A couple of months ago, I found out that Philips had released a portable Induction plate and they were available via our NZMCA discount from Noel Leeming.
I had to try one and since using it, I’m completely sold. Fiona loves it too. Its amazing.
Don’t forget you can click on the images for hi res!
Its a bugger of a thing to photograph .. almost like a piece of black glass!!
Just recently I got really brave and decided to try to boil the water for coffee on it with our scruffy old kettle. From a cold water start, in the time it took to put coffee and pills into a cup and a tea bag in the other, and milk in both, the kettle was whistling its head off. Even with gas, this would take all of 5 minutes or so.
Cooking a steak… cold frypan, a little oil… chuck the steak in, hit the go button and the pan is sizzling within 5 seconds !!!! .. and it tastes sensational.
Admittedly you can only use it when you’re plugged in but its neat to be able to use this instead of gas and it keeps control of the heat instantly.
The only thing you have to check is that you have pots that a magnet will stick to and it comes with a magnet so you can check your pots. The unit will scream at you if you don’t have anything on it or the pot is incorrect.
Recommended Retail is $199 from Noel Leeming .. my discounted price was closer to $120 !! …although this was a few months ago.
Who else could this be but ex Devonport potter, Barry Brickell.
Unfortunately Barry passed away last year but his Driving Creek Railway business still lives on. It is an amazing example of what can be achieved by someone with an idea and the drive to see it happen.
Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow
The double decker viaduct
He spent years building up his railway, even making his own trains and designing his own propulsion system using small diesels and hydraulics on the wheels making it very efficient.
One of Barry’s retaining walls 🙂
The view from the Eyeful Tower
Happy people getting off the train
The Carpark
Driving Creek Railway is in Coromandel and has easy parking for Motorhomes too but best to get there early for easier parking.
The view from the viaduct
The train ride takes about an hour and works its way up to the Eyeful tower at the top where there is a fantastic view over Coromandel and across to Waiheke Island. As you go to the top, you cross a couple of viaducts, one of them a double decker. There are several tunnels one of which is lined with pottery tiles made on site.
A train coming through the tunnel with Barry’s tiles
There are also several retaining walls made with Barry’s left over wine bottles. Its great to see they’ve got an extra life apart from just holding the contents.
A fantastic achievement that is also now a great tourist attraction. You can also buy some nice pottery and souvenirs there too.
With the All Blacks losing to Ireland and the weather forecast looking miserable, you could have easily flagged the day as one for the slippers and the fireplace but when the call goes out for the Classic Launches Riverhead trip, it is one not to be missed!
Trinidad under way with the Bridge and City behind
Fiona and I have done this for years, usually twice a year and it never disappoints. See a previous trip here.
Click on the images for Hi Res or a slideshow
Classic boat owners Paula and Stephen Pepperill sold their Classic Yacht to renovate their newly purchased Riverhead Hotel and have done a stunning job in rescuing it after years of being run down and neglected. These days, ferry loads of passengers make the day trip from Auckland to have a great lunch with a few drinks and to enjoy the river trip. It has also become one of the more popular trips for the Classic Yacht Launches too.
Where we went.. From Bayswater to Riverhead and back.
Its always a fun event and can be quite nerve racking for the novices as the channel is quite narrow in places and can be only a 1 metre or so deep in places so its a great event for confidence building and to join in with a new adventure.
At Lucas Creek .. half way. Dani, Grant, Robyn and Fiona with Trinidad behind.
Fiona and I decided to take Rafe down to the marina carpark and stay two nights so we could get away early and stay the night after.
Juanita with Rangitoto behind
We were meeting Alan and his wife Robyn on their 28ft 1928 Lanes tramtop at the marina at 9.00am. Friends Dani and Grant were going to be there too. Alan was Launch Captain of the CYA (Classic Yacht Association) for 4 years after my 2 years as LC, and Alan, Grant and I have done lots of boating together when I had Rorqual.
Launch captain, Angus Rogers Mahunui
We met under the centre span of the Auckland Harbour Bridge and at 09:30, Alan led the way up to the first meeting point at Lucas creek, about half way where we were meeting several other boats and their crews.
On the way to RiverheadRaindance at the wharf with others jostling for a park
In the well sheltered upper harbour, the water was calm and there was very little wind. About an hour later, everyone was jockeying for a parking spot, some rafting with friends and the Tino Rawa Trust tender Whistleblower was on hand to ferry people into the Pub’s jetty.
Marita with the city behind
John Dory, under the bridge
Mahunui, city behind under the bridge
John Dory arriving at Riverhead
Trinidad at Lucas creek
The Ferry at the jetty
Rafted boats
Fiona nd Robyn at the Riverhead.
Boats moored below the pub
About 100 people turned up, some by car as well. There was a band playing, the sun made an appearance and it was a great few hours of catching up with old friends and meeting a few new people too.
