Whanganui and Back

 Last weekend we had a caravan trip away to Whanganui, stopping overnight on the way at Duddings Lake.  What a pretty, peaceful place this was.  We decided to camp off power so left the crowded motor camp behind and parked up around the lake on a large grassy area.  There were several caravans and campervans parked here, but plenty of room  between is all.

Our lakeside camping spot

The lake must be very healthy as we noticed plenty of bird life, and the frogs serenaded us in the evening.  How often do we hear frogs, we commented.  Their calls are quite soothing really, soft croak, croak, croaks.  Gemma enjoyed quite a happy time outside safely on her lead all afternoon.  There were ducks to watch, and then she rather liked settling down under the caravan, I imagine she feels safe and secure under there.  Then for a change, she likes nothing better than sitting in the caravan doorway, snoozing, or taking in the sights.

Gemma in the doorway

The following morning it was time to move on from Duddings Lake to Whanganui Racecourse for the Vintage Weekend, with two other vans joining us there as well.  Four of us walked the four blocks into town to view the vintage cars parked up on Victoria Avenue.  It was another very hot day, and we joined the crowds all admiring the various cars on display.  People were everywhere, some in 50s costumes, some with dogs and children, and plenty of vintage age people on sticks, all intent on checking out the cars.

Someone's pride and joy on display

There was plenty of entertainment too, to keep the crowds happy.  Some were dancing to the music, and we noticed that others had brought their folding chairs along, to sit in comfort and enjoy the music.  It was such a hot day that after lunch in one of the cafes we were pleased to return to camp for some rest and relaxation.

One of the several bands performing

On our last full day in Whanganui, we invited Maureen and Russell to join us for a drive to Pipiriki and a picnic lunch.  It was many years since we had driven this road, so long ago that in those days it was a gravel road, although it is now sealed.  Narrow and windy, it took us through tiny settlements with interesting names, rather like those associated with the Grand Overseas Tours taken by young men of the aristocracy in earlier years.  These interesting little places have now reverted to their Maori names.  Athens, now known as Atane, Corinth, now Koriniti, London, now Ranana, and Jerusalem, now Hiruharama.  We stopped at a lookout point along the way for a lovely view down the river.

Looking down at the Whanganui River

One of the places we were keen to revisit was the Kawana Mill, in fact, we wondered if in fact it was still there, after all these years.  This mill has not been operating for many years but the water wheel is still in place.  Luckily the building has been well cared for by the NZ Historic Places Trust.  This is the only remaining one of six mills  dotted along the river to mill corn and wheat grown by the Maori people back in the day.

Kawana Mill

From here we continued on to Pipiriki and found a nice shady spot in the picnic area to eat our lunch.  This little settlement is the hub for jet boat rides up the river.  We met up with friendly young German tourist who had arrived with her bike off the boat and was planning to cycle to Whanganui - wonder if she realised just how hilly the road was?  She kindly agreed to take our photo for us.  

Robin, Jenny, Russell and Maureen

On the way back we stopped to  admire the Raukawa Falls at the lookout.  It was a lovely day out, traveling on roads we had not driven for quite some time.  

Raukawa Falls

Whanganui is an area with a very strong connection to the river.  There is a saying here which sums it up.  "The great River flows from the mountains to the sea.  I am the River, the River is me,"

Since returning home I have been doing a little of this and that.  A little time working on a pair of socks, and a few hours sitting at the sewing machine doing some machine quilting on a donation quilt.    And today, once the heat of the sun had eased, I spent a little time working on my stitchery project.  But....... nothing completed so far.

Stitching on the patio this afternoon

So that's what I've been up to over the last week.  A weekend trip away in the caravan, and its always so nice to take some time to work on a project or two.

Autumn is here

Autumn has well and truly arrived.  Cool mornings and evenings, the sun is rising later and setting earlier, but we are still enjoying nice crisp sunny days.  It’s time to ring the changes and hang my Autumn quilt up.  I love the rich golden colours in this quilt.  The centre baskets came in a kit sent to me from my pen friend  in South Dakota.  I wanted to make it bigger so put the baskets on point and added borders to make it a wall hanging size.  This was the first time I tried circular spiral machine quilting.

Baskets of Blessings, made in 2015

Autumn is a time of plenty, with feijoas and apples in abundance.  We have been gifted bags of feijoas, which I love, but Robin is not keen at all.  There are some left over, so I’ll probably use them in baking, perhaps some muffins and fruit loaf.  And Mary gave all the Sew Wot ladies a bag of super sized wonderful cooking apples from her own garden, thanks so much Mary.  These have been put to good use and enjoyed.

