8 Winter 2024 Winter 2024 ISSUE 8 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption Fire circle ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Fire circle ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Fire circle ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Fire circle ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Fire circle ©2024 Bette Cosgrove GO TO Autumn Gold Fire circle Bette Cosgrove Fire circle on a still Autumn night. Magical. 
 ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 9

6 Summer 2023 6 Summer 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption end-karamea-David-v2_mw.webp Highly recommended The end of the road David Liddall End of the road, top of the west coast, north of Karamea, one of New Zealand’s truly isolated places. This little postcard scene looks like a tropical paradise, balmy and serene — at the time the alpine passes were snowed closed throughout the rest of the island, evidence of how really exceptional this idyllic piece of coast is. Highly recommended.  ©2023 David Liddall David Liddall Contact: david@ckw.nz Up Up 6 Summer 2023 , p 39

7 Autumn 2024 7 Autumn 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption I can’t really take in how gorgeous the McKenzie Basin is ©2024 Louise Hamilton I can’t really take in how gorgeous the McKenzie Basin is ©2024 Louise Hamilton swimming and reading this afternoon Foray into paradise Louise Hamilton I can’t really take in how gorgeous the McKenzie Basin is. Very sore bum after cycling yesterday however, so swimming and reading this afternoon. ©2024 Louise Hamilton Canterbury High Country Up Up 7 Autumn 2024 , p 5

11 autumn 2025 11 autumn 2025 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Sailing through the Waiheke Channel on our way to the northern coast of Waiheke. The wind has finally turned to the south. Feb. ©2025 Graham Leslie Sailing through the Waiheke Channel on our way to the northern coast of Waiheke. The wind has finally turned to the south. Feb. ©2025 Graham Leslie the wind has finally turned Sailing through the Waiheke Channel Graham Leslie Sailing through the Waiheke Channel on our way to the northern coast of Waiheke. The wind has finally turned to the south. Feb. ©2025 Graham Leslie More Up Up 11 autumn 2025 , p 7

