The Groves in the Cotswolds- 13-15th May 2009

Now that Mike and Pauline had left, the weather changed dramatically and we soon found the rain and grey skies that are quite familiar to the UK.

After a latish breakfast we decided to head off to Cirencester to look at the other Caravan Club site. It looked fine but much larger than the Burford site. From here we headed back along our walking route to Burford via the quiet country lanes and stopped at several villages which we did not see on our walk. As we were getting peckish we stopped for lunch at the pub where we had stopped on Monday and enjoyed yet another good lunch of sandwiches and in the rain we arrived in Lechlade. This is a nice little town with a large 'Christmas Shop' which sells decorations and all things for Christmas all year round.

With the knowledge that Roger and Sue may join us the next day for lunch we visited the local butcher who had some excellent homemade pasties and pies and so we decided to go for these instead of the usual ham.

It was still raining for the rest of the day and we had a quiet evening in the caravan just enjoying the peace and quiet apart from the few old RAF aeroplanes taking off from Brize Norton.

Thursday came around and the weather was acceptable, at least not raining, and so Rog and Sue arrived in the 'beast' (Rogers Porsche) and so a pleasant lunch followed with some wine and they left around mid afternoon, it was a lovely way to pass some time.

Another evening of TV and we watched the 'apprentice', what a bunch of losers these people are, one small group wanted to make Margate a major holiday destination for the 'gay' fraternity. Twits.

This was followed by the BBC 'Question time' programme which of course covered the current MP's expense claim row. To see the supercilious Mrs Margaret Becket sitting there and trying to explain away the fraud committed was unbelievable and very soon the audience were booing and jeering. This whole MP matter is not good for the UK and puts us level with an African banana state. Brown has obviously lost the plot and as for the Speaker of the House 'Gorbals Mick' we can only wait to see what financial tricks he has been up to. Please bear in mind it's his department that manages the MP's expenses and so it could be a case of if you claim what you like then perhaps then you won't attack me. Let's wait and see.

Friday morning arrived and we packed up the van and got ready to leave. We tried to time it to miss the traffic but we finally arrived back at Walton on Thames about mid afternoon after being stuck on the famous M25 as the junction with the M3 was partly closed.

Well it's been an enjoyable week in the Cotswolds and it's something we will no doubt do again.

The Thames Path walk - Day two 12th May 2009

We all slept soundly and we were pleased to hear that Mike and Pauline found the other bed most comfortable.

A light but good breakfast was had by all and we agreed that to walk another ten miles may be a little more than we can handle and so when looking at the Thames Path route map we decided that we could make a good four and half miles, perhaps five and so we agreed that we would take the cars to Cricklade and leave the other at the Red Lion Pub at Castle Eaton. So by ten o'clock in the morning we were well on our way from Cricklade from where we crossed a large field and started walking alongside a small river which was growing wider every mile or so. We met a number of people who were also doing the same walk as us but we think they must be fitter than us and we left them to proceed without us. We have been very lucky with the weather really as Monday was very bright and sunny all day but with quite strong winds whilst today the wind had dropped and it was a bit more pleasant to walk.

The Thames Path was much nearer the river this time and was visible most of the time which was unlike yesterday where we often lost sight of it on a regular basis.

Again we met some very nice cows and about three hours later we strode in to the Red Lion pub for a well deserved lunch. More sandwiches and chips please. This is also a very nice pub with great food and we finished about three in the afternoon and then we took one car back to Cricklade where Mike and Pauline bid us good bye as they headed back to the smoke of Weybridge.

We have now walked around sixteen to seventeen miles and we shall start planning again soon when we shall start the next bit from Castle Eaton to Lechlade and beyond.

This has been a great way to spend some days and we look forward to continuing the walk later in the year.

After Mike and Pauline left we headed back to the caravan for a well earned rest before an early dinner and an evening of TV and watched with great pleasure the MP's squirm as tales of their expenses are spread.

