Random musings

Isn’t this a wonderful way to live your life – always trying something new? Driving and living in the campervan was one of those “somethings”.

As I left the comfort of Sari and Norm’s home and Sari’s companionship I wondered what lay ahead as I drove back to Hamilton via Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, through to Taupo and home.  It was an ideal time to reflect on my experiences and think about the coming days.

As I had an early morning ferry crossing I decided it was best to stay the night before at the Picton Campervan Park which was two minutes drive away from the ferry check-in and drive-on.   A good decision.

The InterIslander Ferry

The day before my sailing I was bragging to Sari about “I’ve never having had a rough crossing.” Have you ever noticed that when you brag you can guarantee things don’t go to plan?  The crossing was “rough” in my eyes!!  Once the InterIslander left the safety of the Sounds, white caps were everywhere and the swells of the sea were very noticeable!  It wasn’t long before I grabbed one of those ‘little white bags’ and staggered/wobbled to an Exit door for fresh air.   A cold south-easterly wind blew, I was often misted with sea spray but at least I felt OK outside.  It was a slow crossing, the thought of food or even a coffee never entered my head.

As I sat in my van waiting to drive off the ferry in Wellington, I couldn’t help but notice and be amazed at the number of vehicles and the size of the truck and trailer units that can be accommodated.  And the process of loading and unloading vehicles all done so efficiently.

It was a relief to be finally driving towards South Wairarapa via the Rimutaka Ranges.

South Wairarapa

Visiting South Wairarapa was a first for me.  The afternoon was spent driving to Palliser Bay and observing the landscape and little villages along the way. The first small village I came across was the Land Girl Cafe, Pirinoa.  It is an old blacksmith’s workshop built in the 1880s and handed down with the farm through five generations.   The cafe also included a gift store with many little treasures for sale. Located across the road from the cafe are the primary school, petrol station, and small grocery store, an ideal place for a break.

The Putangirua Pinnacles

After driving and sitting for a couple of hours I needed some fresh air and a walk, the Putangirua Pinnacles is a must-see and do. The rock formations are unusual and very impressive.  I’ve never seen anything like them before.  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was filmed here.  It was an easy 2.5 hr return walk winding along a river bed or you can take a bush track to a viewing platform that looks down onto the pinnacles.  It’s an enjoyable walk and taking something to drink is important.  There is a freedom camping site near the beginning of the walk that also includes toilets.

Ngawi Fishing Village

I have always wanted to see where “there are more tractors per head of population than anywhere else in the world”, and Ngawi is the place.  It is a small fishing village located on the coast of Palliser Bay.  The old bulldozers and tractors haul the fishing boats in and out of the wild waves of Cook Strait.  It was really hard to get a good photograph of all the tractors and bulldozers with my phone so hopefully, you get the idea.

Cape Palliser

As Cape Palliser is the most southern point of the North Island, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The road to the Cape followed the coastline – quite dramatic with waves crashing on the seabed next to the road as there was a very strong and cool SE wind blowing. Didn’t walk up to the lighthouse – my excuse – it was getting late and still hadn’t found anywhere to stay! In another word, I was feeling lazy!! I’ve found on this particular trip that when travelling on my own I’m less inclined to “push myself or apply that little extra effort” – wonder what that says about me?

As I was driving out towards Palliser Bay I had noticed Gateway Motel Holiday Park.   On my way back I stopped off here for a quiet evening in my campervan.  Nothing dramatic to report, as I was the only guest staying that night.  Had a very comfortable and cozy night in my van.  After having cooked my dinner there wasn’t a lot to do, thank goodness for a good book or two.  Since I had left Blenheim I had been reading the book titled “The Resilience Project” by Hugh van Cuylenburg and found it very thought-provoking, included valuable take-away ideas, and it was hard to put down.  In the dining room/kitchen at Gateway Motel Holiday Park, they had a great selection of books available.  Found the book titled “Jewell in the North” by Tricia Stringer another Australian book; this fiction book kept me happily entertained for many an hour in the evenings.

Destination Waipukurau

I can’t remember the last time I drove along Highway 2, so I was keen to explore/travel this highway, especially seeing places like Martinborough and Greytown. Martinborough was busy preparing for their annual fair, you could see many older people marking-out stall holder boundaries.  The town was looking impressive; all the buildings looking clean and fresh, and gardens colourful. What really struck me was the older style homes that have been restored or kept in “spick-and-span” order so to speak.  The homes and gardens were truly beautiful and appealing.

