Tag Archives: Small Towns

Coromandel 2017

Top Value Parking with Top Value Tucker

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The Coromandel Hotel is a real surprise.

The front of the Hotel

By walking down the street beside it reveals a nice private flat powered Motorhome park behind the hotel nicely planted out with Palms and with a nice outlook. It is $25 (for two)a night and includes the use of the nearby Backpackers Toilet and Showers. It also has a dump station.

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Solid ground too.
The Backpackers with the Dump Station, Showers and Toilets.

We arrived early on a Friday and checked in for a weekend at Coromandel. Our friends Dianne and Gary were staying in a motel room in the Coromandel Top 10 right opposite so it worked perfectly.

We went for a walk down to the town which takes all of 10 minutes and enjoyed a cuppa at one of the many cafes down there and after checking into some of the shops wandered back to Rafe. There is a Laundromat there too.

Nicely setup parking and has a dump station and fresh water
The Laundry is easy to spot
Coromandel Town
I love the Husband Waiting chairs

That night it rained and we popped over to the Motel unit and enjoyed a few laughs and glasses of wine before heading to the Coromandel Hotel for tea. It was stunning. Gary and I had a carpetbag steak each, Fiona had a seafood chowder which had huge pieces of seafood in it and Dianne had the roast pork. The best was still to come.. liquorice ice cream with sambuca.. and it was huge. We all hooked in. This is really something to see and even better to eat.

Looking down the back

A neat place to stay and great place to eat as well.

I have done a blog on this before but this is the first time we’ve stayed here and I’m pleased we did!

One thing I did find interesting is like Simpsons Beach, I had to switch the router back to 3G. Although it worked on 4G, It was significantly faster on 3G.. see the speedtests below.

The Netspeed speedtests for this site.

3G
Download: 22.95 Mbps
Upload: 2.41 Mbps
Ping: 67 ms

4G
Download: 5.67 Mbps
Upload: 0.08 Mbps
Ping: 72 ms
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=-36.755005,175.499769

Coromandel 2017

Cruzin in Thames

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The  sign said “Park in an empty park, plug yourself in and make yourself comfortable and we’ll be round”. .. or words of that effect. We were just parking when a huge smile appeared around the corner of the next door Motorhome helping us to park.

Click on an images for Hi Res or a Slideshow

I’d heard all about Cruzin N Stop before and was keen to try it out. It is right in the middle of Thames and is perfectly located for checking out the shops and cafes so I was immediately scoring huge brownie points with Fiona 🙂

Rafe in the park

For $20 including power for NZMCA members with toilets and a shower. Its a neat wee place to stay right in the middle of things. Its not a place you would go for a holiday given that it comes with in town distractions but its safe, handy, good value and the people are really helpful.

We stayed the night here on route to Coromandel. The road up the coast was closed due to slips and washouts and after a stroll around the town and a good gander at some antique shops, we headed back to Rafe and settled down some good old fashioned Netflix movies while it rained. Fiona on one TV, me on the other 🙂

Gordon outside Cruz N Stop
The Junction Hotel

The next morning, we walked the other way and after a visit to the Dump Station, we were off over the hill.

The Brian Boru Hotel

A neat spot to stop for a night or two, very very handy to everything in Thames and great people. At $20 with power and other facilities in the middle of town, it’s pretty reasonable.

The Netspeed Speedtest for this site.
Download: 33.20 Mbps
Upload: 23.19 Mbps
Ping: 48 ms
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=-37.137629,175.542751
Rafe’s Tracker Map

Coromandel 2017

The Punters Turned Up

While we stayed at Hahei, between us, we decided to check out Whitianga for brunch and a coffee. So 8 of us piled into two cars and off we went.

Traffic in Whitianga

The place was chocker. Cars and people everywhere you looked. There were even traffic jams !

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Dianne and Fiona enjoying the markets

There was a nice town market happening with lots of stalls set up in a square.

Its amazing walking around and seeing some of the expressions of stall holders and people looking. I went for a walk and checked out the Marina.

