After almost a month of sitting in one spot, it was time to blow out the cobwebs with a quick trip away for the weekend. Fiona was keen to go to the markets at Mangawhai so Mangawhai it was.
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Looking out over the Estuary
We found a great wee pop up on the hill above the village close to the markets. Colin has a house up behind the shops and provides power and water and a great view. It is also a very easy walk to the shops.
Looking out at DuskThe view from Rafe in Mangawhai
We arrived there about 7:30 odd on the Friday night and slotted in on a compacted grass are looking right out over the estuary.
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Us up on the hill
The Pie Caravan !
The Entrance to Bennets Chocolate Shop
The outside of bennetts
The popular shop in Mangawhai.. Sausages in bread 🙂
A new shopping centre
Cove Restaurant where we had lunch
The view down to the Village
The next morning, we woke up to a sunny day and after getting organised walked down to the village and the markets at the primary school. It’s a great atmosphere with everyone having fun and getting into the swing of it.
Arriving at the Markets
The great find for me was a caravan there selling these amazing pies. The owner was a real foodie who used to run a local restaurant and now make the pies and sell them locally. The coffee was something else too. I had a Lamb and Mint pie, and Fiona had a Curried Fish. both amazing!
At the Bennetts Coffee shopBennetts Chocolates
After this we walked back to the main shops from the school and after a coffee and a visit to Bennetts Chocolates (who could resist!) we stopped in for lunch at the Cove restaurant.
Cove Restaurant where we had lunch
Then it was back to Rafe. A great day of Sunshine, Great Food and Coffee in a lovely spot.
The school holidays had rolled around, and our son Alex had two business trips to both Wellington and New York so it was down to Fiona and I to entertain the two boys. Ayden 14, and Liam 11.
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Ngongotaha looking a little dreary on the first day.
Our oldest son Drew and his partner Jenna and their 10 month old son Archie were going to meet us in Rotorua later and were staying in a boutique Hotel in Rotorua town.
The three cuzzies, Ayden, Archie and Liam by the waterfront.
Our first thought was to stay at the Speedway track which is somewhere I’ve never stayed before or Ngongotaha NZMCA park. Fiona had the idea that she would follow us down in the car so we could run around down there more easily.
We were off. Ayden sat in the copilots’ seat and Liam came down with Fiona a wee bit behind.
Liam and Ayden with the Hopscotch
We arrived in Rotorua early in the afternoon with passing showers so after checking out the Speedway which looked amazing, I decided against staying there only due to the power being 3 pin plug. Our 10 amp adapter is not weatherproof and the only spare 16 amp weather protected plug meant crossing some fairly boggy ground, so it was off to Ngongotaha.
I was pleasantly surprised that there were plenty of powered sites still free given it was school holidays and the park was quite busy. We plugged in and settled down until Fiona and Liam arrived in the car an hour or so later.
Down on the waterfront
It didn’t take long for the boys to check out the park and they quickly found the hopscotch right next to the powered parks. Later that day we headed into town to the park by the waterfront for the boys to run around.
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The amusement fair on the waterfront.
Down on the waterfront
The boys in the playground
Ayden and Liam on a swing.
People on the waterfront
Down on the waterfront
Andrew and Jenna texted so it was off to see them at their hotel and then we walked to the Lone Star for a meal. I haven’t been here for a while, so it was a quick reminder on how big the meals are there 🙂
Drews HUGE pork ribs at the Lone Star !
The next day after some more Hopscotch, we caught up again with Drew, Jenna and Archie.
Liam, Ayden, Archie with granny Fiona at the French cafe
After a nice lunch at Fiona’s favourite French cafe, we drove up to the Paradise Valley Animal Park for the boys, all three of them!
Ayden having fun with a DonkeyLiam feeding a Goat
They really enjoyed it and saw the Lions being fed which was amazing. The slabs of meat get thrown over about a 30 metre high French surrounding the enclosure 🙂
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Liam feeding a deer at the Animal Park
Trout at the Anima Park
Archie in his pushchair
Jenna, Archie, Drew and Liam in the background with a llama
Jenna, Archie, Ayden and Drew with the Llamas
Liam with a Goat
Ayden having fun with a Donkey
The happy Lion after a feed
There was a fair / amusement arcade setup on the fields behind the waterfront park, so we took the boys there. Ayden had broken his thumb playing rugby and was in cast so that reduced the Funtime activities for him which was a shame. Liam had a go at the dodgems and Ayden settled for some candy floss.
