Christmas

Geoff managed to find a beautiful free campsite! Apart from the stinky loos that is! Elodie said they made her feel sick! We quickly put up the soaking wet tent, as it rained quite heavily last night. The tent is not as water proof as one would hope! Seaping in at the seams. Our sleeping compartment was sitting in a puddle…. luckily we stayed dry. Elodie was heard to say ‘that tent hasn’t got much proof’! The forgot highway fromTauramanui to Stratford was my favourite drive so far. Almost deserted, beautiflul scenery and a great place at the end! We were going to stop halfway along, but Pearl didn’t like the track to the campsite. She sits rather low to the ground with all the gang plus stuff, and scrapes vital underparts when she doesnt like a bump! Geoff seems to like to aim for random bumps in the road. He claims this is not on purpose, but I see no other explanation. The bumps are right there for all to see!!!! Anyway, I digress. This track was practicality solid scrap, so we reversed and pushed on to Stratford. If we had had less time we would have sailed through here, with a cursory glance at the clock tower, which would have been a shame. We found a pretty little campsite with pool and great playground close by. Papa, R and O discovered ‘the last Jedi ‘ in a little lesser known cinema which caused much pre Xmas excitement! The clock tower did a little Shakespeare performance at 7. All street names are Shakespeare characters. Orlando was pleased to find his! We visited two beautiful English style gardens near the slopes of Mt Taranaki. We missed the rhododendrons but the agapanthus and hydrangea were spectacular! We walked up to Dawson Falls, with beautiful crystal clear pools at the end. Some locals were using the rock as a slide, so Orlando gave it a try! The water was glacial, being pure snowmelt! R and E managed up to their waists! Next stop the surf highway! Oakura is just south of New Plymouth. Tent practically on the beach! Orlando and papa surfed. Water pretty freezing here. We didn’t really visit much of the town as the beach was so pleasant, but there isite had a little museum and great library. We met a French couple setting up a little crêpe cabin. At $7 a crêpe Geoff was less than keen. He forked out for 2 nutella and 1 salted caramel crêpes in the end though as they were so nice!

Christmas, our holiday within a holiday, has been fantastic. When you first arrived in wanganui, the town is lovely all old buildings and art and pretty little shops and cafés. As you drive out towards Geoff campsite choice (based on price and proximity to the beach!) You go from beautiful old to rust, run down, dodgy old. Through a seen better days insustrial area, some houses reminiscent of a seedy seaside town in england and shuttered up shops….. I was most polite due to Geoff having got a bit stressed about booking and stuff, but I will admit to a sinking feeling! The trio, oblivious to all these surface things we tend to judge on, squealed with delight! Charged into the cabin with enormous grins. They were right, it was brilliant! Such a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Wild beach with a bit of swimming (when the lifeguards were there and only on the edge!) Stick collecting and plenty of ‘stealth’ in the sand dunes! The owners put on a free bbq on Christmas Eve, and we got to try some of a huge crayfish. Delicious! Minding it’s own business on the seabed that morning apparently. We made a drift wood tree and had a big Christmas shop! Pak’n’savery pre iced Christmas cake and pavlova plus plenty chocolate and meat selection for the Xmas bbq! Papas old smelly socks for stocking and to bed! Luckily father Christmas was able to find us despite the lack of chimney, and there was much rejoicing on christmas day! Lego played a big part and there was much fun had by all. bbq lunch and pavlova went smoothly, and after a visit to the beach and a relaxing afternoon we all decided that despite not being with anyone else, it was a great Christmas. Wanganui produced great art galleries, walks and even a motor bike race. Geoff, r and o managed to climb a small staircase on the side of the supremarket, thus avoiding the $35 entry fee to see the motor bike racing! Probably a good thing they didn’t pay. Rio lost interest after the first lap! The museums were all closed due to earthquake reinforcements (small cheer from R!) And unfortunately so was the glass blowing studio we had hoped to visit….

Off to new pastures this morning, but very sorry to leave this little haven.