One of the handiest new additions in the NZMCA parks has been Kaiaua. Its close enough to Auckland to escape the city and bunk down for a sprint somewhere further on with fantastic eating opportunities.
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Looking back from the bridgeGreat parking
We were heading to Coromandel but with forecast 80k westerlies that day, we thought we’d delay it a day and sit tight. We haven’t been to Coromandel for ages, so we were both really looking forward to going. It was to be the next day.
The sun came out but was still windy.
We arrived in Kaiaua around midday, pleasantly surprised that the holiday traffic wasn’t too bad.
Great FoodKaiaua Pub
The first thing to do was check out the Bayview Hotel. It’s my understanding that the chef that was at Fleurs in Moeraki has started working here so that’s exciting. We kept things simple and shared a pizza which was fantastic. Later in the day, we couldn’t resist the fantastic Fish and Chips at the Kaiaua Fish shop next door.
Backed on to the pub 🙂
After generally loafing around at the park and a walk around the marina, I caught up with part of the Dethleffs Owners Group, Andrew and Pip also in the park. Nice to see them.
We left Turangi early and headed up the side of the lake as Fiona was really looking forward to “doing the shops” in Taupo. We’ve met several people over the last few weeks have given us different views of the changes at Taupo and none of them are all that flash so we were a bit unsure of what we might find.
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Along the waterfront at Rotorua
Driving along the Taupo waterfront and hour or so later, there were thousands of people enjoying the sun and the lakefront and it looked fantastic. I got to the end of the waterfront to the town and suddenly out of the blue was right-hand bend into the back of the town.
Late afternoon at Ngongotaha NZMCA park
How to get to the day Motorhome parking on the other side of town easily. Too hard I thought with all the people, so we decided we’d skip Taupo and head straight for Rotorua.
Busy busy
An hour or so later, we were at Ngongotaha plugging ourselves in and getting ready for our first bike ride into Rotorua down the bike trail. We’ve done this before too but it’s always different and new things to see and do. Fiona’s favourite French Cafe was closed due to the silly season, so we had a lovely Cafe lunch just by the waterfront before biking up to a well know baby shop to look for some clothes for my year-old grandson.
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Along the waterfront
Ohinemutu
The Trail into town
Eat St
Pleasant day
Late afternoon at Ngongotaha
We had two nights there and after another night at the Ngongotaha park and some more riding around the waterfront, we packed up and headed back to Auckland.The park is looking good and is always busy which is good to see. It’s so handy to town too.
One of the nice things about going a different way is seeing new things or seeing them differently.
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Makatote ViaductRafe next to the Viaduct
After leaving Ohakune, we headed up towards National Park, stopping in at the new Kiwi Camp there by the old Historic Railway Station. The cafe was shut so after half an hour of walking around, we headed up the road until we came to the Makatote Viaduct. What an impressive structure and given when it was built, it wouldn’t have been easy.
National Park Railway StationFiona at the Historic Railway Station
Another half an hour and off we went again, this time we decided to head up and see the old Chateau. What a shame it has become a casualty of its upkeep. We stayed here with friends Gary and Dianne a few years ago in the campground there and had High Tea in the Lounge with all the service… most impressive. We still have the memories. 🙂
The Chateau with some rain coming through
The building is still impressive though. I hope someone can find a way to make it pay its way.
Turangi NZMCA park
We left there and headed for Turangi and stopped in at the mall for a Coffee and Lunch opposite in a Cafe then we checked in at The NZMCA park there.
Rain coming through in waves.
The park is looking fantastic. The forecast was for heavy rain and thunderstorms which we were all waiting for but didn’t happen. A great night there anyway.
We had just finished a great Christmas with our family, and it was time to head off to a long-awaited trip to Taranaki. Last year, I had done several trips to New Plymouth to meet up with old work colleagues from my days at the Herald and for a Hospice Auction. But it was all very quick and like a sprint from Auckland and back. This time, we could have bit of a nosey round.
The park
We left Auckland early, but it still took over an hour to get through the Takanini/Papakura area on the Motorway. The traffic was diabolical, and this was on the 27th.
A great hobby to take away.
After getting through there, it was easy peasy all the way to Otorohanga where we were meeting up with friends from the Dethleffs Owners Group, Steve and Rosemary. They had come down the day before and were very ready with a park right next to them at the NZMCA park which made things really easy. Here is an interesting link about their railway station 🙂
Rosemary and Fiona under the awning.Steve and Rosemary’s Esprit GT with the back of Rafe appearing behind.