Liam on the Dodgems
The next morning, we were meeting Drew, Jenna and Archie at the Gondolas so that Liam could have a go on the Luge. He had a great time while we waited for him with cups of coffee in the Cafe.
Liam, Archie, Drew and Jenna on the Gondola.
Both boys came back with me in Rafe and we caught up with Fiona at Tirau.
Liam on the ride back up.
It was a fun few days and they really enjoyed it and it was a nice change for us too. Here is a look at a previous trip to Rotorua with the boys.
Rafe’s tracker map to Ngongotaha NZMCA park – Armada GPS
One of the loveliest spots to stay is at the Mighty River Domain on the banks of the Waikato River.
Complete with its own Cafe, it is also home to competitive rowing in New Zealand and most mornings you’ll find the nation’s elite Rowers and Kayakers going for row.
It is also very cost effective to stay there too.
Plenty of space up on the top levelThe bottom area
We last stayed here with 25 Motorhomes with the Dethleffs Owners group get together last year. It worked well and was a lot of fun with two communal meals and lots of laughs.
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The rowing grandstand
The Outlook !
An interesting photoshoot while I was there 🙂
Part of the playground
Nice outdoor area from the Kitchen
I met some neat people from New Plymouth while I was here who I caught up with later.
Friends down on the lower level.
There are two levels of powered parking, ablutions blocks everywhere you look (to cater for rowers) and plenty of places for some great walks. There is also a bike trail into Cambridge which is about 7 k’s away.
Part of the playground
GPS instructions to get here included a trip across the top of a dam which you can’t do in most Motorhomes so the best way there is via Cambridge.
It has been a while since I was last out here in Pukekohe, a few years perhaps but boy it has grown. There are new houses everywhere you look, and the town has grown too.
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I checked in with Sarah at the Pukekohe A&P grounds where they’ve provided Motorhome parking for some years now. She very kindly showed me where everything was and after parking the van, I went for a walk over the road to the Z Zone.
I stopped in at the local Hollywood Bakery for a coffee and then popped into a few local shops. before heading back to the park.
When I first started coming here about 8 years or so ago, it was all grass with lots of mud when it was wet and a couple of power poles.
Ian was the man in charge, and I understand he is still involved. He has done a magnificent job over the years of developing this into a really nice area to stay.
Now there are Toilets, showers and a coin operated Laundry in the new(ish) amenities block. There is a circular gravel road which runs past many of the sites and on past the dump station. So no more muddy exits 🙂 .. Ans all at a reasonable price too.
The Amenities block, now with a LaundryAnd a Dump Station!
There are a lot more power points all set out with plenty of space on big sites. It’s a fantastic setup.
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The Amenities block, now with a Laundry
Just across the road is one of Pukekohe’s big shopping areas with the Warehouse and several other big stores. Pukekohe’s main street is just a few steps further on.
Having not been here for a while and seeing the changes, Ian, Sarah and the crew have done a fantastic job providing some Motorhome and Caravan accommodation in an area where there wasn’t any.
39 Dethleffs Motorhomes of all shapes and sizes arrived in Miranda ready to catch up with old friends and see other Motorhomes. There were quite a few first timers at this event but also the old hands that could remember others names to catch up with people they met earlier.
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The Coupes Arriving
The first day was about settling the vans down and wandering around to see where everyone was and having a swim in the hot pool.
Later in the day, there was happy hour for everyone to get together and there was an impromptu shared meal between a dozen or so friends in the evening.
There was a really funny moment after the meal when we were all sitting around having a few drinks and a few laughs. There was a group of about 20 odd teenagers on the table next to us and there were about 8 of us by then. A lady in the group stood up to make a speech and as soon as she started, one of our group started singing happy birthday and others joined in. She was saying no no, then gave up but our group stopped singing. Everyone was laughing. Then we found out it was an engagement so there were lots of congratulations from us too! Great time. 😂😂
The pot luckers on Friday Night
Because Fiona was working late on the Friday, she arrived in the car around 8:30.
The cyclists setting off for Kaiaua and the Cafe
The next morning was the bike ride to Kaiaua or to a cafe up the road. There were about 19 bike riders on bikes! A great turnout. Most were riding the 13k’s or so to the Kaiaua for lunch.
On the trail to Kaiaua
Fiona and I followed them and got pictures of them at stops with the car.
On the trail to Kaiaua
When we arrived at the pub, well before the cyclists, Quin the Manager had just arrived and was about to open so perfect timing.
At the Kaiaua Pub for lunch
At the Kaiaua Pub for lunch
We all went out to the back beer garden with the bikes and ordered coffees and lunch. Fiona and I had an amazing pizza.
