Tag Archives: NZMCA parks

Canterbury, South Island 2017

Heading North

The day of Ross’s party came around and with permission from the Hotel, we parked Rafe behind the Gate where Ross’s party was. It was a great do and I reckon there must have been a few sore heads the next day.

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Parked behind the Gate in Cromwell

Ross was in his element and was having a great time. I really enjoyed catching up with Ross and his family and some of our old boating friends who flew down for the occasion.

Ross is a great character.. the birthday boy.

The next day we joined the crew down at the Precinct again for a cup of Coffee and then headed back to Rob and Helen’s place at Lowburn for our last night before heading north.

At Helen’s for the last night

In the morning, we went to the recycling centre to drop off the rubbish and while we were there, I asked the nice chap in the little building if he could tell me what Rafe weighed. I had no idea.
With a Tare weight of 3499kg and a GVM of 4400kg, I was hoping it would be somewhere in between. It was 4080kg with full fuel and water and two of us onboard with plenty of food and wine 🙂 Yippee.. After a post on facebook, several suggested I should be carrying more wine !  A nice idea 🙂

We headed up the side of Lake Dunstan towards Geraldine where we were to stop for the night with Sue and David Fisher at Peski’s. We ended up staying for two nights and from there headed on up to Weedons NZMCA park.

The Weedons Park

It has been a few years since we were last here and it has changed quite a bit. It was nice to bump into our old friends Murray and Faye and to see that they now custodians of Weedons.

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A neighbour hanging out the washing
Looking over to the Shed
In the shed

Its a huge park with storage fenced off at the back. There is a dump station there for cassettes only (septic tank) but there’s also a good dump station just down the road.

Rafe in line

A nice park and handy to know its there as there aren’t too many options in this area.

Rafes Track North
Central Otago, South Island 2017

The Hoedown

Country music isn’t really our thing but I was really keen to check out the Hoedown so we decided to spend a night there and see what it was all about.

After spending a few days at Lowburn, we went into Cromwell town for supplies and while Fiona went for a walk, I popped in to see my old friend Ross who’s celebrating his 70th at the end of the week.
I haven’t seen Ross for several years so it was nice to see him and he had lots to talk about. He’s a writer and had some deadlines so after 20 minutes or so, I headed for the Hoedown.

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Parking was easy. There were two chaps with Hi Vis vests on directing the traffic into parks very efficiently and I slipped into a park where I could easily get out in case I had to pick up Fiona. She was walking to the racecourse from Cromwell, about 2k.

Inside the tent

We were aware that old Caravanning friends, Henny and Rory from Christchurch were going to the Hoedown and we thought this would be a great opportunity to catch up them as we had missed them a couple of times.

Under the mountains

The official statistic for the Motorhomes and Caravans was 140 on the Friday when we were there.

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Visiting
The big Marquee
Fun in the Sun

A lot of Motorhomers and Caravanners and there was plenty of room for more!

The Bus corner

It was a very festive scene and everyone seemed to be enjoying the moment  I went for a walk around the park on the first day and it was a great scene.

The big Marquee

Later in the day, Rory called and we joined both Rory and Henny in their Leisureline Caravan for a few cups of coffee and a catchup. It was nice to see them again.

Keeping Cool

After a cuppa in the morning with them both, we headed back to the side of the lake at Lowburn.

Rafe’s track to the Hoedown
Canterbury, Great Beaches, South Island 2017

A Hidden Sanctuary in Paradise

We woke up to another stunning day at Tekapo NZMCA park by the lake. Ray and Margaret next door in their bus were up and about. Fiona had an idea that she’d like to take Rafe out and check out some of the lakes nearby.

As soon as I stepped out to see Ray, they were doing exactly that and did we want to come with them in their Toad (Suzuki). Then came the rustling around for thermos flasks and cooly bags. A better idea said I, why don’t we take Rafe and we’ll have fridge and cup of tea / butter etc facilities. We were off.

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Ray and Margaret have been on the road in their bus for 4 ½ years so there aren’t many places in the South Island that they don’t know about. One of their little Gems was a neat place called McGregor Lake and Lake Alexandrina.

