2 Summer 2022 Summer 2022 ISSUE 2 CONTENTS PDF BUY Up Taking a left turn Gary Stoneley Up Are you a mainstream traveler, always following the main highways or are you a diversionist, taking that chance to detour from the main route to explore and maybe encounter something new or different? On our recent trip north we decided to veer from the main flow of traffic and take a left turn. Our journey started at Waiouru Army Museum , a favourite overnight stop over of ours on our trips up the North Island. Free for certified self-contained campers, with a security patrol and access to toilets and cafe during opening hours, its a safe stopover, even in the snow. On this trip the morning dawned with clear blue skies and a breathtaking view of Mount Ruapehu. Instead of our usual sprint across the desert road we chose to turn left and head towards Ohakune. First stop the site of the Tangiwai rail disaster Christmas Eve 1953. Considerable work has been put into this memorial reserve with information boards and new public toilets. We saw no signs to state you could not stop overnight. Ohakune has made its claim to fame from mountain skiing and a giant carrot but it now offers so much more. As soon as you hit the town you see a masterful children's playground, full of life-size characters, play equipment and adjacent to a modern toilet block and dump station. Ruapehu District Council must be commended on the improvements they are making. If travelling through Ohakune you must visit the chocolate eclair shop. What surprised us most in the town was the sheer number of cyclists. From being a winter skiing hotspot prior to Covid 19 the town has become a cycling mecca with multiple bike tour operators, cycling shops and associated adventure activities. The prime ride is the Old Coach Road suitable for all levels of riders. We have pencilled this in for our next trip. From Ohakune we traveled to National Park and stayed overnight (free camping) in the station car park. This site has a Kiwi Camp amenities block. This was our first time at purchasing a token (from the station cafe) and using a Kiwi Camp which included toilets, showers, laundry and basic kitchen facilities. With only a few camping vehicles during the day the site became a plethora of mingling international visitors together with kiwi travellers. Powered sites and electric vehicle charging points were also available, a sign of changing times. Highlights for us were the steam train stopping off while we were there and getting our electric bikes out on the local tracks into the hills. Continuing up the left side of the mountains and Lake Taupo we travelled past the Owhanga Lodge and Hotel which offers accommodation and adventure rafting activities and through Taumaranui, home of the Forgotten World Adventures to Te Kuiti. Famous for shearing and Colin Meads we recommend taking a left turn before crossing the rail lines and walking across the amazing rail pedestrian bridge into the town centre. With everything from modern stained glass pictures portraying the regions history to a Japanese garden there is a lot to see. Te Kuiti also has a small Kiwi Camp but we decided to carry on to Otorohanga stopping at a basic sheltered campground, with power and facilities backing onto the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park . On our travels we have visited many kiwi houses but this one remains our favourite. Te Kuiti and Otorohanga are near the Waitomo Glowworm Caves but on this trip we decided to travel the short distance to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari ecological wildlife reserve. The park comprises many hectares of native bush and walking tracks of varying lengths. A moderate level of fitness is recommended due to the undulating nature of the tracks. A highlight for us was coming across an abandoned kiwi burrow in the base of a large tree and an active one in a bank. Self-contained campers can stay overnight in the outside carpark. This ensures you get to see and hear the birds at their most active early in the morning. We were more than happy to make a worthwhile donation towards the development of the reserve. From here our adventure up the left side came to an end but we made sure we checked out some of the many camping reserves along the banks of the mighty Waikato River, got lost and were on the lookout for a red tractor. But that is a story for another day. Turning off the main highway and taking that left turn was well worth it! Photos ©2022 Gary Stoneley Up Up Mt Ruapehu Morning dawned with clear blue skies and a breathtaking view of Mount Ruapehu. ©2022 Gary Stoneley National Park car park We traveled to National Park and stayed overnight (free camping) in the station car park. This site has a Kiwi Camp amenities block. ©2022 Gary Stoneley The view from the sanctuary ©2022 M Richardson Mt Ruapehu Morning dawned with clear blue skies and a breathtaking view of Mount Ruapehu. ©2022 Gary Stoneley 1/10

