Martinborough to Masterton

After staying the night at the Wairarapa Racing Club which is just out of Featherston it was time for another game of golf. We gathered from looking online that the Featherston Golf Course has recently closed and been sold and the Carterton Club would be busy all day so Martinborough Golf Club which was established over 100 years ago was the choice. And a good choice too being very close to the nice character- filled town which has been planned around a central square.

The entrance to the golf club with it's long straight drive bordered by lovely mature trees makes you feel you'll find something special at the end and the carpark itself has lots of deciduous trees which would provide good shade in summer. 

We just love taking our trundlers for a walk!

The flat course was in good condition with well- kept greens, some quite small, although the fairways were a bit damp and didn't  run particularly well with it being winter. However it was easy to find our way around and we enjoyed viewing the houses lining part of it and the other views of  grapevines and hills. 

Spot the giraffe!

Again my golf, not Len's, left a lot to be desired but I did enjoy the nice hot shower afterwards!

After having a rather late lunch & coffee in the bus we drove back through the town to Carterton where we were able to dump and top up with water. We didn't stop in the town, population around 9,000,  but it looked quite prosperous with a good selection of shops. It seems quite a lot of people are now moving here from Wellington. We drove on through to Masterton where we parked for the night at The Wairarapa Services & Citizens Club - a great little spot as it is virtually in the middle of town allowing us to do some window shopping before our roast dinner. A warmer night so we had no need for power.

Cape Palliser (to Featherston)

Wow - it's hard to believe that we hadn't heard anything about Cape Palliser before we decided to visit, except that it is the Southern-most point of the North Island. We hadn't even spoken to anyone who had been there. The drive down through the Wairarapa farmland with the Remutaka Range (formerly Rimutaka) on the right and later the Aorangi Range on the left made the trip very scenic. Then when we reached the sourhern coastal road it was completely  breathtaking- the seas this day were absolutely huge, being bigger than even the locals had seen for quite some time. 

Unusual white cliffs. 

The surf had washed over the road in places leaving swathes of driftwood and other sea debris. We could hardly take our eyes off the huge masses of water being thrown up in patches far out at sea and then the waves rising metres high again as thay approached land.

Heading into Ngawi.

There are some little settlements along this coast road, the largest being Ngawi, but it is really quite unspoilt, most of the baches having been there for years. 

Boat launching area looks like a scrapyard!

As we drove closer to the lighthouse, our destination, the road was particularly narrow with debris and huge sprays of water shooting over it. A couple of 4 wheel drive vehicles ahead of us seemed to be having trouble getting through so we decided to pull off the road in the last place we could to do an inspection. 

No, I don't think we'll take the bus any further!

Our short term travel guides.

Well I think they were admiring the power of the sea rather than having problems but Don & Steve (both landscape painters) & Steve's twin sister in one of the vehicles offered to drive us to the lighthouse rather than take the bus through which was very kind of them and of course we accepted.
We had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery along the way and we couldn't believe how many seals there were just everywhere. Lots and lots of seal pups too - I guess they were all ashore keeping out of harm's way with such rough seas.

101, 102, 103...

We climbed the 252 steps up to the lighthouse and were rewarded with great views out towards Kaikoura before setting out to walk back to our bus which we had already told our friendly driver that we would do.

Seals left right and centre. 

It gave us time to enjoy the views and the seals again and only took us about half an hour.

Settled down for the night. 

You are allowed to freedom camp on the seafront at Ngawi and what a fabulous spot it is.  And toilets, recycle bins, a dump station and a coffee/food caravan all just a few yards away! What value for no money!! Roadies are so spoilt in NZ and we really appreciate it.  By evening we could see that the waves were starting to decrease in height so we weren't too worried about being washed away from our perch right by the rocks and sea. And of course we had to support the locals by having fish and chips from the food van.
It was awesome listening to the crashing waves all night.

The next morning was one of those mornings when I just felt like staying in bed watching the sea, listening to the waves and nursing my cold & cough - it would have been like heaven but unfortunately we had things to do and places to go!

An erect pinnacle!

This time to the Putangirua Pinnacles Walk back down the road.  These are in the Aorangi Forest Park and are particularly geologically interesting being one of NZ's  best examples of badland erosion. They are totally spectacular, consist of large numbers of earth pillars or 'noodoos" and were one of the filming locations in Lord of the Rings.

There is a choice of either walking up the stony riverbed to the base of the Pinnacles or taking the ridge track up to a lookout giving a view across to them. We decided to make it a bit of a circle by firstly walking up the very rough riverbed, occasionally having to jump across the stream, to then stand in awe at the bases of the phallic-like towers rising above us. From there we retreated a little down the stony bed to a track which took us up pretty steeply to the Lookout which again gave a spectacular, but different view of the Pinnacles.

