Innholdsfortegnelse for No 59 i RV Travel Lifestyle

Winter is here, or so we see on TV, with snow falls through the mountain ranges and ski fields opening, but all matched with 20 degree sunny days in random areas around the country - I’ve even seen trees in spring bloom down our street. Queen’s Birthday weekend was especially stunning weather-wise this year over the majority of the country. We headed to our local South Wairarapa coast at Palliser Bay. It usually gets pretty busy around the Ngawi and Cape Palliser lighthouse areas, so this time we headed to the other side of Palliser Bay to Ocean Beach. If you’re looking for an area that is a little more wild, and less accessible, this will suit. I decided to drive the motorhome for the first time so Bruce could…

As you’ll probably have heard, the attempt in June to rescue 13 four-wheel-drive vehicles stuck in metres-deep snow on top of the Old Man Range between Southland and Central Otago was a success. The stranding was the result of a wellpublicised event in mid-May when a large group of Southlanders headed up into these mountains at precisely the wrong time, as an early Antarctic blast brought snow to the lower part of the South Island, trapping them and their vehicles. For several hours, I was wondering if we were going to experience a re-run of the Wahine Disaster where we’d be standing on the sidelines watching, unable to do anything, while tragedy unfolded. Although this is a remote area, the marvels of modern cellphone communication meant that some of the…

We covered the Beach Hop event in the last issue featuring quite a few of the retro caravans on show. We couldn’t fit them all in that report though, and this Concord caravan is worth a good look in itself. The Concord caravan manufacturing history goes back to the 1960s, when Hastings’ brothers Colin and Keith Atkins set up Atkins Fiberglass and commenced manufacturing the classic rounded, all curves Concord caravan. They produced three size options of 13, 16 and 20 foot, though some of those 20ft models were actually 19ft in reality. This side of the business stopped in 1979 with the infamous Muldoon Government, which imposed a 20 per cent sales tax on boats and caravans. That tax closed down the majority of the businesses making motorhomes and…

CRC SPEEDSHOW – NEW ZEALAND’S LARGEST, MOST DIVERSE AND EXCITING AUTO EVENT! The 10th edition of the CRC Speedshow takes place over the weekend of July 16 and 17 at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds. It’ll be a spectacular celebration showcasing the finest, fastest and coolest new and classic cars and motorcycles, race cars, race bikes, wild hot rods and other custom creations from around New Zealand and the world - plus the appearance of a number of motor sport celebrities. Hot rods and custom vehicles will be on show alongside a large selection of cool rides, parts, accessories and services all in their very own hall. Add in free seminars, guest appearances from VIP motorsport stars, nonstop entertainment, competitions galore, interactive displays, the ‘Made in NZ’ and ‘Memory Lane’ feature displays…

TRAILLITE MID-WINTER EXPO WEEKEND WHEN: July 2-3 WHERE: 77 Paerata Road Pukekohe W: traillite.co.nz Escape the mid-winter blues with an on-road adventure backed by TrailLite. You can get on the road to freedom sooner with TrailLite’s Motorhome and Caravan Midwinter Expo. There is free entry, prizes, exclusive winter deal pricing and even hot soup and sausages! This event is ideal for people wanting to view a large range of motorhomes and caravans including Benimars, Auto Sleepers and Bailey Caravans. TrailLite is also offering informative seminars on all you need to know about buying a motorhome, as well as its popular factory tours. GREYMOUTH MUD RUN WHEN: July 10 WHERE: Greymouth W: westcoast.co.nz A muddy mud challenge through some entertaining and demanding natural obstacles, and a few others that aren’t so…

Here we are in mid-winter, and it’s 20 degrees in Hawke’s Bay today, unbelievable. It would be fair to say that a lot of people with RVs stop travelling over winter. The motorhome, caravan, fifth-wheeler or bus gets parked up, covered over if you’re lucky, and left until the temperatures rise and the rains stop. We decided to get some maintenance work done on the RocknRobyn. We were getting repairs done to the wee problem that occurred when the vehicle was rented out, so it seemed sensible to get some other small problems looked at at the same time. We had a couple of scrapes around the bottom of the habitation door entry panel, and had noticed a couple of rivets had popped out around the door surround. Our vehicle…

