Monday, December 11, 2017

End of this trip.

Tues 5 Dec – The weather has come right at last. We drove down to Noosa Heads along the main street and squeezed into a park near the beach. We walked thru to the beach and spent a couple of hours in the sun/shade and had a great swim. Decided to head north to a camp but found that it was a ferry trip to get there so went south and ended up at Coolum beach and booked into the busy holiday park (expensive!). Before we could walk to the beach the skies went dark and we had a scramble to save the awning in a sudden squall and more heavy rain.
Val contacted Judy and Frank and Jill and Bob (ChCh couples we used to camp with) and we will meet them for lunch tomorrow. In the evening, we walked to the headland along a board walk and watched the surfers.





Wed 6 Dec –  After a shop we drove down to Caloundra to Judy and Frank’s home where we met up with Jill and Bob and caught up on families and old times before going to the Pelican Waters restaurant overlooking a waterway for a long lunch. Back to Judy and Frank’s for a rest before heading down to the waterfront with a bottle of wine and fish and chips to watch the sun set. 








Judy and Frank were going on a motorhome rally the next day, and as we are members of the same club we decided to tag along. We spent the night up their drive.

Thurs 7 Dec – The rally is at the showgrounds in Maleny, a lovely town 28kms inland up in the Glass House Mountains. Before we left for the rally we decided to buy a ladies bike and a  bike carrier from Judy and Frank. At the rally (meet) we were made very welcome and introduced to many couples as they arrived. We walked thru a track to the shopping area and looked at the shops. Quite alternative. 4.00pm was happy hour and everyone ended up outside our van. A very relaxing day!

Fri 8 Dec – A long breakfast outside Judy and Frank’s before a walk to town for coffee and more shopping. In the afternoon, the ladies played cards while Frank and I and many visitors solved the problems of the world. After “Happy Hour” we looked at some old photos with much hilarity.



Sat 9 Dec – Another relaxing day at the rally doing very little. I made use of some tools and completed a couple of jobs. Jill and Bob came up to visit us.  Due to a cancellation, we have been able to go to the Christmas dinner held in the local hall. It was a great night with all the usual trimmings. A fantastic local band played all the old 50 - 80s classics and I even got up and dance a couple of times!!  



Sun 10 Dec – We packed everything away and said our farewells to Judy and Frank and the rest of the CMCA Sun Coaster members before a great 150km drive thru the Glass House Mts. and around a couple of big dams/reservoirs which supply Brisbane with water back to Ipswich. We checked out another storage place but will stick to our original plan. At K-Mart we bought a second bike and helmets, so the bikes are now sorted. The storage place we will use is at Lowood, so we spent our last night in the camper at the Lowood Showgrounds. A decision has been made and this Aussie camper has been christened “Andy”. Why you all ask! Here is the explanation. The camper is a Ford Transit but the model is “Swagman”.  In the song Waltzing Matilda, the swagman’s name was obviously “Andy”. Sing the song to yourself and you will realise why! (Thanks to Jill for the suggestion!)

Mon 11 Dec – Pack up day. After a cup of coffee, Val and I walked to the local laundromat with the bedding and clothes for a final wash up. When that was completed we cooked up the remaining eggs and sausages for brunch before cleaning and shutting “Andy” down. Our storage is just down the other end of the town and Keith (the storage guy) was very thorough with the paperwork etc. Made us feel very happy with our storage choice.  After parking and putting the bikes inside, the timing was great for Carolyn and Jessica to pick us up and drive us back to their place. Gary came home and we all went out for dinner at the local Sports Club. Great steaks!! Tomorrow Gary has drawn the short straw and will take us to the airport at around 5:45am for our flight back to NZ. A very successful trip, thanks to Gary and Carolyn’s hospitality.

Monday, December 4, 2017

On the Road!

