Central Otago for the Autumn Colours

Stunning colours of Central Otago

 At the end of March, we headed off down the East Coast to Central Otago to see the Autumn colours and do a few bike rides with John and Denise, who were traveling with their caravan.

First night at House of Hops

We met them just out of Geraldine at a little brewery called the House of Hops, where we had to on arrival, of course, sample the beers they produced here. The Brewery had changed hands since we were last through. They supply a place to park up for the night for Motorhomes. Which was the perfect spot to make a plan for the next day.

The weather cleared after a little snow

The weather had improved and we had a beautiful drive through to Lake Tekapo, a very scenic drive. The next day we rode our bikes along the hydro canals to Lake Pukaki and return. The change in weather had brought some snow with it, so the temperature was certainly cooler even with the sunny days. The Lake Tekapo NZMCA Camp was quite busy with a lot of similar aged travellers getting in a last trip before settling down for winter. 

Cycling along the Pukaki Canals

From Lake Tekapo we moved on to the camp ground at Twizel. We called into the Salmon Farm on the way through. They have upgraded their shop, displaying the products in a more enticing setting. We bought some lovely salmon bits for Bill to smoke later.

Our second bike ride was from the canals at Twizel through to The Ohau Village and return. It was a bit windy and cool but at least sunny. We drove from the camp to the start of this trail as we thought, with the wind, our batteries may have struggled to do the full return trip. We returned to camp for late lunch - lovely bacon & egg Butties - delicious 😋.

A refreshing beer back at Lake Tekapo

Picnic lunch at the ruins of the Lindis Hotel

Leaving Twizel, we headed off to a Park Over Property (POP) at Bannockburn, just out of Cromwell. This would be the perfect location to do the Dunstan Trail from. As we drove through the Lindis Pass, we stopped at the old hotel ruins, to show John and Denise and have lunch. The paddock just before the ruins were covered in large field mushrooms. Bill was so excited, so was John. So after our picnic lunch at the ruins of the Lindis Hotel, we came back and picked two large bags of the mushrooms. We hoped the Farmer was still able to find some for his dinner later!

Ride through to Ohau, Bill using his repair skills 😉

We arrived at our camp later in the day - "Scottland" (Yes two T's) which was on top of the hills of Bannockburn looking over Cromwell and Lake Dunstan. The camp was quite busy with Easter coming up. We were told not to pay straight away online as we may end up staying longer than we thought. Which we did. Instead of 2 nights, we stayed 6. We thought we may as well base ourselves here to get through Easter and, for us, complete the Dunstan Trial a second time. It was John & Denise's first time. The day was perfect. We rode through to Clyde and had lunch before catching the shuttle back to Cromwell. This was Thursday before Easter, so not too busy. We made the right choice as the trail got ridiculously busy over Easter with a lot of families. We had a quiet night as everyone was feeling a tad tired from our big day.

"Scottland" at Bannockburn

We had picked the right day as the next day was a wet one. Which was perfect to head into Cromwell and look round the shops. Denise managed to find a couple of bargains. We had the next morning at camp, Denise catching up on washing. I made hot cross buns. Then we spent the afternoon wandering around the historic part of Cromwell. It's a quaint little town.

The Dunstan Cycle Trail

Easter Friday we drove to Bendigo and wandered around the ruins of the gold fields before doing the Thompson Gorge 4 wheel drive track. We did this 4 years ago with Jenny and Murray from Queenstown. We were fortunate to get another stunning day. Great for the views. Halfway through the Gorge, we stopped for a picnic lunch. The track was very rutted compared to our last trip and all the recent wet weather. Making it quite a challenge in places. 

Plenty of colour in Clyde

We finished the day playing Sequence which Bill and I had played a few years ago. But we seemed to be playing a different version. Bill took the rules to bed that night and went through them and realized we weren't playing the full game. So the next time we played was to the rules, which made the game last double the time and much more of a challenge. A lot of fun.

Deciding to stay another night at "Scotland", we went for a bike ride out to Pisa Moorings. Being Easter Sunday, we thought we would avoid the roads and just stay on the bike trial. We passed a lot of cyclists all heading off to do the Dunstan Trial, super busy with families. So many bikes we were thankful, we were not riding that way today. 