Gary found a new board table !
At the markets
Whitianga’s main street
Down at the Marina
The Marina

After a look around, we all headed back to the Hahei Motorcamp for the 4pm Happy Hour while looking out over the beach.

Happy at Hahei

We were joined again by our neighbours from Canada, Eric and Mary Anne who amazed us all with what they had packed in to their trip since arriving in Christchurch just three weeks earlier.

There is still some energy in that water

A neat night in paradise.

East Coast 2017

Nice easy parking with power at Pauanui

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One of our favourite places to stay is the Pauanui Club. For $8 a night including power and water and membership of the club for 24 hours, this is extremely good value. We had not long stopped and plugged in and paid for our stay when one of the Directors of the club, Robin, who is responsible for the development of the property popped over for a chat. A really nice guy. He was telling me that the plan over the next year is to add a laundry facility and Hot showers for Motorhomers. There are toilets here already but they’re also adding to those too. It’ll be sensational!

The bikes are ready to go
The bikes are ready to go
Pauanui
The Pauanui Club with the new Showers, Laundry and Toilets area to be in the building on the right

There are 6 powered very flat sites and all surrounded with trees for the wind.   We arrived here from Taupo for two nights to see the grandkids who were staying here. They were only an easy bike ride about 10 minutes away so it works well.
PauanuiJust next door is a full Golf course, a mini golf course which is fun and the legendary airfield with the hangered house alongside for the aviation enthusiasts.

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Hanging out the washing as your neighbour rocks in!
A Yak outside while you enjoy a beer
New Power and water poles

On our first day, my son Alex, Sarah and the boys came around on their bikes and we sat out in the sun by the mini golf course.
We took the boys through the mini golf the next day. Liam (3) insisted that the golf club had to be back to front and played it like hockey. Ayden (7) was saying that two or three hits were only one ! :-). They were having fun so to us it didn’t matter.
There is a dump station is just down the road and while there, we stopped for a few minutes to watch the locals out with their jet skis and beach toys.
PauanuiThe Pauanui club also has a full kitchen and bar so on our last night before heading back to Auckland, we were going to have a meal there but for some unknown reason it wasn’t possible so we walked to the nearby town centre and had a great meal there.
We’ve stayed here before. The previous blog can be seen here.

Bay of Plenty, East Coast 2017

Peak time at Ngongotaha

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This really is an amazing park. The last time I was here, the trees had just come down and there was some concern as to how it would be without them. Nothing to worry about here, its fabulous and now with the extra space, it has just got a whole lot better.

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The front part looking good but as it had been so wet, no one was game to park on it.
The front part looking good but as it had been so wet, no one was game to park on it.

We were in transit between Taupo and Auckland getting Fiona back to the grandkids in their home in Ardmore for the birthday Grannies cake cutting 🙂

RotoruaWe stopped off down by the lake when we first arrived and went for a look around and a cup of tea after driving with a crosswind after a great night in Taupo.  After looking through the app for somewhere to stay, Ngongotaha NZMCA park was the standout place.

Busy
Busy

The first thing I noticed when we came in is that the driveway seems to have been smoothed out and there is a big new area at the front on the right for more parking. The night before a big storm had gone right through the country and everywhere was pretty wet so there was no one in this new area but it looked like a great addition.

Up at the back. I’ve never seen this being used before
Across the back
One of the best dump stations around
The neighbour

As we got to the top, we easily found a park and I went for a walk around the back. It was covered in caravan and a couple of Motorhomes.  I’ve never seen anyone parked right out the back so it was great to see.

Nice to see so many caravans
Nice to see so many caravans

I had only been there half an hour when a couple of people who I knew popped out for a chat. A lovely park and great to see the improvements and it being so busy..

East Coast 2017

Cruising by the River

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Staying at Mangaweka! What’s there? .. A fabulous campground by the river and a neat wee town bulging with personality 🙂
Gary and Dianne had finished up in Taupo and we’re ready to come out to play again in Rosie. We arranged to meet at the riverside campground at Mangaweka. I’ve been wanting to try the riverside camping thing for some time and the reviews show these campgrounds are pretty good.

