A Double 70th!!

Val and Bill were celebrating their respective 70th birthdays and caravan club members joined them at their home, together with family and friends for a birthday BBQ. Also sharing birthday honours was grandson Gus, who had just turned 6.

Guests arrived, we found seats outside, and delicious plates of nibbles were passed around.  Oh, that crayfish was heavenly – like most of us, it had been a long time since I’d tasted crayfish.  All the seafood, the crays, whitebait and paua had been caught by Val and Bill’s son.

It looks rather like a caravan rally

The BBQ was fired up, and delicious cooking smells wafted around the patio.  The cook did a great job!  There were sausages, chicken, and kebabs cooking away.

Lunch was announced, and we wandered inside to fill our plates.  The table was groaning with food - everyone had brought along a contribution along for the meal.  And after the mains, we went back to check out the dessert table.

Just look at that lunch!

Happy Birthday to Bill, Val, and Gus.

Christmas Rally, Koputaroa Road – 9-11 December 2016

We had a good turn out for this years’ Christmas Rally. In attendance were Webb's (Hosts), Turnbull, Canvin, Fisk, Benton, Wylie, and Fitzgerald.

The vans on the front lawn, unfortunately we missed out the Turnbulls

By about 4pm all were onsite on the Friday. Most had 4zzzes in the sunshine, the opportunity was taken to update the channels on Webb's caravan by Robin and Don. Later we all congregated in the conservatory where BBQ hamburger patties were cooked and everyone made up their own con-concoction. The evening also included some light entertainment provided by Geoff Herewini.

Geoff Entertaining us

Don Cooking the lovely thick Meat Patties

The evening concluded with general chatter with ample lubrication until we retired to the vans.

Saturday started off nice and warm and sunny, after morning tea of Christmas Tarts a few games of Disc Bowls and Quoits were entered into. There was also a game of Croquet on offer but no-one partook, perhaps they did not consider themselves to be old enough.

Glenys, and Dot playing Disc Bowls with Derek umpiring.

Later on the rain began to fall and in the process of packing things away, closing windows etc. poor Don had a fall and severely cut his leg which required an ambulance and stitches. He had planed a rotisserie for us on the Saturday night and this fall put him out of action so the remaining men of the club pitched in and did the cooking for him. The cooking of the meat did not go without a hitch as the rotisserie mechanism failed to operate properly and had to be repaired, but we got there with a little help from son-in-law Nick.

Who said you can’t watch cooking while internally basting with a cold beer.

Done to perfection, note the Heath Robinson fix to the Rotisserie mechanism, the other end was worse.

Doesn’t that look nice

Master Carver Dennis in his pinny

Sunday dawned slightly better, so it was agreed that the car rally which was postponed from Saturday would now be held immediately after morning tea, which it was. After lunch which consisted of cleaning up the left overs from the xmas evening meal, we all broke camp and headed for home.

What a very enjoyable rally. Thank you to the Webb's for being fantastic hosts and putting on a great weekend, that is going to be hard to beat. On second thoughts I am not going to try.

See you at the next rally which is Kahutara Primary School, South Wairarapa on Anniversary Weekend 20-23 January 2017

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Stay safe on the roads if you are travelling.

Happy Retirement, Dennis

The instructions were – bring a bottle, something for the Barbie, and a smile.  Being well trained caravanners, we went one step further and took our folding chairs along too.

The happy hosts

People arrived, glasses were filled, nibbles were passed around, and everyone was sitting chatting, and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.  “It’s my party, so I’m not cooking on the BBQ”, Dennis declared.  So two of his former work colleagues rose to the challenge and spent an absolute age cooking up scores of sausages, chicken skewers, patties and steak.  The two ladies did a marvelous job, and the cooked meat was taken away to keep warm in the oven.

 

The cooks hard at work

They had a neat trick to clean the Barbie when they had finished cooking – one that we didn’t know about.  Cut a couple of lemons in half, and drizzle the juice over the hot plate.  Then use the cut side of the lemons to wipe it all down.  Easy peasy, and seemed to work a treat.  Then we were called in for dinner, and what a wonderful assortment.  Everyone had brought along salads (or desserts) for the meal, and there was plenty for everyone.

