Wellington & Foxton

We stayed 2 nights, March 22nd & 23rd, in the busy NZMCA site in Plimmerton - such a handy spot with easy access into Wellington on the train which of course is free for Goldcard holders in off peak hours. Saturday was, once again, a beautiful, sunny day and, contrary to what you hear about the train service, it was running exactly to time. 

Tai Chi Class!

The Terracotta Warriors exhibition was on at Te Papa so we made the most of this opportunity to visit - very impressive and worthwhile.

Lots of people and music on the waterfront. 

The Jim Beam Homegrown Music Festival was also on in Wellington this weekend with 4 different stages set up at intervals along the Wellington waterfront so we were treated to the music from many different bands as we wandered around. 

Catching  the vibe!

Crowds of young people about, moving from venue to venue and also saturating the pubs close to the pulsing bands. We enjoyed reminiscing about how, if it was 50 years ago, we would have spent more time there as we merged ourselves amongst the young ones, hydrating ourselves with a beer in one such very busy bar.

Come Sunday we were in no rush to leave the NZMCA park as we didn't need to be in Foxton until 2.30pm, having arranged to play golf with our friends, Bruce and Jo, at that time. However we soon wished that we had got on the road earlier with traffic virtually at a standstill from Paraparaumu to Otaki. It must have taken about an hour and a half longer than normal and we never really found out why unless it was the traffic light in Otaki and all the Wellingtonians going there to the factory shops. Soon after Otaki the traffic cleared but it meant we arrived at the golf course with only about 5 minutes to spare!

Only Bruce was playing with us as Jo had managed to hurt her back whilst playing some exceptional golf over the previous 2 days but it didn't stop her from cooking us an excellent dinner which we enjoyed with some of Bruce's family after golf. Very spoilt!

The Foxton Golf Course was in pretty rough condition with the fairways lumpy and dry but fortunately the greens were better cared for. We really enjoyed playing with Bruce though and catching up on each others news before we drove out to the beach for Jo's lovely dinner. With the roadside outside their temporary home being very wide and quiet it was a good place to stay parked for the night with us feeling just a little smug as they drove off to work early in the morning. However Bruce and Jo are both retiring from work on Friday so soon they will be able to sleep in when they feel like it too!

After breakfast we popped down to the surf beach before driving the short distance around to the Foxton Beach wharf and boat ramp on the river where we had seen quite a few kahawai caught when we passed through in November. 

A dream fisherman's parking place!

Len had a fish for a couple of hours but the kahawai just weren't running so then it was time to move on to the Marton golf course which we always enjoy playing.

Whites Bay to Picton

White's Bay, just over the hill from Rarangi and it's golf course, is beautiful. A popular, safe beach with a good DOC campground, $26 a night for 2 - clean toilets and cold showers. No beach view from our site near the beach but we could hear the quiet waves. 

A rock hopper!

Great to walk around the rocks to suss out the fishing spots, although a couple of young French guys hadn't managed to catch any despite having their frypan at the ready! 

That's where we'll see glow worms tonight. 

In the evening we walked through the campsite to the nearby glowworm grotto where the glowworms were performing as they should.

View of the bay & the sound of bellbirds. 

This morning it was overcast but a good temperature for walking, perfect for doing the 1.5 hour Black Jack Loop which also takes you to the Port Underwood viewpoint.

Looking into Port Underwood and the sounds.

A nice walk up with good views towards the Sounds and the North Island and an even better walk down, as always.

When we returned there were more than a dozen 40+ year old Outward Bounders being put to the test in their kayaks around the rocks, their vehicle and trailer being parked right in front if us.

Rarangi beach through the hole. 

We would have been better to collect some mussels, as they did, rather than do the fishing thing but Len still loves sitting out there waiting for a strike while I found one little spot where I could get on the internet before reading in my chair on the beach. I had envisaged diving into the sea for a swim after our walk but it was cool and not being able to even take my jacket off it was obviously much too cold to swim!

With not even a bite it was soon time to move on to Picton, having decided to cross to Wellington on the ferry tomorrow. So here we are once again parked behind the RSA alongside a couple of other motorhomes.

The next morning, Friday, we wandered down into town where we looked around the market catering especially to the cruise ship which was in. The prices for greenstone, polished paua and carved wooden bowls and platters were actually very very reasonable compared to the shop prices. 

About 1000 years between them!

There was an old time band playing some good music on the harbour front as well.

Wellington ahoy!