9 Spring 2024 9 Spring 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Product photo All you need is a solar panel, a solar controller, and a battery. Solar basics for dummies Wayne Ravelich The sun is a wonderful free resource that provides, heat, warmth, and with the use of modern solar panels, also power. Solar power for us campers is a simple process. All you need is a solar panel, a solar controller, and a battery. The panel converts the sunlight into electricity. The controller takes that electricity and transforms it to a source of energy that can be used to charge the battery. The battery then stores that electrical energy until it is required to be used. Effectively the solar panel and controller are just a fancy battery charger. The battery supplies your power to run the lights, the inverter, if you have one, and any electrical devices. During peak sun hours some power will be supplied directly from the controller. Saying that, the important thing to remember is that most of the power you use comes from the battery. Solar panels Solar panels are the first link in the power chain and come in a variety of styles. • Rigid, the most common style and most efficient. • Flexible, light weight. • Portable, either folding ridged type or blanket, with built in controller. Solar panel output deteriorates with age and dirt, so keep the panels clean— just a light wash, don’t scrub. Panel output has improved greatly in the last few years. An old 75W panel may only produce 40W but a new 150W panel could fit in the same space (from experience). The biggest problem I come across is not enough solar to keep the batteries charged. Solution is ADD more solar, either fixed, if space allows, or a portable panel. Solar controllers Controllers come in two types. • PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation): the least efficient but cheaper and good for small panels. • MPPT (Multi Point Power Tracking): the best by far but more expensive. Batteries Batteries come in lots of types for different uses. In a solar power system, we use the “deep cycle” batteries. A car battery is not deep cycle but would work, for a while. Car batteries are designed to start cars, high current 400 to 800amps for a few seconds. Deep cycle batteries provide lower current (amps) continuously, a 100ah (amp hour) battery will provide 10amps for 10 hours. A 200ah battery will provide the same 10amps for 20 hours. The more power you need, the bigger or more batteries you require. Two 100ah batteries connected in “parallel,” that is positive to positive and negative to negative, gives you 200ah. Having lots of batteries give you lots of storage and lots of potential power, BUT you will need lots of solar panels to keep the batteries charged. The rule of thumb is twice the amp hours equals the minimum solar panel size. A 100ah battery needs 100 X 2 = 200Watt panel to fully charge the battery. Let’s look at battery types. ◼️ Lead Acid batteries are similar to your car start battery with lead plates and sulphuric acid. ◼️ AGM batteries (Absorbed Glass Mat) is also lead plates and the acid is absorbed into a mat to stop it sloshing around. ◼️ GEL Batteries are designed not to emit gas during charging and are similar to the AGM, but they can be used on their side or standing up. ◼️ Lead-carbon batterie s are an advanced lead acid battery which use a common lead positive plate (anode) and a carbon composite negative plate (cathode). The carbon acts as a sort of ‘super capacitor’ which allows faster charging and discharging, plus prolonged life at partial state of charge. ◼️ Lithium Batteries come in a couple of formats, Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminium Oxide batteries are the more common “cheaper” lithium battery and not as safe as some other forms of Lithium battery. The LiFePO4 (Lithium iron phosphate) batteries are a bit more expensive but are the safest of them all. LiFePO4 batteries generally have a BMS (Battery Management System) built in and will shut the battery down if there is a problem. Controllers and chargers Solar controllers have settings for the different battery types as the batteries charge differently. You cannot mix battery types in your solar system. A lot of solar controllers do not have a Lithium setting so check first. The same applies to battery chargers. Topping up your “house” battery from the “start” battery or alternator is a good idea and can be done in motor homes and caravans. For lead acid batteries I recommend the use of a Dual Voltage Sensitive Relay (DVSR) to prevent the start battery going flat. If you have Lithium “house” batteries, you need to use a DC/DC charger (below, right) set to ‘lithium’. A standard battery charger or car alternator provides 13.8Volts, but lithium needs 14.6Volts minimum to fully charge. A little on inverters Inverters convert 12V DC from your battery into 230V AC to run your domestic appliances. Inverters come in two types, modified sine wave and pure sine wave inverters. Pure sine wave inverters are dearer and far better than modified sine wave. If you are going to be using electronic appliances get a Pure Sine Wave inverter. The inverter needs to be as close as possible to the battery and have BIG supply cables. A 2kW fan heater draws 8amps from the inverter, the inverter draws 170amps from the battery so the battery cables must be large enough to carry that load or you will have a fire. Fuses and circuit breakers for safety need to be everywhere. From the solar panels to the controller, from the controller to the battery and from the battery to the load and/or inverter. Sunlight A last note, solar power needs sunlight. Solar works great in the summer. In winter there is a lot less sun and the cold can affect the batteries. Also, the further south you go the less sun there is to charge your system. Overall having a good solar system in your camper makes for better, easier camping. If in doubt If in doubt, ASK a specialist that knows solar. Facebook is not a specialist. I hope this helps you better understand the magic of solar power. ◼️ Images are product photos. Up Up 9 Spring 2024 , p 9

10 summer 2024 Summer 2024 ISSUE 10 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption GO TO Springing the sun will be shining tomorrow & the fish biting! Old Blue Shellie Evans The camp still has quite a few hardy campers on-site, it’s Labour Day weekend after all. You wait, the sun will be shining tomorrow & the fish biting! Twizel, Mackenzie Country. ©2024 Shellie Evans Photography ckw.nz/shellie-fb Up Up 10 Summer 2024 , p 20

