Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2025 i RV Travel Lifestyle

The end of 2024 arrived in a flash, much like the rest of the year. I just don’t know where the time went. The forecast into January is for hot and dry weather, so that bodes well for summer holiday plans for everyone around the country. We will be on the road in December and January, Hawke’s Bay, East Cape, Tauranga to Coromandel, Auckland, Waikato and Taranaki will be in our sights, maybe even a trip north via Dargaville to Ahipara – the roads are open and we are keen, so who knows where we will end up, and isn’t that the whole point of the RV lifestyle – flexibility and plenty of options in front of you. This issue is packed full of great reading and inspiration for activities…

No lights, no towns, no roads. I expect little has changed since the first Europeans sailed into Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. Looking up into bush-covered ranges that hem the fiord, I imagine there could still be a moa in there somewhere. Or a moose … It’s taken almost the entire day to reach remote Doubtful Sound from Queenstown, driving two hours to Te Anau, water-taxiing Lake Manapouri’s 28km length and driving over the 22km gravelled Wilmot Pass. On a five-day Heritage Expeditions’ Fiordland Explored cruise, I step aboard Heritage Explorer, a considerably more luxurious vessel than HMS Endeavour, which Captain James Cook sailed in, naming this sound – actually a U-shaped valley formed by glaciers and therefore a fiord – Doubtful Harbour in 1770. New Zealand’s deepest, it’s situated in…

Forgotten World Adventure Rail Carts take me on a trip through rural tranquillity where in the early 20th century, railway, timber and coal towns thrived. Along 82km of the Stratford-Okahukura decommissioned railway line and through 20 tunnels I hear local anecdotes that bring the now fairly deserted area from Taumarunui to Whangamōmona to life. Later I return to the remote, sleepy, small town of Whangamōmona, where its main street is awakened in a riot of activity on Republic Day. A 7am check-in and ten-minute shuttle from Taumarunui delivers us to Okahukura where converted, open golf carts, seating four and powered by motorbike motors, await. A driver’s licence is required to drive them, but it’s simple. Keep 50 metres apart, push the go pedal to go, the stop pedal to stop…

AERO DAY When: Saturday January 18, 2025 Where: Mt Maunganui www.classicflyersnz.com Aero Day is back, with an awesome line up of aircraft, with a spitfire, P51 Mustang, Corsair and Grumman Avenger. Along with the Roaring 40s Harvard and Yak 52 Display teams. TOAST MARTINBOROUGH When: Sunday January 19 Where: Martinborough www.toastmartinborough.co.nz Toast Martinborough is an iconic event that for the past 30 years has celebrated Martinborough’s world-class wines. Mark your calendars for a sumptuous summer day filled with exceptional wines, delicious food, and unforgettable memories. WELLINGTON PASIFIKA FESTIVAL When: Saturday February 8 Where: Waitangi Park, Wellington waterfront  www.wellington.govt.nz/news-and-events/events-and-festivals/pasifika-festival This free whānau-friendly festival celebrates our unique Pacific communities. From art and language to performance and food – the Pasifika Festival is all about acknowledging the richness of our Pacific cultures. The…

It’s Victoriana I’m pleased to report the suggestions that Ōamaru’s annual Victorian celebrations had died were greatly exaggerated. As I write this, two things have happened in Ōamaru: firstly, we have had news that Heritage New Zealand is looking at the possibility of naming Ōamaru’s harbour and ‘old part of town’ a National Historic Landmark. At present the Waitangi Treaty Grounds are the only other place in NZ considered that historic. Along with Ōamaru, Heritage NZ is also looking at the National War Memorial in Wellington. Ōamaru people who have grown up with the harbour and ‘old part of town’ tend to take it for granted – it’s just part of the place where they live. But it’s a quite remarkable area and this approach by Heritage New Zealand shows…

Those looking for a caravan that offers domestic-sized living, separate bedrooms, big bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, big TV, and even and even reclining theatre seats to watch the big TV are in luck – the well-known Ken Jackson from Sun Marketing was present at the show. Sun Marketing is a regular exhibitor with their American Forest River Rockwood caravan and fifth-wheel units. This company specialises in RVs that tick the box for living on the road, travel trailers or permanent trailers, and in the case of their sister brand from Forest River, Cedar Creek Cottages, travel trailers for permanent on-site living in a semi-mobile unit. Ken Jackson is the owner of Sun Marketing. He and his family fell in love with the Rockwood brand after a lot of research online…

Timing is everything – and making sure you check your facts. This story is about my failure to meet both those requirements. For the past two years, most of our road ramblings have been short, one- or two-day drives in the lower half of the South Island, simply because we never really made any plans for a longer trip. But mid-year I was asked by a third party to write a book on a man whom I had met once several years ago. So we knew each other. I knew his background (in cars), I knew he was an engineer, I knew he lived in the Nelson/Motueka area and, of course I knew his name. He’s now well into retirement, but still actively restoring cars. None of the people I…

Gosh, time has passed fast. It has been fifteen years already since the 2009 Job Summit, which sparked the whole idea of Great Rides of New Zealand, and a full ten years since 20 Great Rides were finished and opened. How quickly we’ve all become used to having an incredible network of cycling trails ready to welcome us, each Great Ride offering unique ride and after-ride experiences, underpinned by the consistency and quality of Ngā Haerenga, New Zealand Cycle Trails. In the eastern North Island, Motu Trails was one of the first Great Rides to open, in mid-2012. Stretching between Ōpōtiki and Tairāwhiti Gisborne, options include the historic Motu Road, Pakihi Track, Dunes Trail and Rere Falls Trail Heartland Ride, plus several neat linking trails that have opened up since…

