Summer

Tauranga Bay

It’s been many many years since we’ve been to Tauranga Bay near the entrance to Whangaroa Harbour, we booked into the campground for a week expecting a nice quiet relaxed time. It’s not too far from a Kerikeri, just 38minutes according to Mr Google.

An uneventful drive however we did note the new bridge at Kaeo which only opened a week or two ago is now operational and all traces of the old single lane bridge has gone. There are still plenty of one lane bridges in this part of the country, some of them have very difficult entry and exit angles especially if you are a bit on the longer side.

We were soon parked up at the campground in the second row from the beachfront sites, all the beachfront sites were booked up, in fact we are very surprised at just how very busy it is here.

The view through the the front window in the small time frame when that particular beachfront site was empty, which was all of probably less than 30minutes!!

And looking west toward the entrance to Whangaroa Harbour

It seemed like every beachfront campsite had at least one surf casting rod in a holder either with line out or about to go out.

Perfect place to sort and watch the world go by

Fishing here wasn’t very productive at all, in fact it wasn’t very good for anyone who was fishing. All the snapper caught by Roy & Garry was returned to the sea to grow a little bigger. I resorted to making cheese scones for lunch one day and blimmen good they were too.

The view changed daily with people coming and going and we watched a succession of boats both big and small come in and out of Whangaroa Harbour.

Super yacht Artefact, all 80m of it passing by, owned by the man who created the Blackberry device.

Garry needed to get an LPG bottle filled so we went into Kaeo one afternoon. Kaeo is a very small one horse town, literally!!

On a trip into Kaeo, a jandal covered fence and a horse and rider wandering through the Main Street aka State Highway.

The days were busily filled what with one thing or another although we had booked in for a week we left a day early as the fish weren’t biting and the place was becoming too crowded for us, especially as from the 1 March they allow dogs in the camp and there were plenty of them. In fact I would say that we were the exception in not having a dog or cat travelling with us. So with that we packed up and left a day earlier than planned and headed further north.

And I thought it was about time for a Callum update, here he is with his current favourite book and dressed for International Book Day.

Callum dressed as his favourite book person- Ayrton Senna

It won’t be too long before we are on our way to visit him, and with a number of activities already planned and booked, we cannot wait!

A brief interlude

We were sitting quietly having our morning cuppa whilst in Kerikeri when I got a call from Jacky….”where are you? How would you like to join us in Russell for the night, we have been given a couple of rooms for the night at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel?” Well, that didn’t require much thought, yes, was the quick reply. We quickly packed an overnight bag and set off to Russell.

The drive is not far at all but Mr Google insisted on trying to take us the long way round over some very dodgy back roads. However, we knew to go via the car ferry which takes you from Opua to Okiato, a much shorter and a more pleasant drive rather than all around your hat.

We had to wait all of 5 minutes to board the ferry, and we were quickly loaded on ready for the short trip across the harbour. Although it is very unnerving sitting in the car whilst passing moored boats.

On the ferry

We were soon at the Duke of Marlborough hotel right on the waterfront in Russell.

Checked in, we went to our room.

It wasn’t long before Jacky & Chris arrived and we went to sit at one of the hotel tables on the foreshore to watch the world go by and imbibe on some liquid refreshments before dinner.

We had decided we would eat in the hotel restaurant and really take in the atmosphere. The meal was excellent and reasonably priced too we all thought.

Top: Smoked mullet pâté, carpaccio of tomatoes. Bottom: whole slow roasted shoulder of lamb which just fell off the bone served with all the trimmings that Roy and I shared, followed by a Tiramisu Martini

We all agreed that the meal was outstanding, the menu was full of the best of NZ food. Jacky had a Boil Up which included Titi (Mutton bird) and Hangi Pork Belly, Kumara and watercress, there was also Ika Mata – raw fish salad, and other local delights which were relished by us all.

The R Tucker Thompson historic sailing vessel coming into the jetty. Note that this photo was taken from our dinning table.

It was a lovely evening, tales were told, many laughs were had and the world was put to rights. After a relaxing evening we all headed off to our respective rooms for a good nights sleep.

