Passing Parade at Kuripapango

For the last two weeks there has been a steady stream of traffic and people passing our camp site, many were day visitors, calling in as they pass by on Napier-Taihape Road. Others stay the night or the weekend and we’ve seen one guy, a fishing guide with his overseas clients, twice. For just two nights we’ve had the whole camp to ourselves, other times- Waitangi weekend,  it was bursting at the seams.

Catching the last of day's sun

There have been some unusual vehicles arriving, including this beast (beauty?).

We felt like we were the only ones in the whole wide world when we woke one morning, just bird song & the low rumble of the river in the distance. No vans, bikes, tents or people to be seen, just us & nature. It wasn’t until we drove out to the road that we were confronted with this gathering in the clearing near the road. Where on earth did they come from! We later learnt that they were on a ‘safari’ and had been travelling around the North Island.

One damp morning I was sitting typing a blog when I looked up to see this large bus coming around the corner followed by a mini van and another vehicle. Looking excitedly out the windows were the eager faces of 50+ boys; 10-11 year olds from Hereworth School in Hastings on a school camp for four days. ‘Oh great’, I thought. ‘there’s our peace gone’

They all piled out of the bus, laughing and chasing each other, full of energy and keen to explore their surroundings. I think there must have been at least six parent helpers and two or three teachers with them too.

Once they’d retrieved their packs from the back of the trailer they were sent off to pitch their tents. It seems they’d been told they could set their tent up anywhere within the central camp area. I went for a walk later and there were tiny little tents everywhere, tucked into the bush, backed into the rock face, beside the road or near the toilets (wise boys).

The bus disappeared back to town; the boys were ferried in the vans to various places over the next few days. They walked Blowhard Bush the day before we did, in the pouring rain. Another day they were split into groups with one group taking up residence in the clearing behind our van, all day I could hear the Outdoor Instructor-who had a very loud voice- teaching the group how to read maps. I’m not sure they were taking much notice, he seemed to be repeating himself many times.

Another group were down at the river where I’m sure they would have been swimming if it had been warmer but were instead having fun lobbing rocks and stones into the river. No trout will be caught in that area for a few days. The boys were all very well behaved and we hardly knew they were in camp, it was great to see how much fun they were having. They packed up their tents on the second to last day and were ferried to the Lake Carpark where they had a 6 hour tramp (with packs) ahead of them to one of the huts where they were going to stay at for the last night (adults in the hut, me thinks) and then tramp out the next day to meet the bus back to Hastings.

We came home one afternoon to find these blow-up pillars lined up in front of our van. For the next few hours we watched as the boys were taught archery skills, at first they just had to shoot the pillar targets and then once they got the hang of it they were split into two groups facing each other with safety masks on, trying to knock balls off the poles in the middle and shoot the other team who were hiding behind the pillars. They were only allowed to carry two arrows at a time, running out to retrieve extras and hoping not to get hit and if they were, they had to retire.

Once the boys were finished and had returned to the communal tent, the adults were left behind to deflate the pillars and tidy up. But ‘boys will be boys’ no matter how big they get. For the next half hour there was a running battle of men in masks, great whoops of delight and laughter filled the air. The men played strategically, biding their time hiding behind the pillars before aiming at the others, unlike the boys who were all on from the get go. In the end they let the air out of the pillars, still trying to hide behind them as they deflated.

And it’s here that I can write once again, you’re never far away from someone you know in New Zealand. It isn’t six degrees removed here, it’s more like two or even one degree. When the boys were having their archery lesson a few of the adults came over to talk to David by the van. I spoke to the head teacher who happened to say he lived in Clive (HB). I told him my mother’s family are from Clive and gave him a few names including an uncle’s name who has only just left Clive.

He said “You’ve got to be joking, his son-in-law and grandson are here in camp”.

And so it was that he bought Kevin, my cousin’s husband down to see us later on. That is Kevin being a big kid in the green jersey below. Small world! Mind you you’re never far away from a Johnstone relation when you’re in the Bay- we're a big family.

David & I celebrated a wedding anniversary while we were at Kuripapango and who should come on a Sunday drive to see us for the day? Mum & Dad! And it was a Friday not a Sunday, but they drove the 75kms or so out to have lunch with us on our special day.

An extra special day it was as we got to see them one more time before we head back to the South Island. It was lovely having them in camp for the day and great to get a whole lot of extra supplies just as we were running low on a few things. Included was Mum’s home made specialty, Shepherd's Pie, which meant I didn’t have to cook dinner for the next couple of nights. She’d also sent up a bacon & egg pie early in the week when David had to do a trip to town on some maintenance issues. We’ll definitely miss Mum’s home cooking once we’re gone; although my waistline might breath a sigh of relief. We moved the table and chairs over into the shade and settled in for long lunch.

