Caravan Trip and Another Birthday

 Last weekend we were getting ready to leave for a caravan rally.  Gemma decided to make life difficult for us, with all the hustle and bustle of packing the caravan going on.  "Why not give my people a hard time and hide for a while", she thought.  We were all ready to go and searched here, searched there, to no avail, then searched again.  Robin finally found her curled up and keeping low in a place I had already checked twice!  I don't know why she acts like this, after all she goes away in the caravan once a month at least so should be well used to the routine by now.  Finally she was secured in the car and we got on our way.

She can be rather naughty at times!

We were heading off to the Pohangina Domain, formerly the village school.  As we had a lunch date with my daughter, we were the first to arrive, put our van on site, and left before anyone else arrived.  The old school grounds are surrounded by lovely mature trees, and there are plenty of native birds everywhere.  And because it is a rural area, lambs were bleating, cattle were mooing, and the roosters were crowing!  The name Pohangina translates to "ulcerated night", suggesting that the valley had been a place of bloodshed between the local Rangitane people and their enemies.

It was a short 15 minute drive to The Herb Farm where we were meeting for lunch.  Nicky used to work here for several years in the laboratory, mixing up potions and creams. 

 We had a lovely lunch and then she had a couple of gifts for us.  One for Robin, for his birthday several weeks ago, and another for me.  I'm keeping mine to open on the actual day.  I had something for her too, several balls of crochet cotton which were looking for a new home at my last quilt club meeting, plus some extra  reels of thread I had.

The weather for our caravan weekend away was glorious, fine and sunny, such beautiful Spring weather.  The sunhats got their first outing of the season.  We took a trip to check out Totara Reserve, a rather nice camping spot.  Not yet open for the season, we left our cars at the locked gate and walked in.  

Enjoying the peaceful surroundings

On Sunday morning our caravan group packed up and headed away, most going home, but we were heading north, to Hamilton.  We stopped the night at Ohakune.  I know that towns in Australia are famous for the Big Pineapple or the Big Prawn, but here in New Zealand Ohakune is world famous for the Big Carrot!  Plenty of carrots are grown here, as well as potatoes and swedes.   In case you are wondering, the name Ohakune means "an opening to a new world" and refers to the descent from nearby Mount Ruapehu into the valley and swamps of the area.

The Big Carrot of Ohakune

We drove past Mt Ruapehu as we continued on our journey, it's always such a lovely sight to see.

Mt Ruapehu

The plan was to stay for two nights at Otorohanga, the name means "food for a journey".  There is a legend which tells of a Maori chief passing by, who chanted incantations that stretched out his meagre supply of food to last the full journey.  Otorohanga has a Kiwi House where visitors can go and see our elusive nocturnal national bird.  How about this colourful statue on the side of the road?

We arrived in Otorohanga

We decided to go out for a celebratory birthday dinner at the Otorohanga Club while we were here, a day early, as our next stop is in a very small settlement indeed and may not have somewhere to celebrate my birthday.  That wouldn't do at all, would it!  We both enjoyed roast pork and veggies, and bubbly for me, and a beer for him.

Our meals were delicious

After breakfast the next day (my actual birthday) I had cards and gifts to open, how exciting.  Such  a lovely time opening parcels and exclaiming over the contents.  First up was the parcel from my daughter Nicky.  She had buttonhole stitched around three new flannels (face clothes) and had included a bag of Russian Fudge.  

From my daughter Nicky

I had two exciting parcels from Sew Wot friends too.  Heather had wrapped up a pretty candle, a crochet dishcloth, a packet of pretty paper serviettes, and just look at that cute little pink pig!  

Thank you Heather

And lastly, the most lovely knitting bag from Mary.  At our last Sew Wots morning I had admired the knitting bag which Mary had made for Jude, and now she has stitched one for me as well.  This  bag is made with pussy cat fabric and the words say:

The Quilter's Cat.

Between layers of fabric stashes snuggles the Quilter's Cat

Sleeping by day, prowling by night

Shedding hair for all to wear

The Quilter and her Cat

A picture of contentment at that

Knitting bag from Mary

I had a lovely birthday with plenty of messages, and a phone call from my son.  "You are getting old, Mum", he commented.  "I'll be even older next year with my BIG birthday", I replied.  Where have all those years gone?

