2025 April - Manawatu to Wellington and the South Island

April 1st - The day of my brother Robin's (Bob's) funeral celebration at Beauchamp's Funeral Home. Being 90, most of his good friends had already passed on but there was still a large number of people attending which is always good to see.  Some of them were my old friends from Primary School. Sandra, my daughter, was able to come having driven up from Wellington, in her motorhome, on her way back to her house in Mount Maunganui. Later it was great to have her parked beside us in the Granary Paddock on the farm. Robin's sons, Chris and Tim both spoke very well at the service following which many of us returned to Judys for drinks and sustenance.  

The adventure continues towards Wellington and the Ferry

The next day we drove all the way to Palmerston North and slept in a small free car park in Campbell Street. It was time for my stitches to be removed so we headed to the City Medical Centre where the wait is meant to be much less than A&E and they are the only place in Palmerston North that take walk-ins. We were there from 1.30- 5 pm but eventually the job was done very efficiently by a friendly doctor. It was on ACC but there was still a surcharge of $83. The Pharmacy next door had a billboard outside advertising flu injections so we were able to have those as well. 

Handy "Palmy" car park

On Thursday we had, separately, a walk into town for things we needed - just a Listener for me as we especially like doing the puzzles in them. We were meeting our good friends Bruce & Jo for lunch at The Elm Cafe which is across the road from Victoria Esplanade, a lovely park with 26 hectares of bush walks, cycle tracks, gardens, mini golf and a scenic railway to wander around close to the river with plenty of things for children including a specially designed Junior Road Safety Park for young cyclists complete with a miniature roundabout, give way and stop signs and even working traffic lights.

Free spirit in the Park

B, J, T & L

We really enjoyed our lunch catch-up with Bruce, who I went to Primary School with, and lovely Jo. 

My niece, Penny, lives in Waikanae so that was our next stop - it was really nice to catch up with her and the children and see her homely house and garden tucked a little into the bush. That night we stayed in the Freedom Camp at the Waikanae River Mouth being lucky enough to get the last available park out of 4 being parked next door to a couple from France. It rained all night and it was still raining the next day when we moved on to Paraparaumu to see my (ex really) in-laws, Noelene and John, having been invited for morning tea. There was lots to catch up on and after visiting the laundromat, doing the necessary shopping etc we returned to their place as they were very happy for us to use their drive for our night parking spot. John drove us all out to The Fisherman's Table at Paekakariki for a tasty, more than generous dinner.

Quirky home in Paraparaumu car park

After a final coffee with Noelene and John in the morning we drove to Raumati Beach where we walked along the beach almost halfway back to Paraparaumu!

Kapiti Island from Raumati beach

Onward to the NZMCA Park in Plimmerton - a large site which takes up to 70 vans and is very handy for catching the train into Wellington, free with a gold card. We walked to the Indian Restaurant for a delicious dinner having to divert from the normal path on the way and go along the edge of the road because of flooding. The next day was mostly spent trying to catch up with photos, communications, accounts  etc.

After spending 2 nights in Plimmerton it was time to move on down to Wellington for our 2 night stay on the verge outside my nephew (& Godson) Tim's house in Ngaio, Wellington. We hoped we were going to be good security guards as Eliza, one of Tim & Ali's daughters, had her car broken into the previous night and several things taken.  It was great to be able to walk down the hill to the Ngaio Cafe and have lunch with my old school friend, Ruth, and her husband Jules before catching the bus, for free, into Wellington itself. It was a day for half price deals as, needing another T shirt I found 2 for half price at Max and we had dinner at the 1852 Pub in Brooklyn where  they do a two for the price of one main on Monday nights. We had booked a while ago to see the Big Bike Film Night in the Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn, as friends had recommended it after seeing it in Whakatane and the Cinema was just around the corner from the Pub. The film was riveting, breathtaking and inspiring (maybe if we were younger anyway as I think we were by far the eldest in the audience!). There are lots of fearless people out there - and we're pleased we had organised ourselves to see it. After the movie we were waiting in the howling, freezing wind and light rain for the bus and being just a little confused about which one we should be catching we opted instead for an Uber which of course arrived very quickly and was a much saner option.

The wind and rain continued through the night and Heidi was getting a good shaking - rather typical Wellington weather although we have been there several times over the years when it has been sunny and calm. It was still blowing the next day but the rain had fortunately stopped and after having coffee with Tim in the morning we caught the bus to Kelburn where we had organised to catch up with my grandson, awesome Oli, in his flat - by the way it passed the inspection! After getting off the bus Google might have taken us on the shortest way to walk to his flat but there were hundreds of steps, first down and then up  making me totally stuffed, for want of any better expression, by arrival time. After lots of chats and a drink Oli drove us back to Kelburn in his van and we all had lunch at The Kind Wish Cafe - the meals were just small and I thought Oli would still be starving but I wasn't able to persuade him to have anything else. Afterwards Len & I caught the bus (we're getting good at this!) into town where we did a good walk along the waterfront and popped our noses into Te Papa having been there several times before. Then it was time to get back to Tims, again on the buses, to join the family for a delicious chicken and leek pie with us providing the salad.