About 2pm (1.5hrs after full tide), many started to leave before the creek ran out of water 🙂 We had a fun trip back with a couple of drinks, some Sausage Rolls and some chocolates and strawberries which Fiona had prepared.
Time to go, Grant standing and Fiona sitting waiting to go.
We stepped off the boat to a hot shower and a cup of coffee after a neat day out. Thanks for a great day out on the water Robyn and Alan, and its always fun to see Grant and Dani too.
It’s always a great experience checking out St Faiths Church and Ohinemutu on the lakefront, when I’m in Rotorua.
Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow
The walk on water window
I can remember coming here when I was in short pants and it still looks as good now if not better.
Inside St Faiths
It’s always quite serene and has an air about it which is nice. I think the thermal steam from the cracks in the road and everywhere probably helps this too.
There were quite a few people there too having a good look around so that’s great for the donation boxes there. A lovely peaceful spot and there’s a couple of overnight spots for motorhomers just around the corner by the boatramp.
We were on our way back to Auckland from Kerikeri when we found out our old friends Gary and Chris were at Uretiti Doc park for a few nights. We thought we’d surprise them.
As we arrived right on the dot for “elbow exercise time” (with a glass in hand) at 5pm. We started on some wine while Fiona made us all a nice chicken tea.
We weren’t far into the conversation when Gary filled me in on the new Netspeed Router firmware upgrade and what a difference it had made for him.
With all of my speed tests around the country and comparing notes with Gary’s tests, it became very obvious that his speeds were generally 5 mbs a second or so faster than mine. I put that down to the fact that the sides of his van are fibreglass and the sides of mine are composite with an outside shell of aluminium. I’d assumed from that despite us having external aerials, that the router in automatic mode with aerials, was favouring the internal aerials which gave Gary a better signal. Well. .. No more 🙂
The good folk at Netspeed have released a router firmware upgrade which gives you the option to tell the router to only use the external aerials. The firmware upgrade is free but you will have to install it yourself or get someone slightly techy to do it for you. Netspeed will also do it over the phone with you too. It only takes five minutes and is not complicated and well worth doing. The big thing with this upgrade is not to be rushed and let the upgrade finish before fiddling with anything.
Wait for that magic moment when you get the box pop up that says “Success!”
Back to our elbow exercise.. While chatting away, Gary brought out his laptop which had the upgrade file on it for my router and in a few minutes had it installed on my router. In Uretiti, I immediately went from 2 bars of 4g to three and that added about 15 Mbps odd to my download speed as I was able to get my roof aerials really pumping rather than let the router do as it pleased with my useless internal aerials… Useless inside a metal cage anyway.
What a wonderful sight
Thanks heaps Gary.. We had a great night. Nice to see you both again too.
The Netspeed speed test at Uretiti earlier
Download: 24.42 Mbps
Upload: 2.45 Mbps
Ping: 49 ms
After with the external aerials pumping!
Download: 46.62 Mbps
Upload: 3.39 Mbps
Ping: 35 ms
Connection Type: Wi-Fi
The upload speed is still awful but it is an iffy spot but it’s well worth doing the upgrade !!
How to do the upgrade.. Call Netspeed for the link for the download then download the right file for your router.
Log into your router as administrator.. For security reasons, I’m not going to tell you how to do this here but look at your router instructions.
Follow the instructions in the following screens.
The login screen on your router once you’ve logged in. Open browser.. Type in 192.168.1.1 to get here.This is in Update. Click on Local update to upload your file and WAIT until it finishes!Once it has finished, you can go to this screen in Settings and set your aerials up. I’ve got mine on External only
Have fun and enjoy the extra speed. Call the fine team at Netspeed if you get stuck or need help.
Heading for the Countdown supermarket at Kilburnie after a quick trip down from Paekaekareki was easy. There was plenty of parking over two car parks and I got heaps of stuff for us both for a few days. After nearly two weeks of unsupervised travel, I’d spent the previous two days tidying up the van, washing the linen and getting things shipshape for Fiona 🙂
Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow
In Evans Bay
It was time to head for the airport and pick her up from the flight from Auckland. I hadn’t been to Wellington airport for a while so I was a bit unsure of how Motorhome friendly it might or might not be! Wee bit stressful !
After getting a fright at how low the canopy was for the pick up area, I opted for the departure ramp and all was fine !
We made it safely to Evans Bay after that and it was nice to be able to switch off, open the vents and have a cup of tea and work out what we were doing.
After we’d had lunch in a French Cafe in town by David Jones, we walked to the main War memorial museum to see the Peter Jackson display of World War 1. It was amazing with the usual high quality displays. The realism was quite something.
Tank tracks above
It was interesting as my Grandfather drove one of these old Tanks in the Somme in the First World War. I remember as a 4 year old him telling me stories of how they used to cross the German trenches with these monsters. I won’t spill all the gory details but it’s interesting that now that I’m nearly 60, I can still remember exactly what he described 🙂
I used to love listening to his stories and he loved telling them. He was a real character.