Autumn colours from Historic Cromwell

We did a 57km return ride out to the other end of Cromwell, past Pisa Mooring. This Central Otago trip was all about the autumn colours and the area we were in was just stunning. We managed to find a new café which was, supposedly, a Craft Brewery that was open for a late lunch. Sadly, they did not have an on-site liquor licence yet, so we made do with coffee and water. Poor Bill!

Leaving Bannockburn after 6 lovely nights, we headed to the bottom of Lake Wakatipu toward Kingston. We travelled through Arrowtown, which was in splendid colour. The beautiful old villas were picturesque. Bill & I enjoyed a return walk along the river while J&D did some shopping. We freedom camped at the bottom of the lake, which was busy once again with the tourists return.

Bendigo - a little building project for Bill 😍

The next morning we called into Kingston and were delighted to see the Kingston Flyer was up and running and about to head off. Many photos were taken. Then we continued onto Te Anau after calling into Athol and Five Rivers for lunch.

The Famous Kingston Flyer
(from Bill's childhood)

We had thought the Te Anau NZMCA camp site would be quite busy, but thankfully not. We woke to a wet day the next morning. So Bill and John went to the local machinery museum for the afternoon and Denise & I had a look around the small shopping centre. After dinner, it was another round of cards in the Caravan with their lovely heater keeping us all cosy. The next day, we drove on to Manapouri and had a walk around. The NZMCA had recently purchased the local camp and I was originally against it. I didn't feel the Organisation should be providing all the extra facilities which cost money to maintain. But after having a look though and seeing that you have the choice to pay for all the extras or not, I could see how it could suit all club members. So we bought a fob key to access everything, in case at a later date we wish to use the facilities. Also thought we'd need it to enter the camp, but they had a key at the gate for all to use. 

The size of these mushrooms 😘

We drove back to Te Anau later that day and had a walk around the waterfront. Bill finding more mushrooms - the size of dinner plates. Soooooooo enjoying all the fresh field mushrooms ( and still alive to tell the tale).

 Our plan the next day was for another bike ride, this time from Te Anau to Manapouri along the Lake to Lake Trail (45km return). it wasn't a brilliant day, but ok for cycling at least. Plenty of bright red toadstools along the way, just out of the Fairy books. We didn't pick any of these for our dinner. Returning to Te Anau we packed up and drove onto Manapouri for the night.

We arrived just on happy hour. A Guy was walking around the camp with a chilli bin full of venison mince. He was kindly giving it all away. He had been hunting and used a commercial butcher to process the meat. But of course had quite an excess that he couldn't keep so was generously giving it away. And nice mince it was too.

We had walked into Manapori and had a look around the next morning. Found a quirky second hand shop which John and Denise bought a painting and vase. Luckily their caravan is capacious.

Riverton - the Riviera of the South

Traveling on further south in an easterly direction to the little town of Riverton, via Tuatapere, through back country roads with pastures set amongst the stunning scenery. The day was topped with delicious Southland fish & chips for dinner. 

Clifden Suspension Bridge - circa 1898

It was another glorious day the next morning for driving on into Invercargill, arriving at the Invercargill NZMCA camp site which is reasonably situated central to town.

Bill & John did the Classic Motorcycle Mecca Museum the next morning while Denise and I caught up on washing before shopping in Invercargill after a lovely lunch in the revamped city centre. A few bargains were got from H&J Smith before its imminent closing down (unbeknown to us at the time). We all met up later in the afternoon and drove out to the Bluff Hill lookout. It was an absolutely  perfect day to see clearly,  Rakiura (Stewart Island) so close. Pity we didn't have the time to visit on this trip.

Bill at Bluff 

Leaving Invercargill to head around the Catlins, we stopped at Curio Bay and Slope Point. Stopping the night at Niagara Falls - a beautiful starry night with no light pollution this far away from any towns.

Music man John tinkling
the ivorys in Owaka

Heading onto Nugget Point and out to the lighthouse after visiting the Purakaunui waterfalls and Owaka for a disappointing date scone. But plenty of curiosity shops to keep everyone entertained. Headed through Pounawea before driving onto Nugget Point to walk out to the Lighthouse as the weather was predicted to deteriorate the next morning. The day was getting late by the time we finally parked up at a POP over the road from the stormy sea.

With the weather not great on the East Coast we thought we'd head inland to Butchers Dam, Alexandra. Balclutha was pretty bleak, so after a quick walk around, it was onto Butchers Dam, The colours were beautiful on sunset.

