CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

On behalf of the Committee I would like to wish all members of this great little club of ours a very merry christmas and a happy new Year.

Found this wee gem on a Facebook page and sort of sums up the situation most of us have reached at this time of life.

Have a good one and don’t eat or drink to much and see you at the Central Regional Rally which is now to be held at the Te Horo School.

Koputoroa Hall - Xmas Rally 11 - 13 December 2015

We had eight vans in attendance for this rally which was at the changed venue from the school next door to the community hall.

Some of the Vans in Attendance

When we arrived all the others were already on site and were sitting in a circle, in the sun, catching up since the last rally. The talk was being helped by the lubrication of some of the brown stuff for some, the other had their own poison.

Friday evening we had a film screening courtesy of Selwyn of the very funny film which starred Robin Williams, "Mrs Doubtfire".  The only draw back was by the end of the film we all had square backsides from the hard chairs.

Saturday dawned a little damp so we all met in the hall for morning tea where we were informed of the activities of the day, which was very relaxing as nothing much was organised. Some of us went out to do some shopping as certain essentials were left behind; others went out and purchased fresh asparagus as the season is nearly over and this was the last chance to get fresh supplies direct from the processing factory.

Some of the vans, mainly the non european vans had their tow ball weights measured and the results were for some as expected but others were left thinking about the results and what to do.

Discussing some of the differences between Vans

Xmas was celebrated in the evening with a shared meal. The meat was kindly cooked on the rotisserie by Don who did a marvelous job, it was delicious and tender piece of pork with lovely crackle. Everyone else was requested to bring a salad to share and who would have known there are so many different types of salads. The club provided a desert of strawberries and ice cream which was augmented by other deserts provided by committee members. What a great meal, very convivial and all it cost outside individual contributions was the reimbursement of the cost of the roast. GREAT!

The Meal before it was Devoured

The Lovely Desert\s

The evening was finished off with another film, this time "Hotel for Dogs" very amusing. We sat in our own chairs!

Sunday also dawned damp so morning tea was again held inside where the thank you were given, xmas wish conveyed, clean up of the hall and goodbyes said.

See you at the next rally at the Regional Rally, at the Coley Street School, Foxton on Anniversary Weekend. DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER

Brookfield Scout Camp, Wainuiomata 13-15th November 2015

We were down in numbers at this rally with only 4 members from Heretaunga and 3 from Wairarapa Caravan Clubs.  This wouldn't stop us having fun though. We arrived around lunchtime to find two of our members already in attendance, the others arriving shortly after. We were located in what they call the paddock, close to toilets and showers (if required).

Lined up on the paddock at Brookfield Scout Camp, Wainuiomata.

All on their lonesome, well not quite, the others are just out of the picture.

Settling in we were watching the weather as to whether we needed to change our plans to visit Wellington tomorrow via the Dominion Post East West Ferry compliments of our Gold Cards. As all our members are now over the official retirement age we all have cards compliments of the Government for free travel concessions.(conditions do apply with restricted hours but not on weekends).

After the usual 4zz’s we had a get together in the hall after dinner for the usual catch-up and jokes before discussing our plans for the following day. We opted to give morning tea a miss and head straight for Days Bay Wharf at 10am in three vehicles to catch the 10.30am ferry crossing to Wellington. The day looked brilliant although the wind was forecast to rise later in the day.

Our Ferry Tickets.

Turning to pull alongside the wharf at Days Bay.

Here we are all set for embarkation.

A quick drop off at Matui (Sommes Island) and we were off.

One side of Wellington’s picturesque harbour to the other.

Alongside the Ferry Terminal in Wellington.

Breaking up into several groups we headed off to check out the Wellington waterfront. Some of us to the Maritime Museum in one of the old wharf buildings. We planned to return around 2.30pm to be back for the compulsory 4zz’s and hopefully to miss the stronger winds on the harbour. A great Lunch was had by all in various restaurants before meeting back at the ferry for our return. The harbour was decidedly more choppy this time around as we headed out towards the heads to Seatoun Wharf, although we never stopped, before heading straight back to Days Bay. A couple had opted for the later ferry so that they could take in Petone Wharf and Matui again on the way back.

Wellington Maritime Museum in the background behind the Fire Brigade display.

We arrived back at camp to see we had guests Graeme and Jo (new members of Palmerston Club, we believe) had come to join us for 4zz’s.

Thanks to Cath and Selwyn we had a great evening with a couple of quizzes on animals and the royal family. Sunday saw us very slow to pack up and depart until next time.

Another great Rally. See you soon at Koputaroa Hall for our Christmas Rally.

Carterton Holiday Park, 23–26 October 2015

We had 8 vans in attendance at this rally which was held in one of the club’s favourite sites. So much so there were one or two who came early and left later than just the weekend.

The weather started off with wet and windy on the Friday but Saturday, Sunday and Monday dawned fine and sunny with little wind. The temperature is sure rising by the number of morning teas that were held outdoors in the sun.

An indication of the weekend weather.