9 Spring 2024 Spring 2024 ISSUE 9 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones ©2024 Roland Jones Watching the sun appear over the distant hills really made an impact. The re-build of my Toyota van Roland Jones It was the 19th January 2021. I had a fishing trip at Kawhia. As I had recently purchased a van for my business, I decided to throw a mattress inside and head off. After a great day’s fishing and a few beers afterwards, I put my head down for the night tucked up in my sheets. I woke up early the next morning and reached out and opened the door. It was so peaceful with a slight breeze. The smell of the sea and watching the sun appear over the distant hills really made an impact. I was bitten by the lifestyle. With retirement pending, I realised this was a fantastic opportunity to explore our beautiful country. After a lot of encouragement from my wife and daughter I fitted out my first campervan. As time progressed, I added more features— I added overhead cabinets. I upgraded the electrical system (with a lot of advice from fellow members) — with a 140W solar panel I had more power than I needed. Originally, I was going to fit thermal curtains then I decided to install wooden shutters. The unexpected bonus was that they kept out the lights of other campers arriving late at night , plus kept the van warmer. I also installed a diesel heater, amazing, warms the van up, but I have to have it on its lowest setting otherwise I’m toast. When I built the van, I knew that sometime later I would have to upgrade it. The utility drawers only came out about half way as I had used some old drawers I had removed from a kitchen. This was not a problem until my wife had a new mattress made for my van. I was able to lift the old mattress to get to the odd item in the back of the drawers but the new mattress was very rigid and heavier, making it almost impossible to get to the back storage units. Time to upgrade I completely removed all the old units. I built a new, double-shelf unit. The left drawer and centre drawer contain the everyday items, drawer #3 hits the wall of the van, however it does open approx 400mm, therefore I can keep tools, guy ropes and pegs there. If I do need something out of the back of drawer #3 then I can completely remove drawer #2 . All drawers have little rollers on the back to ease the open and close and they have magnetic catches. Stage 1 completed Stage 2, later this year, I will re-build the fridge cabinet and bench top, plus install a new toilet. I need it all completed for my next big trip in the South Island — 5 months, starting Feb 2025.◼️ Photos ©2024 Roland Jones Up Up 9 Spring 2024 , p 7

10 summer 2024 Summer 2024 ISSUE 10 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption GO TO Springing My day at Ferrymead Tony Knights My day at Ferrymead Heritage Park, Christchurch. ©2024 Tony Knights See the gallery Up Up 10 Summer 2024 , p 19

10 summer 2024 10 summer 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Reuben’s caravan Caravan tales Lynn and Charlie Hogg Our caravanning days started 12 years ago to take over from going tenting which we did for a number of years when our two boys were younger. At that time we lived in a small granny flat and I said to my husband if we are going to buy a tent I want to be able to stand up in it. So we ended up getting a 2-roomed one. Our boys were 8 and 6 years old, the younger one, Rueben, having severe autism. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that we would learn to deal with things as they happened and some we could prepare for beforehand. Two of the constant issues was the loud nursery rhyme music and the screaming. And when you only have canvas between you and your fellow tenters, and the night seems to make noise a lot louder, you do lots of things to keep the decibel sounds down including bribery. While our older son helped out a lot, eventually there came a time when he didn’t want to go camping with mum and dad. So we started looking at getting a caravan as we really needed to have three people to put up the tent, and my husband didn’t have the best of health either. Being on a low income we couldn’t afford to buy the caravan so we remortgaged and made it manageable for Reuben to be able to pay one off. Our options were limited but eventually we found a big clunky one and even though Reuben has never understood that he owns it he calls it Reuben’s caravan. From then on we could continue our camping holidays with our very best friends Marty and Diana. Although Reuben was getting older there were always going to be challenges taking a special-needs child away and sometimes we didn’t know what they would be until we got to the camp ground. Sometimes we went to the same place more than once, sometimes a different place. One of the things that could have been a bigger issue but, thankfully, hasn’t turned out to be, (well so far), is that even as Reuben’s got older he still needs help with his toileting and showering. Me being his mum and doing it a lot of the time, I couldn’t go with him into the men’s toilets. So I would take him into the female ones. Sometimes there’s a few raised eyebrows but no one has ever queried it. As the years have gone by it has been made easier as though Reuben still needs the help with his personal care, more and more campgrounds have the provision of a disability toilet and shower. Another issue we had was that Reuben was a runner. One minute he was there then blink and he was gone. So we were constantly on high alert to watch him, because when he did disappear he would go straight to the beach or lake. He loved water. As the years went by he took off less and less. Because he has bonded with a portable dvd player (it became like a second skin to him), he was very happy to watch that rather than run, and we were very happy to start getting more rest. After years the screaming starting to lessen and the caravan walls were slightly thicker than the tent ones so the noise was a bit more muffled. We only have to listen to the nursery rhymes now and sometimes they even put us to sleep. The one thing we must have, when booking our camping trip, is a powered site. That is non-negotiable as Reuben must have power for his electrical equipment that has to go with him when we go camping. Many of the owner-caretakers of the campgrounds have been very accomodating in putting us on a powered site as close as they can to the toilet block in case Reuben did wander off and go to the toilet without us noticing. We never had far to walk. It was easier, having the caravan, knowing that at the end of the holiday most things had their place inside. Only a few things had to be brought inside before you could shut the caravan door and leave. It didn’t matter if you got home and couldn’t unpack everything straight away, it was all under cover. Sadly, our caravanning days are slowly coming to an end. In all the years of driving with it I never learnt to reverse it. Charlie or Marty did that. A small house bus/motor home (all-in-one) would be a lot better but that isn’t financially possible. But I’m not looking at giving up camping. We still want to be able to take Reuben away even as we are getting older. So the next option will be going to campgrounds with cabins. We can still keep making new memories and holidaying with our best friends, it just wont be on 2 wheels. ◊ Dannevirke campground goes accessible | Read Alice’s journey Up Up 10 summer 2024 , p 22