Note:- all our photos of this trip are on the following link

http://albums.phanfare.com/5194780/3915177#imageID=69046306

The River Thames Path walk - Day one 11th May 2009

We had decided that following an evening with friends who wished to start walking on the River Thames path from its source until we get to the end that this was something that the 'Groves' would also like to do. So during the past few weeks with our friends Mike and Pauline O'Sullivan, also from Wey Road, we have been planning this trip down to the nearest inch including where to stop for lunch etc.

The plan was that Noel and Jennifer would take their caravan to a suitable site where it would be convenient to start the walk and so the Caravan Club site at Burford was chosen and although there were nearer sites this was more suitable as it was quiet. It is however located right next door to the Cotswold Wildlife Park, but more of that later. Mike and Pauline were driving to Cricklade where we would meet and drop off one car and then head to the 'Thames Head' pub where we could park the other car and start walking. So we met around ten am as planned and then headed for the pub just outside Kemble and togged up with our walking stuff, rainwear, bottle of brandy and also four huskies and headed across the railway lines in search of the source of old Father Thames. Fifteen minutes later and dodging a few cow pats we found a large stone sign indicating the spot. However there was no water at this point and we had to head across the fields for about a mile before we found the first sign of water.

Photo:- The Thames source

We followed a reasonably signposted path through woods and along the Thames stream, over many little foot bridges and past open fields and passing nearby to a number of very nice riverside houses and also farms with also some excellent conversions. We even got friendly with some cows. After almost four hours walking we had completed about seven miles and were beginning to feel tired and looking forward to a sit down and lunch at the 'Horse and Jockey' pub near Derry Fields which is very close to Ashton Keynes. About three hundred yards from the pub was a welcoming sign saying that the pub was open all day and lunchtime food was available from twelve till two pm. Unfortunately it was now two fifteen pm. Nevertheless we visited the pub and the landlord was very flexible and agreed to provide sandwiches and a large bowl of chips. A couple of pints later and we were ready to tackle the next part of the journey which is about five miles back to Cricklade.

About twenty minutes later we lost the River Thames completely whilst going through the Cotswold Water Park which is a huge area of forty square miles with one hundred and forty lakes where you can do many water sports from fishing to sailing etc. There are also many new expensive waterside housing estates being built where you can park you boat outside your house. So we walked past the many lakes, mostly ex gravel pits, until we were able to find the next bit of the River Thames. At this point we decided to rename our tour to the more suitable name of 'Not quite the River Thames Path walk.' We continued walking past more old houses and through more fields of cows and sheep and stopped a couple of hours later for a rest.

By this time we were all getting a little tired and it was approaching six in the evening and Mike was convinced that the finish was just around the next corner, and if not that one then certainly the one after that. Finally we could see the towers of the church at Cricklade across a large field called North Meadow which is an ancient hay meadow near the village. It is 24.6 hectares in size. Over 250 species of higher plant occur in the meadow, but it is of particular note as it holds by far the largest British population of the Snake's-head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris). The 500,000 fritillaries which flower each year represent 80% of the British population.

The meadow was notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971. Part of the site has been designated a National Nature Reserve.

Finally the end was in sight as we neared the edge of the field and then found we had to walk further round until we found a suitable exit. So four tired and hungry walkers jumped in to the car and headed off to collect the other car and head back to Burford where we arrived around seven thirty in the evening. Time to open the wine which Mike and Pauline had brought with them which went down very well with the very tasty Cottage Pie also provided by Pauline. By eleven o'clock we were all ready for bed and the caravan rocked to the sound of multiple snoring sounds. Noel awoke in the night to hear some strange animal sounds, Oh yes we were close to the wildlife park where they have many species. Psst' was that a leopard prowling around outside the caravan?? oops or perhaps too much wine.

We had covered over twelve and a half miles during the day, a record for most of us.

A day on the River Thames with Friends

A good early start to the day as we are meeting with friends John and Lyn Lake, who own a lovely boat on the River Thames, and also Roger and Sue Allen.

We started early with a John prepared Bacon butty and a cup of tea before leaving for the boat which is moored at Sunbury upon Thames. The boat is a very nice cabin cruiser called 'Griffin De Mer' which I think is short for 'horse on the water' but it was previously owned by the actress Susan George.