10 summer 2024 Summer 2024 ISSUE 10 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption GO TO Springing How small are we in this world? Butchers Dam aurora Shellie Evans How small are we in this world? Not us but another caravanner oblivious to the skies above. It started out well, clear calm skies but then cloud rolled in and teased, with it’s thin layer & tendrils just reaching into the aurora. Butchers Dam, Alexandra, Aurora Australis, 11/10/24 10.05pm. ◊ ©2024 Shellie Evans Photography ckw.nz/shellie-fb Up Up 10 Summer 2024 , p 11

1 Spring 2022 A teardrop camper Up Gary Hitchcock My little teardrop started life in 2016 as an idea to have something I could use to get away and recharge myself, and also as a bug-out camper in the event of a disaster. I live in Christchurch! I always liked the shape of the early teardrops “1939” so just started with that. I had an old trailer with a body that was too rusty to save, but the frame was ok. The main material for the camper was a UV-protected plastic sheet, ideal for outside use. It was getting dumped from where I was working at the time. I had the advantage of being able to use a large laser cutter to cut it to my design. It was about a year before I was ready to start the build, having found funds and materials to start putting it together. A lot of the bits and pieces are reject parts that would have been tossed out, like the windows, roof vent & gray water tank, that are made from PVC cabinet door fronts. I have two layers to the floor so there is lots of storage under the bed. The feature I like best is the kitchen. I didn’t do a full, built-in kitchen in the back as I like the open feel of having a large window open to the world. It is fantastic when you get to camp with a great view you can enjoy even if the weather is not great. It still works as a kitchen, with the main shelf and a fold down one I put my vintage Primus cooker on, with the wash sink. It keeps everything flexible to change around to suit what I am doing at the time. After all, it is supposed to be camping. I have fun cooking up a storm as I have plenty of food in the storage areas, but never know what I will find till I get there. All part of the adventure. I can also easily remove the two clear polycarbonate windows & main shelf if I need to use the teardrop as a covered trailer. I use a small old solar panel to run a small fan to have fresh air circulating, mainly for when the teardrop is not in use over winter, so it is always fresh. I didn’t plan on having a TV, but after finding a bargain & some speakers, media player & amplifier I put them all together and made a great little system to listen to music & watch movies when I just want to relax at the end of the day. With the teardrop having a bit of an old aircraft look to it I was after something to go on the front. While I was working on it I heard Murray Ball passed away, 12 March 2017, so I made the “Dog” graphics as a tribute and also now to my little dog Angel who just loved being in the teardrop. Most of the summer was spent camping out in the teardrop at home, as for some reason we both sleep better in the teardrop than in the house. It isn’t the flashest little camper out there, but the main thing is that it is fun, always changing when I find something new or different to add, and I get to meet great people and enjoy this great country. BY: Gary Hitchcock PHOTOS: ©2022 Gary Hitchcock Up Up Up Spring 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF CONTENTS I like the open feel of having a large window open to the world. My little teardrop I always liked the shape of the early teardrops “1939’ so just started with that. he teardroIt has a bit of an old aircraft look to it It isn’t the flashest little camper out there, but the main thing is that it is fun, always changing when I find something new or different to add, and I get to meet great people and enjoy this great country. The feature I like best is the kitchen The main shelf is a fold down one; I put my vintage primus cooker on, with the wash sink. It keeps everything flexible. My little teardrop I always liked the shape of the early teardrops “1939’ so just started with that. 1/3