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Rafe and Rosie with the cliffs of Mangaweka
Rafe and Rosie with the cliffs of Mangaweka

Fiona and I arrived early in the afternoon which was just as well as it had been really busy and it was first in best dressed. At $9 per person including power it was sensational value. We met some really nice caravanners parked in the centre, who were packing up to go, said we could grab their spot which was nice, and just as they left after 20 minutes or so, Gary and Dianne arrived in Rosie the XLI.

Fiona, Gary and Dianne on the bridge between the two camps
Fiona, Gary and Dianne on the bridge between the two camps
Looking back to the bridge
Looking back to the bridge

We plugged in, settled down and then set off over the bridge to pay at the Awastone Resort which is setup to be a little more upmarket than the campground.
Both campgrounds are owned and run by Paul and Tricia and their family. The bar, cafe, cabins, with gravel based parks and power right by the river, are $38 for a night for two. We could not go without having a few glasses of wine with homemade sausage rolls on the deck in the sun. After that we walked back over the bridge to celebrate Gary’s birthday. It was good to see them again. We we’re going to celebrate Gary’s birthday in Martinborough .

The Main Street
The Main Street

The next day we walked into the village to check it out. It’s an interesting town as State Highway 1 was moved to bypass the Main Street quite a long time ago and all the old buildings are still there. It’s like time stood still. We met a friend of one of the shop owners and it seems like there is a real arty, creative sort of community getting established there.

The Barbers shop
The Mangaweka Hotel
The kitchen facilities
Rosie and Rafe with Gary lounging

After having a look around and a cuppa at the cafe, as we headed back to the Campground, we tried to collar a couple of escaped sheep from a paddock and return them but after 20 minutes or so of pretending to be Sheep dogs and losing badly, we gave it away and carried on after making sure the sheep were heading away from State Highway 1. Isn’t it funny how the sheep can spot some townies pretending to be shepherds a mile away 🙂

The shops in the Main Street
The shops in the Main Street

This is another classic case of a place that’s usually a thoroughfare for most of us being completely overlooked as a neat destination. With both campgrounds here on either side of the river with different price points, they’re well setup for your next visit.

Rafe's Track to Mangaweka
Rafe’s Track to Mangaweka
East Coast 2017

Martinborough by Bike

The weather was great, there was still a bit of wind around but that’s normal for the Wairarapa apparently.

Getting ready
Getting ready

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Helen, Fiona, Rob and Chloe outside the first Vineyard
Helen, Fiona, Rob and Chloe outside the first Vineyard

Rob, Helen and Chloe had hired bikes for the day. I unloaded our bikes off the back of Rafe, put some air in the tires and we were off.
Martinborough is setup around a square which makes navigation really easy.

Chloe outside a vineyard on the way.
Chloe outside a vineyard on the way.

The first vineyard to visit was diagonally opposite the Martinborough Top 10 which is where we’re staying. We were there for the first hour and then moved onto Margrains where we had lunch before and were familiar with their wines.

My perfect house :-)
My perfect house 🙂

It’s amazing how the same or similar grape and wine type can taste so different with just half a kilometre or so between them.

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A person with a sense of humour
Chloe with the bikes at Margrains
Ye olde Hotel
Helen and Rob with Cjloe at the first Vineyard

The food was great and the wine even better with us buying a few bottles between us.

The Square
The Square

We’d just arrived back at the Motorcamp by bike after having a good nosey around the town, when the wine was dropped off at the campground.

The Square with Rafe on the other side.
The Square with Rafe on the other side.

It’s a great wee town Martinborough. Being nice and flat, it is perfect for bike riding and exploring.