The bikes at the pub
About an hour or so there, we started the trek back.
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Bruce and Judys Globe 4 (Rafe’s twin)
Catching up in the driveway
Liz and Nolina
Catching up on Friday
Friday night happy hour
Friday night
Friday night Happy Hour
On the trail to Kaiaua
On the trail to Kaiaua
Rays Rest
On the trail to Kaiaua
On the trail to Kaiaua
At Rays Rest
The Team piccy
Saturday night
Steve and Troy still behaving 🙂
Saturday night eating fest 🙂
Back to the hot pool and then later at 4, we had the team photo. Where we normally do the piccy was really boggy, so we had to move out to the motorhome parking.
The Team piccy
Happy Hour came next, and the place was chocker with people.
Pot Luck heaven
Sat Night with the shared meal.
The Buffet 🙂
Then came the shared meal and the meals were restaurant quality… just amazing and everyone got a great feed with some going back for seconds. Fantastic.
On the last day (Sunday Morning) we caught up again for a farewell coffee together.
Bruce and Judys Globe 4, Above, (Rafe’s twin) 9 years old and over 100000ks and never missed a beat… a testament to the old 3 litre Ivecos! Rafes got 102000ks, exactly the same Motor, Motorhome and colour!
Dethleffs everywhere you look
A great event with lots of fun and thanks to everyone for coming.
Bowentown is just one of those places that just works and with its fantastic beach, it is hard to beat for somewhere to stay. Every time I walked down to the beach with the camera over the few days I had here, there was a completely different look.
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Looking down from the hill. Rafe parked at the bottom of the image.
I was parked overlooking the sea and the rest of the camp close to where I was when I was here a few years ago. A lovely spot and only a few steps to the sand.
That amazing beach
Anzac Bay is an easy walk from the Campground and is on the other side of the peninsular. There used to be overnight parking a few years ago but it was stopped due to congestion issues, but it is another nice bay with others beyond that you can walk to from there. If you have bikes, there is a great bike trail that takes you all the way up to the northern end Waihi Beach.
Anzac Bay
I spent some time with some other Motor homers who had stopped for lunch and were enjoying the sunshine.
Picnickers at Anzac Bay
Back to the camp… On the second day, there, I popped down to the new Froth Cafe for a coffee and a snack. They had a walking group from Waihi Beach so were run off their feet but both Shawna and Helon had the place humming. The walkers do this on a regular basis and stop for a reward at the Cafe.
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Lunch at Anzac Bay
Looking out towards Katikati at Anzac Bay
The Vw’s are still there
The kid’s area at Bowentown
The view from our park .. just the best.
Looking North, Rafe down the bottom.
The Boat ramp on the inner harbour at Bowentown
One of those moods on the beach
There used to be a lovely boardwalk that ran along the top of the sand dunes along the beach but unfortunately the last weather events undermined to the point that it was unsafe, and it has been removed.
It is still one of the best beaches around and just going down to sit in the lee of the hill at the bottom of the beach with the sand between your toes is just magic, even in winter 🙂
Matariki weekend started with big traffic queues, so we thought we’d wait until Sunday and catch the traffic going the other way. Keeping it close and keeping the fuel costs down, we thought we’d head towards the Kaiaua NZMCA park with the superb hospitality provided by both the Pub and the Fish and Chip shop.
We arrived at Kaiaua NZMCA park around the middle of the day on what was a grey day. There were already several 5th wheelers, Caravans and a few Motorhomes there but there was plenty of room.
As I got out of the Motorhome to register in the shed, I met Mia and Hans who were right next door to us in there new Benimar from Taupo. They were veteran Motor homers who have travelled extensively through Europe in a Motorhome. They spent a year travelling and some of their adventures sounded amazing.
Not long after this came Steve and Caroline in their 8m Delaware from Whitianga. Nice to meet them too.
The Marina
After checking out the river next to the park, we headed to the Pub next door for a pizza lunch. It was superb and very good value.
As we walked into the pub, we walked past a whole lot of vintage Morris’s out in the carpark. A lot of car and bike clubs come here for lunch in weekends and do a loop back up the coast. Lovely seeing the old cars.
The Morris club dropped in too!
We went for a walk around Kaiaua after that ending up at the pink shop up the road a bit.
The Pink ShopKaiaua Beach looking down towards Rays Rest
Later in the day, we headed over to the Pub where we met both Steve and Caroline. Hans and Mia were sitting at another table and came over and joined us and we heard about their amazing trip through Europe including Turkey. Fascinating!