To the South Island

The next day dawned fine and with our crossing at 1.30 pm we were there in plenty of time. We thought the sea was quite calm until we stood up to walk around and found ourselves wobbling around like drunk people! We have good sea legs though, unlike a lot of others on that trip. 

Nearly there!

After arriving in Picton we drove to the Parkland Marina Holiday Park where we had booked to stay for 2 nights. We're doing our best to stay at places that are different from where we've stayed before. With our windows open at the camp it was just lovely to listen to lots of birdsong which we're used to hearing at home. On the Thursday we walked down to Waikawa Bay where there were lots of boats in the Marina. We found that the walking/cycle track ran behind the camp so we walked into Picton, about an hour each way, where we had lunch at the Sea Breeze Cafe before visiting the pharmacy as I needed more dressings for my injured thigh. I could feel that my calves had been given a really good workout on the steps up to Oli's!

Heidi at the marina

Trish catches up on her phone

The weather continued to be lovely and sunny and on leaving the camp on the Friday morning we spent a little quiet time having a coffee overlooking the Marina and walking down the new Breakwater Fishing Pier. Whatamango Bay DOC Camp, where we haven't been before, was next on our radar, the road leading to it being narrow and winding but it didn't take us long to get there. Even though the tide was out when we arrived it a big and very pretty area, just not much to do from there in the way of walks. There were about 8-9 other campers spread throughout the windy area and the toilets were pretty clean and good for a DOC Camp. There were lots of pukeko about and men gathering cockles and putting out nets.

Here we are - first time!

Sampling South Island hospitality

The next day we drove back into Picton for groceries and coffee on the waterfront before heading out to DamFam Vineyard POP where the owners had excellent reviews for their hospitality on the NZMCA App. Parking is on a very large paddock next to the Wairau River which is lined with trees obscuring the view a little. There were several other vans spread out over the area and the renowned Happy Hour there was indeed not to be missed. Although the weather had continued to be nice and sunny it was cooling down quickly in the evening so the host, Winston, fired up homemade braziers made from washing machine drums. These were very welcome as about 10 of us sat around the big table having discussions aplenty. Winston certainly lived up to his name of being a great host - we left feeling very spoilt with beautiful figs from his tree and a freshly picked pumpkin. 

That day, Sunday 13th April, was our 19th Wedding Anniversary and after watching Masters Golf on TV in the morning we made tracks to the Whitehaven Wine Cellar Door as we had Whitehaven wine at our wedding in a pub, just out of Len's hometown of Whitehaven, England. What better way to celebrate it!  We drove on to Russell and Noelenes POP, down a long drive, but right next to the Wairau Valley Golf Club. It was difficult climbing over the fence, the shortest way, with our clubs but we managed and enjoyed the 9 Hole round. 

Ready for the "off"

There was one other couple, Robert & Colleen who we had a nice chat to before walking down the long drive to have dinner at the Wairau Valley Tavern, which was almost right next door, to celebrate our anniversary. Unfortunately we hadn't read the fine print and they are closed on Sundays! So it was a trudge back up the drive and Plan B. 

Could plan A have beaten this?

Russell had kindly given us some mushrooms earlier, picked from the farm, so the dinner menu, after starting with nibbles and Whitehaven Pinot Gris, was bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes - delicious and easy! It was a lovely, very quiet POP and Russell was amazing and great to talk to. He was about to turn 90 though you would never know it as he was fit, active and very chatty. He was busy working on restoring one of his classic cars when we left. He, himself, is a classic example of the benefit of keeping moving and being active. We're doing our best to emulate him!

The next day we had to watch Rory win the Masters on TV before walking over the little bridge to the far paddock to see the scared little deer who all took off as we were approaching. 

Blenheim and East to Kaikoura

Blenheim Race Course is a POP and that was our home for the next 3 nights. Activities whilst there included walking along the Taylor River, cycling along the path alongside the Opaoa & Taylors Rivers, seeing the movie 'Tina' (very good) where we bumped into Diane from the Golf Tournament, having a very nice delayed Anniversary dinner at the Japanese Sasa Restaurant just along the road, lunch at the Market St Cafe and dinner after the movie at Akbaba. It was pretty cloudy and windy throughout our time there but no rain.

An alternative home for Trish

The 3 of us at Marfells'

We love Marfell's Beach, a DOC site right on the water's edge, having stayed there in deBussy so we enjoyed a couple of night's there again. There was a bad cyclone up north and continued cloud, wind and some rain but by the next day it was much calmer. "Tonto" squashed himself onto our very small site to be next to his friend but did move on our suggestion. Beach walks and a catch up on our reading whilst enjoying the views and watching the guy next door swim in the freezing sea gave us some good relaxation time before moving down the road, first to the  interesting Historic Museum at Ward and then to the nice but expensive Kererengu Store/Cafe where they have a large area for camping extending along the foreshore amongst the trees. I love listening to the sea but that night the sea was so rough and noisy that it was hard to sleep at all - not calm like it had been at Marfells. There were masses of kelp in the water which initially looked to us like rocks. No chance of fishing here what with the rough sea and the kelp. At first we were camped in what seemed like a private little nook but by evening there were quite a few others in view - we invited Leanne in the motorhome next door to come for drinks and she was good to chat to. She belongs to Motorhome Babes for single women and they keep a particular item on the dashboard so they can recognise other members. Had a good shower here for $2.