East Coast 2017

And we’re off again

After 3 days over Christmas with Alex, Sarah and our Grandchildren Ayden and Liam, and after eating and drinking far too much 🙂 , it was time to head to Taupo and start making our way down to Martinborough and Cape Palliser. We had a great Christmas with Sarah’s family parked in their driveway with Rafe.

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Son Andrew with grandson Liam during Christmas lunch
Son Andrew with grandson Liam during Christmas lunch
Grandsons Liam and Ayden on the side of the goat pen
Grandsons Liam and Ayden on the side of the goat pen

On the way south, we stopped at the Hamilton Car Museum where we had stayed a month or so ago with the Dethleffs Owners group rally.  We’d parked 75 odd Motorhomes here on the first day and it looked very different today.. See the piccies below.

At the car museum for a cuppa
At the car museum for a cuppa
The empty car museum park
The empty car museum

I was a bit panicked that about what we might find in the way of Christmas Traffic but it was not to be. The traffic was pretty good.

View from the Museum
View from the Museum during the Dethleffs do.

We were meeting up with friends from Snells Beach(North of Auckland) Rob, Helen and Chloe who had been in Taupo for Christmas, and Gary and Dianne who live in Taupo. We were spending the night at their place and then heading on in convoy to Cape Palliser over the next few weeks.

We arrived in Taupo right on the dot of 3pm and Gary and Dianne were outside helping Rob back the Tracker into position so we could park along side. They had just arrived so perfect timing.

Gary and Dianne loading Rosie
Helen, Rob and Chloe with their Tracker behind
Parked up for the night in Taupo
The view from our park of Taupo
Rosie in pre pack mode
Gary had specially tidied up his wheels as he knew I was coming 🙂 we have this thing about shiny wheels !

After settling Rafe and the Tracker down, we were off for a drink by the BBQ! .. As you do.

We last saw Gary and Dianne at the Dethleffs do at Hamilton where Gary and I were the parking attendants and Di organised the event. It was nice to see them again. It had been a while since we saw Rob, Helen and Chloe too .. Great to see them too.

We were really looking forward to getting away as we’d been stuck in Auckland with pre Christmassy catchups and events.

The Tracker and Rafe about to set off for the next part of the trip
The Tracker and Rafe about to set off for the next part of the trip

A great fun night around the BBQ and we all crashed fairly early.

Races Tracker image to Taupo
Rafe’s  Tracker image to Taupo
Northland

New overnight parking at Hukerenui

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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
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
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.

MorganIts 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.

Coromandel 2016

Grand Central Park

In terms of being in the middle of things, this NZMCA park takes the cake for being handy to everything. Great restaurants, several pubs, lots of history and things to do. It is in Coromandel and is just behind the BP station as you come into the town on the left. Blink and you’ll miss the entrance.

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The NZMCA park looking fabulous
The NZMCA park looking fabulous

Its is also very conveniently right behind the Coromandel Smoking Company where you can buy everything from smoked fish and other seafood to great cheese from local cheesemakers.

Keeping out the wind and having fun
Keeping out the wind and having fun

I have been here in the middle of winter when it had been punished by endless rain and many were camped in a small area of gravel by the entrance.  I gather the local managers of the park have a solution to the water problem in winter and there are plans to make it more all weather.  Our two nights there were great and there were about a dozen  other motorhomes and caravans who came and went while we were there.

Our first day there, we had lunch at the local pub with friends Rob, Helen and Chloe. Fiona and I shared a seafood basket for $16 which was amazing with bits of everything along with a nice glass of wine.  We decided it was so nice we had to go back later to watch the rugby.. the one with the controversial try! … A great night and an interesting game.

The shop to go to for Happy hour food 🙂
Yum
The Pub
Lunch in the Beer garden
The Seafood basket.. Yum
Rob, Helen, Chloe and Fiona behind enjoying lunch at the pub.
The Tracker and Rafe at the park

The next day, we checked out Driving Creek Railway which is just up the hill from the town.

coromandelThere is so much to see and do in Coromandel. It is so well setup for Motorhomes too and the park perfectly located to make everything easily within walking distance.