Our ferry to Wellington which was meant to leave at 2.00pm was delayed by well over an hour so, after a very smooth trip over Cook Strait in the sunshine, it was 7.15pm before we docked meaning that it was virtually dark by the time we arrived at the Plimmerton NZMCA Park but luckily there was still a space for us. Loads of vans ?70 or 80  already there.

Kaikora 2, Kekerengu, Blenheim.

Sunday, after golf at Culverden we continued on the Inland Road to Kaikoura the scenery changing somewhat as we climbed higher into the rounded, lumpy hills. 

Lumpy hills, level road fortunately!

Very picturesque until we became surrounded by low cloud, fog and drizzle with the temperature dropping rapidly, not helped by me leaving one of the unscreened windows wide open. There had been a trail bike event on, seemingly organised by the Waiau School, and so  initially there vast numbers of vehicles approaching with trail bikes on their trailers, making a normally very quiet road seem busy.

In Kaikoura we parked, once again, at the NZMCA Park in South Bay, but with a difference in the night this time, being disturbed at 4.00am by 2 horseboxes coming in with 7 horses between them. They unloaded the horses into the pens right next to the motorhomes, fed and watered them and then reloaded them about 2 hours later, something we haven't experienced there before. 

Very popular south car park. 

So not much shut-eye for us light sleepers. I think there was a big race meeting on at Trentham on Saturday which would exlain why that happened as well as why there were so many horse floats on the road between Kaikoura and Blenheim the next day.

Fan powered paragliders - frightening the fish!

My fishing assistant reading!

... while I'm soooooo busy!

Monday was a lovely sunny day again and after picking up Len's repeat prescription from the chemist and sharing some blue cod and chips for lunch Len enjoyed watching the tip of his surfcasting rod for a couple of hours on the beach - no luck unfortunately.

Back into Marlborough wine country. 

Then it was on to the Kekerengu Store where we stayed on the way down for $10 a night.They have a lovely long area to park between the road, railway line and beach and have nearly developed it all into proper sites. They are intending to put toilets in as well. This time we knew exactly where we wanted to be, right down the far end amongst the trees and on the water's edge. We passed quite a lot of vehicles on our way but we were lucky and "our space" was still free. Love listening to the sea at night although, even for us, it was on the almost too loud scale this time.

During the night our gas bottle needed swapping over but for the first time ever we found we had somehow forgotten to refill the last empty one. Quelle Doleur!
No gas on the fridge and no gas for the morning cuppa! So after early-for-us breakfast, it was on the road again to get both gas bottles refilled in Blenheim which incidentally happens to be by far the most expensive gas refill place we have come across.

Our COF (like WOF) was due that day so after the gas refill we found VTNZ and the bus was put through all the checks. All good apart from the passenger seatbelt. Now this is the weirdest thing: because of the age of the bus the passenger seat doesn't have to have a seatbelt but if it does have one it has to be certified. We have a lap belt which is what was in the bus when we bought it. No problems in the past but in November the rules changed - whatever belt is in has to be certified and that likely would have to be a 3 point one fitted, although "possibly" ours could be okay. However ours would still pass with NO belt so we had to unbolt our belt to get the COF!! The law's an ass - since when is no belt at all better than a lap belt?!

We parked up at the Riverlea Racecourse for the night - lots of vans there, maybe about 30. Initially we chose a nice spot under the trees but soon realised it was not the best place when the acorns started dropping onto the roof! The open space in front of the grandstand was a wiser choice. I managed to get the washing done and out on the communal line with it being dry before dinner. 

Before dinner  Mr Whippies (with flakes)!

After dinner we had a circular walk along the little river and back through the town.

Stitch in time.... for morning tea!

The next morning it was great to catch up with Stitch, an old Physio classmate, and her sister Carolyn when they came to have a coffee with us in the bus before we set off for White's Bay.

Waikuku beach, Amberley, Culverden

The light overnight rain had finished by early morning leading to a fine but not too hot day. Firstly we drove out to Waikuku Beach which was very busy with lots of youngsters of all age groups doing their surf lifesaving training and quite a few surfers out catching waves. 

After watching them for a short time we had a bit of a walk through an area that looked like it was once a campsite in the trees and then down onto the beach. Good to see a beach again that looked safe to swim at.

Saluting with your right hand would be enough!