A wonderful assortment of food

Dennis had to be persuaded to cut the cake, and when he finally came back inside to do the deed, he made a short speech, waggling that sharp knife in front of him like a man possessed. 

The Retirement cake

Thanks Dennis, we had a great time wishing you well for your retirement.  Best wishes from the Heretaunga Caravan Club for many happy trips away in your van.

Happy HCC members

Carterton School–Joint Rally–18-20 November 2016

What a lovely venue, what a well maintained school.  This what greeted us on our arrival for the combined rally being hosted by Wairarapa Caravan Club.

Just some of the vans

Heretaunga had 6 vans in attendance, unfortunately Wellington had a no show and Wairarapa made up the rest.

The weather was turned on for us by Wairarapa,, or so they claimed, the rally was held with balmy sunny days with only light wind. We had games on the large playground i.e. petanque, disc bowls, and a version of lawn bowls. It was a good afternoon sitting in the sun watching the various games as they unfolded. It got so hot some even retreated to the shade of the large trees around the perimeter of the ground.

It is very Serious Deciding The Winner!

Interested onlookers while the games were taking place

The school let us use their hall for our evening entertainment. We had a game of card housey something Heretaunga members had not played before. It was very enjoyable and will be remembered for a future occasion.

Those in attendance having Morning Tea in the Sun on Sunday before breaking camp.

Thank you Wairarapa for putting on a very enjoyable rally yet again.

Don’t forget our next rally is the Xmas Rally (9 – 11 December 2016) at Webb’s and Sandra & Don have put out a programme and have also requested that we each contribute a little.  Those at the Rally have made their choices and got their copy of the programme.

Those who were not at the rally should have received an email with the programme attached from the President (Selwyn), if not please give him a ring. Would you also please give Sandra a ring to establish what can be contributed to the Xmas meal.

That’s all for now. Drive safe and see you at the next rally.

Charles (Charlie) Fitzgerald – Passed Away 7 November 2016

As a valued member of the Heretaunga Caravan Club and a recent long time member of the Wellington Caravan Club, Charlie passed away prematurely at age 76years,

Charlie’s funeral was held on Friday 11 November, may you rest in peace Charlie

WE WILL MISS YOU – RIP

Oroura Downs School (Cream Horn Rally)–21–23 October 2016

This was a new venue for the club and what a great one it turned out to be.

In attendance were:
Canvin, Benton, Turnbull, Fisk, Fitzgerald, Richmond, Wylie, and Solomon. A good turnout!

Situated along state Highway 1 just before the Sheepskin Factory it was a little bit further north than we usually rally but as it was a long weekend it did not really matter.

However I get ahead of myself. As it was a long weekend and the fact that school was in session it meant we were unable to to gain access to the school grounds until 4.00pm. As this is quite late in the day to start a rally some of us decided to have lunch and wait until entry time at the Manawatu Boating Club boat ramp.

Turnbull, Richmond, Benton, and Canvin obscured behind

As Derek & Dot had arranged to pick up the key at 3.00pm and were informed by the Head Master that the grounds could be occupied as most of the children had departed. We received a phone call saying we could now enter so preceded to travel the short distance to the school. Our apologies to those who did not know of this early entry and arrived at the appointed time to find us all onsite. We will try and communicate better next time.

Those in attendance (Solomon obscured on the right)

Due the extra day there were two rally families. Robin & Jenny looked after Saturday and organised a trip the the nearby sheepskin factory. We were shown how the skins are carded (combed), ironed and sewn into car seat covers. The rally family purchased a pair of seat covers for the Land Cruiser. We were joined before this though by our foundation life members Peter & Elaine for morning tea and they spent most of the day with us. It was nice to have your company. Saturday evening the rally family provided pictures onto a large screen, provided by Selwyn (thank you), of their recent trip on the Ghan train from Adelaide to Darwin.