It truly is a wonderful setting, we could have watched the world go by for quite some time but we had agreed to meet up back in Kerikeri at the Saturday market for breakfast. But first the return trip via the ferry

Breakfast was had at the market where Garry joined us before Jacky & Chris left to return home. A lovely change of scene and a refreshing break from the usual. Now we are ready and raring to go to venture further north.

A brief sojourn

A school had booked out the campground for two nights, 100+year 13 students plus staff, it was going to be busy and noisy. Why do we need to stay on site we wondered ? No reason at all, so at just after 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon we rang Garry to see if he wanted a couple of visitors for a night or two. Sure, he said, come on up. By 4:30pm we were on our way.

No sooner had we arrived than we decided to head out to the Mangawhai Tavern for dinner.

What a lovely location right on the estuary, we sat outside enjoying the last of the evening sunshine and ordered a lovely dinner.

Looking at the view…rubbish photography skills I know!!

We ordered 4 or 5 plates of food to share, it was all delicious and tasty. It was so nice to sit back and relax whilst enjoying good company, food and drinks in the sun.

We headed back to Garry’s for the night where we had a very quiet blissful sleep.

The next morning the big decision for the morning was where to eat breakfast. I chose outside in the deck, as you can see from the photo below, it was another stunner of a day. If I had thought about it a bit more I should have swung myself further round to the left to show the stunning view out to sea.

After a leisurely breakfast, the next big decision was where to have morning coffee so we headed off into Mangawhai for a coffee where we sat for a good couple of hours chatting and watching the world go by. I just so happened to give Jacky a call as we had contemplated popping over to visit, however she was on her way back from Auckland. Why not meet up tonight in Waipu? she asked. We are meeting up with Anne & Greg at McLeods Pizza Barn so why not come along as well. Sure, why not. So after a leisurely afternoon of doing very little, we headed into Waipu.

LtoR: Anne, Chris, Greg, Roy, Garry and Jacky – most caught mid mouthful so it seems!

Another lovely evening was spent catching up on everyone’s news before heading back to Garry’s, with the odd diversion here and there to visit previously unexplored bays and views.

Friday morning and it’s time to head back to Shakespear refreshed and relaxed after a couple of nights away. Thanx Garry for our sojourn, we needed it!

It’s warm out there!

It’s been warm, in fact it’s been hot, very hot and very humid. Any movement and you break out into a sweat, some days I don’t know what to do with myself. Sitting outside under the shade of a tree is the only respite from the heat with a gentle breeze occasionally making things comfortable.

Campers scramble to camp together under trees to garner any shade possible, shade from gazebos just isn’t as good as tree shade.

This year as well as the usual box of Lost Property, I have started a Toy Library. it started with the three yellow trucks and diggers that Wade & Lindsay gave us last year for Callum to play with when he came to visit. Then a boogie board or two were added, then a couple more, a ball or two and a bouncy toy were donated. An Umbrella was added to the mix and I must say it’s been a huge success not only with the little kids but the other day a group of teens were seen collecting a digger and a spade to take to the beach!

Peter & Wendy came out to stay for a night, a break from the work grind and not too far from their home. We spent a lovely afternoon and evening sitting outside in the shade solving the problems of the world. Peter joined Roy on his evening rounds to check in campers making sure everyone is booked in and happy. That evening I made a delicious Keralan Fish Curry for dinner and sent the leftovers home with Peter.

Peter and Roy coming back from checking in campers

The heat and humidity has been energy sapping however a brief respite was had with a couple of cooler days and evenings which meant we could have a comfortable nights sleep.

I had a reminder from our doctor that I was now eligible for the free Shingles vaccine. It’s only free when you turn 65 and it’s only free for your 65th year, once you turn 66 then you have to pay for it and it is not cheap. So off I trotted to get the vaccine and once at the surgery, the nurse told me I was also able to have a Tetanus/diphtheria/whooping cough booster shot and yes, it was ok to have them at the same time and in the same arm! Of course I said yes, so a couple of jabs later I was on my way armed with knowledge of possible side effects. Fortunately I had no ill effects whatsoever. I get the second Shingles vaccine in a couple of months time, I would much rather have the vaccine than the disease.