River nymph reaches end of  stoney trudge!

Long climb to here, but great view. 

From there it was mostly downhill to the carpark, the track on the ridge being particularly muddy and slippery in lots of places but we somehow did manage to stay upright. It took us about 2.25 hours and was well worth the exertion.

The next stop was Lake Ferry where the outlet of the Ruamahanga River and Lake Onoke are as Len wanted to try a spot of fishing. However when we got there we found that the outlet had become blocked up with shingle and rocks by the huge seas so we decided to move on and take a look at Lake Wairarapa  which is the 3rd largest lake in the north island. It is only 2.5 metres deep and is known to be brown and very polluted so we weren't expecting much but maybe it was more beige than brown and the farmland around with the sheep and cattle looked good despite it probably being all the cause of the lake's sickness. I'm glad Len decided not to try fishing in it!

After buying a few groceries in Featherston the stop for the night was  the Wairarapa Racing Club where we paid $18 to sleep and connect to power, there being no other facilities. Probably rather dear for winter when you can stay, for instance, at a proper campground such as Greytown for about the same price.  However we were warm and it was quiet with us being the only ones there.

Whizz through Napier, Hastings to Greytown

With only 19 days before we had to be back at Mount Maunganui we realised our schedule would be pretty tight for seeing and doing all we would like between there and Cape Palliser, the southern-most point of the North Island and south-east of Wellington, having never been before. So the plan was to get to Cape Palliser as quickly as we could and come back a little more slowly, hopefully seeing as much as the Waiarapa as we can while we're down there as it will be easier to return to Hawkes Bay to do more there another time.

So on Thursday 6th June we said goodbye to the Mount and the boys leaving our car at our friends (Tony & Margarets) at Tauriko and taking the back road to Rotorua we headed straight for Napier, bypassing Taupo. It was another cold day and we knew we would need to park somewhere where we could plug our little heater in so our first nights stop was at the Bay View Motorcamp on the outskirts of Napier. A tiny camp with a circle of facilities in the centre - two toilets only and one of these had a shower in it, plus there were a couple more showers and an almost open-air basic kitchen, not that we needed it. At least we were warm for our $32 with the outside temperature going down to 0.7° overnight. The camp was quiet, being winter but you could see how they probably jammed campers in over summer by the power connections along the fenceline of the drive in. Looked likke it could make entry & exit very difficult!

The next morning we bypassed Napier, but reminisced about the cycle tracks along the way which we had ridden last time we were there, and headed straight for the Hawkes Bay golf club, passing the Hastings Club on the way. This also looked a nice course so we may play this one on our return!

It was a freezing cold day so thermals under all the other layers were a must, as well as the woolly hat - gorgeous! But at least I was cosy. 

Don't let it get into your head!

The course was quiet but the guys in the Pro Shop were nice and friendly and we were welcome to stay the night at the course connected to power and have this included within our green fees of $40 each which is actually pretty dear! No discount for affiliated players here. The course was nice to play being mainly flat with gentle undulations on the fairways and quite a good run of the ball for this time of the year. The greens were fairly true but were surrounded by a total of 37 bunkers, some pretty deep, just to make it more challenging!  Neither of us played very well on the first 9 but we redeemed ourselves somewhat on the back nine.

The night was freezing so it was again good to be able to plug our little heater in to keep warm. Only one neighbour there, (just as well with all the coughing I'm currently doing at night!) - an older man, with a friendly, happy black dog in his caravan, who looked as though he was there semi- permanently.

The next day, Saturday, after loosening  up our frozen limbs we drove south to Greytown only stopping for a coffee beside some old buildings in Ongaonga

Old Ongaonga.

and a naughty winter pie in Dannevirke as we know we will be able to take things more slowly, as well as see & do more on our return trip. Greytown is the oldest town in the Waiarapa and is situated within its heart. It only has a population of 2202 but in 2017 was awarded the title of NZ's Most Beautiful Small Town and it is easy to see why. Wonderful preserved colonial cottages and well-cared for historic buildings are a delight to see along the streets and if you are into Boutique shopping Greytown is the place to go if you have plenty of cash to spare.

We stayed at the, also rather historic, little campground, with it's easy walk into town, which provides a winter Campsaver Deal to NZMCA members - only $20 a night for a powered site. Excellent value, a good shower included and a great stopover point before heading to Cape Palliser the next day.

Mahia Peninsula & Gisborne

The beauty of freedom camping.