Winter is the ideal time to handle repairs and maintenance on your mobile home. Whether it be a motorhome, a fifthwheeler, a bus, a caravan or even a camp trailer, there are always items to be checked for safety, as well as the need to catch up with servicing tasks in order to enhance the longevity of your vehicle. With the large influx of imported RV vehicles, the industry here in New Zealand may have shrunk on the productionbuilding side, but it has boomed when it comes to repairs, maintenance and upgrades. I think it could be said that RV imports have directly contributed to the growth of these businesses, because they’ve diversified to meet the huge demand for coach building repairs, restorations and upgrades. The services on offer range…

LIVING/ACCOMMODATION: Two berth, fixed roof, customised conversion by Vanco Fittings include: fridge, 2 single/1 double bed, sink, hand pump for cold water supply, grey water retention, self-containment certificate, portable toilet, solar panel, ventilator, good storage including some lockable, GPS/Audio/DVD unit, small microwave, mains power connection Nice idea! However, we quickly found out that purchasing a motor caravan requires a considerable amount of thought, far beyond just thinking about finances. Financial factors are important, involving as they do a considerable amount of money not just to purchase the vehicle, but there are also continuing expenses to factor in - fuel economy, road user charges for some vehicles, maintenance, insurance, purchase of extra fittings and gadgetry, or storage out of season perhaps. Finances are really beyond the scope of a short article,…

Mum said it was time to put paw to paper, but I haven’t been anywhere for ages. My knee had been real sore, and I had to go to the vet where Mum and Dad left me for two nights. The lady vet and nurses looked after me okay, but when I woke up from a big sleep, they’d shaved half my back and my leg, right down to the skin! I had a really big cut inside my leg and I was very sore - I was so happy when Mum and Dad picked me up and took me home, though I couldn’t walk because for some reason, my leg wouldn’t work properly. It has taken longer than four weeks for me to feel much better. I haven’t been…

Wintertime slows up most RV travellers and we aren’t any different. The weather though for us here in the Wairarapa has so far been dry, and the beautiful sunny days have outweighed the rainy ones by a long shot. In fact its mid-June as I write, and we have temperatures around the country hitting 20 degrees - that’s just weird. We ended the last issue coming home to Caspar and his injury – you’ll read the update on that in his column at the end of this issue. Thankfully that must have been my run of ‘three-bad-things’ happening, because we’ve been all good since then. Taking care of the convalescing wee dog has had its negatives for Bruce and me though; no walkies for him means no walkies for us,…

As regular readers will know, Bruce has a bit of a love affair with his polishing machine, and this year alone he has washed, scrubbed, waxed and polished RnR’s exterior, and the shower as well, to within an inch of its life about three times (so far!). So when he heard about a new product to the market at the beginning of the year, and saw a couple of vehicles that had been through the TOUGHGUARD process, he had a long conversation with Mike Field, owner of ToughGuard NZ, about the product and its uses. The result? It was organised to have our RocknRobyn vehicle done while she was in the workshop. To be honest I think the words ‘Nano technology’ and ‘no polishing for three years’ got him hooked…

ARAPUNI Jump on a mountain bike in the tiny settlement of Arapuni and explore a section of the Waikato River Trails. I loved powering along the pine needleclad tracks and downhill switchbacks. There’s a swaying suspension bridge to cross, providing views of the river and Arapuni Power Station, the largest single hydroelectric facility on the Waikato River. You can either return to the popular Rhubarb Café or continue down river to the Jim Barnett Reserve where a prearranged shuttle can greet you. BRIDAL VEIL FALLS Next time you’re heading out to Raglan, make Bridal Veil Falls a compulsory detour. From the car park, a short stroll through native bush leads you to two viewing platforms, and then you can navigate your way down 261-steepish steps to the foot of the…