We headed down the river in the direction of Teddington, passing by Hampton Court Palace and also Kingston and the weather was extremely nice. The view's over Hampton Court with the large Gold plated gates were also very impressive. There has been a lot of building on the riverside and there were many beautifully restored houses and also new houses with great river views. We also passed by a very attractive and interesting boat parked near Hampton Court which had been converted by Roger Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame and is used as a water born recording studio.

Just shortly after eleven am the bar opened and so we all partook of some 'vino' to settle the nerves before lunch which was taken at the 'Wharf Cafe and Bar' which is very nice indeed with great river views and also excellent food. Many hours and bottles later we headed back to the boat for the return journey to Sunbury where we finally arrived at around 6pm which was early enough to reopen the bar at John and Lyn's place followed by a smorgasbord and of course just a teeny-weeny little more wine before we all decided to leave before it got too late.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day- out on a magnificent craft with good friends on a beautiful day. What could possibly be better than this?

Just catching up with UK life

Well now, we have been home for just over five weeks and getting back in to UK life.
Needless to say the Government and Economy is in a complete and utter mess and the Chancellor of the Exchequer is running around like a headless chicken with not a clue how he allowed the fall and also how to correct it.
Tax for the higher paid has now reached 63.8%, so I suppose I am lucky to be retired.
On a brighter note, the Caravan has been serviced and they found some minor damp due to a manufacturing fault and this should be fixed later this year. We are planning a walk along the Thames Path with some friends in early May and will all stay in the caravan near Burford, Oxfordshire.
Very good news is that our daughter Joanne will remarry in November this year to a nice chap called Tim.
We hope to be in France with the van in June and July, if we have any money left, and then visit friends in Spain perhaps in mid August, lets see how it pans out.
The weather has been mixed for the last month but currently is nice but no doubt it will change soon.
Finally, the most important thing is that the house is now complete apart from some very minor bits and pieces but we still have some work to do in the garden.

New Zealand Epilogue

Well we have now been home for almost three weeks and it seems ages ago that we stepped on the small plane from Kaitaia to Auckland.

Kaitaia Airport terminal is not much bigger than my garden shed and of course quite quick to check in but they were not trained or had security in place to allow you to check in baggage right through to London.

The flight was about forty minutes but you could not see too much, mainly due to the clouds whilst they also flew inland rather than over the Bay of islands which we had hoped for.

We arrived in Auckland with strong gusts of winds and then it was that Noel realised that there were two women pilots on board and not the one he saw when boarding. Somehow we made a safe but windy landing and arrived at the Domestic Terminal (Cheek! Why shouldn’t we land safely)! It’s only a short ten minute walk to the International Terminal where we checked in and very soon after arrived in the Air New Zealand Lounge where we spent a good five hours, time for a foot massage and a shower. Oh the joys of travelling in the front end of the plane.

The flight to Hong Kong went by quite quickly as we both slept a lot en-route although it was quite bumpy at times as a result of the cyclone in Eastern Australia.

Time for another shower in Hong Kong but then the flight was delayed for four hours as one of the food chillers had broken and with a fairly full flight they both needed to be working as food was needed on this twelve and a half hour sector.

We arrived home just in time for Jennifer to shower and change and join some other female residents at a Ballet night at Woking Theatre.

Noel spent the evening with Pizza and wine with Mike a good neighbour.

Since then we have just about come to terms with the time change and we both now sleep properly rather than having board meetings at two thirty in the morning with cups of tea.

We have spent some time playing with the finishing touches of the house, moving furniture etc but Noel spent almost two days on sorting out the post and filing away all the bits and pieces and paying the occasional bill.

We have learnt that Robin (of Robin and Lorraine fame) is in Kaitaia Hospital with Gall stones and we hope that he recovers very soon.

The weather since we arrived home has been quite good and warm but slipped back almost to winter in the past few days but the forecasters say that Spring weather is on the way.

Next week in London the G 20 Countries meet to decide our financial fate so let’s hope they can get it right, whilst there is currently no faith in the British PM getting it right.