Tues 28 Nov – Decided to get our house batteries checked out at a RV repair place recommended by the owner of the yesterday’s storage place. The electrician was not available until around midday so we walked up to the typical country town of Lowood where we were able to complete the ownership papers including the duty (sales tax 3%). We are now the official owners of the motorhome. The house batteries checked OK and I bought some heavier cable to change some wiring. On the road for a short drive to Atkinson Dam where we hoped to stay in a Scout Camp but the gate was locked so we went to the “B” plan, a small holiday park. Still cheap however. I spent a hot afternoon rewiring the fridge and changing some of the solar panel install. Val did some laundry as well as being my apprentice. The camp had a great pool which cooled us off. Everyone we have met has been very friendly and keen for a chat.


Wed 29 Nov – Woke to rain on the roof. Very soothing until we remembered we still had our togs and towels outside. We drove 135kms north and west thru lovely Aussie countryside. Gum trees, windmills, cattle and even some camels. The drizzle turned into torrential rain as we arrived at the
larger town of Nanango, our planned stop for the night (about 100kms inland from the Sunshine Coast). We walked thru the town and picked up a couple of things at the 2 Dollar Shop. Because our batteries were low (no sun) we went to the Nanango Showgrounds for a powered site. These showgrounds are great, lots of room, powered sites and cheap. It has rained all day, we watched the news and weather on TV and the forecast is the same for the next few days.









Thur 30 Nov – Another great drive thru typical Aussie country of 135kms to a rest area at Ban Ban Springs. Val drove part of the trip and managed to hit a large bird and a very near miss with a huge lizard. Neither were her fault!!  The rest area was off the main road and a caravan and a car joined us for the night. We sat outside until a squall came thru. A quiet night however.
 Fri Dec 1 – Everyone had left by the time we got up. As we neared the coast the country changed from gum trees and cattle to sugar and oranges. The camper is running very sweetly but still has no name!
We stopped at Bundaberg, a town famous for its Rum distillery. We shopped for shorts for me, a throw to cover our nice upholstery, and groceries. We drove into the town set either side of the Burnett River and decided to stay in a camp near the centre of town overlooking the river. We walked into town over the bridge. The old colonial buildings were great and the centre reminded us of Gisborne. It was dark (7:00pm) before we came inside. The maximum temperatures are between and 26 – 30C and humid.


Sat Dec 2 – More rain this morning. Val did the laundry before we set off for a 120km drive down the coastal road and the Bruce highway to Hervey Bay. On this highway (of all places) I had to brake suddenly to avoid a kangaroo. Dumb as sheep! We checked out the free parking at the visitor’s centre before heading to the beach for lunch. It is a beautiful bay and we drove the length of the bay before stopping near the surf club where we had a swim in the warm surf, sat in the sun/shade and read. Back to the free parking for the night.



Sun 3 Dec – A sunny morning so I made the best of the weather and climbed onto the roof and repaired some dodgy sealing around one vent. All good now. We were hot and sweaty so we went back to the beach for another great swim before continuing south on the back roads stopping for lunch at Poona, a seaside village overlooking a tidal estuary and Fraser Island. It started to rain just as we approached our planned overnight stop and got so heavy that we missed the parking area and eventually had to stop until it cleared a
bit. We carried on thru Gympie in torrential rain, lightning and thunder stopping for the night at another rest area 6 miles south. It was a large area and filled up with caravans and campers dodging the rain. It was a very good test for the sealing job I did on the roof! Watched the news to TV to find that the rain/flash flooding in Gympie lead the national news.


Mon 4 Dec – As it was still bucketing down we decided to flag paying big money for a beachside camp on the Sunshine Coast until the weather clears on Tuesday. We went back to Gympie and bought stuff to do some jobs. We camped at Eumundi RV Stopover at the sight of the famous Eumundi Markets. As it was still raining we spent the afternoon fixing some 12V wiring and making a door for the freezer box in the fridge. All very successful. 

