It's A Wrap

Real Time

Well, you sure won't miss us on the road now! 

This is what has been keeping us in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel area for the last month while we waited for a special order of vinyl to arrive from overseas. Over the last 3 and half days 'Out There' has been vinyl wrapped along both sides, had the graphics replaced and the pièce de résistance, one of my photos added to the back! 

Some of you may remember a blog I did last September regarding the dull bloom developing on the van and David polishing it. Well once again, and sadly after all his hard work, the bloom returned within a few months. While we love the darker colour of our rig, it does obviously show up marks & fading a lot more than white motorhomes. We decided that after 7 years, 6 of them on the road fulltime and in all weathers, it was time to paint the van. 

Before

For most of our lives we have never followed the norm and we weren't about to now either. After a lot of research, David had decided on 'wrapping' the van instead of painting it, if it ever needed to be done. We had recently visited a company in Henderson and were very impressed with what we saw and then through a chance meeting at the NZMCA Park at Waihi Beach we met another Ultima owner who happened to have a relation at the Mount who did vinyl wrapping. 

After

Craig from Wrap It Signs- located in Newton Road, Mt Maunganui- came and saw us while we were parked at the Mount campground. David also visited him at his workshop and we were both very impressed with his attitude and quality of work. We also liked his sense of humour!  We were finally sold on the idea when he showed us a car that had just been completely wrapped in black. Until you opened the door you could not tell that it had once been totally white. 

Much of wrapping that Craig does is in primary and/or bright colours so once we'd chosen our colour- as near as possible to the original- he had to order it in from overseas. Hence the reason David had some fishing time in the Coromandel while we waited. 

The vinyl duly arrived and with our home out of bounds, we de-camped to a lovely Airbnb at the Mount for a few days.

It was a tight fit but with good instructions from Craig & I, David managed to back the 5th-wheeler through an impossibly tight doorway into the workshop. I know you're thinking ('cause I was too) 'How the heck are they going to wrap that left hand side?' Well they did and it included a bit of Kiwi ingenuity/#8 wire thinking, David re-hitched and maneuvered the front of the van over while Craig and Dylan used their weight to push the rear over; their weight and the very slippery backing paper that came off  the vinyl, placed on the floor under the tyres.

David helped out each day working alongside the guys (or was that hindering). He removed and replaced all the hardware that could be taken off the van and helped tidy up as they progressed. He also took photos for me on his phone.

Dylan set about removing the old graphics using a steamer similar to a wallpaper stripper.

They seemed to peel off very easily. You can clearly see the fading that has happened in these photos.

Initially we'd chosen a metallic vinyl similar in colour to the van but unfortunately that wasn't available, the suppliers only had a similar matt colour. To overcome this Craig added a top glossy coat of clear material to the vinyl which gave it an added sparkle and the extra benefit of double the thickness. The colour is quite deceptive in these photos and in real life, under different lights and from different angles.

The vinyl is laid out on the work table and cut to length and then- this is where the expertise and skill comes into it- stuck on the van side, sealed, window holes cut and everything maneuvered into place. It's just about impossible to see the edge and no masking is required!

Once both sides had been wrapped and the pièce de résistance applied- Craig was crafty, we didn't see him add that, it was there in all its glory when we arrived the next morning- 'Out There' was put outside so the slide-out sides and graphics could be done.

The most amazing part of the whole job, for me anyway, was how the graphics were done. Craig had taken a couple of photos on his phone of the rig outside on the road before we delivered it to the workshop. And from just these non-descript photos he was able to reproduce the exact same graphics (give or take a couple of minor details we decided to leave off) and then place them on the rig with no measurements whatsoever. Just a keen eye and some pretty awesome talent. 

This section of wrap was replaced after a small imperfection was spotted. How's this? The graphics were peeled back, the section removed, the new piece stuck on and then the graphics went back over it like nothing had happened! Is that amazing or what (can you tell I'm impressed?) I know how much fiddling and worry goes into sticking the flamin' red NZMCA Wings on the van let alone all these dashes & swirls!