Anyway it’s Saturday evening and the first Formula 1 Grand Prix is on tomorrow with two new ‘BRAWN TEAM’ cars on the first row of the grid. This will no doubt upset Mclaren and Ferrari. Ho Hum!

Anyway it was a really great trip

Saturday 7th March- It’s nearly time to come home

Well, we are now back in Taipa and over the next couple of days will be packing up and readying ourselves for a long journey home.
We have had a marvellous time but all things seem to come to an end and in this case it’s time to get back to reality.
So this is the last Blog of this trip as apart from a little last minute shopping and just hangin’ out until Monday afternoon there will not be much happening.
We are really looking forward to seeing our family, friends and house and catching up on the activities of Wey Road and also go over to Cobham and sort out this bloody Chelsea team.
We hope to be off to France in the caravan sometime in late April when the Blog may start again.
So its goodbye from me and it’s a goodbye from her indoors.

Haera Rai (or goodbye as they say here)

Friday 6th of March - Time to get organised

We need to sort out all our ‘stuff’ and also do some shopping whilst Noel needed a haircut as he could not see any more.

We drove into Kaitaia to do some shopping and Noel lost his hair. This was a proper barber he must have weighed twenty stones, did not stop talking about his life not being affected by customers and then took eight minutes to cut Noel’s hair for about £ 5.00. It looks ok really, Jennifer commented, providing I partly close my eyes and look away.

We visited the car hire company to make arrangements for dropping off the car next Monday as Brian has to visit Kerikeri on early Monday afternoon but we found out that the hire car company has a airport drop off. It’s a small world as when we were talking to Brian about Archibald Motors, from whom we hired the car, Brian said that Mr Archibald lives across the other side of the inlet from where we were staying. We mentioned that over the past few months that we were staying in Taipa occasionally we would talk to this guy with his dog and low and behold it turned out to be Mr Archibald himself.

Later in the day we received a call from neighbours who were interested in buying all our camping equipment. We made a quick trip over to their house and they were happy to buy the tent etc at a mutually acceptable price which was good.

The film festival continued and so we visited the Swamp Palace again to see a New Zealand made film about trying to win a car by keeping your hands on it all the time until you could not stand. It was sort of Ok but not the best film in the world but quite amusing really. It was supposed to be a true story??

And so to bed.

Thursday 5th of March - And still it rained

A ‘weather warning’ was issued overnight with heavy and continuous rain in Northland with some low level flooding expected in areas.

We loaded the car in the rain whilst watching another couple take down their tent and shove it, soaking wet, into a large plastic bag, not good for tents.

We drove north again retracing some of the journey from yesterday and the forest looked a luxurious green which is not surprising after all the rain.

We were going to use the ferry from Rawhene to cross the inlet and as we had to wait for forty five minutes for the next service, Jennifer offered to get some coffee from a shop near where you parked whilst waiting for your departure. She returned holding two tins of pre-made coffee, I say pre-made as on the tin it said ‘Made in Taiwan’ and imported by a Wellington based company. It also said on the tin that it was to be stored in a cool place and drunk chilled for best taste. There was nothing on the tin about heating it up for several days and serving it hot. We threw most of it away and Noel has kept the tin for further investigation.

The ferry arrived and appeared to be operated by only one guy, god knows what would happen should he have an accident en-route.

Needless to say the rain was getting stronger and so we sat in the car and had some ham sandwiches and watched the cloudy and wet scenery.

By mid-afternoon we arrived back in the familiar territory of Ahipara and then back via Kaitaia till we arrived at Taipa.

Sheila prepared a nice salad for dinner and then we took off to visit the Swamp Palace cinema which was holding its annual ‘World Famous International Film festival, for the last time. We saw a film with Meryl Streep as a Catholic nun in a school, who suspects one of the priests of foul deeds with some of the boys in his care. It was a well made film with good acting but a difficult subject to cover and in the end it was depressing in that the priest was promoted out of the way to avoid problems. There are shades of real life here.