Sunday was the day that Derek & Dot had organised. first up was morning tea at Viv’s Kitchen in Sanson for cream horns, hence the rally name. We all mostly had the cream horns (we really did need them!).

This went down very well and I can see this becoming a regular habit. The second part of the day was a picnic at the Pohangina Community Reserve. This is a future rally venue in an old school and the idea was to scope it out.

Picnic at Pohangina

As can be seen the venue looks ideal and is now firmly on our list. This site is now earmarked for our joint rally at the end of February next year. The day ended with the rally family getting us all to make cards using our imagination. Some people have better imaginations than others don’t they Geoff.

The weekend ended on Monday at Morning Tea when prizes were handed out, farewells said and slowly camp was broken and we made our respective ways home.

Feilding's 'The Coach House Museum' Rally 23 - 25 September 2016

Members started arriving Thursday afternoon but most on Friday. We had 7 vans attend and all had great spots to park. The facilities were excellent. A good sized room was at our disposal with kitchen and toilets. We had also a large table to sit around with comfortable chairs. Friday night was spent looking at a movie.

Looking out towards the street

 

 

Looking towards the main entrance of the museum

                                          Happy campers taken from across the road.

 

Saturday after morning tea we set off walking to the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society Inc. just opposite the Museum but over the railway line. It was 10 min walking time. We had a guide who took us a around and explained what was going on. They have a very large. area which has been turned into parking tracks.  Many of the sheds with track laid for storage and repair.
Feilding Steam Rail is a incorporated Society formed in September 1996 to establish a Steam Engine Museum in Feilding and to run excursions using restored steam locomotives for the benefit of all people in the Manawatu.

Since then they have acquired leases on several steam locomotives and have purchased one diesel shunting tractor. they have also acquired a large collection of carriages, vans and wagons to ensure that examples of these items of rolling stock are available for the benefit of future generations. Their prided and joy is the Wab 794 locomotive which is one of two only left of this class loco in NZ.

 

Wab 794

 

This was built buy NZR workshops in 1927

It has seen service in Dunedin, Wellington, Wanganui and Southland and it had been stored at Ferrymead until Feilding Steam Rail obtained a lease for it in 1997. They fully restored it and is "mainline certified" and is used to run excursions and tours throughout New Zealand.

 

Carriages all cleaned ready to go tomorrow (Sunday) on a day trip to Hawkes Bay, via Palmerston North. To be hauled by a diesel engine.

Having spent over an hour looking around their interesting Museum, some of our members made purchases of the museum's merchandise as well as making donations.  We then returned back to our caravans for lunch and had a free afternoon.

4zzzzze's soon eventuated, with lots of fun and laughter.

At 5.45pm Saturday we took off to The Rangitikei Club for dinner. Some walked but others drove.
The evening was very good and the meal more than filling. Prices were good also.

                                                         The lions awaiting to be fed

The evening was concluded by returning to the museum room for coffee and chats and resetting our watches and clocks for Day Light Saving.

Sunday morning tea, we celebrated Val's upcoming 70th birthday and baking supplied by Bill.
Having cleaned the Hunter room and saying our goodbye's we made our way home.

Next rally: Labour Weekend  21 - 24 October, at Oroua Downs School.

Paekakariki Holiday Park–12-14 August 2016

There were 8 vans in attendance, which was surprising due to the bleak forecast for the weekend.  All were on site Friday night, and the weather was threatening being very overcast with occasional showers which as the night wore on became more insistent developing into full blown rain.

We all awoke on Saturday morning after a night of heavy rain with water all around the vans. The competition was then who had the most around their van. Bill and Geoff decided that Geoff had the most but Bill had the deepest.

An example of the water around the vans.

Because of the weather the outdoor activity that had been planned was canned so all were to fend for themselves for the day.  Needless to say a fair bit of intervaning took place, and some went shopping.

We retired to “FINNS” restaurant for an evening meal which was excellant and all enjoyed.  The only downside was the cost of the drinks which were on the high side. Next time we may have to “preload” I think that's the term.