It nearly time for schools to return to their usual term times which means fewer people in camp especially during the week. Next we will be welcoming schools back into camp which will mean the end of our camp hosting stint for another year. Where to next? Well, that will be revealed as soon as we decide to turn left or right at the end of the road when we leave.

Yes, we are having summer this year, the skies are blue, the gentle sea breeze lulls us into a false sense of it not being too hot, the sound of children out playing games or riding their bikes until dusk fill the air as happy adults chatter away the evenings. Kayaks, buckets, spades and boogie boards make their way to the beach and it’s great to see people out enjoying life away from the trappings of modern life. Many of the older regular campers have commented on how lovely it is to see kids running about and having fun in the outdoors and fresh air, making new friends and enjoying nature at its best.

We’ve played cards with friends who are camping, they told us they weren’t really into playing cards but after teaching them how to play 5 crowns, they were hooked.

We abandoned camp for a couple of days as Antony was due back from his London sojourn. As he was arriving in the early morning we headed down to stay at his place the night before as it would then just be a 30minute drive to the airport.

We didn’t have to wait very long as he was thru in around 30minutes. He had a great time in London with Alex, Ian and Callum and it was lovely to hear all the news. We had presents to open and share, thank you to our UK family for our Christmas gifts. Now we can’t wait until we head off to visit in May.

Back to camp we went to settle in for more warm summery days. We keep busy what with sorting out campers and any issues, doing maintenance and chores – yes we still have chores to do.

Antony rang the following day to say he’d brought another present home with him….Covid-19!

Hopeful we haven’t caught it, we did look up what the incubation period is but it’s hugely variable with the range from two to fourteen days so we shall just have to wait and see and not get too close to people.

Garry came to visit for a couple of days, it was lovely to have him here with us, I cooked dinner the first night for us all. I made Bao buns, slow roasted a pork belly with a sticky glaze and made a quick pickle type of salad with julienned carrots, cucumber, radish and red onion finished with chopped peanuts and coriander. It was delicious….and yes I forgot to take any photos.

The following day Garry cooked a leg of lamb with his new rotisserie attachment for his BBQ, it was cooked long and slow over the afternoon and evening and my goodness it was delicious.

My nephew Stuart came for a visit, along with Emma and their three children. Stuart lives in Dunedin so it’s been a couple of years since we last caught up and it was a lovely afternoon spent talking, laughing and oh, a little swimming too.

Meanwhile, we try to stay cool and can firmly attest to the fact that shade under a tree is far superior to any other shade device be it gazebo, awning or umbrella. And as it is so warm we are eating later and later in the evenings when it’s cooler and when it’s more comfortable to cook altho I must say that the bbq is being very well utilised. But we are not complaining at all, summer is here at last.

PS. 10 days on and no sign of Covid.

Flicking the switch

It was as if someone flicked a switch on Christmas Day as we are back to having lovely family groups in camp where everyone is having fun in between rain events. Yes, the weather has played a huge part again so far this summer. It has been very warm, humid and at times very wet, so much so, we actually moved one evening to the concrete hard stand in the middle of the campground.

Lots of campers left the campground for the night, especially those who live on the peninsular and don’t have far to go home. The rain came down, small ponds were formed, and it looked like it may continue for some time so we decided to move in daylight hours, it was a quick pack up to move but I really wanted peace of mind and be able to sleep well without worrying if we needed to get out quickly. We got absolutely soaked whilst packing up and moving but we figured it was better to get on with it, get one set of clothes wet then we could shower and change afterwards. Another campervan moved to park alongside us for the evening, Gary & Rosalind are regulars at the campground so we’ve come to know them quite well over the years . In our case the move was precautionary but Sod’s law kicked in and not long after we moved the rain slowed and then eventually stopped.

We moved back the following morning but moved ourselves further forward so we weren’t in the muddy patch and were also a little bit higher as New Years Eve we are expecting some more very heavy rain to fall.