With help from Gemma

 This blog is brought to you with help from Gemma.  She is excellent at holding the lap top bag in place while I'm tapping away.  And it makes such a good place to have a comfy snooze.

Gemma is a big help

Our four days in Christchurch seeing my son Michael had come to an end, so then it was time to hitch the caravan up to the car and travel slowly back up to Picton to catch the ferry again.  We had nearly a week to do this, so we planned several stops along the way.

One lunch stop was at the very royal sounding Balmoral Recreation Area.  No royals popped out to meet us, and then I remembered that they are having a family summer holiday in Edinburgh.  Such a lovely site, surrounded with pine trees, and  very peaceful indeed with just one other van in the grounds.  It would be great to stay here for a night or two on a future trip.  Gemma enjoyed some time outside on her lead.

Fed and watered, we got on our way again to our stop for the night at Waiau Tavern.  No charge to stay for the night, but there is an expectation that travelers would spend a little money in the bar, or have a meal.  Which is quite fair and reasonable, we think, when the parking is free.  Opening time rolled around so we went over for 4zees, just the owner and us in the tiny bar.  Plus a rather feisty ginger kitten who calls the tavern home.

The owner Lindsay told us about the 7.8 Hurinui-Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016.  The epicentre was located close to Waiau township and the fault ruptures ran for more than 180km along known and previously unrecognized faults.  The hotel was badly damaged, then while waiting for council permission to rebuild, was burnt to the ground by squatters.  This new tavern is much smaller but serves the community well. 

Leaving Wairau Tavern it was a short 52km  to our next stop, Conway Flat Ocean Edge.  The photos looked delightful, vans parked on the cliff overlooking the sea, room for large vehicles and pet friendly. We turned off SH1 at Hundalee and drove down to the coast, finally spotting several vans and motorhomes parked up in a large paddock.  This is the place.  Peeping over the cliff we could see the wavelets roll in.  This is a good area for fishing, we were told.    It was a lovely restful day indeed, and we were lulled to sleep with the soothing sounds at bedtime.  There was no show of catching the sun rise over the ocean the next morning, we slept so well that the sun was well up by the time we surfaced.  This is a wonderful place to stay and we certainly plan to return in a future South Island trip.

Our ocean view site for the night

After talking to another couple we mentioned that we travel with our cat.  Can we see her please?, they asked.  They own a Maine Coon but don't take it camping.  Gemma was not at all impressed with being picked up by a stranger, and I had to warn that she was not necessarily a friendly cat.  After that, she pointedly jumped on the bed, and turned her back on these people who dared to touch her!

Continuing on our way the next morning we saw glimpses of the snow capped Southern Alps again.  This is always such a pretty sight.

Snow capped mountain range

We were on our way to another camping site with an ocean view.  We turned off SH1 at the tiny village of Ward, and the first thing we saw was this happy Mama pig.  She wandered over to the fence to show me her very best side.  Shall I tell you a secret?  With a suburban upbringing, I've always rather liked pigs, for some reason.  And chickens too, or rather "chooks" as we tend to call them here.

What a gorgeous pig

We drove to the end of the unsealed road to the camping area.  There were a few other campers on site, and we found ourselves a spot overlooking the beach and settled down for the afternoon.    There is nothing nicer than being by the sea.

Another lovely place to stay overnight

Gemma had a fine time exploring the grassy sand bank just outside the caravan door, safely secured with her lead of course.  Goodness knows what she was tracking in the grass, probably little bugs and insects I expect.  This kept her so occupied for such a long time.   She has aspirations of being a great while hunter, but sadly for her, that is not going to happen.  Gemma was having such a wonderful time that she didn't have time for her usual afternoon snooze.  You know what cats are like, they generally sleep the day away.

Gemma had a wonderful afternoon stalking tiny critters

Painted rocks are very popular and there was quite a collection here, it has obviously grown and grown over time. 

Lots of painted rocks

So how has my knitting coming along then?  Rather slowly, I'm afraid.  I often knit while in the car, but not when we are traveling up and down hills and around sharp corners, that's too difficult for me.  Waiting time at the laundromat is also good knitting time, so as I tell myself, each row helps.  I'm knitting socks for my older granddaughter.  It is interesting how the two balls of yarn make different patterns on each sock.  And I've also spent some time knitting a beany for donation.