After our night in the free parking area alongside the beach at Oputama Reserve on the Mahia Peninsula we had a walk along the calm, safe beach (too cold to swim) before driving to Mahia Beach and then Mahia itself, going around the coast almost as far as we could until we reached a big parking area by a little river where Len did some spinning. It was freezing cold with a bit of a wind and nothing was biting so before long we continued on towards Gisborne, just stopping at the Morere Hot Springs on the way for a lovely soak and warm-up in the thermal pools where we had a bit of a chat with a friendly English couple who come over quite frequently to look after the Quaker Hostel in Wellington for a few weeks. The walk up the wide sealed path to the far hot pools is very picturesque with Nikau Palms lining both sides. There are other walking and tramping paths leading from this area as well.

It was great to feel warm all the way through as we drove on to Gisborne and the large NZMCA park there which is situated just over the road from the beach. 

Thumbs up.  Must be having a good round!

Over the road on the other side of the park is the lovely Poverty Bay, Awapuni Links, golf course where we played the following day, managing to teee off, under instructions from the Pro, when there was a gap in the groups of ladies playing on their club day. We slotted in easily and really enjoyed the course which was in excellent condition - a joy after playing at Wairoa I have to say.

After golf and a shower in the Club Rooms I met up with my Physio friends, Glenn who I used to flat with in Dunedin, and Tracy who I used to work with, at Peppers on the Gisborne waterfront. 

Not a wine bottle in sight!

Nice views overlooking the beach as we did lots of catching up and reminiscing over a few wines although Glenn wasn't well with a throat infection so didn't partake. So good to catch up with them both and have Len join us later for something to eat  (Chowder for me and lamb shank for Len).

Afterwards we drove the short distance back to the NZMCA park for another night with perhaps another 7-8 vehicles.
We had thought we might play golf on another Gisborne course the next day but the weather report wasn't good with very heavy rain and strong winds forecast for the Friday so we decided to drive through the gorge to Opotiki before that happened. We needed to be at the Mount on Saturday for a family birthday party and  a few days of 'boy-sitting' of my grandsons.

So Thursday we spent the night at the Opotiki NZMCA park with about 5 other vehicles, driving through to Whakatane later the next morning and striking patches of very heavy rain on the way. After doing the things we needed to do in town we drove out to Bill & Annette's POP again for another nights stay before setting off for the Mount the next morning.

Our 5 days at the Mount, staying at Sandras & Matts and keeping an eye on the boys just flew by what with Greg and Dianes' family party and catching up with most of our good friends. We did manage to fit in one game of golf at Omanu as well as a driving lesson for Oli, mini-golf with Tom and a night at the Otumoetai College show "High School Musical" which our granddaughter, Madi, was in, before setting off on our travels again, this time a quick trip to Waiarapa and Hawkes Bay before having to be back at the Mount on the 25th June for a spot more of boy-sitting!

Wairoa

As soon as we arrived at the Wairoa Riverside Motor Camp, chosen because we can plug our heater in and also they are on "Campsaver" for NZMCA members which gives us a winter rate of only $20 a night,

Artwork created at Waikaremoana!

we got to work trying to clean all the gritty dust off the bus - quite a mission! Then we ambled our way around the town to familiarise ourselves with the area, not having been here before. The campground is on the fenced river edge, very close to town and next door to the swimming pool where I would have gone before leaving this morning if I'd got up early enough!

Wairoa Motor Camp. 

Serene and chilly at dusk. 

The town looks quite depressed but the setting is pretty with the river, cycle and walkway across the road from the shops. We crossed over the bridge and were soon at the fish & chip shop where we bought our dinner to take back to the bus. They were quite good and it made an easy night. Another cold night, but yet another beautiful day today. We have been so spoilt with the weather.

On leaving the camp we headed back the way we came for a few minutes to play golf at the Wairoa golf course. 

T takes on the first downhill. 

On arriving we were the only ones there but by the time we had  completed the very challenging 18 holes there were a couple of other vehicles in the small car park. Well, what a course it was! 

T takes on a gully!

Not for the faint-hearted or beginner with it's numerous deep gullies and hills and impossible for anyone to think of using a cart with all the steep slopes. There were 4 par 3s on the second 9 which normally would make me very happy but oh dear - the gullies take away the magic! Len incidentally played quite well but I took more shots in my game than I have for a few years with so many balls rolling down the sides of gullies. However I kept relaxed and am pleased I managed to play it but know that I will never ever ever play it again!

A quiet night at the seaside!

We are now parked in a free overnight parking area, along with about 4 tourist vehicles, next to the sea at Oputama Beach Reserve on the Mahia Peninsula. It will be so good to listen to the waves and let them hopefully lull us to sleep which we are going to do right now!

Post Bangkok to Lake Waikaremoana

After a nice, though sweltering, 12 days looking after my granddaughters in Bangkok I returned safely to Whakatane and Len who had kept himself busy by playing golf and fishing. It was a treat to have a lovely smoked kahawai pie on my two first nights back - a successful catch in my absence!