1 Spring 2022 Kimbolton Sculpture Festival Up Gary Stoneley Kimbolton hosts an annual sculpture festival in April. The outdoor art and sculpture exhibition is accompanied by food, music, and lots of family fun. The most recent festival was in 2021. Fingers crossed for 2023. Sophie Coleman was the ‘Local yokel’ competition winner in 2021 for her Kimbolton Butterfly. The creativity and imagination of the exhibitors is just incredible. What can be made out of what a lot of us see as junk is unbelievable. Kimbolton Sculpture Festival 2021. BY: Gary Stoneley The Kimbolton Butterfly My entry for the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival was a monarch butterfly, built to the scale of 25:1. I named my sculpture Ashia, which means life and hope, reflecting the symbolism of a butterfly. The main idea behind my sculpture was to encourage a positive perspective on change and new beginnings. The sculpture transformed items such as corrugated iron, baling twine and an axle, and gave them a new life. It was such a lovely surprise to have received the Local Yokel award for my creation which you had sponsored, so a huge thank you for your continued support of the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival. BY: Sophie Coleman 2023 31 Mar–2 Apr 2023 RSVP: Come and stay with All Points Camping. Kimbolton Sculpture Festival 2023 Photos: ©2022 Gary Stoneley Up Up Up Spring 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF CONTENTS The creativity and imagination of the exhibitors is just incredible. Sophie Coleman & her sculpture Ashia Sophie Coleman was the ‘Local yokel’ competition winner in 2021 for her Kimbolton Butterfly. Ashia The creativity and imagination of the exhibitors is just incredible. What can be made out of what a lot of us see as junk is unbelievable. Kimbolton Sculpture Festival 2021. Sophie Coleman & her sculpture Ashia Sophie Coleman was the ‘Local yokel’ competition winner in 2021 for her Kimbolton Butterfly. 1/4

11 autumn 2025 Autumn 2025 ISSUE 11 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption camp-oven_H-Cooking over the fire including two camp ovens-e.webp Camp-oven - one with lid on and other with trivet-e.webp Camp-oven - with lid on an dother with trivet 2.webp Camp-oven lid close up-e.webp camp-oven_Both camp-oven ovens with trivets-e.webp camp-oven_Cooking over the fire including two camp ovens-e.webp camp-oven_Scout stew cooking in camp-oven over over fire-e.webp camp-oven_Sausages in camp-oven oven.webp camp-oven_Using camp-oven oven to keep sausages warm.webp camp-oven_Cooking with camp-oven ovens on the river bank.webp camp-oven_Lentil and eggplant stew with gnocchi.webp camp-oven_Stuffed apple dessert cooked by scouts.webp camp-oven_2001 Roast dinner from the camp-oven ovens off the fire-e.webp GO TO Here & there last summer By the way, roast potatoes cooked in a camp oven over the fire are particularly yummy. A camp oven is much more than just a pot Margaret Earle Early in our relationship, my partner Graham gave me a camp oven for Christmas. He thought it was a very practical gift as we were about to head off camping. However, I wasn’t impressed with getting ‘a pot’ for my Christmas present. Years later, I have quite a different view about camp ovens. We carry two camp ovens (two different sizes — 10 inch and 12 inch) in our caravan and use them for a multitude of cooking purposes. When we go away in our trailer yacht we take the camp ovens with us. Camp ovens are designed for cooking on a fire, but they can also be used on gas burners. You can use a camp oven to cook everything from stews and curries to roasts, bread, cakes and puddings. I’ve included a couple of recipes that I put together on our most recent trip from the ingredients I had available (p27). Both were cooked in my smaller camp oven on a gas cooker. Camp ovens are essentially large cast metal pots. Originally, they were made from cast iron but more recently have also been made from aluminium. Some camp ovens have legs you can screw into their base so you can set them in the embers of a fire. Alternatively, you can place your camp oven on a wire grate or rocks in the fire. Our camp ovens are New Zealand-made but there are similar imported products available which are probably just as good. The lid of a camp oven has a ridge around the edge so that embers from the fire can be stacked on the lid to help cook the top of a cake or bread. I recommend that if you are cooking something like a cake or bread that you use a trivet (a rack or upturned metal plate) to elevate the cake tin from the bottom of the camp oven. This will reduce the possibility of burning the bottom of the cake or bread. By the way, roast potatoes cooked in a camp oven over the fire are particularly yummy. When roasting, it is good to jam a small stick between the pot and lid to create a gap to let steam out. In the past as a sea scout leader, I had lots of fun showing our scouts the versatility of camp ovens. At our camps the scouts cooked mostly over fires. We introduced camp ovens so that the scouts had a large pot for cooking meals like stews and something in which to keep their food warm while they were finishing cooking their meals. Over time, I taught them to cook cakes and bread in the camp ovens and they also used them for awesome stews and desserts that they created themselves. Up Up 11 Autumn 2025 , p 26