Feijoas and cooking apples

So what else have we been doing?  We had a busy day of medical appointments last week.  First, we had a 10.00am appointment at the hospital, and you can imagine the scarcity of parking at that time of day.  The car park was full to bursting with everyone attending a multitude of clinics, so round and round we drove.  Finally we spotted a spare car park, thank goodness for that. Inside the hospital it was a matter of masks on, sanitize hands,  and follow the orange line on the floor. 

 

We were here to see the orthopaedic surgeon who had done Robin’s knee replacement.  But first  Robin was whisked away for a couple of knee x-rays, then  we were ushered in to a consultation room and the surgeon breezed in.  The x-rays are fine, we were told, Robin’s previous knee replacement has healed well, and the surgeon could see the up-to-date state of the other knee.  Mmmm, that needs replacing too, we were told, probably get done in a few months time.  Documents will be sent out shortly with all the details.  So that was great news all round.  One knee done,  one to go.

Leaving the hospital we went to find the Covid drop-in clinic where we could get both the flu jab and the Covid booster at the same time.  Giving our details we sat and waited our turn, and before we knew it, a friendly and very informative nurse took us into her room.  There she went over details, answered questions, and delivered the flu jab, followed by the Covid vaccine.  All done quickly and efficiently, and we hardly felt a thing.  Such excellent service indeed.

Vaccinations done

With the medical business taken care of, we went for a quick lunch before traveling back home,  we’ve got a weekend caravan rally to attend.  The caravan was packed and ready, and we set off to Shannon School, not too far away from home.  When we arrived and were set up, Gemma found the caravan wardrobe door open.  Just the place to explore, she thought.  She loves little hidey holes like this to settle down and peep out of.

Can you see me hiding in here?

On Saturday afternoon of the rally Robin and I had planned a mystery tiki tour of the local area, to conclude with a BYO afternoon tea.  Cars were shared and off we went.  First stop was quite a marvel of engineering, the Moutoa Sluice Gates.  These were built in 1962 as a flood protection measure.  The Manawatu River here runs very sluggishly, and when in flood the river would overwhelm the stop banks and flood farmland.  The sluice gates cause much of the river flow to take a short cut, bypassing 30km of low capacity river channel, directing the flow down the 10km Moutoa Floodway.  The holding area in front of the gates was very wet and muddy and the gates had been in opened earlier in the  week.

Moutoa Sluice Gates

Continuing on our mystery trip we back tracked down the road to stop at the site of the WW11 Whitaunui Military Defaulters Camp, one of two in the area.  Sadly, nothing to see now, but in it’s time the two camps housed 250 conscientious objectors. The huts used to house the men were built by the Public Works Dept., mostly two men huts measuring 8ft by 10ft together with some single men huts.  The unheated huts were furnished with beds and straw mattresses, a pillow, and old army blankets.  The men were also provided with a small table and stool.  You could imaging how cold the winter conditions would be.  The men were required to work in wet conditions, cutting flax.  One of the more famous detainees was Rex Hillary, brother of Sir Edmund Hillary, hero of New Zealand.  On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Housing for conscientious objectors

Back in the cars again we headed up to the hills for our final stop, the Mangahao National White Water Centre.  No races down the river this day, of course, but we could see the overhead rails all in place.   Over the years the park has been upgraded to international standards, and training takes place here by locals and international teams.  We have watched competitors battle the river at another venue, paddling hard as they maneuvered the coloured hanging poles - green (downstream) or red (upstream).  There were handy picnic tables on the river bank so we settled down to enjoy our afternoon tea.  Out came the thermoses, the coffee and biscuits, and we all soaked up the peaceful atmosphere.

The river looks calm today

I took a short walk up the road and over the bridge to the nearby power station.  The Mangahao Power Station was opened in 1924 and although very small by todays standards is still operational and continues to provide power to the National grid.

Mangahao Power Station

That was the conclusion of our mystery trip so we made our way back to the school.  Although some of our caravan friends who live locally were aware of one or two of the attractions where we stopped, not a single one were aware of the Military Defaulters Camp, and some had not been to the other two sites either.  It’s always interesting, I think, of how much history there is to be discovered as we travel around. 

Last sunset of the weekend

Moving Around and Stitching Time

Where have we been since we last chatted?  Moving on from Christchurch we traveled south to Ashburton, a nice straight drive down SH1, and we drove over the longest bridge in New Zealand at 1.7km over the Rakaia River, another braided river.  What is a braided river, you may be wondering? A braided river consists of a network of multiple shallow channels that diverge and rejoin around  braid bars.  This gives the river a resemblance to the interweaved strands of a braid.  This part of New Zealand, Canterbury,  contains 60% of the braided  river habitat in New Zealand.

