Weekend at Pohangina Valley

We had a busy and very interesting time over Waitangi weekend at our caravan club weekend away, staying at the pretty Pohangina School Reserve.  Sited in the old school grounds, and surrounded by lovely old trees, this is a favourite place of ours to stay.  The weather was perfect, but then, February is usually a great month weather-wise here in New Zealand.

Staying at Pohangina School Reserve

There was a very full weekend of activities planned, so only a little stitching got done.  Plus a little knitting, although I pulled out what I had started and went down a needle size as I thought it looked too loose.  So I’m starting again, but I’m much happier with the tension.

A little knitting got done

On our trip up we stopped at the track to the viewing platform at the Wind Farm, and  I came across these two kereru sitting on top of the fence.  And managed to snap a photo before they realised I was there and flew away.  The kereru or New Zealand pigeon is the only pigeon endemic to the New Zealand mainland, a big heavy bird which gorges itself on the berries from native trees.

Two kereru sunning themselves

Have you heard of the Hat Game?  Rather like Musical Chairs for oldies, but instead of racing around we stayed seated in a circle.  Everyone except one person was given a hat to wear, and as the music played the idea was to remove the hat from the head in front and place it on your head, over and over again.  Once the music stopped the person without a hat left the circle, which got smaller and smaller, until it was a fight to the death with the last two players, who were now facing each other. 

Reaching for those hats

Kath and I were in the final round, with Cath being the eventual winner.  Such a fun game, for players and onlookers alike.

Myself and Cath in the finals

The next morning kicked off with a Champagne Breakfast.  Everyone was up bright and early to fire up the BBQs for bacon, eggs, sausages, whatever took their fancy.  One couple cooked up some pancakes, served with blueberries and whipped cream, that looked so nice.

Enjoying our Champagne Breakfast

In the afternoon there was yet another social occasion, Devonshire Tea at the local café, Country Fayre,  just a short walk from where we were camped.  The tea rooms are run by a bunch of very dedicated volunteers, doing their bit to keep the Pohangina Village viable.  The café also sells a range of cheeses from local cheesemakers, Cartwheel Creamery, and I purchased an interesting selection to take back home, including a piece of their interesting “Blue Rhapsody”, I’m sure it will taste as good as it sounds.  The café building was the former Pohangina County Council rooms, and we were seated at the rather impressive boardroom table.  

Scones with jam and cream served at Country Fayre

There were the usual quizzes and games in the evenings to keep our brains active.  One evening we were invited, if we wished, to give a short 5 minute talk about aspects of our lives, which others may not necessarily know.  Geoff talked about how he and his parents happened to make the decision to emigrate from England to New Zealand, they were advised that New Zealand was a tropical country and they would not need winter clothes of coats – not true, of course, while others talked about their early working lives.  I spoke about my life when I ran a dairy (corner shop) with my former husband and two young children.  Getting up at 5.00am, and closing the shop doors at 9.00pm, it was a very busy and rather stressful time in my life. 

Our beautiful Birman Gemma always seems to enjoy our caravan weekends away.  Safely tethered with her harness and lead, she likes to venture out into the great outdoors.  There are birds to watch, insects to pounce on, and what’s this, someone left the outside locker door open.  That’s worth exploring, she thinks.

What’s in here, I wonder?

And this is what she gets up to while I am sitting at the caravan table while I’m busy blogging.  The lap top case makes a great place for a snooze, she thinks.

I’ll watch the bag while you are tapping away