The next day we moved on to the NZMCA Park a little north of Kaikoura, at Beach Road, stopping on the way at the new Crayfish Cafe. The crayfish were of course very expensive at about $120 for a small one - the only people buying them were Asians and they didn't skimp on the number. We were much more frugal and shared 2 whitebait patties for $28 and chips for a very reasonable $7. The rain started coming down on our arrival at the camp but after dinner we sloshed our way over to the communal shed to join about 25 others to listen to Robin Ferris on the guitar. He was very good and almost had me dancing. I think there would have been about 80 vans parked on the site.

Dance night in the shed!

It was raining steadily the next day when we took the advice of several other travellers and stayed not far away at the Donegal House and Irish Bar POP where we were warmly welcomed and paid $30 for a powered site. 

The grounds surrounding the lake are beautiful and it would make an excellent wedding venue. We had an early dinner at the iconic Pub, with the roaring fire as that's the only time they could fit us in being more-or-less fully booked and it was only Monday. Loved our dinner, the atmosphere and the service was great - they were so efficient. The next day we played on the Cheviot Golf Course where we could also stay - 18 holes for Len but only 12 for me. We found it to be quite a nice course - flat but with creeks and the odd bunker. We only saw one other couple playing there and they were also in a motorhome but they didn't stay the night like us.

Heading for Christchurch

Scargill 9 hole golf course was our next port of call - not my favourite course as some fairways were very hilly especially the killer "Cardiac Hill". I needed to rely on Ventolin to get around, there was no 'run', it was very, very cold and I just played very badly. If I was counting stablefords I would have had about 4! Len actually played OK and continued on the do 18 holes, playing the round again. It would have been much more pleasant for him without my company.  Kaiapoi NZMCA Park was our home for the next 5 nights - it's always very busy with lots of vans as the park is so handy to town, walks and bike trails etc. 

What a relief!

We had a knock on our door the next morning as the neighbour had noticed that our front tyre was totally flat. The insurance company said we would need to get a tow truck to take it in to get repaired which made absolutely no sense so we rang Carters at Rangiora who sent Jesse out to see what he could do. He was great - he drilled the screw out, which was the damaging culprit, out, and filled it with a rubber plug = success. Our tyres were getting rather worn anyway so when we went to Rangiora to pay we ordered 4 new ones from Carters which they fitted about a week later. The day of the flat tyre I had a walk-in haircut for only $35 at the closest hairdressers and that night we enjoyed a "First Table" dinner at Maree Thai which means that if you book for an early time your meal is half price as long as you have a drink. Great value and good that we can walk everywhere in town from the Park.

On Friday we unfolded the electric bikes and rode out to Pegasus alongside the Kaiapoi and Waimakiriri Rivers stopping to watch lots of people fishing on the way before walking down to Woodend Beach. The track was actually a bit too rough in some places for our little bike wheels which didn't like the the parts with sand and shingle. However we arrived in Pegasus where there isn't much at all apart from the pretty man-made lake which you can't swim in and a playground. In one of the few shops we bought a pizza to share for lunch and it was excellent with lots of topping.

A taste of France in Kaiapoi

We loved catching up with our friends, Helen & Bill, for lunch at the Paris For The Weekend Cafe which is right by the river and was the former Kaiapoi Railway. It has lovely food and is very popular.

Sunday dawned with bright sunshine and a high of 22 degrees, looking like a good day for another bike ride, this time all the way into Papanui, Christchurch for a little shopping, a shared cinnamon bun for morning tea and sushi for lunch.  

S,T & L in Sandy's unit

On the Monday we dropped Heidi off to DSL to be serviced and were pleased to be given a little loan car for the day so we could pick up my friend, Sandy, from the Merivale Retirement Village and take her for coffee at Meschino, a drive out to Sumner beach with it's Cave Rock and more coffee and food at Not Typical before returning her home. A very special time before picking up Heidi in the afternoon and staying out at the NZMCA Park at Weedons.

We had booked in for our satellite dish to be "fixed" the next day only to find our particular model can't be tuned into the new satellite. We could pay $3000 for a new dish or wait until the time when they think they will be able to do a manual fix. At this point we're happy to just keep on streaming TV with our Amazon Fire stick. The Waimakiriri River was calling us so Heidi headed to the river mouth to try a spot of fishing. I caught the first littlie and Len the next but they both had to go back. By then it was getting really cold and it started raining soon after we arrived back at the Kaiapoi NZMCA, our home for the night once again.

The rain continued throughout the next 2 days and in this time we got our new tyres fitted at Carters in Rangiora and went to the movies there "Small Things Like These" which we both enjoyed. The NZMCA Park was very wet and muddy so we opted to stay instead in the New World carpark where we were welcome, being permissible for NZMCA members.