As you drive over the bridge from the Highway into Whangamomona, you feel as though you could be driving back in time 50 years or so. It’s like it’s all stopped still.
The Post Office and the Pub
Whangamomona was established in 1895 as a service centre for the local farming community. Then, there were 300 or so residents. Now there are about 30 residents in the village.
The rail bridge at Whangamomona
The buildings are amazing. There is a General Store which looking square on looks like a reasonable sized store but when you look side on, it’s a about 4 ft deep as a display! These days like in most small towns, the strong community is based around the hotel.
The local garage
In 1989, they rebelled against amalgamation and formed their own republic. You can even buy a passport.. At the hotel 🙂
A neat wee town, neat people and everywhere you look there is history
One of the great things about traveling on your own is that as most of the campgrounds charge by the person rather than by the park, it’s quite cheap to stay wherever you like. I’m meeting Fiona in Wellington later in the week so it’ll be time to be sensible again 🙂
Nice Bbq area
I checked in at the Tauramunui Motor Camp which is beside the river. After meeting the owner who gave me a good run down on the road to Whangamomona and gave me a brochure, showed me where to park. He’s a character, an ex Merchant Navy seaman from the UK with lots of stories to tell. He was really helpful and offered several brochures on the highway which was great and gave me confidence for the trip. He was telling me, they’d had a huge amount of rain and as it was all grass parking, there were some no go areas with the grass being too soft. At $16 including a NZMCA discount for a powered site, I thought this was pretty good and it would enable me to use the new Philips induction plate I’d just got, being on power. These plates are so efficient. In with the frozen peas into a pot and after just over a minute or so, they’re ready to go. Cooking steaks or meat takes a little longer. Fantastic.
Nice Barbecue area outside the Kitchen
Herbs you can help yourself to.
Play area for the nippers
I went for a walk down to the front of the park and it borders on the river. A nice spot. Around the back of the camp were cabins in the trees and in the middle a playground for the kids and the ablutions, showers and Kitchen block. All nice and clean and in good shape. I was there on my own until about 7pm when two or three camper vans popped in. The place still felt empty but it is the middle of winter 🙂
There’s nothing quite like a great welcome when you first arrive to check in for a spot in a Holiday Park.Helen and Trevor have been managing Coromandel Top 10 Holiday Park for the owners while they take a break overseas.
The Welcome Station
After seeing the state of the not quite finished NZMCA park, I decided to check in to the Coromandel Top 10 Holiday park and what a great welcome 🙂
Due to the huge amounts of rain, the grass was a muddy bog and everyone was huddled in a corner on the tar seal. There had been a few towed out that morning and more were rescued over the next few days !
I was given a nice park on Gravel with plenty of room around me with nice hedges separating the parking spots. Dump station just opposite and easy to get a big Motorhome into.
There is a heated swimming pool which some brave people were swimming in when I arrived back from a walk into town and it wasn’t a warm summer night either! The pool was warm but the lights were off and they’d forgotten about towels too.They were having fun with their children who were in too.
I was on my own and with winter rates it was $22 a night with power and the use of everything which I thought was pretty good for an effortless couple of nights in a clean and well kept Holiday Park.
A Villa you can rent
The kids in the park on Saturday certainly enjoyed it.
The forecast was definitely sorting out our location for us this weekend.. Parakai so we were plugged in for the heat and close to the pools. Parts of the Hawkes Bay was without power and roads were closed everywhere with snow. Somewhere warm and close by was the order of the day.
The last time we were at Parakai, it was hosing down and there was mud everywhere. It was very much the same this time except we were lucky in that we got to see a lot more of the sun but jeepers it was cold!
Muddy bits roped off. All the grass was muddy. Gary and Chris’s Fuso next to us. The latecomer with his wheels down next on the right.
One of our neighbours who arrived later in the night missed the concrete strips (easy to do) and his rear dual wheels were a good 4-6 inches down in the mud.
The pools were fantastic and it was nice to see our fulltiming friends, Gary and Chris again after their trip up North.
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I had just bought a new toy through the Noel Leeming / NZMCA discount scheme. It was a Philips Induction plate and what a little beauty. I’d just put enough frozen peas in the pot for four with some warm water. Then I hit the go button, wow, I wasn’t timing it but it wouldn’t have been much more than a minute and it was ready to eat. Then we did the steaks in a Staub pan while the girls were getting some chips from over the road. These took a lot longer and as its so easy to control the heat, better cooked and quicker than gas. Well worth getting.
After a good feed, we blobbed for a while and then went for a swim. Later, Chris made some nice scones for tea and we had a couple of glasses of Italian red to finish the day.
The Permanent area
The pool entrance
Outside the Railway Museum
the next morning, Fiona was keen to re visit the Antique shop at Helensville railway station so we went around there and quickly checked out the Railway Museum and café for a cuppa.
