Christmas Rally and Fantasy Cave

The last caravan club rally of the year was held at the Woodville/Pahiatua Race Course, an 80km trip away driving up and over the Saddle Road.    There were nine vans on site for this rally.  The weather was mostly sunny, but come Sunday when it was time to drive back home, the wind was fierce enough to cause concerns.  Towing a caravan or driving a motorhome in windy weather is always a concern.

Parked at the Race Course

We had a fun day out on Saturday.  Later in the morning the members pooled cars and set of to Dannevirke, to go and visit the Fantasy Cave.  Our club had visited this many years ago, but the building being used was not up to earthquake standards and the Cave had been in recess for some years.  This Christmas it was a “pop up” show in another venue – that sounded like fun and most of us were keen to go and check it out.  Handing over our gold coin entry fee, we stepped into a Christmas wonderland full of trees, ornaments and sparkly lights.

Inside the Pop Up Fantasy Cave

Oh look, there’s Santa in the corner.  At only $5 for a photo with the big man in red, how could I resist!  Put your arm around his shoulder, I was told, and hold onto his hand.  Oh dear, do hope he doesn’t think I’m being too forward!

Hello Santa

Then we spotted the toy train and Dot and I remembered having our photo taken sitting in this on our previous long ago visit.  It took a wee bit of body contortion to slip in to the tiny carriages and under the roof, but we made it. Other club members joined in the fun too.

All aboard

That was a laugh for sure.  After that excitement we all walked down the main road to find a café for lunch.  They kindly rearranged the tables for us so we could all sit together.  Then back to camp to prepare for the highlight of our caravan weekend, a shared Christmas Dinner.  The tables and room were nicely decorated by the committee, and Sue had printed place names for us all.  It was rather like taking part in a very posh dinner indeed.

We prepared our own main courses and the club provided strawberries and ice-cream for dessert.  Club member Flo had made two pavlovas for us too, which was very much appreciated.  With a glass of bubbly each, Robin and I were happy campers indeed.  My camera decided that it had enough of Christmas cheer by this stage, and went all fuzzy on me

Who are those fuzzy people?  Perhaps it’s the bubbles we drank.

Sunday morning was very windy and wet.  We enjoyed Christmas Mince Pies for morning tea, wished each other well,  then all headed off home.  It was a lovely weekend indeed.