Driving over NZs longest bridge

Just over the bridge is the Rakaia Salmon statue on the side of the road, the icon of the small town. The  giant salmon statue stands 12m high and symbolizes  the good fishing in the Rakaia River.

The giant salmon of Rakaia

While in Ashburton we decided to go on an adventure, and explore the Rakai Gorge.  We made a picnic lunch, filled the thermos, and made sure we took along the sun screen and insect repellant too.

Ready for a picnic

Originally we had thought we hadn't been this way, but when the scenery started to look familiar we remembered we had done this trip way back in 2012.   Stopping at the lookout gave us wonderful views of the river, and since we were last here, a beautifully carved Maori Pou had been erected.  This tells the story of the Taniwha of Raikaia.  According to Maori legend a taniwha river monster lives in the Rakaia Gorge.  His efforts to block the north west wind led to the narrowing of the river, when he brought down huge stones and boulders to halt the progress of the north west demon and imprison him

Maori Pou

Then we returned to the Rakaia River for lunch, driving down onto the river bank to enjoy the wonderful views and people watch.  Some were frollicking in the river on their boards, others were walking along, still more were putting their boats in the river and departing with a hiss and a roar.  The bank across the river had rows of  different colours laid down,  always interesting to consider how these occurred. 

In the Rakaia Gorge

On the way back we stopped off at Methven for a look around and an ice-cream.  This is an interesting place as it is on the edge of the Mount Hutt Ski Field, so in the winter this is very busy indeed.  It was such a hot day we had to eat our ice-creams quickly to beat the melt efect!

Stopping for an ice-cream

Then we moved on to Geraldine, to the  Peski Pop (park over property) which is a favourite of ours.  We had been in contact the previous day to ensure there was room for us, asked for a non power site, and had been given a site number.  And there it was, with our name, an envelope for the fees, and an information sheet.  The grounds are beautiful in this Pop, graceful sweeping lawns, flower gardens and mature trees full of happy tweeting birds.  And best of all, there is a washing machine available, so I certainly made good use of that.

Staying at Geraldine

It was so nice sitting out under the shady awing, in the late afternoon and early evening. relaxing with a cool drink to hand, while finishing off another of my small Noah’s Ark stitcheries.  All the while the many birds were chirping away in the trees. 

Finished the Kangaroos

No visit to Geraldine is complete without stopping at Barkers, which is a big part of this small town.  Starting off as sheep farmers, for over 50 years the Barker family went on to process fruit  into an array of jams, preserves and drinks.  But the shop wasn’t where we remembered.  Several years previously, the company purchased the former St Mary’s Church Vicarage on the main Geraldine road, a category two listed heritage building, and transformed into boutique accommodation.  And adjacent to this is the Barker’s new Foodstore and Eatery.  First we went to the store, had a few tastings and purchased several items to take away.  Then we sat in the lovely airy café and had a drink each, a milkshake for him, and a coffee for me.  Believe it or not, it was so hot and muggy we really didn't feel like eating anything!

Barkers of Geraldine

I also visited the cheese shop and after sampling a few tastings, came away with several delicious fancy cheeses.  These will be nice with some crackers for afternoon tea.  Next was a visit to the local Quilt Shop, the Pin Tin.  Such a lovely shop, full to the brim with fabrics, knitting wool, and a large selection of panels.  I was after some new stitchery designs, but sadly the owner didn't seem to stock any of these, so I came away empty handed.  A shame really, as I do like to support quilt shops when I travel, but didn't want to buy something I didn't really need, just because I feel guilty.

The Pin Tin of Geraldine

The Prettiest Quilt Shop in Town

There’s no doubt about it, as we drove past this cute little shop on the way to Greymouth, towing the caravan behind us, I remarked that we would have to return to this shop the next day.  Bright and colourful on the outside, I was sure it would be just as nice inside.

Pink Possum Quilt Shop

I was after some backing fabric for my second piece of traced out stitchery.  Yes, Sue had some of that and cut me a piece, then I had a look around the shop to see what else took my fancy.   There were plenty of fabric, samples, panels, notions, and lots of kits, I noticed.

Lots to inspect and admire

Yes, I did make a couple of other purchases.  I found an easy bag pattern, and of course I couldn't walk past  this little caravan kit.  Designed by Wendy Williams, all fabric, thread and felt pieces are supplied.  There was also a bin of $1 fabric pieces, so a couple of those were added to my purchases too.

These came home with me

Not far from Greymouth is the Runanga Miners' Hall.  The current structure dates from 1937, and replaced an early miners' hall from 1908 that was destroyed by fire.  The hall is notable for its place in  history of the organised labour movement in New Zealand, and was granted Historic Place Category 1 status by Heritage New Zealand in 2013.  Although looking rather worse for wear, it is currently being restored.