New Years Eve arrived and so did the rain, a number of campers moved out during the day whilst their tents were dry and who could blame them? We didn’t stay up to see the New Year in, everyone was well behaved huddled in their tents hiding from the rain.

All the best to you and yours for 2024, let’s hope it’s a good one with lots of positive news.

A state of emergency

Real time update:

Many of you will have heard or read in he news about the State of Emergency that was declared in Auckland overnight, Friday 27th January, with the heavy and relentless downpours and strong winds. You will be pleased to hear that we fared very well, although the same cannot be said for other campers. Most left or did not come on Thursday and Friday before the rain started, we had had plenty of warning form the weather office so we were somewhat prepared.

However, we were not prepared for the amount of rain we had, it just kept on coming. Most campers abandoned wet tents and went home but there were the odd few who stayed on.

Roy and I spent most of Friday keeping everyone updated with reports, and helping people when they needed assistance. Of course that meant getting very, very wet, raincoats just didn’t cut it, we got soaked through our coats and ended up changing clothes three times before we figured we should just put the wet clothes back on to go outside.

This is the view to the back of our site, the top picture is the creek overflowing it’s banks and rising quickly, it got much higher than this, but this morning it looked like to bottom picture. At the base of the bottom picture you can see a couple of stakes, the first one nearest the fence line is where the water came up to, the second stake was our ‘let’s watch carefully’ indicator, and then there was a third stake closer to the van which was the ‘let’s get out of here quick’ sign.

Water started pooling quickly, and people decided to either move or leave.

Lakeside view. The tents you can see in the background were abandoned and left to fill with water.

I couldn’t take too many photos as my hands and phone became too wet, besides we were busy helping people.

We helped a lady in her pop top caravan out of the raging torrent that was the creek which couldn’t be contained in the underground culvert with the water heading overland instead. We pushed her wee caravan to safety out of the water which I must say was a rather nerve wracking affair as the water was knee deep and a very strong current, fortunately a strapping young man came to assist. Another caravan owner returned to find their caravan surrounded by a strong torrent of water, they got to move it just in time before any damage was done. By this time it was dusk and the rain had finally stopped. Our water level markers were telling us the water levels were dropping, so we could comfortably go to sleep.

This was the creek after it had become a torrent overland, at this stage it was the next morning when I took the picture and it had receded by at least 50%.

These hardy campers stayed on the higher ground. We moved our vehicle out ready for a quick getaway if we needed to.

The creek which is usually nothing more than a trickle, blew out a new exit to cope with the copious amount of water.

Saturday dawned with heavy rain falling again but by mid morning it had stopped, the clouds made way for blue skies and the sun shone. Campers returned to collect their sodden tents, the other campers slowly packed up allowing tents to dry in the lovely sunshine. By late afternoon we were all alone in camp.

We feel very fortunate that we were safe during the rain event, our hearts go out to all those people who have been flooded, lost their homes, cars and possessions and some people have lost their lives. Stay safe everyone, take heed of the forecasts and warnings with none of that “she’ll be right” attitude.

The forecast isn’t looking great for the next few days but we have our fingers crossed it will all be over mid week and the sun will shine for our UK family to arrive next weekend. Stay safe everyone.

One storm goes, another arrives

There was a days respite between storms, but this time campers decided to brave the elements and come on in. So with a camp full, they were made aware of the coming storm and on their heads be it.

The rain came, and kept on coming as did the winds, in fact the wind was much worse than the rain. A few campers saw sense and left but the majority remained, why they would choose to put their camping gear at risk is anyones guess.

The entrance to the park, not much grass to park on here!

I took the following video during a ‘lull’ in the storm, just to give you an idea of the wind strength.

A calmer moment!!

The lengths people went to to secure their tents and gazebos….note the rope lashed to the picnic table on one side and the trailer on the other.

Some tents and gazebos did not make it through the wind, but still they persevered with one family taking down their torn tent to return the following day with a new tent. You have to admire their doggedness as the wind was still blowing a gale whilst they were trying to put up their tent, 4 hours later they had it all done.

Others got a little too much water with large puddles forming and ground conditions softening fast resulting in tents sitting in ponding water and some vehicles getting stuck.