3 Autumn 2023 3 Autumn 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Fiat Ducato Motorhome Owners NZ Ian Read 
 Our very first Fiat Ducato owners rally was held at Lakes Ranch, Rotorua, November, 2022. We had 42 vans stay and a couple of day visitors. The idea was for owners to help one another with problems, issues and share experiences and knowledge. We had a couple of general chat sessions which provided answers for those with questions on all aspects of maintenance and error messages that rise. I certainly learnt plenty myself. A fabulous shared meal was held Saturday and the food variety was amazing. Lakes Ranch provided dessert. There were a couple of raffles held and it was great to see a first time rally attendee win one. There were also prizes awarded for a ‘furthest traveled to rally’, ‘shortest length of ownership’, ‘most spent in the last 12 months’, ‘highest total kms’ and ‘longest ownership’. In the free times between events people could go kayaking, swimming, hiking, play tennis, relax and chat, or head into the city. On Friday night we watched a couple of videos on the making of the Alko chassis and the construction of the habitation area. After the Saturday pot luck we all headed over to the fire pit area, sang some tunes and roasted marshmallows over the coals. A few also wandered along the Burma Trail in the dark and found the glow worms. Many stayed on an extra night and we've set the date for another rally over ANZAC weekend 2023, same venue. Find us on Facbook ckw.nz/ducato Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 32

8 Winter 2024 Winter 2024 ISSUE 8 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption Thermette-MNR_H.webp ©2024 M Richardson My vintage thermette ©2024 M Richardson How the thermette works Brand new copper thermette Complete Outdoors sell these. My vintage thermette ©2024 M Richardson GO TO Autumn Gold oh for a beautiful copper thermette Thermettes: 2 litres in 2 minutes Miriam Richardson I have carried my thermette with me since I went on the road, but it has had little use. I seem to to have spent much of the outdoor-weather time in places with fire dangers. Now it is winter most fire bans are off, though the lure of outdoors is not as strong. My thermette is old and rusty but perfectly serviceable. I thought it might be the perfect way to get rid of paper rubbish while I am travelling, so I keep a $2-shop metal sieve with it so I can keep any hot flying debris inside the chimney. ‘Thermette’ is a brand but has become its common name. NZ made them from 1929 and they were issued to NZ soldiers in WWII, becoming known as ‘Benghazi boilers’, as the Kiwi soldiers used them in the Benghazi desert, burning diesel for fuel. Round black marks on the sand were the sign Kiwis had camped here. Other variations of the idea include Kelly kettles, (Ireland, 1900), Volcano kettles, (UK, 1928). They consist of a water jacket which is also the chimney, protecting the flame from wind and rain, and needing only twigs for fuel. They are very efficient, heating 2.2L in 2 minutes. Sadly, I don’t have the ring for the top which lets you cook over the chimney. I keep admiring the beautiful new copper thermettes that are now available. Would need some soot and flame to break it in. One day… For sale on Complete Outdoors ckw.nz/thermette-c-outdoors (Image, Complete Outdoors) Photo: ©2024 M Richardson Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 35