Chris and Gary (walking away) with their Fuso
Gary and Chris headed off for Rays Rest and we headed home.
A nice weekend and despite the cold, Parakai definitely looks better when the sun is beating down.
One of the main reasons for my trip to Coromandel was to be part of this amazing event. The Thames Coromandel District Council had arranged along with locals, to run this annual event on two nights. It has become an annual event but this year by all accounts, is much bigger.
The theme was “light” where people wore lights, the buildings were lit up, some of the trees, vehicles, the local kids and there was also live music in a marquee set up in the middle of the town. The whole community was involved.
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A Hula hooper with lit up Hoola Hoop
A great scene. retailers had market stalls setup outside their shops. There were people with lit hula hoops, juggling and later there was a parade of lights led by the local Fire Brigade.
The local preschool kids were all lit up along with bike riders and dancers.
The event finale was a huge fireworks display which you could see and hear from everywhere. Spectacular and I’m pleased I didn’t miss it.
After meeting my new friends from Christchurch, Rory and Henny and their friends Dave and Karen, I made a point of making sure that at some stage during the day, I should pop down to the NZMCA park and have a cup of tea with them and a catch up.
The Coromandel Pub, apparently you can also stay behind this for $20 including power
I set off reasonably early on my bike with my camera tucked down inside my coat and made my way down to the other end of Coromandel town.
Don’t forget to click on the images for Hi Res or a Slideshow
The shops and buildings are fascinating and you can feel a real vibe about the place. They were getting really for the Illume parade and event that night so it was even more buzzy than normal.
The free parkingover the road from the Police Station ..Handy!
This is right in front of the NZMCA park
The Causeway to the wharf
Down at the wharf
After getting some nice piccies and talking to a couple of the locals, I biked around to the wharf and then back to the NZMCA park where I caught up Rory and Henny and with typical South Island hospitality was just in time for some of Henny’s lovely homemade scones and a cup of coffee. We had a great hour or two talking about everything and they’re great fun and good company.
Its easy to tell where the Laundromat is !
I biked back, checked out the campground and blobbed out with the stereo before hittting the sack early to get ready for another big day.
Looking back towards Coromandel .. my bike on the right
A neat place to visit, some great places to stay and despite the weather, plenty to do and see.
Some weeks ago, our friend Helen had organised our tickets for the Arts and Tartan show at Waipu and we were really looking forward to it. Waipu is a neat wee town and we’ve parked in the Caledonian park before and its a great spot and great value.
Motorhome friends, Helen, Rob and daughter Chloe had got away early and called us to say that they had just arrived in Waipu as I was just picking up Fiona from work in Takapuna at 6pm.
The parking was going to be a bit of a battle as the grounds where we would normally park under the trees was sodden and we were going to have to stay in the carpark with 1000’s of others. I get very nervous when peeps park too close to Rafe as they do when parking is tight but its such a nice spot, it was worth a shot.
The pictures below were taken in earlier in the year in summer so you can see how nice it is.
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A great park and at $10 including power is just fantastic and they’re great people too. The carpark is behind the white railing in the distance.At the Caledonian Reserve in the carpark… another wet day earlier in the year.
We were underway. Fiona had bought some salads to have for tea so we stopped at the BP station off the motorway by Silverdale to eat them. It was pouring down and was forecast to pour pretty much all the way.
We arrived in Waipu around 8:30pm and the carpark was chocker so we parked around by the RSA and watched some TV until the carpark emptied out at 10pm which was easy, even though it was still pouring with rain.
A Juggler twurling some flames. The parking can be seen behind him. You can see how wet it was.
On the Saturday, the sun was shining so I parked Rafe a little more tidily and we replugged in to the power and went for a walk with Rob, Helen and Chloe to check out the Waipu shops.
What we didn’t know at that stage was there was a Rugby Club do as well so the carpark was more under pressure than ever.
As it got closer to the 2pm session which we were going to, more and more cars piled in. There were cars everywhere. All down both sides of the main street and some streets away.
The usherettes ready to go
Off we went to the show at the Celtic Barn which was right next door and it was a fantastic show. Great lighting, amazing sound and an all round slick performance by all.
I wasn’t allowed to take pictures but the local Photographer charged with getting piccies, Peter Grant, has very kindly sent me some images to share some of what it was all about. Thanks again Peter.
To see a slideshow of Peter’s images, click on an image below.
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
By Peter Grant
Done mostly by locals and local talent, it was stunning and I recommend anyone who is thinking about seeing it to do so next year. Its really worth seeing and is a lot of fun.
After the show we had tea with Rob, Helen and Chloe in the Tracker which was fun and later in the evening, the Rugby club returned. Well .. it was looking like it was going to be a wild night in the carpark so at about 10:30, we made a decision to leave and head for a park just around the corner by the river which was fine.
Returning the next day and seeing the beer bottles strewn around, it looks as though we did the right thing. It was a mess. By all accounts they had some fun.