Monday, November 27, 2017

Aussie Adventure 2017

Tues 21 Nov  -  Well here we go again! This is the last planned part of our overseas campervan journeys. A very early arrival into Brisbane where we picked a cheap rental and set off to set up our phone and bank account. In the afternoon, we viewed our first camper in Brisbane. Brisbane city covers the largest area of any city in the world so this camper turned out to be 50kms away. It was OK but not quite right. We had short listed about 6 campers online for inspection. Off to Carolyn and Gary’s, Carolyn is Linley’s daughter. They made us very welcome along with daughters, Jessica and Hannah.

Wed 22 Nov - We started our camper search in earnest with a very rough one near Carolyn’s and then off down the Gold Coast for another roughy before lunch. In the afternoon, our luck (or research) improved and we found a reasonably tidy one before eventually finding the one we have bought. (photos attached) It is a 2005 Ford Transit Swagman, 6.1m which has been recently been renovated. Back to Carolyn’s for a swim in their magnificent pool before a barbeque.

Thurs 23 Nov - This was a buying day as we had to set up everything for living -  bedding, cooking, crockery etc. Fortunately, there was a huge mall near Carolyn’s with a Kmart, Big W, and Target. Back “home” for another afternoon swim. Great steaks on the Barbie for dinner.

Fri 24 Nov  - We spent some time jacking up our vehicle insurance before off shopping again for the outside stuff including a solar panel. Back home and we were thrilled when our credit cards arrived in the post allowing us to get a CRN essential for us to register a vehicle in Queensland. We just had enough time to rush to the Qld Transport to get the vital document. Another swim before another great barbeque. We could get used to this lifestyle (bbqs & swims – not the shopping!). The day was capped off when the sellers of the camper rang to confirm that they had completed the necessary checks and the camper was ready to pick up the next day at 3:00pm.

Sat 25 Nov -  We spent the morning buying the non-perishable groceries and alcohol. Our bedroom at Carolyn’s and our rental car are now getting very full! Off down the motorway to the G.C. again for the handover. All good. Val lead the convoy back to Carolyn’s. This was the Queensland election day and Carolyn and Gary were hosting an election party which we gate crashed. A great night.

Sun 26 Nov -  Val and I are still waking early so we started packing the camper before breakfast. I spent the morning and some of the afternoon installing the solar panels. (Hot work in the Queensland sun on a white roof!)  Gary built a shelf for the microwave and Val & Hannah bought the last of our “stuff”.  Eventually we started our short trip to Ipswich. The camper did all it was supposed to and we spent the night at the Ipswich showgrounds. Cooking, the bed, shower and washing are great We discovered we might have a slight problem with either our fridge or our house batteries.


Mon 27 Nov – We drove to Bunnings to buy storage stuff, filled with LPG and diesel and a short drive to Lowood to check out the Storage place where we will store the camper in two weeks’ time. All good and we are now in the Lowood Showgrounds. Still sorting stuff out but getting there!














Thursday, June 22, 2017

Heading for Home

We spent a very windy uncomfortable night at a reserve at Matarangi with the wind at gale force howling thru the trees and rocking the camper.
We drove thru the beach area and parked in a sheltered spot at Kuaotunu. What a relief to be out of the wind. At Whitianga we shopped and then drove back to Simpson’s Beach where we stopped at a park on the original Simpson property at one end of the beach, with a nice view towards Buffalo and Cook’s Beaches. The sun came out briefly and we walked the beach.

Back into Whitianga where we walked around the waterfront and the town before heading around to Hahei Beach. It was a lovely sunny day so we sat on the beach for an hour.

In the afternoon, we walked the track to Cathedral Cove. Very picturesque. A short drive to Hot Water Beach and after checking into the camp we set off in bathing togs with a spade for the beach. There was quite a crowd, all lying in their pools dug in the sand.
It was like Goldilocks, our first attempt at a pool was too hot, our second was too cold but our last was just right! Quite an experience. Back at camp Val did the laundry.












We drove to Tairua for a look at the beach and the harbour and then around the harbour to Pauanui where we found a free camping area facing the beach. After lunch we biked thru the town and onto a cycleway along the harbour and thru the mangroves to Duck Creek. We explored a bit more of the town with its waterways and private airport. Most of the luxurious houses are abandoned as they are holiday homes. A very strange atmosphere.



