Day out - Mt Lees Reserve

 Not quite a caravan trip, but the next best thing.  I went to visit the caravan club who were away for the weekend at Mt Lees Reserve.  On the way  I stopped off at the very popular Lewis Farms to buy some strawberries.  These are grown in huge tunnel houses so the growing season seems to last for ages.  I bought myself a nice hot coffee too before I continued on my drive north.

Yummy strawberries from Lewis Farms

I arrived at Mt Lees Reserve in time for morning tea, just as well I remembered to pack my folding camping chair for the trip.  Delicious Easter buns were passed around, yummy, and we sat outside in a circle enjoying the pleasant weather.  It was good to catch up with everyone, it's been a while since I have seen them.

The caravan club at Mt Lees Reserve

After morning tea I asked Owen if he might be able to change the clock in my car for  me, now that daylight saving time has ended.  He called up U Tube on his phone and listened carefully while a heavy accented man told him how to go about it, it wasn't easy but after a couple of tries Owen finally got it done.  I thought it might be helpful if I could find the car manual book for him.  But it was nowhere to be seen, although I did find a bundle of petrol vouchers tucked away that I didn't know were there, so that was a bonus.  Mt Lees Reserve is a very pretty place with native forest and very popular with walkers, families and people exercising their dogs.

Lovely surroundings

Then we all drove to Feilding for lunch, to the very busy Rose Bowl Cafe, a place I hadn't been to before.  Most of us ordered from the menu, and there was a huge range of cabinet food available too, plenty of choices to suit all tastes.  I chose a bacon and avocado sandwhich, very tasty indeed.

Rose Bowl Cafe

My daughter Nicky arrived, so we said our farewells to the club members, and moved on to another local cafe to spend an hour or so with her.  By this time I was all coffeed out so ordered a nice tasty honey and ginger drink while we sat and chatted about this and that.  Before we parted company I gave Nicky a punnet of strawberries and she had a bag of feijoas for me.  Not everyone likes the taste of feijoas, but I love them.  They can be eaten raw, and are also nice as stewed fruit - in the past I have also made feijoa jam.

Feijoas are in season

It was a pleasant day out meeting up with the caravan club members again, and then catching up with Nicky.  My little car performed well, it was about 130km for the round trip.  Gemma was pleased to see me when I finally returned home in the late afternoon, and was looking for a cuddle.  Perhaps it's time for her dinner, she was thinking.  No, it was a little early, so I gave her a few treats to nibble on instead.