North Island Trip 2020

Christchurch > Inglewood

Mon 9 Nov

At last an overseas trip! Unfortunately, not Aussie though.A pleasant drive up north but heaps of stops for road works. We overnighted at a NZMCA pop park at a farm in Koromiko. It was a nice spot in a paddock with beautiful trees and sheep. The wind had got up and the forecast for tomorrows crossing is bad!

Tues 10 Nov

We woke with a text from Bluebridge informing us our check in time was now delayed until 8:45 instead of 7:00. The rain was pelting down when we arrived to check in and, as the Cook Strait forecast was for gale force winds and very rough seas, we decided a 24 hour delay may be the go. We rebooked for a sailing at 2:00pm Wednesday as we found out the forecast was slightly better and the ferry was a bigger one and handled the rough seas better (hopefully!!) As it was raining and cold be decided to opt for power at a camp in Waikawa. It rained all day so we could not even go for a walk.

Wed 11 Nov

The rain and the wind stopped and we checked out of the camp and walked around the marina before getting another text telling us that our sailing has been delayed until 4:30pm. The only up side is that the sea may have more time to calm down and we will not be driving out of Wellington in peak hour traffic. At least Picton is not a bad place to fill in a few hours. We parked at Waikawa Bay, had lunch and went for a walk before driving to the ferry and checking in. Loading was at about 3:30pm and we eventually sailed at 4:45pm. To Val’s relief it was like a mill pond all the way. Great feed of Fish and Chips for dinner and off the boat by 8:30pm. We drove thru to the NZMCA park at Plimmerton, which was nearly full, and found a park near the gate.

Thru 12 Nov

The noise from the road woke us early and after filling and dumping, drove thru to Foxton 20kms passed Levin. The new Kapiti Expressway has made this a much quicker trip. At Foxton we headed down to the coast to Foxton Beach where we will stay for 2 nights. Our camp is the Manawatu Caravan Club (an NZMCA POP). It is mostly permanent caravans with solid awnings and a mixture  of retirees and holiday accommodation. We were made very welcome, however. After lunch we rode our bikes to the beach and had a nice walk. It is a very shallow beach with a huge hard sand surface which many cars drive down. Back to the camp and a read outside in the sun.

Fri 13 Nov

Cloudy this morning but warm. Val did some laundry, and after lunch, we biked back to the beach and rode along the sand to the mouth of the Manawatu River and estuary returning via more bike tracks. Foxton Beach is bigger than we thought with a mixture of lovely original baches and modern holiday homes. We never saw the sun all day but the temperatures have been warm.

Sat 14 Nov

A nice sunny day as we shopped at Foxton before driving thru to Patea where we stayed at a small camp down by the beach. In the afternoon we walked down to the mouth of the Patea River and along the black sands of the beach. The river was once a very busy port exporting meat and cheese and even a twice weekly passenger service to Wellington. We followed a track up stream to the old freezing works and turn around area for the ships. Sat up late and watched the Pumas thrash the ABs.

Sun 15 Nov

Detoured thru the main street of Hawera and up the outside of Mt Taranaki following the coast to Opunake where we stayed at a free area overlooking the ocean at Middleton Beach. After lunch we walked the Opunake coastal walkway following the cliff tops, thru the cliff top garden and down to Opunake beach where we had an ice-cream before climbing back up to the coastal path, continued on to the mouth of the Waiaua River and inland thru some paddocks to Lake Opunake. We had a shorter walk back to “Joy” via the streets a total distance to 5 ½ km. We had two more campers join us and we sat outside before watching the sun set over the ocean. The cloud around Mt Taranaki cleared and we had a great view of the sun setting on it.

            

Mon 16 Nov

As we forgot to turn on the hot water we drove a short distance, off the grass, to the Lions Head Lookout for breakfast and showers. We drove thru New Plymouth to an expensive camping ground in heavy rain where we overlooked the port and the sea. After lunch the rain stopped so we walked into town where Val got a haircut.

 Tues 17 Nov

A nice fine morning with a cool breeze. We biked the New Plymouth Coastal Path. This is a wide  smooth concrete path which runs for 13kms along the waterfront, passed the wind wand and the city, and on to the Bell Block. It was a great ride with some spectacular scenery including this bridge framing Mt Taranaki. After a shop we drove to Inglewood where we met up with Rodney and Judith Clough and stayed up their drive. Judith provided us with a beautiful dinner and we had a few drinks, (more than a few) and caught up on all the news.

Wed 18 Nov

It rained in the night and off and on all day. Rodney took us to the Fun Ho Museum. The factory which made these famous toys was based in Inglewood. It was a walk down memory lane and very interesting. We went for a drive to a nice café for lunch and then to the new New Plymouth airport for coffee. We then went on to Noel and Rose’s house in Inglewood for afternoon tea and a walk around their beautiful garden which has been on display for the rhodo festival. Noel also has some great Mustangs which has now been joined by a lovely Willys Overlander vintage car.