David had suggested we could put a photo on the back of the 5th-wheeler when he was originally looking at the wrapping process and we had toyed with the idea but had pushed it to the back of our minds as we couldn't decide what photo and how big to have it, amongst other things. But once the job was on track and we'd spoken to Craig we thought we'd re-visit the option.

Initially I was thinking of just having it over half the wall, down to the bottom of the window, or 100mm or so further on but Craig suggested filling the whole space as the window edge would detract from the photo and the box on the back was going to cover a lot of it anyway. So that is why we now have a larger than life 'muriel' on the back of our house!

But how to decide on what photo to use? Well David had one in mind and I had several so over an evening (while Craig patiently waited for the file), I put together a few very basic mock-ups.

1) Whangarei Falls- (Craig was most impressed, he's from Whangarei & he'd never seen them looking so spectacular) but we decided it was a bit too busy and imagine that driving down the road in front of you, it would be like someone stole half the bush.

2) Poolburn Dam- Nearly my favourite, I just love the ruggedness, the fishing cribs and the two tone ice and the fact that it's not a part of NZ you usually see. But let's face it, I just love Poolburn full stop.

3) Aoraki/Mt Cook & the Hooker Valley- again very busy and hey, most of New Zealand has seen a photo of Mt Cook.

4) Kea, our cheeky endemic mountain parrot- David was keen to see the mock up of this one although it wasn't his favourite. We dismissed it straight away; it would be quite scary with Big Bird looking down on you as we drove along.

And the winner was-

5) Ahuriri Valley, MacKenzie Country- where it was minus 16c and I had myself a mini hoar frost this particular morning. This was both our favourite photo and family also picked it when I sent out an SOS. It was the only photo that had our van in it too, and I liked the way the river leads your eye into the scene.

The photo just happens to have appeared on the TV weather back when I took it and also was a NZMCA Motor Caravanner magazine cover, now it'll be forever famous travelling around New Zealand on the back of our van! Here's the blog I did on our visit to the remote Ahuriri Valley.

The photo above & below are comparison shots; above with no storage box on the back and the slide-out side still to be wrapped. And below with the box on and side wrapped.

All finished and ready to go...

...and just in time as a heavy rain storm swept in.

Then it was just a matter of turning the rig around, pausing for some photos and heading out. Job well done. We thoroughly enjoyed dealing with Craig and would highly recommend Wrap It for any job you may want done (and don't worry if your rig is bigger than ours, Craig has access to another larger workshop)

Here are another couple of comparison shots of before & after. Click the photo to see a larger version and then scroll back & forward to see them side by side.

The only visual difference I can see, compared with paint, is a slightly raised join where the vinyl overlaps the next drop. In the photo below there's one down the right hand side of the window on the left and another at the bottom of the awning arm. Nothing to write home about. 

And I know some of you will be thinking how about the cost compared with painting. While we didn't have an exact quote on painting, all indications were that wrapping would be approximately half to two-thirds the cost of painting. Then there is the time factor, which can be an issue when you live in your van fulltime and need to vacate it while work is being carried out. Our job was completed in three & half days so accommodation costs were kept to a minimum, and we had a mini-holiday! Well I did anyway, David worked his butt off.

Oh, and by the way, did I tell you we are absolutely wrapped?

Update- we returned to have the front wrapped too, here's the blog post.

A Wet Farewell

After four weeks of good weather with just a few showers and a little bit of wind the drought has well and truly broken, the heavens have opened up and an awful lot of water has been dumped on us over the last couple of days. It’s hard to hear yourself think inside the van- the thunderous rain on the roof is joined by the continuous rumble of the crashing surf outside. Just a few silly buggers have ventured past on the boardwalk and the campground has emptied out. Only the hardy &/or mad are left to fight the elements including a number of young travellers in small tents, some had been pitched on the bare patches in the sun a few days ago but this morning were in ankle deep water.

Another Ultima fifth-wheeler arrived over the weekend, Brian & Pauline live locally and take a week off from their business every month to recharge their batteries. This week they’ve come to the Mount to stay, it’s a pity the weather has packed up for them.