Looking across lake McGregor to Tekapo

Its about 12k’s from Tekapo and is run as a campsite by a Community Committee. It is in a fantastic spot on the side of a river between the two lakes. Just spectacular.

Stunning Spot

You can stay their for $10 a night per person. There are Toilets and Showers and rubbish along with an outdoor kitchen.

Our first stop was the Dump Station at Tekapo to fill and empty and then the local 4 Square shop for some fresh bits for lunch, then we were off.

We headed along the road to Mt St John and then a short gravel road and we were there.

Across Lake McGregor

We met a chap who had been there a while in his caravan and was keenly following the antics of the local Paradise Ducks. He directed us further down a track to the other area where there more than 50 Caravans and a whole bunch of Baches up on the hill.

Ray on the left walking to lake Alexandrina

As we walked along the river, Ray told us about a time when he was here earlier when he saw Salmon swimming upstream to spawn. The small river was just chocker with Salmon. It would have been quite sight !

Great camping

With the caravans on both sides of the river, its just an idylic spot to stay. No shops and no pubs but if you’ve got a kayak or just want to blob, what a sensational spot.

Lake Alexandrina

After a good look around, we retired to Rafe for lunch with cups of tea and plenty of laughs.

The images say it all.
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A bridge across the river
Baches on the hill
Lake Alexandrina with boat sheds
Showers and Kitchen
Ray checking out one of the pumps
The Facilities
Rules of the road
Margaret, Ray and Fiona walking back for lunch
Rafe ready for lunch
Great camping

After lunch we tidied up and headed back to Tekapo Club camp and organised ourselves for the next event of the day, Happy Hour!

Our neighbours Jim and Lynley back at the NZMCA park

As the afternoon wore on, more and more neighbouring Motorhomers and Caravanners came over to join us. Its really interesting meeting people from all walks of life and where they come from. Lots are retired but many still work and its interesting hearing their stories.

Happy Hour with all our visitors at Tekapo. Cell pic

Another fantastic day in the Sunny South Island.

Rafe’s Track to the camping area.
Canterbury, South Island 2017

Lakeside with the Pines

The storm was a bit of a non event at Geraldine. There was a bit of wind in the afternoon but not enough to upset our 5pm meeting 🙂 Overnight there was a little rain but not enough to keep us awake at all so when we woke up to bright sunshine, it was like we’d missed something 🙂

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We were leaving Peski’s today after more than a week with Sue and David’s wonderful hospitality and with our neighbours, Ray and Margaret, decided we’d meet up at the NZMCA’s superb park on the lakes edge in Tekapo.

Tekapo NZMCA park with Ray and Margaret’s Bus on the right

I’ve never been here before but its a stunning spot. It was a bit grey and gloomy when we first arrived and just as we were leaving for a walk to the church along the track to town, Ray and Margaret arrived.

Love the different layers in the colour
A tribute to Border Collies

The wind was howling from the west but as we got closer to the Church, more blue sky appeared and the wind dropped off slowly.

On our walk back from town

By the time we returned less than an hour later, we had sunshine and lots of it.

Lake Tekapo late on our first day

The next day, Ray and Margaret went for a bike ride to the pools and I rode while Fiona walked into the township. The track goes right down the side of the NZMCA park and finishes at the old stone Church. I couldn’t believe all the tourists going nuts at the church with their point and shoot cameras. All good for the countries tourist dollars!

The Stone Church with the tourists

The last time I was here, there were only a few houses and a few bars. Now its a fully fledged town.

From the new Footbridge looking down on the Lake

After lunch, we headed to the supermarket and I headed back to the NZMCA park on my bike with the veges for the fridge and Fiona had a look around the shops and walked back.

The park though is fantastic. Its a bit lumpy and uneven but I see that a roped off area further down has had some remedial work on levelling it out but we found places we could park in without any problem.

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Plenty of parking
Rafe amongst the trees with the lake in front
A different look again
Tekapo NZMCA park

A nice park and there are some public loos just along the track a bit from the park. (5 minutes walk) There is also a dump station just across the road.

On our ride in the next day

The look of the lake never ceases to amaze me with the different light. The water is almost turquoise and when the mountains have some sun on them with no clouds around, the lake is stunning. A lovely place to stay.