Greytown

What a stunning little country town Greytown is.  The shop facades reminiscent of times gone by and beautifully painted and maintained just like Martinborough.  There were two shops I wanted to see and experience and both shops exceeded my expectations.   If you are ever passing through Greytown do make a point of visiting them.  If you have visited either of these shops, I would love to hear about your experience and if you were able to exit them without having made any purchases.

• Mrs Blackwell’s Bookshop (opened 2020), where it is easy to spend a couple of hours browsing.  Along with the wide variety of books, it also contains a variety of gift ideas.  An interesting shop, and well laid out.

•  Blackwell & Sons a shop that sells hand-built bicycles and accessories, ‘top of the range” so to speak.  This shop is a must-see if you are looking for a bike that is stylish, comfortable, and reliable or just want to look at the variety of everyday bicycles available.  I could see myself riding one of their bikes when I get really old.

In Greytown, it took a lot of willpower to walk past many inviting cafes, you may wonder why?  I had read about the Clareville Bakery (Artisan Bakers just north of Carterton) and that was going to be my coffee stop for the day.  The size of the purpose-built car park was an indication of how popular this bakery was.  Reading about all the different awards they had won since they started their business in 2013 was an indication of how good their food is.  It was interesting to sit and watch the variety of people who came and enjoyed the tasty food, from tradies to young mums, police officers, families, older people and groups of people having meetings, plus I.  It was a busy and hospitable setting to savour my coffee and eat a plain croissant.

For my lunch break and “power nap” I came across a lovely roadside picnic area.  This was one of the many things I enjoyed about travelling in the campervan, I could stop anywhere and quickly make a fresh salad sandwich, boil the jug, and chill out.

There was a surprise in-stall for me at this stop.  A beautiful sculptured memorial to the Polish children’s camp that was erected here after World War II.  This instantly brought back happy memories of Mrs Dravitizki who used to be a neighbour of ours when growing up in Ratapiko.  Mrs Dravitizki was one of those children who was brought out to NZ and lived here for a time.  Interesting what you discover when you stop at random places!

Waipukurau Holiday Park was my choice of a layover for the night.  I enjoyed being able to park-up and connect to the power supply.  This enabled me to have all the mod cons the van contained, especially the micro-wave for my baked potato.  The park was very quiet and the facilities clean and tidy.

Why Waipukurau you may ask?  I’d read there were appealing walking and cycling trails along each side of the Tukituki River and they needed to be checked out.

The Tukituki River Trail walk didn’t disappoint, what did surprise me was how quiet it was of other human beings.  Saw four people in two hours of walking.  The water level of the river was very low, guess partly due to the hot dry weather the area had been experiencing along with those consistent winds!  Actually, the whole of Hawkes Bay was looking ‘golden brown’.

Destination Mangakino – Lake Maraetai

I had a desire to get home and wanted to try “freedom camping” for one night before the end of my adventure.  So Mangakino was my destination.  But before that the Napier – Taupo Road to be navigated.  Driving this road required my absolute attention.  The campervan had six gears and a diesel motor so whenever there was an incline on the road I was into ‘full change gear mode’.  If I wasn’t fully concentrating I’d sometimes make the odd error of gear choice!!  Thankfully there were plenty of strategically placed “passing lanes”.  In many places, the road surface showed signs of too many heavy trucks travelling this route.

Taupo was looking picturesque, people out and about enjoying the lake, walking, and cycling the pathways.  It is always a busy town on weekends.  It was quite by accident, I caught up with Geoff in Taupo.  He was off to ride the Timber Trail the next day with mates.  Trust that adventure went well Geoff, I’m keen to hear how it went.

As it was a long weekend Mangakino campground was a very busy place.  It was great to see families enjoying the lake, swimming, water skiing, kayaking, etc.  I was surprised at how little room there was available to park up my little van, but eventually, a nice private spot was found.  During these last few days, I’ve been surprised by how few people were keen or interested in talking to me.  I am comparing this to when I travel on my bike – quite the opposite, perhaps campervanning is “normal’?  Never mind that nobody talked to me, I loved waking up in the morning on the shores of Lake Maraetai, it was very still and so peaceful –  a nice way to end my adventure before my journey to Matangi.

Recommendations

If you are in the Wairarapa or Hawkes Bay areas highly recommend the following:

• Walk to The Putangirua Pinnacles
• Drive to Ngawi fishing village to see the tractors and bulldozers
• Drive to Cape Palliser and walk to the lighthouse
• In Greytown check out Mrs Blackwell’s bookshop and Blackwell & Sons bicycle shop
• Have a refreshment stop at Clareville Bakery
• Walk or cycle the Tukituki River Trails in Waipukurau
• Freedom camp beside Lake Maraetai

Final note:

It has been a wonderful experience to travel and holiday in the campervan.  Thank you Claire for giving me this opportunity.

