Innholdsfortegnelse for No 64 i RV Travel Lifestyle

Autumn is well and truly upon us. The leaves on the trees and around the vineyards are turning all sorts of gorgeous colours, and the days have been warm and sunny but dropping to near zero some nights – time to get the winter woollies out and on standby, and find the gumboots I reckon. There has been a lot of rain as well in recent weeks. We finally got the Rock’n’Robyn back (our motorhome) from its rental. I thought 77 days would never roll around, but at last she drove back up the driveway and parked out front. It is interesting though now to reflect on what we gave up to rent her out for the summer. With a couple of friends arriving in their fifthwheeler last week, we…

In the last edition of RV Travel Lifestyle we issued a warning for owners of diesel-engine-powered motorhomes and cars to pay special attention when filling up at unattended truck-stops. This came after a motorhomer, pumped the new diesel exhaust-cleaning liquid, AdBlue®, directly into the RV’s fuel tank resulting in a hefty repair bill. Available directly from units that look like conventional fuel bowsers, this product is NOT a diesel engine additive; it is an exhaust cleaner expressly designed for newer Euro 6-compliant vehicles equipped with a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust emission control set-up. For the record, Euro 6 (introduced on September 1, 2016) differs from previous Euro 5 regulations that were largely concerned with carbon dioxide emissions. Euro 6 is all about targeting nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, as well…

Seven years ago I moved from Auckland to Oamaru, buying a large, historic, twostoreyed, Oamaru-stone home, high on South Hill with panoramic views from the west, through the north to the southeast. The house had been built for a wealthy Oamaru businessman around 1880, but he, Oamaru and most of the rest of the world got caught up in a messy financial melt-down around 1890; his business failed, so he sold up and moved to Wellington. There he died, alone, in a Wellington hotel room. The house, with grand gardens and a tennis court, was bought by the Roman Catholic Church for their local bishop and later by the Anglican Church for their local church leader. Around 1920 it was bought by a local businesswoman who extended the already large…

MOTORKHANA When: Sunday May 14 Where: Northtec Future trades, Whangarei W: ncc.org.nz A motorkhana is a cheap and enjoyable form of motorsport and at the same time is one of the most competitive. It is an event in which you can use almost any vehicle (standard road cars can be very competitive) and is primarily a test of driver skills. REEL EARTH FILM FESTIVAL When: Starts Monday May 1– 31 Where: Palmerston North W: reelearth.org.nz As always we are presenting the showcase of the best recent environmental films, illuminating a range of issues that are important to us; from climate change to animals rights. Every year people make great films telling environmental stories the world needs to hear. JENNIAN HOMES MOTHERS’ DAY FUN RUN/WALK When: Sunday May 4 Where: Henley…

The sales of motorhomes, caravans and self-contained RVs of all types is a huge growing market here in New Zealand. We are now in the situation of often not being able to buy our chosen RV off the showroom floor, but having to order our model in late summer/autumn and getting delivery a few months later in the year. The Covi Motorhome, Caravan and Outdoor Super Show, held in Auckland in March this year, was packed full of the latest 2017 models and offerings across the industry, both locally manufactured models and new-to-market overseas makes and models hitting our shores for the first time. With sales of over 200 units by all accounts, the majority of that display stock will be going to new homes, and orders for customers’ models…

Mankind has always been fascinated by the stars. Since the earliest times, we’ve recognised and named the patterns of their formations in the night sky. From science to navigation to nursery rhymes to songs of romance, the mysteries of the universe and the beauty of the night sky have long guided our direction while leaving us wondering what’s actually out there. Stars are represented on flags, promotional material, jewellery and tattoos, usually in a positive fashion, and if we think someone is pretty great, we refer to them as being a star. Gloria Witheford is someone who knows a lot about the galaxies. She knows a fair bit about children too, and as about 35,000 of them visit her mobile Starlab Planetarium each year, it’s probably just as well. Gloria…

Spain has the running of the Bulls, Te Kuiti has the running of the Sheep – they come tearing down the main street. It’s quite a spectacle for a lot of people, seeing that many sheep in one place, and the poor sheep are a bit confused, being in an unfamiliar place with asphalt under foot and all those people staring at them, but true to form they just follow the leader. For the two-legged it’s fun to be walking up the middle of the main street; the roads are blocked off and there’s all sorts of stalls and entertainment on the stage – my old mate Ronnie Philips (local Benneydale boy) is the MC. Ronnie’s been a Radio jock for years and he does a great job. It was…

Held at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds, the annual event attracted almost 19,000 visitors who were in the mood to spend, with early indications pointing to sales of more than 200 motorhomes, caravans and fifth-wheelers being made during and just after the three-day show. Major accessory retailers also broke all their previous sales records over the first two days of the show, leaving the Covi SuperShow National Business Manager, Brent Gillies, very happy, saying the show reflected the momentum that has been building over the past few years in the motorhome industry. “There is no doubt holidays in caravans and motorhomes are well on the rise again in vehicles which are virtually apartments on wheels,” he says. “Holidaying in motorhomes and caravans is making a serious comeback in New Zealand as we…

Saturday March 25, it’s the big day, the 51st annual Waitomo Sports Day, It’s the big event on the calendar for the locals and it’s just such good fun. My favourite event is the chopping. How they manage to chop those logs in such a short time is miraculous and some of those guys are not young fellas – but man they’re good – and there’s no safety footwear just sand shoes, but it’s a pleasure to watch. I don’t know the technicalities but they have a handicap system and the starter counts them down. He’s my grandmother’s cousin’s grandson, Andrew “Pike” Haswell, whose family have lived ‘out at the coast’ for several generations, and we get to say hello and check up on the family at the sports day…

The Wairau Lagoons cover an area of 2400 hectares of wetland and salt marshes, on the Pacific coast just to the east of Blenheim. The lagoons have formed over thousands of years behind an eight kilometrelong boulder bank created from gravel and stones washed up the coast by sea currents. Water from the surrounding hills gathers behind the boulder bank and combines with the tide coming in and out, to create perfect living conditions for plants and animals between the high and low water marks. The resulting birdlife in the area is prolific, with around 90 species being recorded, making it a fantastic place to see a large variety of endemic, native and introduced birds. From archaeological sites on the boulder bank, the area is recognised as the earliestknown site…