Another sunny morning so we walked a couple of tracks at this end of the beach before heading off on the hilly windy road to Whangamata. We parked by the beach and walked into the town which was very busy with cafes and shops doing a great trade, quite a contrast to Pauanui. As we got closer to Tauranga it started to rain and we got wet filling with cheap Gull diesel (97c/l) and shopping for a barbeque tomorrow. Back at Lynne and Gary’s, we had pizza for tea and watched the Maoris v Lions.




Up early to watch Team NZ get two wins for the Americas Cup.
I washed Joy before Glen, Tania, Sophie and Isla arrived. I barbequed lunch outside in the cool weather. Lynne had made salad and scalloped potatoes, and a great lemon cake. We had a great lunch. When the kids left, we all read and dozed. Left-overs for tea.







Another early start and two more America Cup wins before we left Gibson Place for the last time and drove thru Te Puke, Rotorua, Taupo and stopped on the Desert Road with a view of Mt Ruapehu and lunch. We continued on thru Waiouru and Taihape and stayed at a little camp in the Mangaweka Gorge, a great little place.




We drove south towards Wellington and stopped for lunch on the Paraparaumu foreshore. Our overnight stop was at the NZMCA park at Plimmerton. As we will catch the train tomorrow we recceed the short walk to the station. To my surprise there was a model train shop at the station.

Back to the station for “Winnies” 9:30am free train into Wellington. We walked along the foreshore to Te Papa where we visited the Gallipoli Exhibition. It was a great thing with huge models of various soldiers (2 ½ x size), great exhibits and fantastic depictions of the Gallipoli campaign. The only complaint was the number of small children there. Should have had an R8 rating. We walked up to the War Memorial and also enjoyed the Great War Exhibition. Quite different but equally as moving. Back on “Winnies” free train home before our 3:00pm curfew.

A really early start driving to the ferry. We left Plimmerton at 6:00am for a 7:00 check-in with breakfast on the wharf. Unfortunately, the ferry was delayed and we did not sail until 9:30am. We drove thru to Murchison and stayed in the NZMCA park. The forecast was not great with snow possible on the Lewis Pass tomorrow.


A mild morning (no frost, thank goodness) and an easy run over the pass. The rain set in on the Canterbury side. We arrived home at 2:00pm to a freezing cold house and a Sky decoder malfunctioning. Everything else was great and our neighbour had done a great job mowing our lawns. A great holiday with excellent weather.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Coromandel Trip

We left Gibson Place, shopped, dumped and headed thru Tauranga north and out to the coast to Omokoroa Beach.
We parked in the domain and had lunch in hot sunshine. This beach is in the Tauranga harbour and there are many boats moored and the ferry to Matakana Island leaves from here. We were joined by a couple of “bush shitters” (Noel’s name for non self-contained vans) for a peaceful night.

North thru Katikati to Waihi where we parked by the old railway station and started the bike trail to Paeroa via the Karangahake Gorge. We had spied this cycleway when we came down from Auckland for Glen and Tania’s wedding. The first part was thru farm land and then we joined the old railway line for the ride thru the gorge. 2/3rds of the way to Paeroa the trail goes thru a 1 Km tunnel which has lighting. We cycled thru the tunnel and back again as we will do the rest from the Paeroa end in a couple of days. We walked 2km on a side trail following the banks of the Ohinemuri River with its thundering rapids. After lunch we retraced our route back to Joy stopping at Victoria Battery one of the many signs of this area’s gold mining past.
  It was uphill all the way and a slight head wind. Total distance biked was 32kms. We visited the huge open cast gold mine before leaving Waihi and heading to the coast.


 We passed thru Waihi Beach and stopped for the night at Bowentown overlooking the end of the Tauranga Harbour.