4ply socks for my granddaughter

Started knitting a beany

Our trip is winding down, and in a few days time we will board the ferry for our homeward journey.  It's been a great trip, and I'm so pleased we spent some time with my son Michael to share his 60th birthday with him.  Will you come down for my 70th? he wanted to know.  Probably not, sadly.

Birthday Trip South

Do you ever look back and wonder where all those years have gone?  My son Michael's  birthday is fast approaching, and he will be turning 60! That's certainly hard to come to terms with.  I certainly can remember his birth, the toddler years, then schooling - how on earth did he get to be 60?  And how old does that make me?  I was 18 when he was born, a couple of months off 19, so a young Mum indeed.  And 12 months later I did it all again, when his sister  Nicky was born.  Those were the days.

With such a momentous birthday coming up, we decided to take the caravan down to Christchurch in the South Island, where Michael has lived for the last 15 years or so, and celebrate with him.   So we packed up, drove to Wellington and boarded the ferry to take us across Cook Strait.  This trip takes about 4 hours.

BlueBridge Ferry Feronia

We arrived at the ferry terminal in good time.  Handing the paper work over to the girl in the kiosk, she handed over the boarding pass, and asked us, could we  manage 5 flights of stairs, or she could park us close to the lifts.    That was a shock, we  must have been really looking our age, we thought, as we replied, close to the lifts please.  We were guided into the correct line, and sat and waited till the ship berthed, and the passengers travelling north had all disembarked.  Then it was our turn and we were waved aboard.  Gemma has to be a big brave girl and travel in the caravan all alone.  It's rather noisy down in the hold so we imagine she just hunkers down somewhere till it is all over.

Everyone seems to make a bee-line to the cafe on these trips, including us.  It was a late lunch for us, so we purchased some sandwhiches, and a drink, sitting in the cafe for a while.  A little way into the trip,  the ship was starting to roll and we decided to leave the cafe and go and sit in the Quiet Room which we had spotted.  Oh dear me, just walking up the corridor was an effort, holding on to whatever was handy, as we tried to keep on our feet.  I'm sure we looked just like a couple of rather drunken OAPs as we stumbled about, it was not easy at all.  We curled up on a couch in the Quiet Room, waiting for the rolling ship to quieten down.  

I had a funny thing happen to me in the toilet block.  The lady in the next stall tapped on the wall and said she couldn't open the door.  Of dear, what could I do, I wondered.  So I looked at the square door handle and presumed she had been trying to turn it.  Just slide it to the right, I advised, and yes, it worked.  English was her second language, and no doubt she had visions of being trapped in the toilet, no wonder she was getting agitated.  So that was my good deed for the day.

Then we changed seating areas and I got my knitting out.  These socks are for one of my granddaughters for Christmas.  In fact, tucked away in my knitting bag is two pair of socks, and a couple of beanies I'm knitting for charity.  After all, I don't want to run out of knitting while I'm away.

Socks for Christmas

It is always such a lovely sight when the ferry reaches the Marlborough Sounds and glides along in these sheltered waters.  We went outside to enjoy the scenery and the smell of salty sea air.  It was a bit breezy so Robin had to hold on tight to his cap to stop it blowing away.

Gliding through the Marlborough Sounds

We made good time, and arrived in Picton a little early.  Our first overnight stop in the South Island was just a short 8kms away at Koromiko.  There were only a couple of other vans in attendance, so there was plenty of room.  This is a lovely place, surrounded by beautiful mature Totara trees.  The custodian came to get our fees, and remembered us from our previous stay.  She used to have a Birman, so was particularly taken with Gemma.  Sadly, her cats had died young, and she had several other losses over the last two years to cope with.  Such a shame, she is a lovely lady, and she recommended the  Birman breeder to us when we last met, where we got Gemma from.

Our first night in the South Island, plenty of room for us.

An old fridge full of books to swap

It was a very chilly night indeed and we awoke to a rather foggy morning

Lunch on the coast the next day

Our camp for the night consisted of several bays, so after checking them out, decided on the lower one.  Not too full, so plenty of room again.  It was such a nice day we sat outside for a while, making the most of the warm South Island sunshine.  But once the sun started going down, we could tell we would be in for another chilly night.  Just as well we have an efficient diesel heater to keep us warm and toasty.

Staying at Kaikoura

Just look at that snow on the mountains

Where are we now?

