Oxford & Ashley Gorge Kiwi Camp

Well there were no fish to be found in the Waimakariri River though Len had fun trying! So after eating our Sheffield pies, which were nice, we drove on to Oxford where we dumped, filled up with fresh water and did a grocery shop before settling in to the paddock at the rear of the Oxford Workingmens Club where NZMCA members can stay for free. One other couple were parked there in there caravan. We had thought we would support the club by buying takeaways from them, the restaurant itself not being open during the week  but the menu unfortunately  didn't tempt us at all to divert from our leftovers.

It was a nice tranquil parking spot however. The next morning we filled our gas bottle and set off up the road for a ridiculous 10 minutes to the Ashley Gorge Kiwi Holiday Park, a lovely tree filled spot with just the public domain between the camp and the river with a charge of $40 a night which includes a token for a hot shower.

Our resting place for 2 days 

Quite a few families staying here but still stacks of room with 100 sites in all. We have no close neighbours but are close to the amenities and clotheslines with lots of wires missing.

It was a sunny hot day and even though we felt like jumping straight into the river I was keen to do our big load of washing, managing to fit it on one of the lines. Then we went exploring, firstly following the tracks along the river as far as we could and then to the 3/4 hour loop walk through the trees on the other side of the bridge.

View from the bridge (c 1992)

The water in the river is quite low at the moment so there is quite a bit of stone walking through the shallows to get to the odd deep pool on the other side.

It's a great place to stay so we decided to stay another night here - after all, this trip we are all about not being in a rush!
So Thursday has arrived and it's nice to know we'll have another relaxing day here. It rained in the night and the forecast for today was ominous so we were very pleased to see a blue sky after opening the curtains. The must do things for today were to have a swim, use the camp oven for my monthly rum-filled fruit cake and re-do the New Years blog which wouldn't publish and those are all now completed in time for our afternoon cuppa.

The swim in the river was great - just difficult getting over the stones in bare feet. I should have followed Len's method and left my sandals on. 

Refreshing!

Seems the sand flies like this spot too!

The water temperature was surprisingly nice so quite easy to get into and because we went soon after breakfast we beat the rush of kids to the deeper pool. Just 2 boys and their dad while we were there. It was very relaxing sitting in our chairs on the riverside afterwards apart from having to slap the occasional sandfly! I suspect this is just the beginning of the angst they'll cause us!

Afterwards it wasn't long before I had the cake in the oven and another small load of washing on the line. Time for that cuppa now while we watch new arrivals setting up and maybe after that another swim while the sun is still shining.