Horse float camper got stuck and a tractor had to be brought in the get it out.

More tents on the move, this was tent number two of six!

Meanwhile, we seemed to have escaped the wrath of the weather with our van protected from the winds on three sides by trees and the rain didn’t have much affect on us either except being kept inside, but I kept myself busy with lots of sewing handwork.

As quickly as the storm blew in, it quickly dissipated leaving us with hot humid conditions. Hopefully this will be the end of stormy season and summer can commence.

Busy bank holiday weekend

We had no sooner arrived back from our few days away when we were off out again, this time to see a show at the Orchard Theatre. The show was BIG, based on the Tom Hanks movie and put on by the Orchard Theatre youth group.

Alex, Chris, Bernice & Roy ready for the show to start

Roy and I went along with Alex and Ian’s mum Christine for a very enjoyable night out. Earlier in the day Roy and I had been round at Chris’ to help her with a jigsaw she had been struggling with. I must say it was a very hard puzzle but we managed to move it along a little but we promised to return in a day or two to hopefully complete it for her.

The following day was the annual summer BBQ that Julie & Brian put on for the family. I had offered to make dessert so Callum and I made a pavlova, a plain vanilla pav and we topped it with lemon curd, cream, mango slices and passionfruit. It was delicious too….and I forgot to take any pictures of making, decorating or the completed article so you will have to take my word for it that it was probably one of the best I’ve ever made!! Must have been the 3yo assistant who gave it its specialness.

The Dennys showing us how it’s done

It was a great afternoon and evening, wonderfully hosted by Brian & Julie, thanx for the great afternoon and evening, we had a blast.

And as promised, the following day Roy & I went to finish off Christine’s jigsaw puzzle, a few hours later and it was done!

A busy old weekend but much fun was had by all.

In and around Deal

Just down the road from the chalets we were staying, which was actually in Kingsdown, were a couple of pubs. One pub, The Rising Sun, had a skittle playing lane set up, well, it would have been rude not to partake in a game or two don’t you think?

Ian having his turn..but what’s this? Foot over the line? Red flag!!

But the best bit was sending the balls back down the tube

We had dinner here one night…note my better attempt at a selfie!

Alex’s birthday was celebrated with a cake and candles back at the chalet.

We also spent a bit of time at the chalets keeping someone busy.

Playing in the sand on the volleyball/badminton court

We spent a day wandering around Deal including a walk along along the promenade where we just so happened to come across a time ball tower which was about to drop.

I was a bit slow in getting the video going to capture the drop of the ball but I did get the latter half of it.

Time ball dropping

As we were at the seaside, well, you couldn’t really call it a beach as it was all stones, we had to have an icecream. I have been told by my brother John that we have to have a Knickerbocker Glory when we are in Scarborough, but I thought we could try one here in Deal, just for comparison purposes of course.

Knickerbocker Glory before and after, plus a young man with his chocolate cone.

It was delicious and now can’t wait to try it the one in Scarborough. I will let you know the results in due course.

Talking of pebbly shore the second hotel below where we are staying is the Zetland Arms. It is literally on the beach. It has a beer garden that is at the front of the hotel on the beach.

Outside seating on the beach at The Zetland Arms

A guide to the size of the pebbles on the beach.

A postbox in the side of a house near the Zetland Arms, on closer inspection the postbox has VR made on the top so it’s been there for quite some time. And yes, apparently it is still in use.

We also met up with some friends of Alex & Ian for dinner at one of the seaside pubs on the foreshore in Deal. These pubs are festooned with glorious flower baskets which put on a great show.

Callum and Jamie enjoy a laugh with Jamie’s dad Dave

Top two photos are of Ian and Dave playing “what’s the time Mr Wolf” with the boys. Bottom left is the view of the pier from the seating area, bottom right Tracey, Alex and Dave putting the world to rights.

Not sure who had more fun…top picture is of Dave putting on his best wolf impressions chasing Ian, bottom picture is a closer view of them! they certainly kept everyone amused.

After a few days in and around Deal it was time to go home, but not directly home as this time we had another slight diversion but more on that later.

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