Child of the Planet

Napier The final day of the festaval and kids are out racing soup box carts. The grown ups are putting up marques and furnishing them in the art deco style. Pretty damn amazing!

Parade today All the beautiful old cars are driven down the main street, escorted by Army, Navy, and Police. More then once I've found my self part in the minority, surrounded by folk in period coustume.

Drove down to beach  have breakfast. Parked next to several vans similar to mine. All seemed to be owned by young Europeans. Sat eating pancakes and watching a parade of campers empty their toilets at a dump station up near the road side. There was an amenities block with toilets an an outdoor shower, next to the dump station. A girl in a bikini walked up to the block and had a wash at the shower head poking out from the concrete wall. She started washing her hair, which I thought was usual. Then she started to shave her pits and I thought, ahhhh backpacker. The Filter Room Visited the Filter Room , which is just outside the Napier CBD with my relatives and a couple of their mates. This business makes their own ciders and beer, and provide a great sampler rack where you can select any six drinks from their range. I've been here several times and always had a great time, sitting outside next to the orchard, working my way through the taste sensations. http://www.th...

Drove the Gentle Annie today. Was a bit surprised how quickly I did it. Pretty much a single days drive. Amazing view from rest stop What a drive though. Great scenery, and I'd heard that the road was a bit dodgy. Turns out the whole stretch is now sealed. I think they were finishing it off as I drove through there (ha ha) There is a video to come . View The Gentle Annie in a larger map Napier I started looking for some sort of accommodation as soon as I left the mountains. I was heading to Napier for the Art Deco fest there. I'd been camping for several days and I wanted to clean myself up before meeting up with my Uncle and Aunt. This festival has turned into a bit of a pilgrimage for them. They spend the year combing Op-shops, then get dressed up in period costume, and live out of a hotel room for the weekend.

Woke up to a gentle drizzle today and had to close up the roof and back door to stop the rain getting in. The rooster must have been marking out his territory cause his crowing started off in the distance and moved around the country side. I packed up, and made some breakfast in the rain. Very glad of the covered food prep area, and drove the van up to that side of the site. Getting pretty good at the pancakes. The rooster was still at it when I left round ten, and had made it into the camp proper. I feel sorry for anyone who is still trying to sleep. As I left the grounds, the older couple had left and the Gypsies and relocated to our position on the river bank. Not much happened today. Turns out that I was camped right at the end of the Forgotten Highway so I was straight into town to do a bit of internet, and then drive to Ohakune. Ohakune I've pitched my wagon in another DOC's site and I have a great view of Ruapehu mountain. Not much to say bout the site. ...

Whangamomona Everything out side the van is white with fog when I wake. Can't see much beyond the parameter of the camp site. I can hear alot of sheep out there somewhere. The chickens are back, pecking at things hidden in the grass. Didn't sleep very well due to the 'party animals' banging away all night. It's just me and the Auckland couple parked in the camp is morning. Drove the second half of the Highway today More brilliant scenery and fun roads. Stopped at the Mt Damper falls which were bathed in sunlight, casting sheets of rainbow spray.

Douglas  I wake up along with the rest of the countryside. Cows moo, cocks crow, and farmers drive motorised vehicles across the fields. I'm standing next to the van, planning my next move, which is probably going to include breakfast, when a van drives up the access road, and parks next to the little 'rail buggies'. A woman emerges and starts busying herself, taking the wraps off the buggies. I realise that she is part of Forgotten Adventures, and a group of customers will soon be arriving. I beat a quick retreat up the hill, to a derelict tile kiln. It's Douglas main tourist attraction Douglas-brick-kiln The Forgotten Highway is a great road to drive. Some really tight corners snake through some great scenery. Little white spindly thistle seeds are being blown all over the region. They swoop past my wind screen carried along by the slipstream. View Whangamomona in a larger map Whangamomona Found a camp site with no problems. Was looking to st...

Wanted to find a spot to camp, so I could start the Forgotten Highway fresh in the morning. Was getting a bit desperate, so I pulled into a derelict 'rest point' on the side of the road. The picnic table was rotting away, and a farm house sat on cliff above me. There were no toilets and the main feature was several piles of gravel, possible waiting to be laid on a road some where. I made dinner and walked off down the road to explore and talk to the cows who had been watching me over a fence since I had arrived. I soon found some rail tracks cutting across the road. Couldn't work out whether the railway was in use as the rails looked rusted, but there was some shininess on the top surface. I followed the rails for a short distance and found two little cars, a derelict station, and a loo. The toilet was a wooden cabinet built over a hole in the ground, but the blond timber looked and smelt new. The inside was clean and there was a small bottle of hand sanitize...

