately followed by a great display of the local rock n roll dance club and they were fantastic.
Slightly blurry cell phone pic!
We finished up the day with Dianne and Gary with friends Ian and Lynda in their XLI right next to us. A lot of fun and we had some great laughs.
Ian and Lynda’s XLI on the left, Rafe on the right.The way there from Rafes tracker
A great day and well hosted by Mr and Mrs Dethleff in NZ, Jonas and Irene Ng. Thanks guys and thanks to Dianne for organising a great day out.
And the Netspeed speed test from this site.
Test Date: 12/11/2016 5:14 PM
Download: 40.43 Mbps
Upload: 12.35 Mbps
Ping: 34 ms
Heading for the Countdown supermarket at Kilburnie after a quick trip down from Paekaekareki was easy. There was plenty of parking over two car parks and I got heaps of stuff for us both for a few days. After nearly two weeks of unsupervised travel, I’d spent the previous two days tidying up the van, washing the linen and getting things shipshape for Fiona 🙂
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In Evans Bay
It was time to head for the airport and pick her up from the flight from Auckland. I hadn’t been to Wellington airport for a while so I was a bit unsure of how Motorhome friendly it might or might not be! Wee bit stressful !
After getting a fright at how low the canopy was for the pick up area, I opted for the departure ramp and all was fine !
We made it safely to Evans Bay after that and it was nice to be able to switch off, open the vents and have a cup of tea and work out what we were doing.
After we’d had lunch in a French Cafe in town by David Jones, we walked to the main War memorial museum to see the Peter Jackson display of World War 1. It was amazing with the usual high quality displays. The realism was quite something.
Tank tracks above
It was interesting as my Grandfather drove one of these old Tanks in the Somme in the First World War. I remember as a 4 year old him telling me stories of how they used to cross the German trenches with these monsters. I won’t spill all the gory details but it’s interesting that now that I’m nearly 60, I can still remember exactly what he described 🙂
I used to love listening to his stories and he loved telling them. He was a real character.
Apparently he turned up to his own funeral after the war at his home town in Little Downham, Ely. He saw someone in the street and asked where they were.. “Oh Bert, they’re all at your funeral down at the church!” His mother was so pleased to see him that she scraped the mud of his coat and put it in a little tin. My son Alex has got that tin with the dirt today along with medals and other important family stuff. … Great stuff for a 4 yr old 🙂 .. And his peppermints in the old Mark 1 Zephyr were good too !
Outside the Memorial
Soldiers on the ramps
The Entrance
In the Trenches
The tank above the trenches
Back to the show.. I didn’t realise the scale and how big they were compared to infantry soldiers and the crews.
Poignant Memorial
The display was stunning and I reckon it’s a must do if you’re in Wellington. The very last display is quite poignant too of an older chap in a field of poppies with a young boy.. Fantastic display.
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.
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