Rafe’s track to Tekapo
Canterbury, South Island 2017

Botanical Parking

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All the way around the South Island when we have talked to other Motorhomers and Caravanners, we’ve had the comment, “ when you’re in Geraldine, you HAVE to stay at Peskis!”.

Nice parking

Geraldine, Pleasant Point and all around this area is Fiona’s families old stamping ground, and there is lots of McLeod family history in this area so we were always going to be stopping here for some time!

Rafe tucked in for the first couple of nights

Peski’s was our destination and what an amazing place it is. Now run by Sue and David Fisher and their dog Tui. The best way to describe it is its like the Botanical Gardens which you can park your Motorhome or Caravan in.

The gardens

It is available to all NZMCA members and it is $15 for a powered site and $5 pp for a grass patch. $2 for the washine machine and $2 for the shower. There is also a cassette only Dump Station too which is also $2  and fresh water.

Down the driveway

We’d just come in the drive in early November, when we were welcomed by David who showed us where everything was and directed us to a powered site at the bottom of the Garden.

The place was reasonably busy but not fill by a long shot but everybody here was happy to be here and the atmosphere is something else.

Happy Hour

David works locally and the Park over property is officially Sue’s baby and it is easy to see they just love it here. They moved from the other side of Geraldine last November when the previous owners wanted to sell and its a stunning place to stay.

No wonder everyone raves about it. Whenever I turn around, I see one or both of them doing something in the grounds and they look fabulous.

Parking up

We decided to stay a week here as its handy to everything around here and every day we catch up with new neighbours and of course our very kind hosts, David and Sue.

They have just had a good friend of theirs make them a new letterbox which is a caravan with the wings on it with their street number.

Down behind the parking area are tracks into the bush and to the river which runs behind the property. David has set up a seat with bark and punga so you can relax down there with the river and solve the worlds problems 🙂

This is the second seat as the first one got washed away but Fiona and I spent a very pleasant ½ hour so as it was so hot and there was a nice breeze coming off the river.

The River
Fiona by the river

A great spot with fantastic hosts who are just amazing.

Running water at the river

We’ll be back here too. A lovely spot!

Rafe’s Track to Peski’s
Canterbury, South Island 2017

Traders Chat

With the run of good weather seemingly endless, we headed on to Waimate to the NZMCA park for the night.

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A Grand entrance

This like most of the other NZMCA parks is just fantastic with plenty of room and all the features you would expect with a dump station just around the corner.

We cruised in, got settled by some trees on the grass and checked the place out.

Nice and flat with lots of taps

The park is only about 1k from the centre of town so is easily within walking distance. In the morning, it got a wee bit overcast and grey. Fiona rode into town for a look around and I followed her later once I’d finished a chore or two.

The following day after some late drizzly rain, it was brilliantly fine again so we parked by the Waimate reserve where they had Market Day. It was nice wandering around and just seeing the locals sitting in the sun, chatting away.

At the market

I think it was more of a social get together rather than anyone stressing too much about making huge sales 🙂

The main street at Rush hour 😉

I was impressed with the NZMCA park as was everyone else who parked there.

The Recycling area

Well done to those who put it together and look after it.

Dunedin, South Island 2017

At the Octagon

It was lovely arriving in Dunedin in the sunshine. We came in from Mosgiel and coming over the hill on the motorway with the sea and the peninsula in the distance was an amazing sight.

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The Octagon

We’ve been here before but only for a day here and a day there and it has always been raining and dreary so it was really a nice suprise to see it sunny and warm.

The NZMCA park in Dunedin

We headed straight for the Woodhaugh NZMCA park which is on the northern side of the city  but is very easy to find and handy for buses into town. After arriving and getting settled we walked around the corner and caught a bus into the Octagon.

Walking up to the Bus stop by the river

Fiona was keen to go to the Scottish Shop and check out the tartans. After that we head a quick look around the Octagon before heading down to the iconic Railway Station and having a good look round there. This building is something else.

The Dunedin Railway Station

Opened in 1904, it was Dunedin’s fourth railway station and was designed by Architect George Troup, earning him the nickname Gingerbread George after the pink basalt and Oamaru stone used in the building.