11 autumn 2025 Autumn 2025 ISSUE 11 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption Brian and Rosie ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke The entrance to Rosie and Brian’s ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke The vege shop at Rosie and Brian’s ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke Rosie and Brian’s ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke Rosie and Brian’s ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke Brian and Rosie ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke Butchers Pool ©2025 Maggie O’Rourke GO TO Here & there last summer STOP and STAY Rosie and Brian’s Maggie O’Rourke What a hidden gem for a POP. I now know why it was recommended to me by members. Is it worth staying here? 100% yes! When I rang to book my stay I got Brian on the phone, with a huge welcome and the directions of 2 yellow vegetable signs and where to park in the 2nd paddock with the caravans. Of course his directions were spot on, but I still managed to overshoot the drive — if you’re heading either way and see the Reporoa sign you’ve gone too far. I tell you, what a welcome! I think why people stay is due to our lovely welcoming hosts Rosie and Brian. They have been operating this site in their paddocks for 8 years, back then it was a gold coin to stay and to help campers out. Brian is a master grower, not bad for 79, 80 this year. Their market vegetable shop and Rosie’s knitted clowns are for sale for cash only. It’s been a delight to stay here for a week learning about our hosts and having homegrown fruit and veges on the doorstep. People travel from Taupo to get their fresh produce here. Though not classed as organic with a certificate, it’s pretty close without that label attached. The vege shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8am– 5pm-ish. So what does this POP offer us? Well where does one start? The longer I stayed more I discovered. The cost is $5 per unit per night. You need to be fully self-contained. Tents are welcome, but you need your own toilet. Generators are allowed but please be considerate. Vege shop is open to pay 7 days a week please put money in blue container if they are not in the house or garden. Open year round and no time limit on your stay. Pumice ground for winter stay overs. Potable water. Book exchange. Shelter hut and stage with a piano and couch. Compost bin. Fire pit and bbq area —firewood is available for a donation. Dogs welcome, on a lead. All ages and groups welcome (groups: book in advance). Members and non members welcome. Book your spot by contacting them by phone but please be considerate and don’t ring too late. Nearest dump stations: Rotorua, Wairakei BP (often blocked), Taupo and Kinloch. What’s in the area Fishing at the bridge or by boat on the Waikato River (Brian knows all the best spots); shopping or tourist activities in either Taupo, Rotorua or even the mountain. If you go to bookme.co.nz you may get a bargain of 20–90% off activities and food. Butchers Pool The best kept secret in the area is 19km away, towards Rotorua: Butchers Pool, a free thermal pool. It’s so secret that you think the Google Maps are wrong as there is no sign, but someone’s house numbers are on the fence. It seems the locals don’t want you to know their secret and the sign often disappears. Coming into the dirt road is like a tankers track narrow and rough, me poor girl got shook up a bit (the bus not me); I was praying that no-one took us on coming the other way as there is no room to pass. Toilets, changing rooms and rubbish bins are onsite. Hot thermal pools according to my thermometer sit between 40–42°C. Beware when you climb in as the steps are slippery and pay attention to the signs saying not to put your head under (to avoid bacterial meningitis, a danger at all natural hot pools). Reporoa is 21km away. Another delight. Reporoa Valley Traders & Post Shop; Awaken cafe (8am–5pm Mon–Fri), I highly recommend their coffee and food and the staff are so welcoming and helpful — I ended up asking umpteen questions on the area. The op shop behind the playground on the main street is open 11am–4pm Thursday only. There is a fish and chip shop (11am–7pm, every day). Bake House (5am–5pm/6pm); Reporoa Food Market plus Lotto (7.30am–6.30pm, every day.) The Woolshed Tavern offers drinks, meals, a bottle store and takeaway meals (11am–8pm or 10pm, every day); there is a car mechanic, a tyre shop, police, health centre, vet, and playground. Though Taupo is the same distance from Rosie and Brian’s as Reporoa, Reporoa is not as busy, you can find a carpark, find a seat at the cafe and you can relax way more. Bliss. Plus the Butchers Pool is free just up the road. Up Up 11 Autumn 2025 , p 31