Apparently he turned up to his own funeral after the war at his home town in Little Downham, Ely. He saw someone in the street and asked where they were.. “Oh Bert, they’re all at your funeral down at the church!” His mother was so pleased to see him that she scraped the mud of his coat and put it in a little tin. My son Alex has got that tin with the dirt today along with medals and other important family stuff. … Great stuff for a 4 yr old 🙂 .. And his peppermints in the old Mark 1 Zephyr were good too !
Outside the Memorial
Soldiers on the ramps
The Entrance
In the Trenches
The tank above the trenches
Back to the show.. I didn’t realise the scale and how big they were compared to infantry soldiers and the crews.
Poignant Memorial
The display was stunning and I reckon it’s a must do if you’re in Wellington. The very last display is quite poignant too of an older chap in a field of poppies with a young boy.. Fantastic display.
In Wellington, I received a message from my old friend (and work colleague and Motorhomer) Grant suggesting that we should go and check out the Roxy Theatre in Miramar.
Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow As it was only a few K’s away from our base at Evans Bay, we set out to check it out and it’s a thing of beauty.
Owned jointly by Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk of Weta Workshop fame, it is simply stunning. They’ve owned it for quite a long time but due to their work commitments with the movie industry, they had to put the renovation job on hold until a few years ago.
It was once a shopping centre so it has been a big do up job.
Upstairs with the ceiling
Some of the art
The Cafe and Shop
There is a really nice cafe on the ground floor but the decor and attention to detail with old movie cameras, the art and a huge ceiling mural is just stunning.
In the middle of Miramar shops, it’s something you must check out.
The Weta cave is at the other end of Park ave, which is also worth visiting too. There is easy Motorhome parking in the surrounding streets so easy to get there. Thanks Grant for telling us about it.
One of the things that was a recommended thing to do by Rob in New Plymouth was the Water Tower in Hawera and he was right. It’s well worth doing just to give you a sense of where everything is.
And you can see it everywhere.
The Water Tower was built in 1914 as the Insurance companies at the time were concerned about the low water pressure for fire fighting after a series of disastrous fires.
The Main Street of Hawera with the base of Mt Taranaki on the right.
While it was being constructed, there was an earthquake which put the whole tower on a lean. When the water was pumped in later, they fixed it in the middle of the night by undermining the foundations and shoring them up.
The Main Street
One of the “rest areas” along the way.
The Tower
There are more than 220 odd steps but with fairly large galleries between the levels to stop and catch your breath. It costs $2.50 per person which you pay to the ISite at the foot of the tower and they’ll give you a key.
Very worthwhile cheap entertainment for an hour or so and a fantastic view from the top.
This was a real discovery as when I first arrived, they immediately said that they allowed Certified Self Contained Motorhomers to stay overnight. A great discovery as it doesn’t say anywhere and doesn’t seem to appear on any apps that I use. .. Now we know.
Click on the images for Hi res or a slideshow
Cafe over the carpark
The Pioneers village is just outside Stratford on the southern side and is a collection of 40 plus pioneer buildings set up as a village and done very well.
Okato CottageInside Okato Cottage
Many of the buildings have come from the area and have their full history with them so it’s a great record of who did what locally and the the buildings are well setup for visitors.
A nurse a bit worse for wear
Raewyn oiling the wheels
Many of the local families have donated all sorts of furniture, clothes and their old homes to make it happen. There is also a train with carriages on a track that surrounds the entire village. Board member Raewyn was the train driver on the day and was very helpful with showing me what was there.
Plenty of parking
There is an adjoining cafe which has a great selection of food for lunches and coffee stops so a good place to stop and as I said, very easy parking.
After walking around the town, I checked out the Hotel, HQ for the republic! The Whangamomona Hotel was originally built in 1902 but burnt down 8 years or so later. In 1919 it was used as a Hospital and during the depression.
Before the fire
In 1989 when the Electoral people in Wellington were amalgamating councils everywhere, they decided in their wisdom ? That they would amalgamate the good folk of Whangamomona away from Taranaki to Wanganui on the basis that the river edged up there. The locals were understandably incensed and decided they would break away as a republic. The Hotel was the Republic Headquarters and after local elections for a president, all the tough decisions are made at the hotel. Sounds very sensible to me 🙂 You can even buy a republic passport!
Anita with the pubs cat.
When I arrived, I found the Hotel was closed but Anita the manageress was very happy to open it so I could get some piccies of the hotel.
You can smell the history ..
Anita at the bar
It currently has a category 2 listing as a Historic building and is regarded as one of the most remote pubs in NZ.
As it was closed when I was there, I couldn’t try anything but they have an excellent reputation for great meals.
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.
Cooking a steak… cold frypan, a little oil… chuck the steak in, hit the go button and the pan is sizzling within 5 seconds !!!! .. and it tastes sensational.
The only thing you have to check is that you have pots that a magnet will stick to and it comes with a magnet so you can check your pots. The unit will scream at you if you don’t have anything on it or the pot is incorrect.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.