Wairarapa - 1 to 4 January 2020

1 Jan 2020, Wednesday – Greytown Campground

Happy New Year!  We are off in the caravan today to Greytown Campground for two nights before heading up to Masterton to meet up with Carrol and Chris.

We don’t get away until lunchtime, just as the wind is picking up and the sky getting greyer.  The van is already up on the flat and ready to hook up and drive away.

A good trip over the Remulayas and on the other side it is hot!!!  30C by my reckoning.  Although check in is not until 2pm our site is being vacated (ie the fridge been manhandled away) so we can set up half an hour earlier on site 7A which is over against the tree line on the north side.  We have power and water is across the paddock in the centre.  Cost is $40 per night ($20 per person) so a little steep but worth it to have peace of mind leaving the van unattended while we go to the Tauherenikau Races tomorrow.

It’s too hot for a walk just yet so we take the car and have a look at the pool next door and head off to buy an icecream and have a reccie.  Back at the van we sit outside in the shade of the van, it’s too hot to be out in the sun, even for me.  Around 4.30 though I think it has cooled down a bit so I take myself off for a walk through the on-site reserve and around the neighbourhood.  There is a new suberb just across the road and through an alleyway, some lovely homes.

Camp has a nice vibe, it’s full and there are a lot of families with kids but they are all playing, laughing and having fun.  We have nice neighbours, a family of four from near Chch, doing a tiki through the North Island, then another family in tents arrive on the other side.

Photo before the tents went up on our other side

Home made ham burgers are on the menu tonight and even if they were lacking sauce and onions, they were still pretty good!

Cost:  $40 per night for two people

2 Jan 2020, Thursday– Greytown Campground

Make up a picnic to take to the Races and get on the road about 9am.  It’s a short drive, say 10 minutes and once there we get a car park in the shade.  It’s just a little walk from there to get inside the grounds and we need a couple of trips.  $20 each entry including parking.  I invest in a racebook and the $10 punters ticket, hopefully the punter is skilled and will make us some money to go home with!  He didn’t : (

The weather is perfect, slightly overcast and cool to start, quite different to yesterday!  It soon warms up though and we are glad we brought the gazebo for it’s welcome shade.  J&S and S&G arrive around 10am and the fun begins.  Some betting goes on and Steve seems to be the one to copy, he has a sequence of wins. Kim picks well too!  Must have been the hotdog and chips he ate rather than my healthy satay chicken wraps!

The races were delayed for about 45 minutes early afternoon as there was a medical emergency and proceedings were halted so the Westpac chopper could land.  They made up some of the time though and our day at the Races ended close to 6pm.

Basking in the shade of the gazebo

Had a couple of glasses of Rose’ at the Races so had one more at home then started dinner – ham and cheese toasted sandwiches for Kim and I ate the other chicken wrap – yum!  We even found some pineapple lumps in the stash – dessert done and dusted.

Cost:  $20 per person per night - $80

3 Jan 2020, Thursday – Masterton Showgrounds

Heard moreporks and very loud birdies at 4.30am but had a good sleep in after that.  The sun is out but a bit cool to start.

We broke camp a little after 10am, didn’t get growled : )  Drove north to Masterton.  Checked out the facilities at the Showgrounds and decided to stay.  Lovely big shady trees here, wide open spaces, power if needed and even bathrooms and laundry, even if a bit on the rustic side.  C&C arrive about half an hour later and we settle down with a sandwich for lunch and a nice visit.  About 4, its time for my walk and it takes a bit longer than usual ‘cos I got a bit lost, the streets are not standard right angles.  All good though, I am back by 5pm and Duff and Anita have arrived for drinks.  We were thinking of going to Farriers for dinner (always nice especially the pork belly and squid salad)  but Kim had some beers so we stayed put.  Made pizzas but the pan was too hot (gas) and they needed to go under the grill so it wasn't as quick as usual.   I probably won’t bother doing them in the caravan again unless I get a different pan or maybe use the electric frypan.

Shady spot under a tree

Lots of room, well set up site next to C&C

Cost:  $5 per person plus $6 for power per night.

4 Jan 2020, Friday – Masterton to Home

Had a good sleep and a nice sleep in!  Enjoyed a couple of cups of tea chatting then the boys head off to the Drags and Carrol and I go shopping for an hour or two.  They had a false start though, the truck had a puncture, luckily they were still in the camp when they noticed it.  There were a couple of campers who offered  help but one had a tyre shop and he had the other bit of wood which was needed to get the truck high enough, so he won the honours.  We only got about an hour in at the shops before Kim needed rescuing from the Drags, he couldn’t see anything and it was too noisy and he didn’t really want to be there. 

We had a  look at Henley Park with a view to staying there another time, it looked OK, there weren’t any campers there but there were a lot of geese and ducks.  Got a coffee and something to eat then drove out to Holdsworth to see how that looked.  It’s a long way in from the main road and right under the hills so the weather wasn’t so bright there.  Lots of room though but probably wouldn't bother staying her in the future unless good weather promised. 

Back to the Showgrounds to pick up the van and on the way home thought we would stop at Gladstone and see if J&H were still there and to check it out for the future.  It is a nice little enclave, only a couple of rigs here this afternoon.  It would be a good place to stay, just a short walk over the bridge to the Gladstone Pub and a very short drive the other way to Gladstone and Fairmont Winery.

A good trip back over the hill, medium busy, we pulled over a couple of times.  The weather on the Hutt side was much brighter and got half an hour in the sun after unpacking the van.  A good few days away!