Getting a spruce up

Greymouth is the largest town on the West Coast, and was founded during the West Coast gold rush of the 1860s, but for 150 years after this its economy was based on coal mining and native timber forestry. These brought prosperity to the town which at one point had 47 hotels.  The central part of Greymouth was regularly flooded when a high tide coincided with a flood in the Grey River.  A flood wall (locally known as ‘the great wall of Greymouth’) now protects the town, and provides a pleasant walk along the south side of the river.

On the great wall of Greymouth

After a couple of rather hot and sticky days here, the rain has now set in.  But we’ve had time to do copious amounts of laundry, restock supplies, refuel the Jeep, and have a quick look around town.  We are moving on tomorrow, where to, I wonder?

What we’ve been up to on our Travels

We’ve been away about a week now on our travels and starting to head for home.  After leaving our caravan at the Leisureline factory bright and early on Friday morning, we packed up Gemma, and parked the car under a shady tree for Gemma’s comfort, deciding we could safely leave her there for a half  hour while the temperatures were still relatively cool. Now, what’s for breakfast?  There weren't too many customers at that time of the morning, so service was very prompt.  We decided on French Toast for him and poached eggs for her, both very tasty.

Our next three nights were spent at a Park Over Property on a farm, not too far from the city.   Such a lovely peaceful place after the hustle and bustle of the city, and friendly hosts.  Our hostess Lynda has several horses, including two pure bred Arabian horses who had done very well when she competed in earlier years.  And her husband John, she told us, has a passion for plowing competitions, so that is why an old plow is proudly on display.  Lynda is a true farmer’s wife and commented on the number of rabbits around the property – she often takes her rifle out at dusk to keep the numbers down!  I’m sure Gemma would have liked to try her luck at catching one of those young rabbits bouncing around.

Life n the farm

Robin got on with the task of firing up the BBQ and cooking sausages for the evening meal.   And our traditional bacon and eggs Sunday breakfast the next morning.  Gemma enjoyed some time outside with us during the balmy early evenings, keeping an eye on birds and any insects fluttering about.

BBQ time

On Sunday we went to visit my nephew Shane and his wife Kirstie who live in Te Awamutu.  It’s been a while since we last saw them, so it was a good catch up, and to reminisce about the recent passing of his Mum, my elder sister Kathleen.  Shane and Kirstie had recently purchased an English  caravan, and proudly showed it to us.  Welcome to the club, we told them, I’m sure they will enjoy many happy trips away in their new van.

Shane and his new van

Driving to another factory on Monday for even more work to be done on the caravan we passed this interesting church, so had to stop for a photo.  I think it was a Sikh Temple and it certainly looked rather grand in the industrial area of Hamilton..

Sikh Temple, Hamilton

Arriving at the factory, we were getting work done on both the car and caravan.  While the car was being attended to, we were invited to sit in the office, taking Gemma with us.  She was not at all happy when she was bundled into the cat carrier – we keep this fold up one in the caravan in case of emergencies.

Why am I in here?

And to add insult to injury, the office lady arrived at work bringing her two little dogs with her, as she usually does, it seems.  They pranced right over to see this poor cat in a carry cage, no doubt laughing in their little doggy minds.  We were most surprised that Gemma didn't start hissing and yowling at them!  Then, one of the little dogs demanded to get up on the sofa, sit on my lap, and be petted.  Don't know what Gemma thought of that at all.

How could you, Mum, while I’m locked up?

As soon as the car was ready, we could get on our way, leaving the caravan behind to get an extra solar panel fitted, plus new batteries.  Where to now, we wondered, as we had the day to fill in.  We spent some time down by the Waikato River, such pretty surroundings,  and ate our lunch there.  And there were baby ducks too – this Mum had done very well to keep so many of her brood together, they often get taken while quite young..

Down by the river

Next stop was to the large shopping centre, The Base, to get a couple of things.  If we needed to be reminded that Christmas is coming fast, just look at this  huge Christmas Tree.  It  looked wonderful, with the sun glinting on all the decorations, and would probably look even more festive when it was lit up at night.  We enjoyed a delicious mixed berry ice-cream here while we waited to the call to tell us the caravan was ready to collect.  Mind you, the weather was so warm that I was fighting a losing battle to eat mine before it melted away.

Huge tree at The Base, Hamilton

So, have I been doing any stitching while I’ve been away, you are probably wondering?  A little knitting, as it happens, and I’ve also done some stitching too.  I’m stitching a design on a tea towel each for my grand-daughters, for when they settle down.  Just in case they get engaged one day and have one of those old fashioned “Kitchen Teas” as they did in my day.  I bet young ladies don’t do that any more.

Stitching two at a time