Life in the fast lane!

After 3 days of recovering at Bill & Annette's POP which included a night out watching the excellent local production of Mama Mia we set off for Lake Waikaremoana which we had been meaning to visit for a number of years, but had never quite made it. The Great Walk around part of the lake was once on our to-do agenda but we are past the desire to carry big packs.

Lake Aniwhenua was again a good peaceful and scenic spot to stop for a coffee on the way with only one other vehicle there. After passing through Murupara it didn't seem long before we were on the windy, mainly dusty gravel road although parts of it, where the sun could never reach, were quite wet. You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere with the bush and long distances before any tiny settlements - however we now know where Ruatahuna is!

Life  in the slow lane!!

You need to watch out for horses and although there were hardly any cars any oncoming ones did seem to think they are the only ones on the road. We had a very lucky near miss from one that came straight round the corner towards us on our side of the road. It was only because we were travelling very slowly and he did a last minute swerve that we avoided an undesired head-on. A couple of other cars also had to get to their side of the road quickly to avoid us so Len was constantly on alert. We probably had a couple of hours on the gravel, much of it "corrugated" but never saw any other vehicles travelling in the same direction as us.

Unspoiled at its best!

We stayed at the picturesque Lake Waikaremoana Motor Camp as we needed power to plug our heater in seeing the night temperatures were down to 3-4°. Being the end of autumn the camp was pretty quiet but we arrived on a Friday night and there were some boaties going out fishing over the weekend. We enjoyed 2 nights there and the days were glorious with plenty of warmth if you were in the sun. 

On Saturday we did most of the shorter walks close to the camp, these including the Black Beech Track, the Hinerau Track, the Aniwaniwa Falls Track with wonderful views of the cascading water, and the longer 2 hour return track with it's steady climb of 300 metres to Lake Wakareiti and the shelter overlooking the magnificent lake, grey on this day rather than blue because of the overhead cloud.

A typical well made track leading to......

.. a beautiful waterfall!!

..and another!!

On returning to camp Len did a little spinning in the lake.

Sunday, after another fish for Len and a steep walk for me up the Hinau track which rises from the camp we set off on the road for Wairoa, stopping to do the interesting  45 minute return walk up and through rock bluffs and huge boulders in the bush to a platform giving spectacular views of Lake Waikaremoana  and Panekire Bluff.

Gorgeous unspoiled lake and bush.

The couple from New Caledonia parked next to us at the camp were on this walk as well as the one we did to Lake Wakareiti the previous day.

Next we explored the Onepoto Caves track, further down the road, theoretically 2 hours return but we were quite a bit quicker. Obviously we can't have walked far enough into the numerous caves! An interesting walk though with a range of caves from small cavities to deep recesses and tunnels as well as chunky rock overhangs.

"Quick, take the photo. I can't hold it much longer!"

There was still quite a few miles of gravel road before the tarseal finally appeared on the way to Wairoa. The bus has never been dustier!!

Ngongataha, Whakatane, Mount Maunganui, Rangiuru, Ohope, Whakatane.

2-3 weeks have passed by without writing any blog as we have, once again, been back close to home where life almost returns to normal.  After spending 2 nights at the very large, tiered, NZMCA site at Ngongataha we drove onto Whakatane for my long awaited dentist appointment and, as a result, I'm now able to smile a little wider without seeing 2 broken teeth - just the gaps behind now! 

Always a beautiful smile!

We had a night at the McAlister St carpark and then had a week at Sandra & Matts in Mount Maunganui, keeping their boys company, while they had a well-deserved holiday in Fiji. Another chance to catch up with other family and friends and play some golf, firstly at Omokoroa with my friend Pixie and her friend, Celia, winning 3 bottles of beer each in the haggle. Then, before leaving the Mount, we had a game at our old course of Omanu before heading back to Whakatane.

We spent a night at the Montrose POP which is a lovely quiet spot in an orchard at Rangiuru, then a night by the harbour at Ohope reserve after playing golf over the road at the Ohope Course. Len tried his hand at fishing down by the estuary inlet but we'll blame the old bait this time for the lack of success! Bill & Annette's lovely quiet country POP by the Whakatane airport and golf course, where we have stayed before, was our destination after fishing as the next morning I was flying out to Bangkok for 12 days to look after my 2 granddaughters while my daughter in law went to a conference in America. I'm leaving Len in safe hands while he plays golf and hopefully fills the freezer with fish!

We arrived at the POP just in time to be invited in to Annette & Bills for a fish dinner as Bill had been out in his boat with another couple of motorhomers from Tauranga and they had had an excellent catch. The crumbed fresh kahawai was delicious and luckily we could contribute with potatoes and salads. They are such an amazing, hospitable couple.

Now Bangkok here I come - - - - -