‘The long and short of it’- the family of 5 in the cute little retro caravan  on the site beside the other Ultima have been having an exciting time camping, until today that is, when the kids couldn’t play outside.

Tonight is our last at the Mount campground, we’ve said goodbye to the family this evening   and will be ready to break camp early tomorrow morning. The energy resource manager has the van booked in for an extra solar panel to be added tomorrow morning before we leave town. The entertainment manager (and energy resource user) has had a new TV fitted in the bedroom. Ready for those long winter evenings and extra cold mornings down south next year.

And one final photo of another ship arriving in port and the beautiful red of the pohutukawas that line the Mount walking tracks. Sadly the heavy rain over the last few days will have battered the flowers, now the paths will be lined in red instead.

And I am pleased to report that after 4 weeks my camera has finally been returned. To Napier. But that’s another story……So now I’ll have to wait until we arrive there before I can get clicking again.

Mount Mixture

I hope I haven’t kept my regulars waiting too long for this post but as you can imagine it’s been a very busy time catching up with family & friends and seeing to all the various appointments we had arranged before we arrived in town. The time has flown by and we only have one more week here at the Mount before we head off to Napier & family for Christmas.

I’ve really enjoyed being back on the front row beside the boardwalk at the Mount campground. There’s always something interesting happening or someone interesting walking by. Mind you, I think we’re leaving at the right time, the campground is starting to pick up pace, the sites down here on the ocean side are nearly always full and there is a definite increase in the numbers of walkers passing by on the boardwalk. This is probably because there has been a cruise ship in port just about every day for the last week. When out on my walk, I’ve even taken to politely telling approaching walkers to “keep left, keep left, just like you’re driving” and looking silly by demonstrating steering a car in case they don’t understand English!

We have had some brilliant weather, hot and sunny days with very humid nights- which isn’t so pleasant.

There’s been a few overcast days with scattered showers, luckily most of the rain has fallen overnight. A good number of school groups have been spending time either in school camps at the Mount campground or visiting by bus. I felt sorry for this group; they disappeared up the stairway to the Base Track, happily chatting and excited only to come rushing back in a torrential downpour about 30 minutes later.

And then there have been those windy days, those days that most of the country have been experiencing on and off over the last few weeks. We even had our own Nor’west arch for a couple of days. And one morning when I was walking along Pilot Bay in a howling westerly, I spotted this yacht with a broken mooring rope & buoy beached.

I thought surely someone would have phoned the harbourmaster but then I thought perhaps not and if it was our boat I’d hope somebody would follow it up. So I ducked behind a car out of the wind and called the afterhours harbourmaster number. He hadn’t been called so then I had to go down to the yacht and find some identification for him & the number on the buoy. Luckily for the owner the tide was going out and the wind had actually flattened the waves quite a lot so it wasn’t going to get battered about in the surf. But it did look like the keel had been broken off as it hit the shallow water.

The constant parade of people past our kitchen window have included a hundred or so Santas on the Great KidsCan Santa Charity Fun Run.

And the first race of Tri NZ Tinman National Series.

And nearly every evening the surf club members are out, either training on the sand or paddling their boards or kayaks off the beach or around the Mount and back. Some at least 4-5 times! On the weekends the nippers come out to ‘play’.

I now know why the Main Beach looked so white that first time I saw it after we arrived back in the Bay. It gets groomed a couple times a week, before and after each weekend up until Christmas and then everyday over the holiday period. Which is great. Except if you are parked up on the front row of the campground. From about 2am I can hear the low rumble as the tractor pulling the groomer moves up and down the beach. That actually isn’t so bad. It’s the thousand & one spotlights he has across the top of the roll cage that shine in my bedroom window as he turns for his next run!

There’s no going back to sleep after that so it’s up at the crack of dawn and off on my walk marvelling at the early morning light and hundreds of rabbits scurrying about- the paddock in front of me is a moving mass of bobbing white tails. If I look out the van at night there are dark moving lumps in every direction, some take no notice when you walk by but stop, and they scatter in all directions. 