And just to show you that living on the road doesn’t mean we go without; we had Mum’s sausage rolls for morning tea followed by, for lunch, freshly baked bread rolls made by moi! Mint marinated BBQed Lamb fillet, corn & tomato salsa, pomme anna and Dad’s home grown beans followed by grilled summer fruits and sabayon custard all washed down with Morton Estate bubbly (those in the know will recognise the name, it's where we married all those years ago) and my favourite chardonnay, Stoneleigh. It was lovely to see Mum & Dad again and we had a lovely relaxed afternoon, it was one of our better anniversaries.

There was still one more surprise in store for us. The very next day dawned cold and wet and as I was sitting at the table typing away on my laptop I saw a mini bus approaching. I couldn’t believe my eyes when, as it passed us, I read ‘Tours 4 Matures’ on the side of the van. Good friends Sherry & Chris run their tour company from Tauranga and here they were out in the wops with seven cheerful clients, having left Napier in the morning, stopping at Kuripapango for morning tea, Taihape for lunch and Turangi overnight. They were on their great East Coast tour taking in East Cape and Hawkes Bay along the way.

And then they were gone. It is truly a very small world. See you down south sometime Sherry & Chris!

Surprise!

Not long after taking the reflection photos in the previous post David got a text from Rachel asking what the weather was like after the sunny day yesterday. We sent back that there was cloud cover but it looked like it would burn off and more importantly that there was no wind! Back came a reply- "We're on our way, see you in an hour" And so after saying our big farewells yesterday and in less than an hour the family arrived on our doorstep (literally)  to set up camp! What a wonderful surprise it was & finally after all our weather woes we got the chance to camp together, albeit for one night only.

Ollie & Ruby were so excited,  Ollie especially as Poppa had skyped the night before & had shown him the tyre swing in the tree beside us. It was the first thing they both raced for.

Panoramic view of the reserve

After setting up camp and with the tide going out we decided to walk around to the point beside the mouth of the estuary. 


Hubcap Heaven- cribs at the end of the road

A woman had arrived just after the family in her horse float with two dogs & a horse on board and it turned out that Rachel knew her from work. Irene frequently came to this reserve to stay; she is friends with the neighbouring farm owners and rides over their farm & she told us that there were often sealions & seals on the rocks at the point. We didn't find any on this walk but we later saw a sealion pulling itself out of the water and up into the dunes on the far side of the estuary near the mouth. The tide was on its way in so we weren't able to check it out, plus it would have been another long walk back across the soft sandflats.

 

 

Looking back across the tidal sand flats towards the camp. The estuary reaches around the trees in the middle and would be another 3 rimes this size. The sand was fairly firm to walk on although there were a few soft patches.

Poppa leads the way around a rocky patch

The estuary mouth & Haldane Bay, Catlins

At the rocky point there was plenty of bull kelp growing on the rocks & swirling back & forward in the tidal surge.
  

 

Heading for home

But not before a slide in the sand

 
By mid-afternoon the sun made an appearance & after a bite to eat we took the kids down to the water for a swim. Well, a paddle & a play on the boogie boards. Dad got a good workout running back & forward skimming them across the water.

Back at the camp & getting ready for a BBQ dinner we were in for another lovely surprise. The family from the farm had been on an outing to Curio Bay for the afternoon & especially to get a fish 'n chip dinner from the well-known caravan that plies it trade there during the summer. They called in for a visit on their way home. And so once again, as well as saying goodbye to them yesterday, we said another hello!

 

 

And I have to report that after this post on free range eggs & this one on the state of the bread in Invercargill I had two indignant women on my hands. Firstly Darnelle was most put out that I was having trouble finding good free-range eggs and so no prizes for guessing what she arrived with, a carton of fresh free-range eggs straight from their chooks to our pan! And at a day or two old, the only way you could get fresher than these would be to hold the frypan underneath as the hens laid them! So thankyou very much Mrs Chicken (& friends) & the family too! I knew I took a photo of one of the hens at Christmas for a reason...... :)

And secondly, I forgot to mention the wonderful freshly baked bread that Rachel ha made for us many times while we were in Invercargill and as if to reiterate this fact she sent us away on Monday with a lovely warm loaf to enjoy when we got to camp. There's nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the house and  it's intensified greatly in the small space of the fifth-wheeler so every time we opened the door on the way up the coast we got a promise of things to come.

After the BBQ there was a discussion on who was going to tidy up with David saying to count him out as he had cooked the sausages. This provided me with the opportunity of fishing out this little item that I have kept for many years on a scruffy sheet of paper in my keepsakes. I had actually lost it for quite awhile and only came by it again when I was packing up the house. Never a truer word said!

A Mans Barbecue-

Definition of Outdoor Barbecuing: It's the only type of cooking a "real" man will do: when a man volunteers to do the cooking, the following chain of events is put into motion.

1) The woman goes to the store.