Nugget Point

From Butchers Dam we went onto  Alexandra which was looking picture perfect in autumn colours 💕. Had a lovely scone and coffee after a walk around the town, before moving onto Albert Town. From Albert Town we did a huge ride the next morning. (bigger than Bill and I had remembered it 😕) only 36km but took 4 hours as it was pretty stony & rugged in places. Nice lunch at Luggate Hotel. John had been worried he didn't have enough power left in his battery so took a short cut back to camp after lunch. The rest of us slogged it out on the "easy" trail! With us all being knackered by the end, it was an early night for all. 

Albert Town

The next morning we headed into Wanaka for coffee before saying goodbye to J&D who were heading home via West Coast. We headed back up the East Coast calling into Helen & Ralph's in Christchurch for a catch up and a bit of shopping at Trade Depot of course.

We visited Michele& Nathan and a shy Nora the next morning before catching up with Chris and Marie at Spencer Park for a picnic lunch and a walk along the beach. C&M have recently moved to Christchurch from Wellington, just to have a change in life before they retire and are loving it.  So we were late getting away from Christchurch but the beauty of motor homing is you can stop anywhere. We had the night at the new NZMCA Camp in Kaiapoi and walked through the town to pick up delicious Chinese takeaways for dinner.

A well earned beer at Luggate Hotel

Onto Marfell's Beach the next day for one last night, before heading back to Nelson to 177 Tahunanui Drive. Shannon's In-laws, Alan & Margaret, had just crossed over from the North Island to do a South Island trip in their Motorhome and came through Marfell's for a coffee before continuing south.  Alan was looking good after some serious health issues. Good to see them on the road enjoying their Motorhome once again.

A "little" trail along the Clutha River

We headed back to Nelson later in the day to settle back into our home and park our Bus up for winter. And enjoy our cosy fire 🔥 (hopefully we have enough dry firewood) and work on our gardens, (the lawns needed mowing after 8+ yrs 😉)  

The lovely colours of Arrowtown

Pondering on Pinders Pond

Cycling Bannockburn to Pisa Mooring

The Classic Motorcycle Mecca Museum

Returning to Nelson to settle back home after 8½ years

Home Sweet Home

The last week of January saw our rental at Tosswill Road vacated so we could organise marketing the property ourselves through Listing.co.nz. A great website, easy to use. The house was left beautiful, just needed to do a little bit of work around the grounds.

Private Sale through Listing.co.nz

We had ordered the sign (which turned up a couple of days later) and had our Trade Me listing ready to go. We were still parked up at the Stables Camp Ground for a couple of weeks as the Tenant's in our own home, weren't able to vacate our home until mid February. 

We started running open homes each weekend over February and had good turnouts for the first couple of weeks. But mostly people were checking out the market.  The majority had to sell their homes first, so sadly nothing much came from this. We decided to rent the property out once again for another 6 months till early October and we will see what the property market is doing. Fingers crossed it picks up. 

The Green Gremlin

Once again a few days out from our Tenants vacating Tahunanui Drive, they asked for another extension as there was a delay in their next property.  An extra month was required, so we decided to co-share the property, with us staying in the bus. This worked well as we could at least start on the gardens which were quite overgrown. 

Co-sharing the property - plenty of room 😊

Trimming the drive

We engaged a building consultant to get consent signed off on the alterations that were done up at Tosswill Road. This would ensure next time we go to the market, everything is signed off and council records show the changes, not that this was an issue this time round. But better to be prepared and do it while it was vacant.

Looking good 👍

We did mange to sell our double kayak during this time, which was perfect timing for Bill to buy his next Ute. The other Ute was so useful during our time up at Tosswill Road and now will be at Tahunanui Drive, especially to enable us to drive up with the Bus. There are a few trees to trim and clear damage / spoil from last August floods.  There were no Utes in our price range in Nelson, so had to look a bit further away and we found one in Christchurch. A cheap flight and Bill was off to Christchurch after we had paid a deposit. We were a little concerned with all the scams around that it existed at all! But thankfully the Green Gremlin was sitting there waiting for him. 