We had a great night with them… It was really nice to catch up with them again.
The Railway station the next morningParking beside the Railway. Steve and Rosemary on the left.
In the morning we headed into Otorohanga town and had lunch in a cafe and quick look around before heading off towards New Plymouth.
First were the coffee carts who must have done a roaring trade both strategically parked at each end of the park and fantastic coffee too.
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Popular on Saturday morning
Then came tossing the Gumboot, Throwing the Hammer and throwing the Caber.
Throwing the GumbootThe CaberThrowing the Hammer
There was a 50-minute walk in 5 minutes and also some egg throwing too… 🙂
The walk
A lot of fun and in perfect sunshine. The Motorhomes parked around the grounds got their chairs out and watched in comfort with their morning teas and biscuits 🙂
The GrandstandThe Grandstand for the games
After this the Hamilton Pipe Band came on with the pipes and drums which sounded amazing. You can’t beat a good pipe band.
Hamilton Pipe BandHamilton Pipe BandHamilton Pipe Band
The games carried on then we had the ceremonial entrance of the Haggis lead by one of the senior pipers and with Chairman of the NZMCA Waikato group carrying the Haggis with the Whiskey following behind.
The Haggis being piped in.Michael with the Haggis
I’ve never tried Haggis before but it’s really nice and found myself partaking when I was offered seconds 🙂 Must be the McLean blood in me!
In the afternoon there was a jazz group called the Flaming Mudcats on the stage which I popped over to check out. They were really good with a chap on the double bass.
Check out all those Motorhomes
In the evening, it was back in the hall for another band called Landslide, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band where we sat with our Dethleff Friends from the group. Nice to see them again.
Saturday night with Landslide
After a lie in on the Sunday morning after the rugby, Fiona went for another walk into town while I chatted to our Dairy Farmer neighbours from Rotorua, Tony and Teresa. There were a lot of discussions about the rugby and that Brit in the bunker 🙂 as you can imagine.
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Hamilton Pipe Band
Hamilton Pipe Band
Hamilton Pipe Band
Hamilton Pipe Band
Hamilton Pipe Band
The Haggis
The Caber
Throwing the Gumboot
Throwing the Hammer
The walk
Throwing the Gumboot
Neal with his Highland gear 🙂
Harmonic Resonators on the Sunday night.
During the afternoon, there was an Accordion player, Annie Gong with come music sounds that she had made and versions of some well know songs, which sounded like a whole orchestra. It was well done. There were also raffles being held backed by NZMCA sponsors and others.
Harmonic Resonators on the Sunday night.
That night there was another band called The Harmonic Resonators which was essentially a family group which did some great harmonic singing. Think Crosby Stills and Nash but with some Te Reo as well along with lots of old favourites. They were fantastic and had great voices. Everyone in the hall were there to the end with a standing ovation. 🙂
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700 Motorhomes! see if you can find yours!
The weather was really starting to deteriorate with wind coming in but to a large degree, we were sheltered by Mt Te Aroha. The wind was coming around it though but that changed it to a south easterly which worked well as we were all parked pointing to the south. Over Sunday night, it blew dogs off chains, and we rocked and rolled. Some left later on Sunday to avoid the forecasted gloom 🙂
I was just pleased that the ground was so well prepared so there was little chance of getting stuck.
We were going to go over to the hall again for the final farewells and raffle results, but the weather was awful, so we decided to take advantage of a spell in the rain and head for the gate before the rush. Once we got to Ngatea, we refueled, emptied tanks and had a cup of tea.
The whiskey tradition.
Thanks for a fantastic weekend, great entertainment and as I said at the beginning, very well organised and we’re looking forward to the next one. 🙂
Rafe’s tracker map to the Te Aroha Romp – Armada GPS
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 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.
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.
After our fun at the Holiday Park, we were looking forward to a stress-free night at Ngongotaha with power to watch the rugby final. I haven’t tried the new Kiwi camps power system yet, so it was all new and it works well.
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Looking out to the lake
We cruised into the NZMCA park there around 10:30 and checked out the scene for parking with power. After finding plenty of space near the power posts, we went back to buy a Kiwi camps tag at the 4 square and after loading some money on the tag and setting up the app, we plugged in and we were away .. easy peasy.
Great OutlookNice place to stay.
A cup of tea was deemed necessary and then we caught a bus into downtown Rotorua. After wandering around the very impressive newly done up Lakefront, we watched some Helicopters, Jet boats and Seaplanes come and go.