2 Summer 2022 2 Summer 2022 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Back in the days — Circa 2008 Gary Stoneley Back in the days — Circa 2008. That caravan was damned heavy behind the bike. © 2022 Gary Stoneley Up Up 2 Summer 2022 , p 13

8 Winter 2024 8 Winter 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Hakataramea Pass David Liddall Hakataramea Pass ©2024 David Liddall Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 17

11 autumn 2025 11 autumn 2025 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Nugget Point Lighthouse ©2025 Dave Adamson Nugget Point lighthouse Dave Adamson Here is a photo of the Nugget Point lighthouse. As we saw it today. March 6. ©2025 Dave Adamson Up Up 11 autumn 2025 , p 7

8 Winter 2024 8 Winter 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Longslip Station Well, how’s this for a welcome back into the Mackenzie Basin! — Longslip Station, Lindis Pass. ©2024 Shellie Evans. ckw.nz/shellie-fb Longslip Station Well, how’s this for a welcome back into the Mackenzie Basin! — Longslip Station, Lindis Pass. ©2024 Shellie Evans. ckw.nz/shellie-fb Longslip Station Shellie Evans Well, how’s this for a welcome back into the Mackenzie Basin! — Longslip Station, Lindis Pass. ©2024 Shellie Evans. ckw.nz/shellie-fb Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 9