We're doing the Inland road to Kaikoura this time which means turning West at Waipara and heading towards Culverden, our destination for the night, and then Waiau. Being a Saturday morning the farmers market was on at Amberley so we stopped for a browse, buying hazelnuts, chorizo and sweetcorn before heading on to Culverden, just stopping at the Waikari Domain to empty tanks and refill. After passing very familiar  rock formations it wasn't long before the landscape stretches out into a vast flat area with distant textured hills on all 3 sides and a very long straight road. Always nice to be off State Highway 1!

Culverden is a tiny village of about 400 people and we are in the carpark behind the Culverden Hotel which is a POP. No charge to stay here but of course we enjoyed a beer in the bar in return for our stay. Tomorrow is another golfing day on the Culverden course, just down the road.

Another one ticked off!

Rotator cuff - ouch!

Sunday now and we have just played at Culverden under complete cloud but no wind and not one other person on the flat course. No bunkers but wide dried up stoney creeks on a couple of holes. The damp fairways were very patchy with bare brown interspersed around the long green grassy areas where it could sometimes be difficult to find your ball. The greens were slow, a huge contrast from our last game at Pegasus, but they suited us and we both had good games.

Winding up the power!

So, all in all, an enjoyable round! We were able to pick some apples from one of the trees on the course. A late lunch afterwards before setting off on the road again for Kaikoura, passing the Amuri course, which we played on 6 years ago, on our way. It was very busy which probably explains why the Culverden course was so quiet.

Kaiapoi, Pegasus, Woodend

Wednesday 13th March and it was well time to move on from Christchurch with us needing to be back in Whakatane for a brief time in early April. It was a nice warm day and we spent it at the Waimakariri River Mouth alongside  dozens of other hopefuls.

No fish at our possi!

Hardly any fish caught but a guy not far away from our spot did get a couple of good sized kahawai which made him one of the few lucky ones. No salmon in sight but a kahawai for the smoker would have been exciting.

Kaiapoi New World was our base for 2 nights alongside a couple of other motorhomes and the next morning I had a good wander through the town which somehow seemed a much nicer place than when we visited 6 years ago at which time it still had a lot of earthquake damage to deal with. 

Kaipoi river from town bridge. 

I found a nice hairdresser, Amanda, at the far end of town and had a much needed cut it being nearly 8 weeks since the last one.

Kaiapoi golf club was not far down the road and we were able to get straight out on the course when we arrived with the club members just finishing their Thursday haggle.

This one's going for miles!

A good course with undulating fairways, slow greens from recent coring and easy to find tees, perhaps except for some around the 14th and 15th where they are doing repairs. It seemed like there may still have been some earthquake damage around the 14th. Apparently they have also recently removed about 600 trees resulting in a more links like look, so quite a bit of work in progress.

That night we bought blue cod and chips from the takeaways just around the corner from New World but they were only memorable for being the worse cod and chips on our travels. Kaikoura is the place!
It rained through the night and was still drizzling in the morning making it hard to decide on the plan for the day! We knew we could get a grab one voucher to play on the championship Pegasus Golf Course but didn't want to play in the rain but we drove on out there anyway to have a look at what we know is one of the top 14 courses in NZ.

Claudette, our GPS, was having a cup of tea I think when Len told her where we wanted to go and took us a very long way round, through Tuahiwi, to get there but we passed a really interesting looking house on the way so we forgave her.

Weird and wonderful!

The golf course is basically the entrance way to the very new town of Pegasus and is magnificent for sure, being parklike and manicured with beautiful water features and many lovely newly built houses surrounding the fairways. 

Scary view from the bus - should we or shouldn't we?

It also has lots of hazards apart from the water and lakes with many large deep bunkers, long brown grass on the fairway edges and also, on the 2nd nine, deep wide vegetated, wetland gullies, 50 metres wide, either splitting the fairway or straight in front of the greens with no "going-round" options!

Needless to say, as we sat drinking our coffees, the sky did look like it may start clearing so we bought our grab one voucher - $55 for 2 to play instead of $130 - presented it at the club and set off complete with rain jackets and umbrellas in the drizzle. 

Well manicured course. 

After 3 or 4 holes it did start to clear as we expected and it wasn't long before we needed the umbrellas for shade instead of the rain. Len had a good game as usual and I was happy with my 1st 9 but got freaked out in the 2nd 9 with all the water hazards and vegetated gullies that I had to try to lay up to. 

Skipping along with confidence!

Have I got to get over that lot?!

My final score reflected this very well! However we are both really pleased that we played it - a very awesome and interesting course.