3 Autumn 2023 3 Autumn 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Recipes for camping Margaret Earle and Graham Leslie Rocks and gravel for 4–6‡ Our kids and their friends invented this recipe (pictured) when they were teenagers camping at Kaitoke on a wet, long weekend (pictured). They often cooked it over the fire, but it can also be made in a camp oven (or a large pan with a lid) on a gas cooker or in a hooded BBQ. Ingredients 1–2 onions, chopped Bacon and/or sausages (the best sausages are the cheap ones) 1 Tbsp oil 3 cans of baked beans Bag of scone mix 1 tin of creamed corn Method Make dumplings by putting a tin of creamed corn in a bowl and adding enough scone mix to make a stiff dough. If the mixture becomes too dry add a small amount of milk or water. Form the dough into small balls and put aside. Put camp oven to heat on cooking fire or gas cooker. Add oil to camp oven. Fry onion, bacon and sausages for a few minutes. Add baked beans and stir through. When the mixture is warm put the uncooked dumplings on top of the baked beans and put the lid on the camp oven. Turn the gas down to low or put the camp oven on a cooler part of the fire. Leave to simmer gently until the dumplings are cooked through. Be careful that the baked bean mixture doesn’t burn while the dumplings are cooking. Paneer and vege curry for 4–5‡ I came across this recipe when I was looking for a vegetarian meal to dehydrate for tramping. It is tasty and the veges listed can be substituted for whatever is available. Paneer is used a lot in Indian vegetarian recipes. You will find it in most supermarkets. It will keep for some weeks in a fridge so is a good source of protein when most of the fresh ingredients have been eaten. In this recipe, the paneer is cubed and fried before being added to the other ingredients. This makes it crisp and flavoursome. Ingredients Cooking oil 1 onion diced 3 cloves of garlic or 1–2 tsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp grated ginger root 1 tsp garam masala 400g tin diced tomatoes ½ cup vege stock (½ tsp powdered stock + ½ cup water) 1 tsp brown sugar 1 pinch of chilli flakes 1 cup pumpkin,chopped into small cubes or kumara or carrot 1 red capsicum, diced 2 courgettes, diced 3 cups baby spinach 300g paneer, cubed Method Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large pan. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add garam masala and stir. Add tomatoes, stock, brown sugar, chilli flakes, capsicum and pumpkin. Simmer until pumpkin is soft and liquid is reduced. Add courgettes and spinach and cook until wilted. While curry is cooking heat more oil in another pan. Brown paneer on all sides. Add to curry before serving. Serve with rice. Tuna pasta for 4–5‡ This recipe can be cooked entirely from tinned food so it can be made when all the fresh food has run out. Ingredients 1 onion, sliced, if available 2 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp of crushed garlic, if available 1 Tbsp oil 1–2 whatever vegetables are available (eg, mushrooms, courgettes, beans, capsicums). If no fresh veges are available, then freeze dried peas can be used: cook them separately and add with the tuna. 450g tin of tuna in spring water, drained 2 tins of diced tomatoes in juice 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried oregano Handful of olives (optional) Salt and pepper Dried pasta such as spaghetti, spirals etc Grated parmesan or tasty cheese, if available Method Heat oil in a medium sized fry pan. Add onion and/or garlic (if using) and fry until slightly starting to brown. Stir in carrot and cook for 3–5 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes and bring to boil. In a separate pot boil the water for the pasta. Add sufficient pasta to feed those eating the meal. Add veges that require the most cooking. Continue to stir regularly and gradually add all the veges. Add the veges that require the least cooking last. Add drained tuna, basil and oregano. Stir well and cook until veges are desired softness. Add olives (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. Serve sauce over cooked pasta. Top with grated cheese (if using). ‡ Depends how many vege you cook, how many it will serve Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 25