Been a bit lax lately mainly due to the fact we have been away so much since Christmas. It was the plan though. The last trip over to the Hawkes Bay was great. Without having to connect to electricity we stayed by a river, on the beach for very little cost. This was south of Napier at a place called Tairakau. We are 3rd from right. About 6 or 7 vehicles pulled in each night so we had company. Some we had seen at previous park ups. Quite a drive in as it was about 38km from main highway but good road.
Need to take fishing gear next time. The local council allow stop overs for two nights providing you are self contained (can store waste water). There are some holiday homes here and a small motor camp but no shop.
We moved onto Clive from here spending two nights by the river. Only a few minutes from Napier so were able to catch up with friends there. Next stop was only 15 mins away but on beach again at Te Awanga, a very popular stop over, once again two nights are allowed. A security guy calls around and takes number plates each night. Nothing to stop you going away for a night and then returning. Some places say you can only stay so many nights within a set period. There were approx 50 vans, buses and caravans the night we stayed.
Whilst staying here we heard that my 75 year old cousin Ken had passed away in Auckland. As we couldn't find out when the funeral was going to be we decided to head closer to Auckland and made our way to Taupo. Quite a challenging road towing a caravan with a number of long steep hills. Checking on our NZMCA book we found a POP (Park over property) just out of Taupo and stayed there for $5 a night. People who belong to the organisation offer their properties for people to park for up to 3 nights for a donation. There is a network all over the country so if you belong to NZMCA and are self contained it is a cheap way to travel
around. In the end Ken's funeral was put out for a week so we travelled home and then went to Auckland from Levin without the van. We were away for a total of 17 nights, the last 14 of which we did not need any 240v power relying on solar to charge the batteries each day. Hot water, cooking, and the fridge all work off LPG so we only need electricity for lighting and of course satellite TV!!
Easy walking distance to venue where there were 3 main stages and some smaller ones. Heaps of food stalls with many ethnic foods available.
Very well organised event, has been going for about 8 years I think. Lots of teenagers there and families. Surprising as it was about $100 a day for tickets. As you can see from the pics weather was brilliant, although we needed jackets in the evenings.