Wednesday 4th March- The rains are back

It started raining again in the night as forecast by the NZ Met centre although the camp site owners said it would be fine. So we lay in our proper bed in a cabin listening to the rain and glad we did not have a wet tent to deal with.
We decided to do a tour round the area and left after a latish breakfast and turned North to visit the Waipoua Forest which is the home of the oldest living tree called Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest). This Kauri tree has a girth of almost fourteen metres and stands with many other large Kauri trees in this tropical forest which reminded Noel of the forests in Malaysia with high rainfall and dense bush. If you walked ten metres into this forest and turned around several times you would never find your way out except by a slight chance or GPS system.

After leaving the forest we continued north until we came to the estuary and along one side there were small villages but on the other side high sand hills partly covered in grass and small tress and the two sides of the estuary had very different appearances. It was still pouring with rain and very misty and so no point in taking photos.
Just before we reached the next town we found a lone pig wandering along the highway, we are not sure if it is a wild animal or not and will ask our friends here. It seemed quite at home on the main road.
We arrived in the town of Kaikohe where the heavens opened just as we reached a small café for lunch. Jennifer had the ‘Lamb’s Fry’ which is Lamb’s liver on mashed potato which she devoured happily.
We continued our journey south driving through the hills, mountains and fields full of cows and sheep.
We spotted many Australasian Harriers, a hawk, which likes to eat road kill rather than waste time catching his food. One bird hung on to his lunch in the middle of the road as cars passed him at 30 kms per hour only inches from where he was standing. It was a case of ‘I am protected by law’ so you drive around me please but many birds are killed this way as they refuse to leave the prey in the road.
We arrived in Dargaville, where Noel found an internet shop and caught up on emails etc. We did some shopping and then headed back to the site after calling Brian and Sheila to say we would arrive one day early due to bad weather. There is not much point in sightseeing when it’s raining so hard you cannot see anything.
We read in the TV lounge/kitchen area which was quite comfortable.

Tuesday 3rd March- Go North whilst the sun is still shining

What a glorious day again, the sun was blazing down and by eight thirty am it was getting very warm. We actually got up early to call our daughter on Skype but failed, shame as we could have stayed in bed a bit longer.

It took us a little while to pack up the tent and make certain that it was fully clean and dry and in the meantime we had breakfast and watched the other guests at the park cook up all sorts of morning breakfast menus.

We left Waihi at about eleven thirty am and headed in the direction of Auckland and again went through the gorge and this time took some photos from the car, lets see how they come out. We continued on via Pearoa, which is famous for its soft drink called L & P, and then hit the State Highway One heading north to Auckland. We arrived in South Auckland around lunchtime and it took about an hour driving from North to South of Auckland City and over the famous Auckland Harbour Bridge. The journey then continued North on the new toll road and passed through Silverdale and Warkworth and continued up to Brynderwyn where we turned West on SH 12 in the direction of Dargaville.

A little food shopping in Dargavile and the weather was still very warm indeed and we finally arrived at the Kauri Coast Top 10 Holiday Park which is situated in a wooded valley and surrounded by rivers. We double checked the weather as if it was going to be fine for three days then we would use the tent but if not we would stay two nights and rent a small cabin. So it was the cabin as we do not want to take any chance that we cannot have a dry tent should we decided to take the tent back to UK.

This site is very nice indeed and as mentioned it is in a valley and surrounded by rivers which are good for fishing and swimming. There is a school party here camping and so it’s a little noisy with exited kids running around and so we assume they must have arrived today.

Tomorrow we plan to perhaps visit Dargaville and also the Kauri Tree forest and then generally take it easy. The bad weather is due to start on Wednesday afternoon and with heavy rain forecast for Thursday and Friday we shall probably go to Brian and Sheila perhaps a day early as there is no point in sightseeing in the heavy rain also the Holiday Park is quite booked up from Thursday night we understand.

We are also beginning to feel a little tired as we have done quite a bit of travelling, around 5000 kilometres we think, and have had some very cold and wet times and so our thoughts are beginning to turn to home, hopefully the weather is better now.