It rained in the night and a cold wind in the morning but sunny. The forecast is not great so we went for a walk up onto the headland with spectacular views of the Tauranga Harbour and Waihi Beach. The harbour is huge and formed by the long narrow Matakana Island on the ocean side. In the afternoon I gave Val a haircut. This area will soon fill up as it is Queen’s Birthday weekend.

We dumped and then drove thru the gorge to Paeroa where we rode the bike trail in the other direction to the tunnel and return (16kms) thus completing the part we did not do two days ago. Val found a laundry in the town so we had lunch while the washing happened. We shopped before driving to the Paeroa Maritime Museum where we caught up with Lynne and Gary and camped in the lovely grounds with very hospitable hosts. Lynne had cooked dinner for us in their Quarter Acre Pot, delicious! We provided dessert from Mr Countdown.



A sunny morning, so walked around the grounds with the outside exhibits. This was a working port around the early 1900s and Captain Cook explored the area being the furthest inland he went in NZ. A short 20km drive to Thames where we parked in an area close to the town. We walked the town before lunch outside in the sun. We walked the other way to the harbour and the many pleasure boats.

Rain was forecast as we drove north along the Firth of Thames stopping at several nice free areas until settling on a spot at Tapu overlooking the water. We sat outside and Gary put a line out before the rain arrived and we were inside for lunch. We can see Waiheke Island and Rangitoto to the north. It rained off and on all afternoon. Very stormy skies.


It was a lovely sunny morning as we drove thru to Coromandel stopping at a few beaches and the view at the top of the hill. After walking around the town, we booked a ride on the 15” gauge bush railway at Driving Creek. There are 3kms of track winding up the hill to the “Eyefull” Tower. The whole railway was built by an eccentric potter to get his clay down the hill. The train had several small carriages and was powered by hydraulic motors on every wheel to provide enough traction for the step ascent.


 We parked in a free area in the town and had pizzas at the Star and Garter to celebrate Lynne and Gary’s wedding anniversary and my birthday.




We dumped, and drove thru Colville and onto the 26kms of narrow winding road to Port Jackson.
We camped in the DOC camp facing out onto the wonderful beach with Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands in the background. Sunny and dead calm. Gary tried surfcasting but the beach was very shallow. Late in the afternoon we had a brief shower of rain.




Another perfect day. Gary took the kayak off the roof and fished.
We walked the length of the beach and had drinks outside watching the sunset.

The weather was a repeat of yesterday. Gary fished off the kayak again and Val and I walked a track up onto the headlands and cliffs overlooking some great rugged bays and across to Great Barrier Island. Gary’s luck changed and he caught 2 beautiful snapper which we ate for a late lunch. Another perfect sunset.






Cooler and windy as we drove back along the winding road to Colville. This road must be a trick in the summer as long stretches are one way. At Colville we had coffee and a look at the only shop before checking into a small camping ground for power, dumping and laundry. We walked to the bay before returning in threatening skies to rescue the washing.

We headed north and then over the hill to the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula and further north thru Port Charles with golden sands. The rough road became even rougher for our last part of the trip to Stony Bay looking over the other side of the Colville Channel and Great Barrier Island. At one point the road had washed away leaving a large dip. Downhill on the way in but it could be a problem tomorrow coming out!! Stony Bay was beautiful with a DOC reserve, and we sat in the sun admiring the views. Gary fished off the rocks but only got snags and one tiny snapper.



Up out of the bay and passed the washout with no problems.
Instead of going back over the hill to Colville we followed the coast to a huge DOC camp at Waikawau Beach. We walked the length of the long beach and then around the camp. This spot is very popular in the summer as the swimming and fishing are great.





It rained in the night and we listened to Team NZ winning the Louis Vuitton Cup in the morning. Back over the hill to Colville and back on sealed roads for our trip thru to Coromandel. This town is the hub of this area. We shopped and said goodbye to Lynne and Gary who are heading home. We will stop off there at the weekend. We drove over the peninsula to Matarangi where we parked in a reserve overlooking the harbour. The rain set in and is forecasted for the next few days.