I did have a couple of “moments” in the van:

1. One was thinking I had locked myself out – a valuable lesson learned there about making sure where I kept the keys.
2. The other was accidentally knocking the toilet cassette lid down the “dump hole” as I was emptying it.  Luckily it floated and was easily retrieved.  Thank goodness no-one was watching!

This blog is finally completed, it’s taken a while!  If you have any travel stories you’d like to share please let me know, I’d love to post them under my “Guest Bloggers” section.  Just contact me.

What next?  Who knows – a bit of tramping and of course plenty of cycling?  Till next time, go and try something new and don’t forget to share it!  GoldCard Gal 🙂

(E & OE)

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Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”

by Unknown

On Tuesday, 26 January I picked up a white Ford Transit camper-van in Christchurch.  This van is to be driven back to Cambridge over the coming weeks.  The opportunity to drive and live in a camper-van for a couple of weeks was presented to me before Christmas by Claire, a cycling friend.  When she asked if I was interested – well, you can guess the response – “ooh yes, I’d love to!” I’d been thinking about trying one out for some time and now that opportunity has appeared.

Claire had given me a guided tour of the van several weeks ago and now I was wondering would I remember everything she told me and where to find what etc etc.

So far I’ve loved driving the van, it is so easy.  The manual transmission is a piece of cake, really enjoying the physicality of driving – the changing of gears.  I reflected on the teachings and learnings of driving the ‘horse truck’ my father used to own when I was younger.  He encouraged me to always think about the load I was carrying and how that affects your driving, especially going down steep hills and coming to stop signs; double-declutching; it was interesting the memories that came to mind.

Picton to Christchurch by bus

To get from Ngakuta Bay to Christchurch I travelled by Intercity Bus which was a very enjoyable journey that enabled me to freely view the scenery and just relax, reflect and be in the moment.  I had a front seat so my views were unbroken.  Interestingly the bus driver used to be a school teacher and now loving his job driving buses.  As he put it “when I get home in the evening, my job is finished, not like my wife who is a teacher, she still has to prepare for the next day or do some other teaching-related tasks.”

The Link Pathway

To catch the bus I had a beautiful walk along The Link Pathway (this 42 km walking and cycle trail runs from Picton to Havelock). From Ngakuta Bay to Picton is 10 kms of beautiful mostly beech, manuka, and regenerated forest shading you from the intense summer sun.

I stayed in an Airbnb in Halswell, Christchurch which was close to where I had to pick up the van.  My goodness, how Christchurch has spread and it is looking great.

Ground Effect

I’ve been a 20 year plus customer of Ground Effect and it had always been on my list to go and see their operation that is located out towards Ferrymead in Christchurch. They design and make cycling gear and I think their gear is the best (for me anyway).  It is not cheap but lasts for years and years.  They make everything in Christchurch, in a small factory, and also out-source some sewing.

After chatting they invited me to stay for morning tea (which I was told doesn’t normally happen for customers) but they were keen to hear about our recent Rainbow Valley and Molesworth adventures.  The ‘flat white’ was the best and it was great to be able to share our stories.  They thoroughly enjoyed hearing about our stay in a nudist camp ground. My time spent with Ground Effect staff was enjoyable and worthwhile.  I’m now pleased to remove that item from my to-do list.  I did buy a new pair of blue cycling gloves which was long overdue.

Great news for Ground Effect clothing lovers, they are in the process of designing a new range of cycle clothing with more size options for women.

Taylor’s Mistake – Godley Heads Walk

With my ‘caffeine fix,’ in the system, I was ready for a walk around to Godley Heads.  What a stunning walk, the track is well compacted and maintained with easy gradients.  It was a stinking hot day and I hadn’t planned my trip that well but hey it was last minute decision to walk it and I was pleased I’d finally visited Taylor’s Mistake after years of hearing about it.

I spent my first night in my van at Helen’s (a long-ago work colleague from Wintec),  She lives on the outskirts of Rangiora on a lifestyle block.  We had a wonderful evening catching up and sharing events and experiences of the past seven years – we both were surprised how time has flown by, both promising to catch-up more regularly.

It was a very hot night, fortunately, my little van has a window (with a fly screen covering) that enabled a light breeze to flow over my face during the night thereby stopping my body from over-heating.