The shower in the clubhouse afterwards was also interesting but in no way awesome. The worst shower ever with the thin spray spreading out over the entire area of the large cubicle wetting everything except me - towel, clothes, shoes, bag - and no matter how much I moved around I couldn't find a sprinkle of spray strong enough to even get the soap off. And Len's was the same - unbelievable for a virtually brand new smart clubhouse. Our bus shower is luxury compared to that experience!

After golf it was just a short drive back to Woodend where we parked for the night behind the St Barnabas Anglican Church, a POP we can stay at for just a $5 donation.

Church security. 

Our home for the night. 

There was just a large pumpkin patch, with many enormous pumpkins in it, between us and the graveyard and I could make a joke here about it being "dead quiet" but that just makes me feel so sick about the terrible news that we heard, after playing golf, about the terrorist attack on the Mosques in Christchurch. So much grief for so many good people and our hearts are just so heavy and saddened thinking about them all. Such horror.

Christchurch

Well, I can't believe we have just spent 4 days in Christchurch staying at the one place - a record for us as we're usually on the move! The large carpark at the St Albans Shirley Club was our home base for all that time being a generally quiet spot with big food trucks also parked there, well away from us, and a couple of other buses on our first 2 nights.

Sunday morning we drove round to our friends Helen & Bill's for coffee with them and Jude (a fellow class Physio from Lake Hawea) & Evan. 

We're

3 shades of grey!

Once again, a great catch-up. The day was drizzly and overcast so in the afternoon we decided it was the perfect day to see 'Celia', the movie. However by the time we arrived at the theatre - Alice's, a wonderful boutique cinema - it was already full.

Monday was another good day for golf, the chosen Avondale course being reasonably busy compared to other courses we have played but described by the lady in the office as being a quiet day.

Get in the hole!!

Not too hot on the nice flat course but the difference in the speed of the greens always takes a while to get used to.

How I felt at the end of my round!

I have to use that as an excuse for getting worse, never better, over these last few weeks. Yet another win for Len in the monthly challenge! However this was made up for by the best shower for ages in the clubhouse afterwards.

Also the Liquid Self Service Laundromat which, like PakNsave, was very close by, produced the cleanest washing we have had for a while too, even though it was a bit more expensive with having to buy a non-refundable key for $3 from the dairy next door before loading it with the wash and dry charges. Worth it I thought.

Tuesday morning it was out with our gold cards and a 10 minute walk to catch the bus into the city to see the movie Celia, this time booking first which we didn't actually need to do this time, with only about 10 people in the theatre that holds 37. A great documentary about an amazing lady determined to change the pathway for dysfunctional families to improve their futures.

From there we checked out the amazing, huge, new library which was completed not long before Christmas. 

2 views from the new library 

With several floors there are good views overlooking the Cathedral and the city and as well as thousands of books there are also interactive games to participate in. One could easily live in that awesome library!

It was another very very hot day of about 30° so it was a slow meander up the street to the museum which we visited before Christmas but raced through as we were short on time. Len had a good chance to see everything more slowly whilst, after a time, I had to sit and rehydrate with a bottle of water - just not used to the heat!

We met up with Crunch (from my Dunedin days) and his partner, Gill, whom we hadn't met before, at the Boatshed for a drink and good chatter before catching the bus back to base. Not so quiet in the carpark that night with loads of cars driving in and out around us until about 10.45. It seemed there were firstly children and then adults going to dance classes in a separate building over the other side of the park. Busy dance teacher!

This morning it was time to move out of the city even though there are still lots of golf courses that we haven't played on and we are generally getting a much better feel about centre now. There definitely is more life and heart in the city each time we visit and I'm sure in a few more years it will be an amazing place to live and visit.

West Peak Dairies, Ashburton, Rakaia Golf Club

A wild, windy, rainy night it was at West Peak Dairies on the coast but we were perfectly sheltered behind the haybarn and by morning all was calm again. Not wanting to catch anymore dogfish and needing to do some birthday present shopping we headed to Ashburton which I was pleased to visit again. Last time we passed through it was a Sunday and consequently seemed quite dead but this time it was busy and we could see lots of nice shops and arcades - a different feel altogether.

The shopping was successful and didn't take too long so after a phone call to the Rakaia Golf course to check that we could play and stay we headed out there, once again to an area with no cellphone or Internet coverage.

It's a difficult job, but it's got to be done!