Its a great park but when its wet, you can’t get across to park under the trees due to mud. The carpark with two events like that is really just too dodgy for expensive motorhomes with their sides exposed. Maybe we were a bit optimistic parking there given the pressure on the carpark.
Despite all this, a lot of fun.
And the last word to those magnificent men in their flying machines. Pic by Peter Grant
We came and we saw the Wearable Arts and they were absolutely fantastic. Don’t miss it, but from our experience, if its wet, park your motorhomes around the corner 🙂
Fiona and her sister Sara had organised a girls trip to Wellington and I wasn’t invited 🙂
Danby Field
So I thought about a trip up around Coromandel for a few days on my tod. My first night was at Danby Field in Thames where there were plenty of holes free.
I met my neighbours and their friends with their new Trailite and Burstner Ixeo which was interesting. The new Burstner Ixeo is like one of the new Dethleffs where they’ve completely done away with a permanent bed and rely solely on a drop down bed from the ceiling. Instead of having a bed at the back, the whole back area is devoted to a shower, toilet area and storage. I’m not sure that it’s my cup of tea but it’s an interesting way of reducing the overall length of the Motorhome and still have plenty of space for a big social area at the front.
Morning in Thames
The next morning with it being windy, I had an early start and set off towards Coromandel town up the coast road. After having a couple of close shaves with reckless logging truck drivers coming the other way, I got to Coromandel quite early and headed straight to the NZMCA park in the town.
Looking towards Corormandel from the top of the hill
With all the rain we’ve had and with it being quite low lying land, it was a mud bog but after only a few minutes parked there, I met quite a few people who were all parked together on a tar sealed area on the side.
One caravanning couple, Rory and Henny, from Christchurch were traveling with their friends from Whakatane and the more I got talking to him, the more members of my family he knew, some probably better that me!Small world stuff. It turns out that Rory grew up in Diamond Harbour where my grandfather had the general store, was postmaster and the local real estate agent as well. He remembers buying ice creams off my grandfather when he was a kid and described him to a tee. .. Wow.. He also knew some of my Christchurch rellies on my Mums side too.
I also met a couple in a CI Motorhome that we’d previously met in the NZMCA Ngontotaha park and some others who had recently received their brand new Dethleffs Trend. It was nice to talk to them too.
Seeing the amount of mud there and with another good thunderstorm and rain due that afternoon, I thought it would be prudent to check in at a local Campground and spoil myself in preparation for the Illume festival that night.
On our way North, we stopped in at Warkworth. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Warkworth as its one of those towns that you tend to drive through rather than stop at and it never disappoints.
Remember to click on the images for Hi Res or a slideshow
The River
We parked down by the river where there is one big Motohome park which Rafe fits in like a glove. It must be 7.6m long 🙂
Our carpark by the river
We went for a walk along the river side and then around to a French cafe in the town. I couldn’t believe how many Cafes and Real Estate agents there are in Warkworth. The Cafes are pretty much all next door to each other too.
New Seating
The main street
After a nice lunch, we went for a walk around the shops and then we headed back down to the river to Rafe.
It’s all looking very nice. The council have done a great job with local business’s contributing to the costs. It seem to be enjoyed by many while we were there and is a really nice place for lunch or just a stopping off point.
Motorhome Parking
There is also motorhome parking at the end of the main shopping road within walking distance to the river.
Before we enjoyed a great lunch at the Helensville Railway Station Cafe, we visited the Helensville Train Museum right next door.
Run by the Helensville Railway Station Trust by volunteers, this is well worth checking out.
Helensville Railway Station with the Museum behind
There is a gigantic model railway based on Helensville, even replicating well know local buildings and known points. There is even a little orange sign that says, “You are Here” 🙂
The chap that built the model spent 30 years putting it together.
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Helensville Station. Note the pub in the backgroundThe Pub over the road
After spending an hour or so, checking it all out, one of the volunteers came over and said to me, “come and check this out, I’ll demonstrate it for you”.
There were two red boxes with buttons and bells.
This was The Tyers Tablet system which railways in both Great Britain and New Zealand used up until 1994 on single lines to prevent head on collisions.
It involved a sophisticated coded bell system with switches with electromagnetic locks that allows a small disk, a Tablet, to be released for a train driver when the line is clear. The system was setup between railway stations at each end of a line.
All Packed
Given that it was setup in the dark old days of bleeps over the phone lines, it’s a clever system. Helensville Railway Museum is the only one that we know of still in working order and when you think of what it had to do and when it was invented, it’s pretty clever.
If you want more info on this, Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Tyers Tablet system and here’s a youtube vid of the Helensville setup being explained.
The Railway Station in 1910
An old train at the station
Fiona in the ticket office
The two volunteers there were only too happy to show me everything at the museum and couldn’t have been more helpful. It’s a must do if you’re in town.
It’s $3.00 each and well worth it.
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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