 Rangiora – Kaikoura

The road from Rangiora to Kaikoura via the inland route was another part of the South Island I had wanted to see.  I had dreamed of cycling it one day, that idea has now gone from my “must-dos”.  Sometimes I need to justify my excuses:

1. there are no verges on the edge of the road
2. the trucks and traffic seem to drive fast
3. the hills are relentless, and
4. the head-on northwest winds are horrendous – why would I go there?

But in my little van, I thoroughly enjoyed the drive.  I had plenty of practice changing gears, taking my time, and admiring the surrounding range of mountains – Inland Kaikoura Range.  To realise the week before Sari and I was cycling down the valley just over the other side of those mountains, but no snow-covered peaks this week!

As I wasn’t sure of where I could stay for the night in Kaikoura, I decided the Top 10 Holiday Park was my destination.  It was easy to find and I felt it would enable me to start making the most of the camper-van facilities.  It was everything I had hoped for.  And my neighbours for the night was a young family from Raglan!

Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway

Kaikoura seemed to be bustling.  The businesses have had a hard time over the past few years, with the 2016 earthquake and now no international tourists, so I was determined to support them in any way I could.

If you have 20 minutes or three hours to spare I highly recommend the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway.  It is promoted as a family walk, (10 kms if you do a full round trip).  You get to see seal colonies; a variety of sea birds; historic pa and whaling sites, with stunning views of the sea and mountains. Plus the resulting uplift of the earthquake, which brought home to me the reality of what actually happened.

A very pleasant few hours were spent here exploring Kaikoura.

Blenheim

Blenheim is surrounded by vineyards, my brother Ben was saying “85% of NZ vineyards are within Marlborough.”  There is very little bare land that doesn’t have grapevines growing on it. I had two wonderful days there catching up with Ben and his wife Fran and some of their family.  It was great spending time with them and seeing how their business Ormand Nurseries Ltd is continually developing and growing.  We talked, walked, coffeed, cycled, and dined out at Saint Claire Vineyard Kitchen.  The food there was superb, highly recommend it.

No sleeping in my van – I was spoiled, I slept in a beautiful room with a view that enabled me to have drapes and windows open so the full moon could shine in.

Mt Cawte – Moetapu Bay, Marlborough Sounds

I had one night staying with Sue (she came and stayed with me while I was in Laos. Her sister was one of our neighbours in Singapore, 1996).  Sue lives on Queen Charlotte Drive and recently brought a section, which she is going to build on.  She currently lives in a beautiful wooden tiny house.  We made the most of our time together catching up on the news, happenings, and events since we’d last seen each other a few years back.  In the morning she took me up Mt Cawte (474m) climb.  The construction of this track involved Outward Bound volunteers (over a two year period) to establish a pest management access track.  This then enabled the removal of wilding pines, banana passion fruit vine, and other noxious plants. The views at the top were stunning as you can see in my photo below.

Port Underwood bike ride

Sari felt to ‘complete’ our adventure we needed to ride the Port Underwood loop which meant riding from Rarangi around the east coast to Picton and then on to Ngakuta Bay, close to 60  kms.

I admire Sari for undertaking this ride for the fourth time yesterday.  Having completed it I’m not sure I’d be that keen to do it that often – unless of course it was sealed.  The views were stunning when we could see the coast and ocean, otherwise, it was concentration and focus – the gravel road had many corrugations and was either uphill or downhill.  I’ve since read where it is recommended for only “fit cyclists”, I guess you could say we met that criteria.

The little bays we cycled past were quite beautiful and peaceful.  The water crystal clear in various shades of blue and green – depending on the angle of the sun.  Whatamango Saddle was the climb of the day, 4.5 kms steep uphill often in the full sun.  We climbed over 1200 m and descended the same amount – was I glad when we finally rode into Waikawa Bay, just before Picton.

Two cups of tea later at a friend of Sari’s and we were ready to complete our little adventure home to Ngakua Bay.  As I cycled home, on this now familiar road I realised I’m getting very comfortable in this location, knowing the different road corners, how far to the top of Wedge Point, knowing the names and location of different bays.  Perhaps it is time I moved on before I become a “local”?

Where to next?

On Thursday I start my journey north.  Have an early morning ferry crossing and hopefully drive over Martinborough or somewhere close by.  No more friends or family to visit and hang out with so I will be “embracing the van lifestyle”.

Thank you Sari and Norm for your hospitality, generosity, and putting up with my coming and going.  Thank you Sari for all the wonderful walks we’ve shared along the Link Pathway and for showing me your “trap run”.

I’m beginning to love this special place.  Check out my photo below, this is what I wake up to each morning here in Ngakuta Bay, two-minute walk down to the water edge.

Till next time, hang in there – GoldCard Gal 🙂

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