It seems to have been a long time since we had a real trip away in the motorhome. We had a trip planned to Northland with our friends Dianne and Gary, but with the latest outbreak of Covid 19 this was not possible, so we about turned and decided to head to Napier. This time we are dogless! The original intention was to stay in DOC camps in Northland and therefore, no dogs, so we had arranged for house sitters to come in a care for the boys. We decided to stick with those plans, also giving consideration to Oscar’s advancing age in increasing frailty, so the lovely Stephan and Sandra came to care for them.
The packing up of the motorhome went smoothly this time and we actually left at the scheduled time, with the first stop being Taupo to catch up with Dianne and Gary.
The roads were remarkably quiet without all the traffic from the Aucklanders and the Waikato people. The large number of trucks became very noticeable though.
We were treated to a delicious dinner and headed off somewhat early to find a park at the Taupo NZMCA park. It was pretty busy but we settled in for a quiet night.
After a leisurely start we hit the road headed for Napier, on a day that was still a bit cool, but grey and hazy. Certainly no mountain views today.
First stop on the road was to see the Waipunga Falls, about halfway to Napier. They are beautiful, but can only be seen from the carpark – no track to the base of the falls or anything. They were beautiful though – there is something quite calming about watching a waterfall.
The drive along State Highway 5 was an interesting one. It was spectacular at times, with steep hillsides covered with pine forests, chalky cliffs falling down to the Mohaka River, and beautiful farmland far into the distance. The views would have been even more spectacular if it wasn’t for the persistent low cloud and haze.
However, it was very evident in some areas that human-kind has done the landscape no favours at all. There were acres of gorse in bright yellow flower, and lots of scrubby growth when once there would have been native bush.
It was an easy drive to Napier and the NZMCA Park here is large and there is plenty of room to park up without being on top of anyone else’s bumper. It will be a leisurely afternoon for us – time to plan the days ahead.
Away From Home NZ 