One of the favourite gardens in the Taranaki Garden Festival is the enchanting Oakley Garden created by Jenny Oakley and her husband Guy on a rural property near Manaia. After 37 years of involvement with the festival, Jenny’s enthusiasm for gardening has led to a new passion, bird photography. Visiting her garden the chatter of birds fills the air as they zip around, thankful for a healthy habitat full of worms, bugs and insects, along with a vast array of nesting material. I first noticed a number of stunning ruru (morepork) photographs appearing in Jenny’s Instagram feed @oakley_jenny and on her Facebook page. Intrigued and very envious of how she had managed to find ruru to photograph, I called Jenny and discovered she had several ruru visiting her garden. In…

COOK Ahead: 90 freezer-friendly recipes for every family budget Justine Schofield Forget the latest gadgets, the humble freezer is the unsung hero of every home kitchen! In Cook Ahead, Justine Schofield shows you how to make the most of yours, saving time and money in the process. Cook Ahead by Justine Schofield, published by Plum, RRP: $44.99, photography by Rob Palmer WIN THIS COOK BOOK Scan QR code below or email Subject line Road Kai to: subs@rnrpublishing.co.nz Give us your full contact details and which recipe shown here you will try first. Entries close 28 Feb 2025 http://rnrpublishing.co.nz/road-kai-win-a-copy2/ …to enter online: www.rnrpublishing.co.nz/road-kai-win-a-copy2 Mini Potato Bakes While doing the research for this book, I spent a lot of time in the freezer aisle at the supermarket. And that’s where mini potato bakes…

News from the Motorhome and Caravan Show Having previously recounted stories of doom and gloom about big dealers going bust and thousands of ££££ discounts on remaining 2023 and 2024 caravans, I am pleased to report that I’ve heard from a reliable source that the Motorhome, Caravan and Camping 1 Show at the NEC in Birmingham last month was a complete success. Although the total number of visitors dipped below 100,000 this year (following a few record-breaking years), that’s probably a more normal pre-Covid level. I’ve been told that among the 95,253 visitors there were serious buyers. That is good news as the UK caravan industry needs lots of orders from the show in October to keep production facilities busy over the coming winter months. There were a number of…

I have been waiting seven years to walk this walk. The wait began when the government put out a call for suggestions for the 11th NZ Great Walk. I had my hopes set on the Aotea Track on Great Barrier Island. It was shortlisted. Who wouldn’t want an island getaway that close to a major city, home for half of us Kiwis? However, as it turned out the choice for the new Great Walk was closer to my home in the Deep South. The Hump Ridge Track was finally picked. It was a nice surprise to me for a few reasons; the Hump Ridge Track was already established, the huts to be used were existing lodges, and the possibility of a hot shower and meal sounded like a winning formula…

Istood at the trailhead of Te Ara Mangawhero, bike beside me, staring up at the majestic Mt Ruapehu – or Koro, as Ngāti Rangi affectionately call him. His snowy peaks rose like a sentinel, watching over the land with mana and grace. This wasn’t just another ride; it was a connection to something far greater than myself. The trail only opened on November 1 this year, with the local community coming together to celebrate a journey hard-fought over 10 years. It was a moment of triumph, not just for the builders and planners but for everyone who championed this trail as a way to connect people to the whenua (land). There’s still more to come, but this is a tantalising entrée to something truly special. The moment I began pedalling…

My late Uncle Roger used to tell the story of being asked where he came from. He was in Australia playing bowls at the time. The surprising response to his one-word answer “Kaeo” was – “Kaeo must be the biggest place in the Southern Hemisphere – everywhere I go I meet someone who is connected to Kaeo”. And indeed, whether it’s the six degrees of separation or the fact that the town of 500-odd was one of the first areas of early European settlement, there certainly seem to be a lot of people with affiliations to both Kaeo and the greater Whangaroa area. In the autumn, heading to Kaeo from the south, the vibrant autumn colour of a row of maple trees at the town entrance is simply magnificent. While…

Quietly Confident Kate James RRP $37.99 Macmillan In Quietly Confident, Kate looks beyond the narrow scope of popular culture and paints a broader, more human definition of what it means to have confidence and be ‘successful’. In an era that rewards those with the loudest voices (and the most followers), Kate encourages introverts to let go of outdated ideas and beliefs so that they too might shine just as brightly. With a better understanding of an introvert’s many invaluable gifts and showing us how to tap in to our infinite worth, Kate will guide readers towards the confidence that already exists within each of us. A Hug So Tight Holly Melville-Bell RRP $25.00 Twig In this heart-warming tale, we follow the adventure of Lenny, who is a cheeky Loris getting…

Woof-woof paw-some readers and furry friends! What a busy few weeks it’s been, and arf-arf – yep, it’s that time of year again when Mama pulls out my green outfit, the hat that sits on my head (ugh, I look soooo silly!), and my special toys! I don’t know why they only come out once a year for just one month, but ohhhh, those toys are so fun to play with. Arf-arf, I’m a lucky pup! A few days after the last mag, Mama started packing up the motorhome with all my stuff – my couch, my step (yup, my back legs are getting a bit stiff – arthritis is a real ruff thing, so I need a little help getting up onto the seats now). “Come on Caspie, we’re…