It's a 9 hole course and quite a lot of ladies had just finished playing in a 9 hole tournament so it was all clear for us to play with only a group of 5 men several fairways in front of us.
The 20 hour a week greenkeeper out mowing the greens seemed to enjoy talking to us and getting us up to date with his various medical conditions.
He was pleased that we were going to be security guards for the night.

It was cool for a change so I needed a jersey for the easy, but yet again not so easy, flat course with bunkers but no water hazards. The ground was a bit wet from the rain and the greens were rather slow so that took a bit of getting used to.

Clubs going back into boot after another tough round!

The night was quiet and peaceful, fortunately needing no security interventions on our part. A little flock of fantails entertained us this morning as they danced around trying to look in our bus windows. After breakfast we drove out to the coast again close to the Rakaia River mouth where there are lots of little fishing huts and houses,  some being bigger than those we have seen at other river mouths and somehow a nicer setting I thought. These houses needed a whole line of letterboxes!

A "string" of mailboxes. 

We could drive right onto the beach where there were a couple of men fishing and several ute and quad bike owners considering it. A fishing hut and a quad bike seems to be many a Southern man's dream! A simple life for sure. The 2 men fishing seemed to be only catching more of those dogfish and there were plenty of them which didn't inspire Len to throw a line out. As we need to be in Christchurch tomorrow morning to meet up with a couple of friends we dumped and filled in Rakaia and moved on to the St Albans Shirley Club in Christchurch for our overnight stay meaning there will be no rush tomorrow.

Dinner tonight was just a 10 minute walk down the road to Erawan Thai Restaurant - good ambience, authentic Thai decor, background music and nice food making an enjoyable night.

Geraldine 2, Rangitata River Mouth& West Peak Dairies

After a nights sleep at the Geraldine Golf Club, along with 2 other motorhomers, we did manage to be out playing on the course soon after breakfast.

Trying my "level best"!

A nice temperature at that time although by 11.00am it was again very hot. Good to be on another flat course although it was a bit slow initially with the dew and some wet fairways. The greenkeeper was working on the fairway sprinklers so there may have been a problem.

Another brilliant shot!

Len came across lots of bunkers but there were no water hazards on this course.

Who's the shady lady in blue?

We came off the 18th in time to get friendly banter from the heat-hardy local competition men who were soon to tee off.

Time then to get to the coast for another spot of fishing as well as a reading catch-up for me so we drove east to the Rangitata River Mouth Campground, a basic council owned camp which is only $17 a night but has free hot showers, toilets and a washing machine. There were very few casual campers there with most caravans seemingly semi-permanent with only a few actually occupied. The Rangitata River has a lagoon-like entry into the sea which you can't easily get access to from this side of the river but it was a short walk to the lagoony  river for Len with his fishing rod in hand and a short walk back a couple of hours later with no extra weight to be carried. The neighbouring Scotsman who is a long stayer and keen fisherman told me that the fish are few and far between at the moment so it's not only Len who comes home empty handed!

The campground was very quiet overnight and we both slept pretty well. Today we haven't moved too far from there - just 20 minutes or so up the coast to West Peak Dairies, an NZMCA POP, in a paddock right on the edge of the sea with just a 4-5 metre drop between us and the shoreline.

Prime fisherman viewing location!

No Internet and poor phone reception here as it's fairly isolated but a beautiful place to stay.

Beach squaw!

A small step for mankind-but I needed a run at it!

Or it would be if it wasn't for the gales that are gusting through! The beach is actually more sheltered than on the bank where we are parked, the bus being constantly buffeted about. However Len has caught 4 smallish spiney dog fish, two which he threw back but the other 2 he has kept for bait. They are meant to be good to eat and referred to in shops as snow fish.

Who knows what's going on while I'm fishing!

While he was fishing Hayley, the POP owner, came by, told me to hop in her vehicle and showed me where we could park over the road, behind the haybarn, for shelter from this terrible wind which is meant to get worse this evening with the temperature dropping and rain coming in. Also it will take us away from all the dust blowing off the gravel road when a vehicle goes down it, the grader having been up and down here about 6 times so far. It's a rush to shut the windows each time! A bit of a shame as all those days we have had in the windless hot sunshine, playing golf, couldn't quite keep lasting for our day at the beach. Never mind, Len has had success despite not yet providing dinner.

Trish, Len, Claude and Barney.

And we have now moved behind the haybarn across the road where we feel much more stable and safe. I think it'll be a wild night.