We have moved on from the family small holding after four very pleasant and relaxed days.  Before we arrived, I was a little worried about the family dog and how he would react to a strange cat on his property.  Noodle would come and look at Gemma through the closed screen door.  Then one morning Robin had the screen door open, Gemma was on her lead, and the two met nose to nose!  I was amazed that nothing untoward happened.  It may well have been a different story if Gemma was outside the safety of the caravan door.

First meeting between Gemma and Noodle

After meandering up and down hills on a minor road, it was then straight up SH1 passing through Waiouru.  It was clear that the school holidays were in full force as the carpark in the Waiouru Army Museum was full to bursting.  Kids were everywhere, climbing over the tanks in front of the museum to their hearts content.  A little further along the Desert Road we got a reasonable photo of Mt Ruapehu.

Mt Ruapehu

And to the right of Ruapehu was Mt Ngauruhoe, which featured as Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings films.

Mt Ngauruhoe, Mt Doom

We were heading for Lake Maraetai, at Mangakino, a freedom camping spot for a change, we don't often stay at these.  The first area we checked out was full of campers and day trippers, no room for our long caravan here.  Before we moved on to another area I stopped to take a photo of this interesting set up.  How about is cute little tear drop caravan!

Parked at the lake side

We found another area not too far away with plenty of room for us to get set up.  But…….. on arrival when I was moving Gemma from the car to the caravan we were set upon by the  neighbour’s off lead little dog!  That's one of the reasons we don't do freedom camping, people don't care that their dogs run free into other peoples camp sites.  And the reply when I mentioned that we had a cat and could they please keep their dog under control?  “Oh”, she said, “Our dog is trained not to chase cats, and we can’t find the lead”.   No wonder I get upset!  Just as well we are only staying for one night.

Lake Maraetai

I've taken both my knitting and stitching bags away with me, but so far haven't much to show at all.  Before we left home I made sure I had completed the heels on my 4ply blue socks.  As a  very average knitter, I think whoever worked out how to design and shape heels must have been very clever indeed!  With that done, it’s all plain knitting till I reach the toe shaping.

Blue socks so far

We will be heading further north each day, we like to keep our drives short while towing if we can.  There is a family 60th birthday to attend on New Year's Eve, which should be fun.

Two Knitting Projects, plus Tripping Around

Why stick with one knitting project when you can have two going at the same time?  Actually, I’ve got a third, but I haven't started that one yet, can’t be too greedy, can I.  I've been knitting away on my second project from time to time for a change in pace.  This one is a little boy’s baby/toddler jumper, using up some spare wool I had at home.  Because it is small,  I’m knitting the back and front at the same time.  I’m almost at the front neck shaping so I’ll work on them separately from now on.  Robin did ask me why I was knitting these two colours together.  The answer, because I want to use up the odds and ends of my wool.

Little boy’s jumper

We are still enjoying our South Island holiday, stopping here and there for a few nights, and having a good look around.  Moving on to Twizel, we stopped at another “photo stop” sign overlooking Lake Pukaki.  These stops showcase some amazing views, so much better to stop safely for photos in an off road area, rather than try to get a shot out of a moving vehicle.   This one had a huge car park, plenty of room for those towing caravans, and there were cars, campers and another caravan ahead of us.  Just look at that glorious view, with Mt Cook (Aorangi the cloud piercer) looking back at us across the lake.

View across Lake Pukaki

In the afternoon we stopped at High Country Salmon café for a drink, what a busy place, heaving with visitors.  Many of them were purchasing fish food to feed the salmon in the pools, this was a real favourite with children.   After my coffee I helped out the local economy  and bought some salmon from the fish shop to take back to the caravan.  Have I mentioned just how much I love both fresh and smoked salmon?

High Country Salmon

The next morning we packed a picnic lunch and set off to see the clay cliffs near Omarama,  up a long dusty drive on  an unsealed road to reach the car park.   The cliffs are on private land  protected under QE2 Covenant, and there is a charge of $5 per car to go in the honesty box as you proceed through the gate.  The information board explains that these eroded cliffs are formed by the active Osler fault line which continually exposes the clay and gravel cliffs.  Wind and rain has eroded into the canyon walls, producing gravel debris which has been washed out during flash floods.  The debris has accumulated in alluvial fans that slope down to the Ahuriri River.