The camp site was silent last night?? I expected Saturday night to be 'pumping' but I'm not sure the pub was even open? Could it be that it only opens for Friday night Karaoke? I was woken by the clanking of freight trains on the bank of the river. Final day exploring Wanganui Watched kids jumping into the river from the bridge. The city feels like a country town this morning. Turns out the river changes colour with the tide. As I was walking across it to get to the towers on the other bank, I noticed a line in the water, made I assume by the advancing tide pushing the brown river water in land. Whanganui Regional Museum Museum had an admission charge which was a shock, but an interesting collection including an enormous Maori canoe There were some African artefacts on show, interesting comparing them with the Maori. Also some Bits from china, and a bug room. $8 admission www.wrm.org.nz Sarjeant gallery Free entrance and had the look of a vibrant i...

Heading off to drive the 'forgotten highway' tomorrow.  Lingered for a while in the shower in the campsite as not sure when I'll get my next chance to properly bathe. The campsite sits behind a pub and Friday night was karaoke night. The vocal accompaniment to the digital muzak wailed on into the morning hours. Christ, what is Saturday night going to be like? Got up, and drove down to the city. Discovered a Farmers Market set up on the bank of the river. Now this was a 'full on' market day. Lot's of fresh produce, home made art, strange little stalls, and buskers. After doing the rounds of the markets, I walked up to the Chronicle gallery for works made of glass was open, and I sat for half an hour, peering down into a pit where an artist manipulated molten glass into a beautiful paperweight of a mushroom suspended inside is global of glass. www.chronicleglass Click map below to examine photos... View Wanganui Meandering in a larger map ...

Fielding There was a farmers market in Fielding. It was pretty small and I went through it like a 'dose of salts' Wanganui Drove to Wanganui today and felt instantly at home' when I arrived and saw the chocolate coloured river flowing past the town. Most rivers in Oz are brown with silt. View Wanganui in a larger map This is a really pretty town. Lots of old structures and an expansive public buildings and monuments precinct I had dinner on riverbank I feel like one of those wanky TV chef who like to cook alfresco in a public place. I can hear a blues cover band at pub across the river while I prepare an omelet. The sun sets and I go for a walk-a-bout. This town doesn’t seem to have any night life apart form a crawling infestation of teenagers lurking in cars and on the side walks. Can't work out if this town is full of burbling Subaru's, or if it's a single car doing many circuits?

Found a place to sleep for the night in a tiny parking area attached to Kitchener park. I'm right next to a road, but surrounded by tall tress and dense bush. The passing traffic drops off pretty quickly as the evening works it's way through to midnight. View Feilding in a larger map It's a quite a distance from town, but there is a interesting little country path that leads directly into the town center. 

Woodville  Woke up, cooked breakfast of pancakes, shaved, and left Woodville behind. On my way up to Feilding to attach a cam to a dog, for a dogs eye view of obstacle coarse. Fielding View Feilding in a larger map This is a country town that's managed to hang onto it's old buildings. Lots of great old structures everywhere. Problem is, that since the Christchurch earthquakes, every building needs to be bought up in it's earthquake standards. The cost is being borne by the building owners. For me, this is a worry, as commerce would likely dictate that it would be more profitable to knock down the building, then to strengthen. I hope Kiwi Governments conservation services are helping out with the cost. Be a shame if all these character filled old structures were lost.

Woodville Yesterday I just wanted the muggy heat to end. Today the temperature dropped away and I'm standing in the cold rain waiting for the AA to show up and kickstart the vans battery. I ran the battery down while sitting in the van all morning writing and running the little electric cooler I have. Noticed at one point that the whirring sound it makes was fainter. Looked down and notice the fan spinning at a slower rate. Realisation dawned and I jumped into the drivers seat, turned the key in the ignition, and discovered that I'd drained all the juice. Running the radio last night probably didn't help. Also managed to blow a fuse in the dash, when I plugged the 12v electric jug into the socket. Took the radio with it. This weather is good for taking a break from moving around, to sit and catch up on writing, and the video work. Hanging around for the AA to arrive also allows one to 'smell the roses'. I'm sitting in the back of the rejuvenated van a...

Woodville I made pancakes in the skillet for breakfast, and then drove up the 'saddle road' to check out the windmill turbines again. It started to rain just before I got up into the hills which is crappy timing. A huge 'high' has been sitting over NZ for more then a week. Up till now the weather has been sunny and dry. Parked the camper, hopped on the bed in the back, and peered out of the moon-roof at the grey rotating shapes towering overhead, silhouetted against the cloudy sky, their outlines rippling though the rivulets of rain. Cracked open the laptop and wrote blogs, while transferring movie files across to the laptop. I discovered a cool little road driving back to Woodville, but didn't venture far along as the 'go juice' needle was bouncing off the bottom of the meter. I'm finding that a full tank of gas to be really comforting. When one is travelling, one is never sure where the next petrol station will be. There is also the...

I have purchased a camper and filled it with food. I'm starting my New Zealand odyssey in Woodville, as I'm a fan of wind farms, and this little town sits at the foot of a big one. The wind driven turbines are scattered like 'mega' daisies across the surrounding hills This little town is little more of a 'passing through' sort of destination, and has more then a few second hand stores scattered about if you feel like stretching your legs before getting back in the car and continuing to your destination. There is free Wi-Fi at the Info site and local library. View Woodville camping in a larger map