The rally families had us amused all weekend with quizzes. One quiz was to work out what the texting abbreviations meant as well as some well known common abbreviations which are used in everyday life, or as someone thought. Going by the banter around the room some were not as common as originally thought. Still a lot of laughs, There was even LOL. 

Saturday afternoon was set aside for wine and cheese tasting. This went down so well that many confessed to passing on having a full meal at tea time.

Sunday evening we had a pot luck meal with a shared pudding and the amount food that was brought into the hall was staggering. Anyone would think we feeding an army.  It was all good though and went down a treat.

Other highlights were the amount off goodies such as cake and chocolates that were handed around to celebrate birthdays. Thanks to Jenny for the Carrot Cake, Kath and Selwyn for the big box of chocolates, and Val for the savouries. To top this all off the, camp manageress brought out a enough hot cheese scones to satisfy all present.

Into this mix of activities, we were put into teams to have a game of non-physical cricket. There was a very complicated method of scoring, some of us were convinced this was to hide any match fixing. There were lots of laughs.

Trying to hit the ball and look elegant – Failure.!

 

 

Some of the goodies on display.

For morning tea on the Saturday we had a pleasant visit from Peter and Elaine, our founding life members. They have recently stopped caravanning and it is good they are taking the time to keep in touch. It was nice to see you both and catch up with all your news.

A good rally, thanks to Barry & Dianne and Bill & Barbara. See you at the combined rally at Brookfield Camp, Moores Valley Road, Wainuiomata.

Boys Brigade Camp, Foxton 18–20 September 2015

Six vans attended the first rally we have had at the Boys Brigade Camp in Foxton. This was a non power rally in a lovely location. We had hot showers and toilets available and an room in which to congregate in the evenings.

The Gang at Foxton

We had a game of horse racing on the Friday night which descended into a farce as we could not agree on the rules to use. Therefore each race conduced was to different criteria. The result was lots of laughter.

Saturday night we retired to the Manawatu Marine Boating Club Rooms for a nice evening meal, with most opting for the roast pork meal. The portions were all very generous and I did not see anyone having a desert. This is a recommended venue for a meal in Foxton

The car park of the club is currently being dominated by a large ship that is finishing its construction there after being transported to the site on two pieces. This is the second of approx 7-9 (not sure how many) that are to launched here. This one is 160 tonnes and we watched while they tried to lift it on a house moving trailer, with not much luck.

 

We had a very enjoyable rally, the rain mainly only came at night and being on sand any surface water drained away very quickly. The days were fine if not very warm yet and the nights were cold. One or two were well wrapped up for most of the day. A place we could come to again perhaps when the weather is warmer.

See you at the next rally at Carterton Holiday Park on 23 – 26 October

Paekakariki Holiday Park 21-23 August 2015

This weekend we had a select few of 6 vans who attended this rally, which tended to make a quiet affair.

The Vans all nicely lined up

Some of the highlights of the rally were;

Selwyn trying to find out his height by measuring his length on the ground the only trouble being he broke his fall with his nose and knee which did neither any favours. Shook him up for a while but after some tender loving care from Kath and a good nights sleep he was good to go in the morning.

A very enjoyable meal at Finns Restaurant where the selections ranged from Pork Belly, Pork Ribs, Fish & Chips and Burgers were the order of the day.The kitchen did really well and got all the meals out and onto the table at the same time. Casting an eye around the table, all the meals were of generous portions and all looked very nice. No one seemed dissatisfied with their meal and no one was looking for dessert. This restaurant I would recommend and I know there will be repeat visits.

Some of us were to travel to Ohakune for the chocolate éclair rally but because the weather the at the time was atrocious it did not happen. So what better the chocolate éclairs came to us.

Geoff handing out the Chocolate Éclairs

The weather for the weekend was mainly fine and we were able to sit outside in the semi sunshine for a couple of morning teas and a lunch.

This camp has an abundant of wild life what with the birdlife, i.e.  Californian quails, Kereru, Tui and the normal garden birds as well as a lot of rabbit sign.

A good rally was had by all, can’t wait for the next one which will be  at the Boys Brigade Camp, Foxton.  18 – 20 September, see you there!

2015 AGM at Manawatu Caravan Club Campground

The club had a very successful rally at the MCC campground where we gratefully received the use of the hall for our AGM. The AGM was followed by a very nice roast meal at the Foxton RSA which with use of the Gold Card was very reasonably priced at $15 for two courses.
We had 9 vans in attendance which was a good turn out, Would have been better but for 3 families unable to attend with their vans due to number of reasons. However did have their company for morning tea and they later attended the AGM.

The following members were elected to the Committee at the AGM:

President:	Selwyn Fisk
Vice President:	Derek Canvin
Secretary:	Lorraine Fitzgerald
Treasurer:	Catherine Fisk
Committee:	Dot Canvin
	Val Solomon

Prior to the AGM Dennis and Glenys  were inducted as members of the club.

Also Robin and Jenny were bestowed with Life membership.

The weather for the weekend was mixed with a good day on the Friday, changeable on the Saturday which turned nasty as the day wore on and Sunday came right again in time for us to all travel home.