2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables & dessert.
3) The woman prepares the meal for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensiles, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill, drinking a beer.
4) The man places the meat on the grill.
5) The woman goes inside to set the table & check the vegetables.
6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.
7) The man takes the meat off the grill & hands it to the woman.
8) The woman prepares the plates & brings them to the table.
9) After eating, the woman clears the table & does the dishes.
10) The guests congratulate the man for his excellent cooking & he takes a bow.
11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off". And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

 

Tent City

Central City Camping Park here in Invercargill, is a very popular camp ground especially with cycling tourists & in particular German cycling tourists. Every day brings a new wave of  people watching & entertainment for us as some depart & others arrive to find a spot to put up their tent. Our van is right beside the tent area and when there's too many for one side the overflow moves to our other side in the spot that we had when we first arrived.

We have felt very sorry for some of the tents & their occupants especially when the weather has been lousy, which has been more often than not for the last three weeks. The rain has been torrential some nights and the wind horizontal but still they arrive some looking like drowned rats. I guess they have no other options when they're working to an itinerary. It certainly isn't my idea of fun, lying on a very thin foam mattress inside a very small tent where you have to bend double to move about or in fact in some, only able to crawl. And then having to contend with the constant rain & wind and the occasional single digit overnight temperature. If it was me I'd blow the budget & stop in one of the cabins overnight.

 

The late afternoon sunshine dries out tents & people

The couple below decided to have a lay in while their fly-tent (the outer case) dried out, the two guys in the green tent at the back were here for quite a few days, one of them had very bad toothache and had to wait for a dentist to open after the holiday break. There could be nothing worse than being ill, living in a tent through a wet & miserable few days. They had their fly tent stretched to it's maximum to keep the rain out.

 

"Please- no naughty business outside our front door!"

Along with young couples, groups of two or three young guys & a few older couples on cycles there have been a few single middle aged men on motorbikes & in cars holidaying in tents too, these two enjoyed a few drinks on the table near our window.

The couple in the yellow & grey tent above had a few problems with the airbed their first night. It was unceremoniously hauled out of the tent in the morning and dumped in the rubbish. Later that day they arrived back to camp with a large box & a new air bed which was pumped up by foot pump outside the tent.....wrong move, they couldn't then fit it through the tent flap, it was so large. Some air was let out and it was squashed inside and re-pumped up again. This time it took up all the floor space & more, the lower sides of the tent disappeared underneath the mattress and it looked like an overblown odd shaped balloon when they picked up the whole thing to position it. Still, going by the squeals of delight emanating from the tent that night they were obviously pleased with their purchase!

Two French couples arrived in this car with so much gear which they then proceeded to spread far & wide while they discussed where they were going to set up camp. This spot looks great but it's right underneath the trees and when it rains the drops are huge! I think they were in for a sleepless night.

 

And rather than spread more of their gear out in the kitchen & dinning area they decided to take over the one table which they shifted close to their tents & our slide out. I don't think they quite realised how much we can see through our dark tinted windows.

 

 

This young German couple, and by young they looked in their late teens although I'm sure they were not, it's just us getting older, set up their tent and then knocked on our door to see if David had any tools. They had a broken fan belt, I wondered why I had earlier seen him carting engine facia and surrounds into their tent. They had actually slid off the road and hit a bank earlier in the day. Once again (Mt Maunganui was another time) David was able to help out with repairs, we've also had people asking for help with tent pegs, change for the laundry and we offered storage for hiking packs underneath our van when the rain has been torrential.

I felt the sorriest for this couple, they had the smallest tent of any I've seen. Virtually an oversized sleeping bag with strings attached. And they were here when the rain was at it's hardest and for a few days. They had no fly tent so their single layer was a sodden mess, they had a bit of plastic at one stage but that kept getting blown off & then they purchased a tarpaulin which stayed on a little longer but wasn't ideal. While they were away during the day, David kept having to weight it down with blocks of wood to keep it in place.

This is how you emerge from a tent without getting your socks wet......

And then you sit on a plastic bag to keep from getting your bum wet while you text home...."get me out of this God forsaken wet & miserable place!" This is the couple who had their packs under our van (they were on foot), initially they had them in the tent & then found out there was no room for themselves!

The sun was shining on this morning (but not for long) when these two couples loaded up their two tents, bedding, groceries, two large suitcases and themselves into this tiny wee shopping basket of a car and drove off. I wonder if they realised how winding & steep some of the roads are in NZ when they bought the car, probably sight unseen, from some unscrupulous person who just might have said "Sure, no problems, it goes like a dream" (around town). I bet they had to double their driving time after a day or two.

So as you can see we've had our fair share of entertainment while we've been sitting out the bad weather, plenty to keep us amused as we watch the daily highs & lows of camp life. Then there are the camp regulars but that's a whole nother story......