5 Spring 2023 5 Spring 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Bus gallery, Whangamomona Stopped at Taumarunui, I heard the following weekend was ‘Republic Day’ at Whangamomona, deep in the Forgotten World Highway. I came up with the idea of using my bus as a gallery, attaching paintings along the side with magnets. So paying my stall fee, I set up beside the whip cracking and log splitting exhibits. It was a wonderful experience and bought back the sense of community that was common in my childhood. I sold a painting and got another commission which took me to Opunake and the wonderful Mt Taranaki (that is usually still called Mt Egmont by the locals). Port Tarakohe Takaka Hokitika The obscure, forgotten little places A small paint kit, a few good brushes… David Liddall From the time I left school I was compelled to travel, hitchhiking everywhere (including Asia) till getting my licence at twenty-five, thereafter owning a succession of vehicles that doubled as campers, the longest owned of these being a 1972 pop top Kombi van, used daily for about 28 years. Prior to turning 50 I bought my current bus, a Mitsubishi Fuso, 7,500kg, 7.5m land sailing boat, built by a boat builder with very good design and functionality. Also dating from my school days was my interest in drawing and painting, and after initially trying oil and ink, once I discovered quality water colour paint, I was hooked, especially with it’s portability. Being able to carry a small paint kit and a few good brushes, all that’s needed is some good watercolour paper and a little pot of water and you have the means of expressing a memory or reproducing or creating a wonderful scene, something that will remain long after I’ve shuffled from this mortal coil. My travel and painting passions were put aside for periods of my life as I pursued a career in nursing, working in a variety of areas, surgical nursing, including a few years as a scrub nurse in theatre (Whangarei) psychiatric (Seaview Hospital, Hokitika and Whangarei) emergency care (Whangarei) and lastly, night RN in a MetLifecare facility at Mt Maunganui (my home town). After thirty years I took early retirement, largely financed by the sale of my Kombi (it seemed too ridiculous to tow a campervan behind a campervan) and I moved to Northland to be closer to my son and grandkids, locating at the little coastal community of Whananaki. Finding a source of print production I sold a number of prints to people I’d met passing through the campground and other local places. 19 years on the road: my current road trip Late in 2022 I left Northland to visit my brother in Thames and Coromandel, exploring right to Fletcher Bay, the outer tip of the peninsula. The clouds were ominously massing after New Year and I got out of that vulnerable peninsula in the following days, heading back north. Seeing the devastation behind and ahead, I spontaneously turned around and headed south instead (retirement is such a liberating state of being, to allow such decisions) stopping at Taumarunui when I heard the following weekend was ‘Republic Day’ at Whangamonoma, deep into the Forgotten World Highway. I came up with the idea of using my bus as a gallery, attaching paintings along the side with magnets. So paying my stall fee, I set up beside the whip cracking and log splitting exhibits. It was a wonderful experience and bought back the sense of community that was common in my childhood. I sold a painting and got another commission which took me to Opunake and the wonderful Mt Taranaki (that is usually still called Mt Egmont by the locals). With the delays to ferry services I spent longer in Wellington than expected but had lots of fun painting scenes around the city and did another commissioned work. Due to the sailing cancellation I spent a couple of nights at the Evans Bay Marina freedom camping area, to find lots of others in the same position, over seventy vans there that first night, and due to the excessive numbers some parked in the centre, between the two outside allocated spaces. In the morning the efficient council issued $150 fines to everyone parked outside the lines; nice to see bureaucracy doesn’t rest, even during a national transportation crisis. Being very aware of the environmental disaster moving toward us, I’ve determined to reduce my carbon footprint as much as I can, though I have given a lot of thought to the rationale of travelling at all, but our footprint exists regardless of where we exist, so I endeavour to spend longer in interesting places off-grid and independent (fortunately my bus is independent of external input if the sun is shining) rather than dashing hither and yon, and have found that it is the obscure, forgotten little places that hold the most interest and subject material for paintings and rewarding experiences. My favourite places so far are found in the high country of Central Otago and the upper West Coast, especially north of Karamea, such lush subtropical bush and coastal locations, and the Ida Valley. I am drawn to place names like Drybread and Blackball, getting to know the locals of Seddonville, and the muffins at Gentle Annie. I’ve been privileged to leave artwork in many places in my wake and hope they bring pleasure, however for most of this journey, I’ve done what I call my ‘cafe paintings’, taking my travel brushes and paints with a little watercolour pad to a cafe, have breakfast or a muffin and tea or coffee while I sketch out a scene from my phone, and do a miniature painting. They take about forty minutes and are very pleasurable to paint. Over the following few days I decide who to send it to, put a stamp on the back, write a thoughtful note to my friend or family member then post it off. To date I’ve done nearly forty such paintings. One friend receiving one, was told by his post lady she’d never delivered an original painting before. It’s a fabulous way to share my journey with others, and imagine the surprise they get receiving a little painting in the post. Maybe you’ll get one one day. Contact David: david@ckw.nz ‘Republic Day’ gallery on the bus, Whangamomona Up Up 5 Spring 2023 , p 25

3 Autumn 2023 3 Autumn 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Tramping the Kaweka Forest Park Outdoorsman Dave I love the freedom that carrying an ultralight tent provides, it empowers you to camp wherever your legs can take you. I also love my classic but new-to-me macpac backpack. Outdoorsman Dave Watch the video: youtu.be/Nbvio1Z1RQQ Facebook: ckw.nz/OutdoorsmanDave Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 26