Bit of trimming

Still waiting to move into our home, we had some time up our sleeves. So we headed over to Ligar Bay to fish with one of Bill's ex Telecom mates -Rod. The weather was still great, so we had a swim with Anne on our arrival. Ligar Bay in Golden Bay is a lovely wee spot, especially at this time of the year. Unfortunately the next day it rained and there was a bit of a swell. Still, we gave it a go. But sadly no luck so we headed back to Nelson to the Stables in time to do another open home at the weekend. This was also the weekend Cyclone Gabriel was creating havoc up North. Thankfully it didn't cause too much damage by the time it got down this way. The Ute was great to clear the driveway and prepare the area for our Bus to park up. 

Keeping Amanda warm after leaving summer in Switzerland

Saturday February the 18th we moved back onto our property after 8 and a 1/2 years away, although not inside our home just yet but back on Property.

The weather continued to be very settled so we got into the gardens as things had got overgrown and we had lost the view at the front of the house. Bill & his trusty little chainsaw we're working overtime. 

Heading home with our catch.

Gerry, Rod and Bill having dessert 😄

We managed another trip over to Ligar Bay and this time we were lucky.  Snapper for a few meals. Unfortunately a guy slammed into the side of the Suzuki on our way home, ruining what had been a beautiful day. Thankfully an insurance job. 

Nephew Simon
 helping Bill to bring the
laundry back inside 👏

Bill's next project!

We did our last open home early March and with the market still very quiet, we organized for the property to be rented out from April for 6 months.  

Our tenant's at to Tahunanui Drive finally moved out over the following weekend so we took our Bus and had 2 lovely days at Rabbit Island staying overnight at nearby Green Acres Golf Course. Very relaxing after all the Open Homes and gardening. When we returned on the Sunday night, the tenants still needed a couple more days to complete their move after two years of living here. Mid March we finally got the house to ourselves almost! But not quite as the carpets needed to finish drying.

My niece  Amanda flew into NZ for 3 weeks from Switzerland to catch up with Family and Friends. She had 5 days with us so we played tourists while the weather was beautiful.  

I managed to get my eyes tested and new sunny's ordered from overseas before heading South. I was delighted to see I got them cheaper than Bill had when he ordered his. But as I finished the order, the price changed to NZ dollars! Bummer!! But still far cheaper than buying local. 

Finally on the 19th of March, we had our first night back inside 177. Felt very weird actually.

A well earned beer 🍺

Time out with Joan at Rabbit Island

As we had planned to head away to Central Otago to catch the autumn colours in April, we only had 2 weeks back inside but I couldn't really get into it . I found  it a bit overwhelming really. We got our bedroom set up and some gear unpacked and back into the kitchen & dining room. We will sort the rest on our return. plenty of gardening to do with the weather so good and the time. The weather had been so settled, it was a lovely end to summer.

We also got to meet nephew Mathew and partner Sarah's wee baby boy Elliott. It's nice to have a baby in the Family in town. 

Nice to see our sunsets once again 💗

January 2023 Waihi Beach to Wellington

Riding through Napier waterfront gardens

After dropping Rocky & Daniel off at Auckland Airport, we had the night with W&K. We'd planned a bike ride for the next day but the weather was changing fast, so we managed a ride as soon as we arrived in Hobsonville, over the Greenhithe Bridge into Rosedale and back through Greenhithe to a local Pub! But sadly, still being a stat day and guessing staffing is still an issue for hospitality, it wasn't open. But the Bottle Store next door was, thankfully. Phew!  

Cycling Upper Harbour / Rosedale

One of Rotorua's Bike Hubs

We returned to Waihi Beach before the skies opened and had a few more relaxing but wet days there before it got too much and everything was feeling damp from the sea spray. So we decided to move inland as the weather didn't look like it was going to improve anytime soon.

Oh! Oh! A wreck to fix a wreck 😆

And a good decision it was too, as Rotorua turned on the sunshine for the week we had there cycling and walking the trails. We enjoy Rotorua and have a great spot to park up at the NZMCA Ngongotaha site. We visited the bike hubs which were new to us - what amazing facilities they provide. Bill did have his peddle break off unfortunately as we did the Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest Trail and he left me at one of the Hubs (Perfect timing for a coffee) and off he rode on my bike back to our car so he was able to come and pick me up. There is always plenty to do in Rotorua.

