Innholdsfortegnelse for No.77 July - August 2019 i RV Travel Lifestyle

Another busy few months have flown by, especially with regard to getting this big issue to the printers in time for the NZMCA Motorhome, Caravan and Leisure show July 5–6–7. We will be exhibiting this year, so come and see us if you’re in Christchurch over that weekend. This issue is packed full of South Island travel destinations, a wonderful museum at Yaldhurst in Christchurch from Kathy, an incredible bike ride through the Roxburgh gorge with Gary, Sheryl and Neil’s exploration of Pleasant Point complete with history lesson on the area’s aviation history and vintage railway, and they also stop at the Cheviot police station for a visit through the Hurunui district. Meanwhile Tom steps from tectonic plate to tectonic plate at Marble Hill. Allan Dick joins us this issue…

After the cold and grey months of winter there is nothing like a little spring sunshine to entice us into the great outdoors. Plants start appearing in my garden that I had forgotten about – it’s like someone cast a wand around the garden conjuring up green foliage and flower buds. As a garden photographer I study my list of potential gardens for photo shoots, as spring is the optimum time to photograph most gardens. In Taranaki, the garden province, early spring is a time when gardeners are madly at work preparing for the 10-day Taranaki Garden Festival. Around 45 stunning gardens selected by a panel of garden experts, are open for the Taranaki Garden Festival that starts November 1. A second garden festival runs in conjunction with this, called…

MARLBOROUGH BOOK FESTIVAL When: Jul 5–7 Where: Marlborough W: marlboroughbookfest.co.nz The Marlborough Book Festival is an annual weekend with wonderful writers, curious audiences and beautiful Marlborough locations. NZMCA MOTORHOME, CARAVAN AND LEISURE SHOW 2019 When: Jul 5–7 Where: Horncastle Arena, Christchurch W: nzmotorhomeshow.co.nz For lovers of the great Kiwi outdoors, get ready for a bigger show featuring all your favourite brands when they return to Christchurch in July. With the exciting new partnership between New Zealand’s National Motorhome and Caravan shows and the NZMCA, the newly named NZMCA Motorhome, Caravan and Leisure show is set to be a real highlight in your calendar. TAUPŌ WINTER FESTIVAL When: Jul 4–14 Where: Taupō W: taupowinterfestival.co.nz The fourth annual Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupō Winter Festival offers an action-packed programme over the upcoming school…

While on the South Auckland Caravans yard checking out the Airstream I looked through a couple of other caravans they had lined up. In particular I looked at the Jayco Silverline Outback caravan, a full-width nose kitchen, massive 216L fridge/freezer unit, L-shaped dining area with separate wall couch, with a lounge and bedroom slide-out, to a full-width large bathroom complete with full-sized shower box and even a 3kg washing machine. Lots of these features we expect from the biggest RV manufacturer in Australia; both their motorhomes and caravans have led the way in design and build in Aussie for over 40 years. Jayco developed their current exterior construction over 10 years ago now – bonded sandwich panel walls with no wooden framing, but with the exterior lining, insulation, and interior…

Weather-wise the last few months have been lovely in Pukekohe, nowhere near as cold as we are used to in the Wairarapa. It is almost fun to watch the weather and see a 10–12 degree difference in the overnight temperatures between here and there. We have been doing quite a bit of travelling recently, with a quick four-day trip to Queenstown on $75 return flights from Auckland (had to be done at that price) to see grandson baby Finn, and his parents of course. We picked up a Maui rental so we had independence, accommodation, and an office to work out of for a few hours each day. Thankfully there’s a good diesel heater in this model, and an electric ceiling bed in the rear over the good-sized U-shaped lounge…

If you happen to be in the Greenwich Royal Observatory in London, it’s possible to stand with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and the other in the western hemisphere. In the Indonesian city of Pontianak, you can stand with one foot in the southern hemisphere, and the other in the northern hemisphere. But at Marble Hill in the Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve in the South Island, you can do something far more impressive – stand at one moment on the Pacific Tectonic Plate, then move a few metres and stand on the Australian Tectonic Plate. The Royal Observatory in London is home to what’s known as the global ‘prime meridian’, an imaginary line running north-south through the Observatory and both the North and South Poles, marking the boundary between…

A walk on a black-sand beach in Taranaki leads to the steel skeletal remains of a coastal steamer that ran aground on a moonless night, and a series of small islands dotting the ocean – the remains of an ancient volcano There is something about a walk on the beach that soothes the soul. I find if my mind is busy and I need to clear my head, a walk along Oakura Beach seems to work wonders. By the time I’m a short distance down the beach, the expanse of ocean stretching to the horizon with clouds scurrying above is the only thing on my mind. It’s therapeutic. Friend and poet Elizabeth Smither has a poem called The Sea Question that explores this idea. This last verse captures the idea…

