Heading South – Farewell Auckland

With our house/pet sitting assignment in North Auckland complete, it was time to start heading south.  It seems a little backward as most of the travelling population wants to head north for the winter.

After a trial run to ‘Find Our Feet’ (click on the link to view our blog and video), this trip wasn’t going to be a dress rehearsal.  

Leaving Auckland

Heading out of Auckland for the first time with the caravan in tow felt a little like taking off the ‘trainer wheels’.    It meant leaving the security of the surroundings which were familiar to us.  Leaving our comfort zone, cutting the apron strings, flying the coop. 

This was different from all the other times we’ve travelled.  This time we don’t know when we will be back, or if we’ll be back.

Nothing Left to do But Leave

We have spent many weeks tweaking things in the caravan and ute.  Making sure everything is working how it should, or how we want it to work.  If we needed to make purchases or have things looked at, we knew exactly where to go to get this done.

We ticked the last of the ‘things to get’ off the list.  Our new Honda 2.2 Generator is now on board the caravan and our Clearview mirrors have been fitted to the tug.  There was nothing left to do but leave.

When you are ready to tow, the mirror head can slide out a further 100mm

As we drove past the Bombay offramp, it was all of a sudden more real.  We’d caught up with friends while back in Auckland, but now, it was out into the big wide world – well, rest of NZ anyway.  It is time to meet more friends, hear their stories and share the delights of this country with them.

Tech Weekend – Motorhome Friends

We follow a FB page called Motorhome Friends.  They had arranged a Tech Weekend at the Te Rapa Racecourse, North Hamilton.

There were over 50 vehicles registered so it was a great opportunity to meet fellow members and find out what we didn’t know about solar, inverters and batteries.

Now there is a myriad of information surrounding this very subject.  It is also a minefield for those trying to set up their camper/caravan/vans and 5th wheelers.  There is so much to learn, so I found out once we were living in our caravan.

We sat and listened to Wayne Hunt who has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things solar and electrical.  

A wide variety of vehicles gathered, we all enjoyed our tech sessions and some very happy prize winners

Q & A Sessions

The group discussions were helpful and although we knew a lot of the things discussed, we still took away some extra knowledge on how things worked.  Thankfully, our set up on our JB Milano fits the bill and is doing everything we need it to do when living off-grid.

The inevitable Happy Hour was great and we met interesting and friendly people.  It was a diverse group which included a wide range of ages and vehicles but all with a common interest.

At only $5 for us to park up for the night, it was great on the budget for sure.  

Thanks to the organisers, participants and sponsors.  It was a great introduction to life on the road.

Napier Bound

As our final destination was Martinborough for our next house sitting assignment, we thought that Napier would be a good stop for the night.

It has been quite a few years since we were both there so although it was only going to be for one night, it would be enough time for us to have a quick look at the Art Deco Capital of the country.

Like most people who live on the road, we have a budget that we need to stick to.  As this is going to be our first month of ‘testing waters’ when it comes to costings,  we were keen to keep our accommodation costs as low as we could.

NZMCA Park

We’re members of the NZMCA (New Zealand Motor Caravaners Association).  We wanted to check out one of the parks that they own in Napier as it only costs $6 for the night. 

The parks throughout the country offer different amenities.  This particular park has potable water supply, a skip bin for rubbish and great shed which I’m presuming sees lots of Happy Hour’s.  I thought it was a nice touch that there is a communal veggie garden.  This was well looked after with new plants and was freshly weeded and guests can pick the produce in return for a little TLC.

plenty of room for everyone at the NZMCA Park, our neighbours outside our back window and the non-glamorous side (a visit to the dump station!)

Large Park

This park covers a very large area, is flat and has both hard stand and grass parking.  It is sheltered and quiet as it is little way out of the city.

As there was a rain warning coming in for that night, we opted to park the caravan on the hard stand even though we were sure there wouldn’t be any problems getting stuck.  At least we wouldn’t be dragging mud inside if it all turned yukky.

It was a peaceful night and the rain didn’t arrive until morning.  As we didn’t have far to travel that day, we took a quick trip into the city to refuel and have a look around at what had changed since the last time we were there.  It was also a good idea to wait out the heavier showers as we wanted to top up one of our water tanks.

If the weather was playing ball, it would be an ideal base to explore some of Napier’s amazing cycle tracks, especially the trail that runs along the coastline.  This is only a short distance from the park.

Mangatainoka – The Tui Brewery

Mangatainoka was only a little over 2 hours away from Napier but worked out to be the halfway point between Napier and Martinborough, our final destination.

I’ve been a bit apprehensive using one of the many (but dwindling fast) freedom camping areas.  I’ve wondered just how safe they are.  Just like everything to do with travelling, you need to do your research. 

There is a very good app for the NZMCA which has all the camping spots in the country.  Members can leave comments which are invaluable when choosing whether to stay at any camping ground, park or freedom camping spot. 

The beautiful spot beside the river

There were very good comments made about the Maingtainoka Reserve, which coincidently, was right across the road from the Tui Brewery.  How convenient is that – and it cost us nothing to park there for the night!

Located close to the brewery but with fabulous river views – the perfect place for happy hour

We arrived at the Reserve quite early so had the pick of the spots.  It is a large area so we decided to park alongside the river.  By the time evening came, we were sharing the Reserve with three other campervans so there was plenty of room for all.

Tui Brewery

The iconic Tui Brewery tower is no longer in use but is registered as a ‘historic place’.  The tower was built in 1931 but the brewery has been in operation since 1889.  The tower was built so brewers could use gravity to turn malt into beer.

The iconic Tui Tower, night shot taken from our parking spot across the road.

The last bottle of beer rolled off the old production line in June 2016.  It now still operates but only as a boutique production line.  The commercial bottling line is now based in East Tamaki, Auckland.

Would have been rude not to indulge in a little of the product

There are 40-minute brewery tours daily at 11.30am and 2.30pm and costs $20 (with 1 taster) or $25 (with 3 tasters).  We decided not to take the tour but wandered across to enjoy some delicious bread, dips and some beer battered chips!  It’s even more convenient to have a walkway under the road from the reserve.  No having to negotiate traffic on the return journey!

Hello Martinborough

We only had to travel another 2 hours and we made it to Martinborough. 

Sometimes you can find some unexpected gems along the way.  We stopped off to wander down to the ANZAC Memorial Bridge at Kaiparoro (94km North of Martinborough).

The ANZAC Memorial Bridge

The designer of the bridge, Alfred Falkner, first settled here in 1889.  The bridge completed in 1922, serves as a memorial to all those in the area who died during the two world wars.

House Sitting

We are in Martinborough to care for a lifestyle block, x10 sheep, x1 very shy cat and x2 canaries.

It allows us time to empty out the van of food.  A fully equipped kitchen to make up some freezer meals is a bonus.  Then there is also the use of a real washing machine.

It is also an ideal base for exploring the Wairarapa.  There are plenty of sights that are right on our doorstep.  More of where we visit in the next instalment.  

Click on the link below to see a video of our highlights on our trip from Auckland to Martinborough.