Tag Archives: Small Towns

Close to home, Waikato

It is all go at Pukekohe

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.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

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 Laundry
And 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.

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

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.

Here’s a link to my previous visit where I got to talk with Ian some years ago.

Rafe’s tracker map to Pukekohe – Armada GPS
Waikato

Antique Heaven in Paeroa

On the way from Waihi, I saw that the free parking in Paeroa was empty so I figured it might be timely to visit Countdown for some food and a look around Paeroa.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

It was quiet when I arrived 🙂

I parked Rafe, paid for the parking and it was time to check out Paeroa… in the rain. It was pouring down. The Antique shops are amazing, but I had a feeling that there were a few more.

Antique Alley

Peter at Granvilles

It wasn’t until later in the day when I popped into the Pub opposite the parking, The Paeroa Hotel that I found out sadly that several shops had not made it through the Covid lockdowns and the downturn that went with it. Several Antique shops too. Its always a shame to see a business fail especially when its outside your control to some degree like the Covid lockdown.

The Hotel was fun. I met several of the locals, had a few laughs and after a couple of glasses of wine headed back to Rafe.

Downtown Paeroa

The parking is essentially free unless you use power. That costs $5 a night and it’s all laid on by the Hauraki Council. It’s great to see a council that recognises that if you give Motor homers access to where the tills are and something to buy, buy they will so it’s a win win 🙂

Later in the day

Anyway, it’s a fantastic facility and so handy right in the middle of town.

I have always stayed in the Paeroa RV centre. Great folk there and a reasonable price but it’s a good half hour walk from town.

Rafe’s tracker map to Paeroa – Armada GPS
Close to home, Great Beaches, Waikato

Bliss on the coast, a new Favourite!

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 last popped in here for our first time a few months ago.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

Interesting weather

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 Shop
Kaiaua 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!

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

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 shop
The 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.

Rafe’s tracker map to Kaiaua – Armada GPS
Rotorua

It doesn’t get much better than Ngongotaha

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.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

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 Outlook
Nice 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.

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow

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 door
Our neighbours Taupo V Ngongotaha
The 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.

Nice place to stay.

A lovely night and a great game of Rugby too!

Rotorua

Close Lightning strike in Rotorua

2 Comments

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.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

We arrived at the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park early in the afternoon and after plugging in, we headed straight for the Hot Pools. The last time we were here, I took a lot more images so check it out here.

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

 

 

Cape Reinga trip 23, Northland

Waipu Caledonian Park

One of my all-time favorite places to stay and very good value. It’s also close to a couple of great Restaurants and Bars for later in the evening. I see too that the loos have had a bit of a do up which is great. Nice bright Scottish paintings on the outside.

Click on any Image to enlarge.

On the way back from Whangarei after topping up with fuel, we stopped in to see some of our old boatie friends from Auckland in Ruakaka. After lunch with Chris and then a pop in with Tina and Mark and their family, we decided we would just stay in Waipu in our old favourite park.

The Museum

They had just had a big festival there and some of the trucks had carved up the wet ground quite badly, so you had to be selective about where you parked! I parked on the outside edge closest to the driveway where it was unmarked and pretty dry.

Nice and safe next to the gravel.

It was blowing dogs off chains, so I set Rafe back a bit from the trees just in case and also for a TV signal 🙂  The weather looked iffy too!

The plan was to get something in town to eat but in the end, we snacked in the van and had an early night given that we were heading home the next day.

A great 10 days or so away and nice to do the bits we’ve never seen in Northland.

Rafe’s tracker map to the Waipu Caledonian Park – Armada GPS
Cape Reinga trip 23, Northland

Pukenui on the edge of the harbour!

While were cruising north, we stopped in to the Pukenui Holiday Park to find they had some room and at a reasonable rate. The wind was blowing, and the rain was threatening so power was a must. A nice park spread out over two levels with little plateaus of space for both Caravans and Motorhomes. There are also some cabins too.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

Neat Paint job

They also had some very tame small ponies and sheep helping with the grass and entertaining small children. Jo the owner has been here for 20 years or so and with Tania, they were both very helpful.

Click on the Gallery below for an enlarged Slideshow

Quirky Cabins
Dethleffs Corner
Great Cafe, 4 Square and Liquor shop a few minutes walk
Houhora Harbour

A really interesting park with handy access to the harbour and lots of places for walking.

Down by the water

5 minutes walks down the road is a nice cafe, 4 square and Bottle store and a bit further on is the jetty overlooking the Houhora harbour. Very popular fishing spot and they tell me that a Kingi can be caught in minutes 🙂

Great Cafe, 4 Square and Liquor shop a few minutes walk
Great big parks

A nice park but while we were there, I got on to a company in Kaitaia that did 4-wheel drive bus trips up to Cape Reinga with a guide and went up the beach. Thats us we thought but we had to get back to Awanui (The NZMCA park) where they could pick us up on route.  .. Fantastic!