Monday 2nd March- More twists and turns than an Agatha Christie Novel

The sun was shining first thing this morning which promised a good day ahead. An early breakfast was followed by ablutions and in the few minutes that we visited the showers it rained heavily for ten minutes and then stopped. Lucky we had closed the tent up otherwise we would have a wet problem again.
We left the site at Waihi and headed on the main road through the Paukikauri Gorge which looked quite beautiful but unfortunately there were no places to stop and take photos. There is a walkway along the side of the gorge which would be good to attempt but this will be for another day when we have more time.
The road took us to a place called Thames, which also happens to be the site of the Toyota Motor Company Plant, and this is quite a large town before we started heading North in the direction of Coramandel Township. The journey was very twisty with the road changing direction after each 100 yards or so.
We arrived in Coramandel Town and we were both surprised as we had expected that it would be rather more upmarket but the opposite was in fact the case and many of the old houses still remain and give it a quaint feel. We had lunch in a little café and then continued heading north for a while but realising we would have to return the same way and so we turned round and then headed towards the east coast. Both of us agree that the east coast is far more attractive and dramatic than the west coast, although the road does run right alongside the sea for many miles and lord help you if make a wrong turn or lose concentration as you are in the oggin!.
Back in Whitianga we drove down through the glorious hills via the Twin Kauri forest and back to Waihi where we stopped for a well earned ice cream. The ice cream here from the supplier Tip Top is of very good quality and almost as good as some of the American ice creams.
During today we have travelled about one hundred and fifty miles and at least sixty per cent of the journey was through very twisty roads up and down hill and it was very tiring for both driver and passenger. We would hate to live in this place and have to do this journey on a regular basis as it would eventually make you giddy all the time. Back in camp we started our preparations for packing up tomorrow as we leave for the Kauri Coast which is on the west coast where there are more Kauri trees and forest and National Parks to visit.
Unfortunately, the weather forecasters are promising heavy rain again for Thursday and Friday which may mean we will have to change our plans again due to inclement weather.

Sunday 1st March - Are we in the same country?

The sun was shining and it was getting quite warm by around 8.30 am and so we had to get out of bed and have breakfast down in the kitchen area. As we sat outside of the kitchen in the sun having breakfast it was hard to believe we were in the same country based on yesterday’s weather.

We spent a short time sorting out the tent and then headed North on the main SH 25 towards Whangamata where we had a coffee. This is an upmarket little town for people with money who need a place away from Auckland. There are some great houses near the beach with great views and we also spot a very well maintained MG Vintage car. Upon leaving this town we also came across a super looking Morris Minor and a few minutes later a MGB.

The journey so far had been through very hilly country where there had been a certain amount of logging which tends to ruin the view.

After coffee we left and then continued North on SH 25 to Tairua where we stopped for a few moments and then went to Hot Water Beach. This beach is quite unique and you can rent a spade and at certain times of day dig a hole in the sand which then quickly fills with boiling hat water which you can sit in providing your lower parts are quite tough.

We then visited another camp site at Hahei and it is really a very good holiday park which we would certainly stay at another time. The views from the beach are superb with great sand and beautiful colour of the sea with the small islands in the background.

Following a brief lunch overlooking the bay and watching the surfers we continued north until we came to the town of Whitianga which is an old town with major new building of private houses taking place. We passed one area where the houses are built alongside the river where channels have been dug so that the houses are surrounded by water where you can tie up your boat outside your house.

This is a great idea if you have a boat and don’t want to pay Auckland prices but the rest of the town is not so attractive.

We also visited another Holiday Park that we had seen on the web but it was rather basic and not worth consideration.

We decided to head back to Waihi which took about a couple of hours of driving and dropped into the town to do some shopping.

Dinner tonight was steak with a melee of vegetables. Alongside us in the kitchen was a Japanese family who seemed to be cooking for the whole Japanese army but a few minutes later the rest of the family turned up to demolish all that was cooked.

Tomorrow we head to the west coast and drive north again up to Coramandel Town and then go as far as we can on the peninsular.