 

The crew all enjoying themselves.

A good nice quiet short rally made all the more enjoyable by the company.

Next rally is at the Coach House Museum, Fielding, 22 - 25 September 2016. See you there.

AGM–Manawatu Caravan Club Grounds, Foxton, 15-17 July 2016

The weekend long range forecast was not looking good.  It threatened rain, wind and cold temps.  Well we did not get much rain but we sure got wind mainly at night but the temperature was certainly cold with any breeze being lazy by going through you not around. However we survived.

This was our AGM rally and over the last few years it has been held at the Manawatu Caravan Club, simply as the weather can be inclement and they (MCC) allow us to use their hall. however this was not the case this year as the camp had a tornado through the grounds a couple of months ago and caused damage to some of the fences but to the hall as well, so we were not able to use it this year.  The Club (MCC) to their credit arranged for us to use the Bowling Club Rooms next door for our meeting, and this worked out very well.  we even had two interlopers but they did not say much.

There was to be a Birthday Party later on in this room – This was for Photos.

AGM in progress

We had a good turnout for the AGM with only one member unable to attend due to family duties overseas.

As there was no meeting hall for social functions we really indulged ourselves and had two meals out, Friday night at the bowling Club (would had been rude not to) and another meal out on the Saturday night at the Foxton RSA.  Both meals were not only enjoyable but economically priced as well.

The vans that braved the cold

I came across the following (Towing Guide) so thought that I would pass it on for those that tow, although you probably know the contents of this document it is a friendly refresher for us all.  I know it is Australian and some of the speed limits and weights are different but the basics are the same. If when you click on this link and it does not work because you do not have flash player loaded you can download  Adobe Flash Player for free from here. If you are using Google Chrome as your browser Flash Player is built in so should work.

Towing Guide  (Any problem please contact me – Robin)

Safe travels to all and see you at the next rally – Paekakariki Holiday Park, 12 – 14 August 2016

Mid-Year Luncheon–Fishermans Table, Paekakariki - 1 July 2016

As it seamed a long time between rallies it was decided to have a lunch organised for the club and the Fishmans Table was the most suitable for everyone.

There was a good turnout with only two members unable to attend due to being overseas or otherwise alredy booked up. It was thought that Bill & Barabara who are long standing members who we do not see much of these days should be invited.  It was very pleasing that they were able to attend. Therefore there was a lot of catching up done.

The group tucking in

The view out the front window of the restaurant

It was a good outing and thanks to Jenny who organised the lunch and the location, which was also a success.

See you at the AGM Rally at the Manawatu Caravan Club Campground on 15,16,17 July 2016.

Palmerston North Holiday Park, 13-15 May 2016

For this rally there was a very good turnout with 8 vans on site and one member in a motel unit. So 9 members out of a maximum of 11 is a good result. It was great to have Elaine & Peter our founding life members with us for the weekend, it was sure good to have you in our midst again. Hopefully you can do it again shortly.

Unfortunately because of the layout of the camp it was not possible to get photo of all the vans in one shot, but the following picture shows some of those who attended.

The most important function of the weekend was to have a Special General Meeting of the club to make some necessary changes to our rules. These changes were ensure the rules more accurately reflect the way the club now operates and to correct an anomaly that if not changed could of incurred additional expense for the club. The meeting went off very smoothly with all changes agreed too. The changes have now been submitted to the Incorporated Societies to be agreed to and approved.

Saturday afternoon we all went for a stroll through the gardens next door which had nice flat boardwalks, which were mobility scooter friendly, its just a pity some of the navigators did not know where they were going and took the long way around. We however did all end up at the café where some had ice creams (some made a mess of themselves), others coffee and cakes. There was also a major distraction for our vice president, see below.

 

That night we had a quiz which overall none of us did very well at, enough said. Sunday dawned fined and most  left before lunch, although a few did stay as they had other things to do while in the area.

A very good rally and hopefully we will see you at the next one at Himatangi Holiday Park on Queens Birthday weekend