Rafe’s tracker map to the Pukenui Holiday Park – Armada GPS
Cape Reinga trip 23, Northland

Mangonui, the Home of great Fish and Chips

1 Comment

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.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

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 waterfront
The 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.

Click on the Gallery below for an enlarged Slideshow

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.

Cape Reinga trip 23, Great Beaches, Northland

Lunch at the Duke of Marlborough from Paihia

From our spot in Kaikohe, we rang ahead and booked a spot for a couple of nights at the Bay of Island campervan park which is nestled in between Olive trees on the main road into Paihia. Its a perfect spot for walking to Paihia and to the Treaty grounds, both only 15 minutes away and it is very reasonably priced too.

Click on any Image for an Enlarged Image

Paihia Wharf

The first day we were there we walked about 15 minutes into Paihia to catch a ferry over to Russell. The ferries were flat out so there were three ferries shuttling people across but there was plenty of room and it’s only a 15-minute trip across.

Leaving Paihia

We had booked into the Duke of Marlborough for lunch but were a bit early so walked around the waterfront, ate ice creams and drank coffee and eventually went to the Duke for a G&T. The “Duke” as it’s known apparently is NZ’s oldest licensed pub. There are several others that claim this title but as Russell was NZ’s first capital and one of its first settlements, they’re probably right 🙂

Fiona ready for lunch 🙂
My Snapper and Chips
The Group across the road enjoying their lunch

Fiona and I came to a wedding here several years ago and they’re slick operators where the food and Beveridge’s are concerned. There was a table setup for a group of about 10 across the road at the top of the beach having their meal out on the edge of the water… lovely!

The Duke of Marlborough behind the trees.
The Russell Ferry that was sunk after a collision with a boat a few days later. The boat in the background is a Classic called Wild Duck. It used to be a Flying boat tender in Mechanics Bay.

As the time crept on, we crossed to the road to the jetty and caught the ferry back to Paihia.

The ferry we caught back was being skippered by a lovely guy who also collected the tickets was the ferry that was sunk a few days later, by an alleged helmless 600hp go fast boat that hit the port side. He was badly injured and airlifted to Auckland in a critical condition. A terrible situation and from my past boating background, being hit on the port side means the ferry had right of way. Witnesses say there was no one at the helm. I hope after the investigation that the transgressor has the book thrown at them.

Leaving Russell

After getting back to the camp, I had a great chat to Jan who owns the camp and previously ran another bigger camp at Haruru Falls. It turns out that Jan is the big sister of an old Auckland Star colleague of mine who was a subeditor and used to lay out my photos on the fashion pages… Small world 🙂 She was ex media too but in Televison!

Click on the Gallery below for an Enlarged Slideshow of the Park

The Shakers in action
The crew get stuck in.
Jan with the Olive oil
Rafe with the Olives
The Shower and Toilet block

The camp is a little pearler with very tidy loos and showers and some apartments, some of which go up the hill. The camp sites are separated by Olive trees which is nice and the next morning, we were entertained by the “Shakers” shaking out the Olives from the trees. The Oil is bottled along with the Olives and donated to charity.

The crew get stuck in.
The Shakers in action

A great park in a lovely spot and so handy!

Rafe’s tracker map to the Bay of Islands Holiday Park – Armada GPS
Cape Reinga trip 23, Northland

Heading North – Kaikohe

We were up early on Good Friday in an attempt to beat the traffic heading north. Transit NZ had opened the road over the Bryndrwyns just for easter. By 9am we were filling up at the Whangarei Caltex truck stop!

After a trip out to the coast to see if we could squeeze into a pop out there, we decided to keep going North and stopped in at The Kaikohe A&P and Equestrian centre.

Click on any Image to enlarge

Oodles of room

I stayed here years ago and its extremely good value on asphalt with plenty of powered sites with Toilets showers and a laundry. Just down the road is Ngawha Springs Hot Pools.  Kaikohe is just 5 k’s or so away. Amazing!

The check in box used to be an old red Telephone box which is still here but barely red anymore but replaced with a small shed. The Laundry had an old washing machine and wringer is now replaced by a modern automagical machine so big improvements.

Ye olde Telephone box with cabin

A lovely quiet spot and a great place for 24 hours while we got our ongoing itinerary sorted 🙂

A local with their horse

There was lots of comings and goings and our neighbours from Matamata were telling us that they are having an Equestrian celebration in the hall the next night which they are setting up for.

Toilets, showers, Laundry and Dump Station !

A lovely safe, cost-effective spot for a day or three and nice people too.

Rafe’s tracker map to the Kaikohe A&P and Equestrian centre – Armada GPS