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New arrivals
Fiona coming back from the pub
Next to the park
The Marina
The Pub
Ducks in the river around the park.
Hans and Mia joined us next door for a fabulous meal at the famous Fish and Chip shop right next to the pub.
The Fish and Chip shopThe NZMCA park from the bridge
It’s a great little village Kaiaua and the park is fantastic. Being this close to Auckland, it’s an easy escape for a few days which is exactly what we were looking for. It was a real bonus meeting some interesting people as well.
A few days away in Rotorua sounded like a good plan so after restocking the fridge and topping up with a bit of water, we set off for Rotorua. Straight down the motorway with the new Hamilton bypass, it was too easy.
The unusual Covered Boardwalk with the Facilities in the middle.
The park is quite different from your average holiday park in that is has a covered boardwalk that surrounds the park and meets at the newish ablution block. It means you can park close and avoid getting too wet if its pouring with rain to get the facilities. Clever.
After an afternoon of a few swims as you do, we settled down for the night. The forecast was evil with heavy rain and maybe some thunder too.
About 4am, we were woken up by this massive thunderclap and huge lightning. You could feel the vibration of the thunder through the motorhome even through the bedding! There were a couple of more strikes and then things settled down to just heaps of rain and wind.
In the morning, we woke up to a fridge which had been on power, a bit slow to respond and it was decidedly warmer than it should have been. We thought maybe it had been spiked.
Reading the Herald on the iPad, we saw that at the Golf course just a 100 or so metres away over the road, a Cyprus tree had exploded, and bits went flying up to 50 metres away after a lightning strike. We figured this must be what we heard at 4am.
The Facilities
The fridge was still a bit lethargic so after talking to my son, he suggested (I should have thought of this) that reset the fridge and try it on gas until we get back to Auckland to save our food. The fridge worked brilliantly and when we got home, we tested it on power with some ice and glass of water and it passed with flying colours 🙂
Outside the French Cafe
After getting over the fridge and getting things together, we headed into Rotorua on a bus and headed to Fiona’s favourite French Cafe in Rotorua. As always, the food was fantastic and from there, we went for a wander through the shopping area.
Fiona at her favourite French Cafe
Rotorua always has that holiday feel to it with the thermal smell and all the touristy stuff happening. It’s a great spot and we can never get enough of it. The Hot pools of course make it even better.
We finished off at Farmers and Noel Leeming and some of the big shops. A cruise back on the Bus and we were back in for another swim in the Hot Pools. Bliss.
Rafe’s tracker map to Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park – Armada GPS
I don’t know how many times I’ve photographed and driven past the loos at Kawakawa, but Fiona and I had both seen the publicity on the new Art centre in Whangarei and it was on the must do list 🙂
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Nice easy parking
We arrived in Whangarei just after lunch after stopping in at Manganui for a piece of fish and a Scallop or two for morning tea 🙂
Very styley 60’s 🙂
With the weather looking decidedly dodgy with wind and rain, I decided on the Whangarei Central Holiday Park which is easy walking distance to anywhere in town. It’s also very reasonably priced with very nice people running it. Everything works and its handy!
After settling down Rafe, we set off with our umbrellas towards the new art centre, about 10 minutes’ walk. It’s amazing! The first thing to do while it was not raining was to check out the dome and the roof garden. There are some really rare trees from the islands there too with curled leaves… interesting but to think how quickly this has come together, it’s amazing and on the roof too.
Back downstairs on a wavy tiled floor, you feel almost like you’re on the water. Up one floor for the gallery on Hundertwasser are lots of examples of his art and design, and basically several rooms on how he did what he did and when. Really interesting artwork but with his unique style.
Fiona in the tower. The Marina in the background
He also had an amazing motor Sailer which I think he might have sailed out from Europe.
We spent an hour or so here and then went for a coffee at the Centre’s Cafe.
Some of the art
By the time we finished here it was time for tea. We found an arcade in the main street full of Restaurants and bars and eventually settled on an Indian Restaurant called Tumeric. It would have to be the best Indian meal we’ve both had for some time and was very reasonable. Amazing food.
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From the tower out over the roof top garden towards the city.
Looking out from the tower
Lots of tiles and Coulour
Fiona in the Gallery
It was getting dark as left the restaurant and we ambled our way back to Rafe at the Park.
Outside our new favourite Indian Restaurant 🙂
A really interesting day starting in Ahipara, Manganui for Fish, ticked off the Hundertwasser building and a great Indian meal… what a day:-)
Rafe’s tracker map to the Whangarei Central Holiday 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.
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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