I have been watching these starling chicks grow in leaps and bounds over the last two weeks. Their nest is at eye level in an old rotten hollow right beside the Base Track. At first they stayed back down in bottom of the hole and all I could see was their fluffy heads and bright yellow bills. I was alerted to them by the squawking and a parent departing right across my face. They’ve now lost all their fluff and have moved up to the edge of the hollow, it won’t be long before they’re gone.

I just wish I had my camera back to catch some of the lovely sights I’ve seen on my walks, my camera phone doesn’t quite cut the mustard especially if I need to zoom in a little. My Nikon is not due until mid next w$$k!!

I also wanted my camera so I could catch up to date on my favourite street artist’s latest artworks- . Nelson Mandela has joined Johnny Cash and now adorns the wall across from OD’s (Owen Dippie) studio. There are also another couple of artworks in Tauranga city that I have yet to shoot. Sadly OD is moving to Auckland so there won’t be too many more done on the walls around the back lanes of the Bay’s industrial buildings. Here’s the blog post from last year with some of his other amazing artworks.

Last Friday evening we walked to Coronation Park at the other end of town for the first Gourmet Night Market of the season, this being the 2nd year that they've run. From December to February over 6000 locals & visitors head to the park every Friday night for an evening of fun, entertainment & delicious gourmet street food.

I can tell you, choosing dinner from over 50 food stalls set up around the perimetre of the park is extremely hard! We loved the family friendly atmosphere and the amazing choice of food. There’s also live music from a local band or musician playing each evening.

We were also very impressed with the custom designed waste stations set up for recycling along with willing helpers making sure waste made its way into the right bins.  Last year the market diverted 94% of its waste  away from the landfill, this year their target is 99%. I can see this market will become one of the ‘must dos’ when visiting the Bay of Plenty and a regular night out for the locals- we’ll certainly be going again this Friday.

For the last few days we have been enjoying the company of another Ultima. Judy & Craig from Otaki took delivery of their brand new Ultima Series II and have been parked here at the Mount while their Ranger had the fifth-wheel hitch fitted and they learnt the ropes before heading home. David has been able to give them some good tips and talk them through various things. I know how overwhelming it is when you first take possession, it all seems foreign and the van seems so HUGE. Eventually it all falls into place and it becomes second nature. There have been at least 3 other Ultimas parked up at the Mount at various times during our stay here; 2 other new vans and our friends Bruce & Barb from Kerikeri who came down to see us before we left.

And finally, a selection of our beautiful NZ Christmas tree. The pohutukawa are blooming all over the Mount now. The red is so intense up close, I wish I had my camera…….

Warbirds- Part 1

Warbirds Over Wanaka is well over and we have returned to Lowburn for a few days. We have had a fabulous time not only enjoying the airshow but enjoying the company of many like-minded people. We invited the other Ultima owners over for "Happy Hour" on Saturday night along with a few of our other neighbours.

On Saturday, David & I, along with many of the others watched the airshow from up on the plateau where we had a birds-eye view of the displays.

On Sunday, David & a few of the men spent time talking "shop" & comparing notes. I went down to the show to take some close up photos from the runway fence line (we all had tickets as part of our parking package). And look at that blue sky! While most of New Zealand battled a "weather bomb", we had a hot sunny day.

 

I won't say how many photos I managed to take over the three days, suffice to say that other than the "good" ones that I've pulled out as I skimmed through the pile, I don't think the rest in the folder are going to see the light of day any time soon! And I'll take this opportunity of apologising for the number of photos that will be posted, especially if you are on limited data. It was just about impossible to choose which shots to run with.

I'll start the photos with this beautiful & graceful bomber (can a bomber be graceful?)

The extremely rare Avro Anson; this aircraft is the only remaining airworthy wartime Avro Anson MK1 in the world.

 

 

 

 

I'm still having trouble uploading photos & posting to my blog so I'll keep this one short & hope I can post more tomorrow.

Continued on in Part 2