The clay cliffs of Omarama

It was a stinking hot day, and crowds of people were slapping on sunscreen, hats, and setting off up the track.  After a good look around, and taking some pictures, we returned to the car with the windows wound down, and ate our picnic lunch.  But not before we asked one of the friendly visitors to take our photo for us in front of the info board.  I’m sure I heard him mention “how cute” –  we are a bit old for cute, I would have thought!

In front of the clay cliffs

We were reasonably close to the settlement of Omarama so decided to drive though and check it out.    This place seems to be thriving, the Wrinkly Rams café was full of customers, they offer a Merino sheep shearing show as well, and we noticed plenty of other cafes and pubs doing very well too.    No wonder the sign for Omarama features a Merino ram.  Merino wool is a bit pricy but wonderful to knit with, and is used in high end knitwear.

Omarama town sign

The next day took us up and over the Lindis Pass which links the Mackenzie Basin with Central Otago, crossing  a saddle between the valleys of the Lindis and Ahuriri Rivers at an altitude of 971m.  Stopping at this sign at the top, we were now in Central Otago. 

At the top of the pass

At Cromwell I just had to take a photo of the famous fruit sign, the huge  1.7 tonne apple, pear, nectarine and apricot landmark, designed by Otto Muller and completed in November 1989.    Cromwell  has a well-earned reputation as the fruit bowl of New Zealand. The ideal climate makes  Cromwell’s cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums  sought-after by high-end export markets, supermarkets, and visitors who call in to buy from the local growers. As we did, buying a box of delicious peaches, and a bag of new seasons apples, then queuing up with other eager customers to buy  a “real fruit” ice-cream.    Absolutely delicious – there is nothing better than an ice-cream on a hot sunny day!

Giant fruit sculpture in Cromwell

We had a big bag of laundry to do too, so off we went to find the local laundromat.  Round and round and round it went, al last it was done.  Holiday or not, some chores still need attending to.

Always plenty of this to do

Time to move on again the next morning, to head down to Lumsden, starting with a drive through the steep and  winding Kawerau Gorge.   There is a new bridge across the gorge now, built in 1963, but the old historic 1880 bridge has found a new life when   the bridge became the site of the world's first commercial bungy jump. A.J. Hackett set up operation on the bridge in 1988, with people testing their limits by leaping from the equivalent of a 10-storey building held safe by just a giant elastic band around their ankles. No, not us, we are not that crazy!

We drove alongside beautiful Lake Wakatipu for some time – the name means “place where the demon lies”.  According to Maori legend the curiously shaped lake was created when a giant demon captured the daughter of a Maori chief and took her to his home in the mountains.  After struggling against a strong north-easterly wind, the demon lay down with his head near Glenorchy, his knees at Queenstown, and his feet at Kingston.  The girl’s lover crept up to sleeping demon and set it on fire, and its body burnt deep into the earth.  All that remained was the beating heart within a gigantic trench which gradually filled with water to form an enormous lake in the shape of the demon.  We pulled off the road at a photo stop to capture some snaps of this beautiful lake.

Lake Wakatipu

Lumsden, our stop for the night, used to be a major railway junction with lines departing to all four points of the compass. Sadly those  days are long gone now.  The  railway station is now preserved as a tourist information centre, and there are some heritage trains on display.  Lumsden welcomes freedom campers and the  railway station offers free parking for caravans and motor homes, sinks available for dish washing, toilets, fresh water and a dump station.

Who doesn't love an old train

Set up in the former station waiting room was “Five Finger Crafts”, a cooperative craft shop stacked full of all sorts of interesting things. Yarn, knitted hats, scarves and socks,  crochet, baby dresses and bibs, woodwork and even painted stones!  I purchased some home made jam, and hand made chocolates.

Craft shop at the station

Poor Gemma got into a bit of strife at the cap.  She was minding her own business, happily outside on her lead, underneath the caravan in thee shade, when I heard a lot of hissing and growling going on.  There are two cats running loose from the bus next door who obviously got close and upset her, so I gathered her up and took her inside our van.  According to the rules,cats as well as dogs must be on leads outside.  It took Gemma a while to settle down, and I was upset that she couldn't enjoy the sunshine in peace outdoors, because others don't abide by the rules.

 

Robin comforting Gemma