Huka Falls walkway

Just as the weather changed there, we moved on down to Taupo for a few days to do some more cycling and walking trails.  This ended up being another week as were filling in till we could meet up with Elaine & Mark from Auckland in Napier. Also it took this long for Bill to find another peddle. The Suppliers struggled to supply one, certainly not a single peddle, and in Bill's price range 😂. Plus they actually have very little stock as they prefer to order in. And that isn't going to work while we are on the road. Bill found a recycling shop in Taupo (tried Rotorua), just around the corner from where we parked up. But the condition was, for $10, he had to take the whole bike! He left them the wheels for recycling and came home with the frame and most importantly, peddles 👏. He took the one he required, and delivered the frame and one peddle back to the scrap metal bin. Mission completed and Bill mobile once again.😊

Who is taking who's photo on Lake Taupo?

NZMCA now have a new camp site at Taupo, just out of the Town centre, by the  Taupo International Motorsport Park. Lovely big parking area that was pretty full most of the days we were there. The only down side is the racing, and in our case the racing practice. So we shot away to the top of the lake again to Whakaipo Bay for a couple of nights, much less crowded than when R&D were with us. We enjoyed cooling off in the lake as the temperature was pretty warm. Especially after Bill rode back from Kinloch. I dropped him off there as it's quite a ride one way, without doing the return trip, and this is the direction they encourage. Kinloch also have great coffee ⛾.

Oh no! Now the BBQ is falling to bits!

We eventually headed down to Napier, catching up with Cousin Kevin's Deb ( Kevin sadly passed away last November). Bill helped out with a few jobs, including painting. Deb was super organised, so it was amazing how many jobs got done in the one day! Bill received some of Kevin's home brew as a reward 🍻

In Napier we parked up at another new NZMCA park near Meeanee and the beach front. Very handy to the numerous Cycle Trails Napier offers. The weather was stunning, hot and sunny. It continued while we caught up with Elaine & Mark who stayed at an Air B&B at Haumoana. Luckily they have some freedom camping near by for us to park up and catch up with M&E for four days. With Bill's big B coming up, Mark was keen to celebrate with Bill. 

Nice little outfit Bill,
to go with Kevin's beer.

As a special for Bill's birthday, we finally got around to visiting the Art Deco Trust Building in Napier to learn about the 3rd February 1931 earthquake! An earthquake which my Father was trapped in at his high school. After watching the film of the horrible devastation, I had so many questions I would have liked to ask my Father, but sadly it's far too late for that. So much land was uplifted, giving today's Napier more land mass. We did the Art Deco walk around town the day before, Bill being our guide. he was a little hit and miss with some of the buildings😂, but overall he did pretty well.

A little wine at 
Craggy Range

We headed out to Cape Kidnappers for lunch to celebrate B's 65th 🎂. Whoop! Whoop! Now he is on the pension too. We could afford to eat out.😉. We moved the Bus to M&E's B&B after making arrangements with the owner. It was a lovely relaxed evening with a wine or two and some nibbles. Mark & I even enjoyed a couple of Little Biddy's Gin's (Thank you Shannon).

After a great catch up, it was time to move on down south. To Waitarere Beach. We were joining Sarah & John at their Beach house. Bill was to put up the new flag pole, and a couple of other wee jobs. It was also time we picked up the kayak Bill had hidden under their batch for the past 8 years! Great storage Guys, thank you.

Two Chooks (and Elaine & I) at Craggy Range

Onto Shannon and AC's in Wellington for the weekend before heading back across to the South Island. It was also when the skies decided to open up across the North Island, in particular Auckland and Northland with some serious flooding. Thankfully it wasn't too bad in Wellington. We managed to make it into town and catch up with old friends Chris & Marie for lunch. Another great catch up Guys, and exciting start to this year with your move to Christchurch. Good luck, and look forward to finding you there at some time through the year.

A little celebration for Bill's birthday

Bill's bike excursion from Kinloch 

S&A took us out to a local of theirs that was having a "soft" opening to their new extension. Very pleasant. Except for the walk back home where we all got drenched, but thankfully it was all downhill and not far away. Sunday was a lovely relaxed day, fine enough to get out for a walk at least. Poor Auckland was still having major flooding and slips. Time to head back across the Strait. 

A surprisingly smooth crossing at a far more suitable hour, and a night in Blenheim (to check out a Ute) and then on home to Nelson the next day. Our 8 1/2 years of traveling is coming to an end as our Tenants move out of Tahunanui Drive and we return once again. This time as Pensioners 😄

I'd like a chair like this in my garden 😀

Sarah supervising the raising of the flagpole

Chilling with S&A