In the Railway Station

It is a stunning building with more than 750,000 mosaic tiles in the floor and is something to see.

Spectacular décor inside the station

Its nice to see Dunedin Railways doing so well with the Taieri Gorge railway excursions. The trains look fantastic and are all original carriages.

The Taieri train

Cadbury’s Café and Chocolate Tours was next on our list so we walked up a couple of blocks to check in for a Hot Chocolate made with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate. No extra sugar required 🙂

Fiona with the Cadburys Chocolate

Its something else and I recommend you try one if you’re in the area. They also do the tours of the factory too but having just done one a few months ago in Belgium, we passed on this.

Plenty of room for more

After wandering around the town a bit more, we caught the #3 bus back to the NZMCA park.

Rafe with Robert and Dawns Burstner next door(in the middle)

When we arrived back at the camp, we had a new neighbour with a new Burstner so I went over and introduced myself and after tea, Robert and Dawn came over for a few glasses of nice Pinot and cider with lots of laughs.

A great day in a nice city in the sun with some nice people.

Central Otago, South Island 2017

Art Deco on the Rail Trail

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

We’ll definitely be staying here again.

Rafe’s track to Ranfurly
Central Otago, South Island 2017

Val’s Park Over Property.

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When we met Stan and Sara in the Catlins NZMCA park, Stan who is from Alexandra said, that we had to make sure we stayed at Vals POP.

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Rafe parked with power

Val and her husband Russell have been hosting NZMCA’rs since the early 1990’s and she is one of the earliest POP’s in the NZMCA bible. They’re both really nice people and their property is just superb with some power points and a complete Shower and Toilet setup setup in the corner.

In the next paddock

There is even a shed for happy hour on one side and it is beautifully quiet down a long right of way.

Part of the amazing garden

Pam and Bob from Dunedin were there in their Caravan and they’ve been helping with some of the gardening and maintenance. The gardens are spectacular.

Great driveway

We popped in to check in for a park briefly early in the afternoon and then went for a nosey around Clyde. Its a great wee town with a great cafe in the old BNZ building wher we had these amazing date cakes along with a cup of coffee.

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Val looking good.
Another Hotel
Fiona enjoying a coffee
The old Hotel
One of the buildings in Clyde
A view over Clyde
Next door

After a quick look at the Clyde Dam, we headed back as there were only three power points left at Vals and its first in, best dressed for $12 a night.

Clyde Dam

We joined in with the others there in the corner shed in the sun for a few drinks with cheese and biscuits as you do.

A great place to stay and we’re looking at heading back there to have a decent look around Alexandra and Clyde.

Rafe’s track to Vals
South Island 2017, Southland

Niagara Falls :-)

After stopping at the Otautau Dump station, we headed back into Invercargill to get some fuel and water. Fiona’s sister Sara had rung to say she was heading to Queenstown in 5 days so we had to get a wriggle on if we were going to see the Catlins.

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My new favorite phone app, Gaspy came to the rescue and where every service station in Invercargill was selling diesel for $1.36 a litre plus, Gaspy identified a truck stop that was selling diesel for a $1.09 in the back streets of Invercargill !

Plenty of room.

We headed off towards Curio bay and Niagara where the NZMCA park was. After having a quick look at the Curio bay beach, we headed to Niagara.

Fiona at Curio bay
Curio bay looking towards the campground

The park is all gravel with a shed for checking in. Just along the road are the Niagara Falls. Someone with a sense of humour named them after the American ones but they’re famous for whitebaiters rather than as a waterfall :-).

There was plenty of activity there with some friendly whitebaiters.

Niagara Falls

We headed back to Rafe as the promised rain was looking imminent and just after we got back, some new neighbours rocked in and parked beside us.

The NZMCA park

Stan and Sara were from Alexandra and Kawerau and were travelling together. We had a nice hour or so with them with a few cold ones. Nice people and I’m sure we’ll see them again somewhere.

Matai falls

It rained that night and there were some good puffs too.

We set off around mid morning towards Balclutha stopping at the Horsehoe and the Matai falls, and stopping at Owaka for lunch.

From Florence Hill lookout. Tatuku bay

Its a lovely part of the world.

Rafes Track to Niagara falls