We walked over to Eat st for lunch and then walked up to the big barn shops (Farmers, Briscoes etc.) so I could get some shoes.
Eat st
After a cup of tea stop and one of Fiona’s other favourites cafe’s, we caught a bus back to Ngongotaha NZMCA park and prepared ourselves for a night of good Rugby.
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The power post
The power post
Nice to see the bottom area getting used.
Planes and Helicopters were busy.
There was a great soccer game going on right next door so we sneaked through the gate and watched. A nice game and apparently by two of the top teams.
Next doorOur neighbours Taupo V NgongotahaThe Grandstand at the edge of the NZMCA park
We have come here quite often over the years but haven’t been here recently. It’s just lovely and always easy and I have to say, as a “power” person, I really like the addition of power for those who want it. It’s so easy and it is really nice to have at one of our better parks.
This was just such a treat and Fiona and I had been looking forward to it.. the highlight of the trip if you like. We met the bus I was later told; was a 400 HP beast that was once a Petrol tanker but was custom made for its current purpose of ferrying people like us up to the Cape on the sand.
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The driver picked us up outside the Awanui NZMCA park along with a neighbour in the park with his two grandsons and we were off.
Jason the driver and guide was a scream and very good with the flow of interesting information that went all day.
After turning off the main road north at Waipapakauri, we headed a few k’s towards the beach before we got to the sand. The weather for the trip was perfect and once Jason had changed into 4-wheel drive, we were off up the beach… all 56k’s of it apparently 🙂 As Jason said on the commentary “ It’s the only state highway that gets a wash twice a day “:-)
Getting out for a stretch
About half an hour or so of cruising up the beach, we stopped and got out for stretch and a look around. It’s an amazing beach with nothing really in either direction apart from the sandhills behind.
Looking South. the hole in the rock.
There was a rock of the beach with a hole in like the one off Cape Brett.
Jason running the Bus up the Te Paki stream for the sandboarding.
A bit further on, we were heading up the Te Paki stream beside the massive sand hills where we stopped to let to let those younger and more adventurous than us to boogie board down the sand hills. Jason gave them all a few safety lessons and they were off.
Jason doing the safety briefing.Jason doing the safety briefing before they head up the dune.Sandboarding !
They all seemed pretty happy with the occasion and about 45 minutes or so later, we set off again up the stream to rejoin the highway up to the Cape.
After Lunch
Next we were heading up to Tapotupotu Beach for lunch which Jason had stashed away. The road wasn’t for the faint hearted in a big vehicle and although there were a few Motorhomes there, it definitely wasn’t for me.
Looking towards Maris van Diemen
About an 1 hour later with a great lunch by the beach, we all headed back to the bus and Jason then took us all up to the Cape Reinga carpark to walk down to the lighthouse.
The oceans meeting
It’s about a 45-minute walk down to the lighthouse and back and quite steep in places but on a really nice track. As you go down on the left you can see Cape Maria van Diemen where the lighthouse used to be, Cape Reinga in front and the beach that we had lunch at off to the right with North Cape way off in the distance.
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Arriving on the beach
A sandhill in the sun
Looking South.. wonderful.
Jason running the Bus up the Te Paki stream for the sandboarding.
Jason doing the safety briefing.
On the way up.. Jason was saying the escalators were being serviced 🙂
The Lighthouse – pic by Fiona
Cape Reinga
The last time I was here, I think I was 13 years old or thereabouts. We were on a family trip with a 4-wheel drive with a beach buggy on an A frame. It was a trip for a photo shoot with a friend of my Dads who was a specialist Motor Racing photographer for a magazine article. The beach buggy got stuck on top of a sandhill… think all wheels off the ground so I got to learn how to drive it while we got it unstuck 🙂
Back to the trip… it was fantastic to see it all again and all the improvements that have been made for easier access.
At the pub on the way home.
We were all back in the bus heading down the road for an ice cream stop and to the famous Waipapakauri where Fiona and I had a G & T to celebrate the end of a great day. We were only a few K’s north of the Awanui NZMCA park.
Back at Awanui.. great day !
A fantastic day and I’m really pleased we took the option of a guided bus trip. It wasn’t expensive given what was involved and a lot of fun and entertainment. Thanks, Jason, for the great commentary and a brilliant day out.
Rafe’s tracker map to the Awanui NZMCA park – 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.
We arrived in Kaiaua around midday, pleasantly surprised that the holiday traffic wasn’t too bad.
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