Toasted walnut & parsley pesto I use a variation of this herbaceous pesto in so many dishes that I simply can’t remember when I first started using it. Use as a dip, toss through pasta, dollop into tacos or slather all over grilled fish. Most types of nuts and seeds will work wonderfully here. MAKES ABOUT: 2 cups 1 cup raw walnuts¾ cup extra virgin olive oil6 anchovies, optional2 large handfuls fresh parsley2 Tbsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar1 clove garlic Dry toast the walnuts in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, then allow to cool for a few minutes. Place the toasted walnuts and the remaining ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until you have a chunky pesto consistency. Season to taste, although not always necessary with…

A recent trip to Silverdale, north Auckland, saw us drop in to catch up with Ben Young, Sales Manager at Nationwide RV Silverdale. There has been a lot of work done to this site in the last couple of years with the demolition of existing older buildings, expansion of the display yard, a new office and servicing building, and fencing to enclose the space for security. Nationwide RV proudly distribute key Roller Team models, as well as being the NZ Distributor for the UK-manufactured Tribute Motorhomes built by the Autotrail factory. Roller Team is based in Tuscany in Italy and is part of the large Trigano Group. They manufacture many of the RV brands now available here in New Zealand through various dealerships. Nationwide RV have a presence in Ashburton,…

Boy it is chilly today – there is actually ice on the grass outside. I am so glad I have my long winter coat on. It has been a busy couple of months, and soooo confusing at times too. We have been in a new house in Pukekohe. It was woof pretty good except there was no one to play with, no window to sit in to watch people walk by the house, and coz we were at the end of a long driveway I couldn’t see the footpath or road at all. Quite woofy woofy boring most days. I have had to go back to playing with birds, balls and sticks for entertainment – grrr woofy a bit boring it has been. There have been lots of walkies and…

Profile A GREAT RIDE Cartographer and trail designer Gary Patterson has mapped his way around the globe from subantarctic islands to back-country bike trails on every continent. He returned home for an epic adventure, riding all 22 NZ Cycle Trails Great Rides to make a mobile app. The Great Rides App is the only mobile app for the trails, and can be freely downloaded from the app stores. Follow his travels to inspire, plan and to help you on your own journey. Which to choose: staring all day at a computer in order to keep the Great Rides App in shape, or steering my bike through a river gorge to keep myself in shape? Today I choose the latter, so leaving early morning from my home on the shores of…

Pleasant Point’s a Canterbury town with a population of about 1300. While there’s no doubt about its pleasant aspect and its avenue of trees leading in from the south, no one seems quite sure of why ‘Point’ is part of its name. It’s referred to as simply ‘Point’ or ‘The Point’ by locals and has held this name since early pioneering days. South Canterbury’s worst flooding occurred at Pleasant Point in 1986, causing mass evacuations and costing millions of dollars, but more recently its claim to fame has been its unorthodox non-politically-correct, totally fun Christmas parades. Floats generally reference topical subjects of the time. In the past they’ve included a mock Tui ad featuring a well-known bishop on a float that proclaims that “gays and sinners cause earthquakes – yeah,…

BOOK GIVEAWAYS One copy of each title to be won, email the book title as subject to: subs@rvmagazine.co.nzor post to: RV77 Books PO Box 220 Martinborough 5711 with your full details, go in the draw to win. Closes 31 August 2019 Go Girl Barbara Else RRP $45.00 Penguin GO GIRL is a collection of true stories about New Zealand women who have done extraordinary things. They strove for their goals. They weren’t afraid to step up or speak out. They blazed a trail for others to follow. This book was written to show that YOU can join them! Just some of the amazing women whose stories you will find in this book are Dame Whina Cooper, Janet Frame, Farah Palmer, Lucy Lawless, Kate Sheppard, Nancy Wake, Sophie Pascoe, Margaret Mahy,…

Camplify Australia and the UK’s largest motorhome and caravan-sharing community is heading to New Zealand Camplify Australia and the UK’s largest motorhome- and caravan-sharing community is heading to New Zealand. Dubbed the ‘Airbnb for motorhomes and caravans’, Camplify’s arrival is set to help Kiwi motorhome owners earn $10,000 – $20,000 a year by sharing their vehicles with holidaymakers. Renowned for its secure and flexible booking process, which allows owners to choose exactly who they hire out to and when, Camplify is set to shake up New Zealand’s motorhome-sharing economy and make it easier than ever for Kiwis to operate their own side hustle. Kiwi parents Elle and Tiki, who currently live in Australia, have been building a new family business with Camplify. A year ago they listed their cherished camper-trailer,…