7 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2024 ISSUE 7 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption Adrienne, Jean & Carolyn Between them they have over 240 years of camping experience. Adrienne, Jean & Carolyn. ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Sisters, Carolyn and Adrienne ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Passed down camping grear. Passed down camping gear: food safe, table, basin. The caravan behind was built by Adrienne’s father (it appears in Issue 2 and is profiled in Issue 5.) ©2024 Bette Cosgrove Three octogenarian campers Bette Cosgrove Between them they have over 240 years of camping experience. Adrienne, Jean & Carolyn. Jean Roger, 88yrs old. I grew up in UK, in South End on Sea. Being born across the road from the beach, I lived alongside thousands of holidaymakers. They arrived in NZ in 1957 and couldn’t afford holidays so they went camping. 62 years ago, and with our infant son Peter, we first went camping as a family. We shoved all the stuff in the work Vanguard station wagon and loaded paint sheet, broom handles, nails as pegs, ball of string, with a grey blanket safety-pinned on as a screen. Slept in the back of the vehicle. They had to disengage the horn because 3 yr old Peter slept across the front seat, and would put his foot on the horn in the night. Sisters, Carolyn and Adrienne Adrienne Leslie, age 86 My earliest camping memory was at age 4, October 6, 1943, with Ngati Porou on the marae at Ruatoria in the historic presentation of the VC medal to 2nd Lt Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu, posthumously, at a massive hui of 7,000 people presided over by Sir Apirana Ngata. We slept on the whare floor with all the local kids. There were 1200 children at the event. Her Father, Thomas Houston, Govt Inspector of Health who spoke fluent te reo, pointed out his Excellency, the Governor-General, Sir Cyrill Newall and the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Peter Fraser in the back of big black cars. I remember amazing kapa haka and waiata performed by hundreds of beautiful dancers. I remember I was told it was one of the most important events I would ever attend in my life … and it was in fact reported at the time as one of the largest and most fully documented Māori gatherings ever held. This ceremony doubled as a tribute to the magnificent part played by the Māori Battalion in all the operations of the Second New Zealand Division, as well as acting as a form of public mourning for the fact that no bodies had been returned to New Zealand. † For Adrienne it was unforgettable The war was on so no tents, and couldn’t get anything. Carolyn Moore, aged 82 Began camping at age 5 or 6. We went with Mum and Dad in a borrowed tent, and camped on the Buller at Gowan Bridge, because Mum ’n Dad loved dry-fly trout fishing. Our tents were mouldy and leaked like a sieve and we had to pack up and leave. Absolutely miserable; and have had many miserable camps over the years. We slept in the car half the time. We never went into campgrounds, finding river bank sites, on football fields, a pickers hut near Motueka, so always wild camping. All over NZ. We always had a spade to dig holes. One for the long drop, and one for the rubbish. Lake Mavora was a three week stint in the rain, most memorable. Camped alongside the river, outside the old homestead which is gone now. As an adult they took their infant son camping. Drove the Jowett Javelin, which I still own. We loaded up with a Farmers green and brown canvas tent, cot, high chair, and travelled up to the far north at Taipa. The tent was handed down from our parents-in-law who had used it at little Oneroa on their land in Waiheke. We eventually graduated to a caravan. Their legacy has been passed down through the generations, to great-grand children in the family, who now camp at All Points Camping Club. Passed down camping gear: food safe, table, basin. The caravan behind was built by Adrienne’s father (it appears in Issue 2 and is profiled in Issue 5.) † www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/photo/ngarimus-vc-hui-ruatoria-1943 Grandad's grandad's Caravan (Issue 5) Freedom camping (Issue 3) GO TO Celebrating Summer river bank sites, a football field, a pickers hut, wild camping all over NZ Up Up 7 Autumn 2024 , p 37 ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 4 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

There are new penalties and some exemptions. Are you homeless, or making a lifestyle choice? Who gets fined and how they are notified. The law is vague. Councils and enforcement officers have to make it work. BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up Freedom camping under the new law Miriam Richardson There are new penalties and some exemptions There are now fines of $400–1200 for freedom camping or preparing to freedom camp, in the wrong place. The homeless are exempt from most (but not all) of the new penalties. Note 1 Are you homeless, or making a lifestyle choice? The legislators were keen to prevent people who have chosen to live on the road from claiming to be homeless (and exempt), so changed the definition of ‘homeless’ for the purpose of this act. Homeless doesn’t mean not having a home to go to, it means being ‘unable to live in appropriate residential accommodation’, with the definition of ‘residential accommodation’ being revised to include ‘accommodation in a dwelling house, flat, hotel, motel, boarding house, or camping ground’; and, no stone unturned, ‘camping ground’ is redefined to include ‘any site at which a fee is payable for camping’. Unless you are ‘unable’ to live in a motel or camping ground etc, you are not ‘homeless’, and not exempt from this act. Note 2 It is also now an offence if a person makes ‘preparations’ to freedom camp in the wrong place. This is defined as ‘setting up a tent’ or ‘parking a vehicle’ to use to freedom camp. Short term parking, day-trip excursions, and recovering from driver fatigue are not ‘freedom camping’. Note 3 Who gets fined and how they are notified Fines can be levied either on the person accused of doing wrong or the vehicle owner. Further, even if you never actually receive the notice of an offence, you are still liable. Enforcement sends an email and you are ‘served’. Note 4 The law is vague Are you ‘unable’ to stay in this campground? The homeless definition does not define what ‘unable’ means. A motel or camping ground is too far away (what is ‘too far’)? Not enough money to pay (is having 1 night’s worth of dollars for a camp ground enough) (what about night 2)? The camping ground is not open when the person arrives in a town? The law does not define ‘appropriate’ accommodation. Personal circumstances will determine what counts as ‘appropriate’ but does the camper’s judgement count? What counts as ‘preparing’ to freedom camp? Putting out a chair? Drying a tea towel? Using an awning? Everything that is part of camping can also be part of an exempt day-excursion. Councils and enforcement officers Councils are tasked with translating the vague law into working rules for their officers to apply in real life. Is this vehicle: parked, day-tripping, freedom camping or is the driver recovering from driver fatigue? Is this person homeless? Is this person preparing to freedom camp? It so hard (impossible?) to evaluate intentions. If homlessness depends on what is available, then the enforcement officer will need to assess local accomodation in relation to this person and this vehicle. Is local accomodation available, appropriate, affordable for this traveller? Is a local, paid, parking site / camp ground able to take this particular vehicle? Can it take this length of vehicle? Are there parking or driving hazards: is the driveway wide enough without scratching the vehicle, will it fit under the trees (without damaging panels and vents on the roof), are both the driver and vehicle able to negotiate the gate, a bend on the drive? Is the ground firm enough for the weight of this vehicle (at this time of year, in this weather, after tonight’s rain)? Councils will need procedures for responding to alleged offences, as campers and councils work out how to bring the new laws into real life. Notes Note 1 (Section 5, 2a, FCA † ) (FCP † ) Note 2 (Section 5, 3b, FCA † ) Note 3 (Section 20, 2b, FCA † ) (Section 5, 2, FCA † ) Note 4 (Section 27 A, 2, FCA † ) † FCA: Freedom Camping Act 2011 † FCP: Freedom Camping (Penalties for Infringement Offences) Regulations 2023 Up Up Up Issues in making this real 1/2

Summer 2024 ISSUE 10 BUY PDF CONTENTS Issue 10, Summer 2024 Cover image: Waiorongomai Valley ©2024 Greg Lokes Editorial Come Camping Stop and Stay Contribute About TESTING DYNAMIC ISSUE 10 Table of contents Double-digit highways Next SH 32/41, West of Lake Taupo Next SH45 The Surf Coast Highway, Te Ika a Maui North Island Next SH60 Richmond to Collingwood, Tasman Next Butchers Dam aurora Next We got bogged: “Because it’d be funner,” he said Next And people wonder why I like camping Next Springing Next What a difference a day makes Next Waitaki first day Next Ōtaki Rivermouth Next NIWA summer forecast Next Camp Fest ‘25 Next All roads lead to Camp Fest Next I really like the Waiouru Army Museum Next Camping in Tairāwhiti this summer Next Freedom camping news Next Self-containment warrant cards: Which ones are valid? Next But I am not freedom camping… Next A roof-top tent Next Revolutionizing Kiwi camping with Fix’n’Rail Next What is out there Next This is the summer to visit Queenstown Next The Wairau Next Getting your camping vehicle certified Next Dealing with a caravan flat Next Sunday morning caravan Lego Next Old Blue Next Kea attack Next First time out with my new tent Next Thornbury-Aparima Bridge Reserve Next Temple Stream Next Marfells Beach Next Exploring Clandyboye Next Being able to get out into nature Next Making camping more accessible for everyone Next Caravan tales Next Dannevirke Holiday Park is making its facilities more accessible Next What a view to wake up to Next Danseys Pass Next From rugby to pets — How Covid19 started the tail wagging on HELPP VET Next Pippa in the hammock Next Planning to camp with your pet? Resources Next My day at the Ellesmere A&P Show Next The Slow Road Next My day at Ferrymead Next NZ Cheese Festival Next A long weekend on the Waikato River Next Safe toilet chemicals Next The fairy forest walk Next Teeming at Terako Downs Next Terako Downs entrance Next Up, up the Waiorongomai Valley Next Favourite and quick camping meals Next Alice cooking dinner on the BBQ Next Heating a pie Next Ordinary cycle Next Fishing in the snow Next Trying out my new quilt Next GAME: DOC campsites 4: Lower North Island Next HOBBIES: Disc golf Next Stop and Stay: City dwellers: 2nd camp: more adventurous Next Lake Poaka Next Rays Rest Next DOC update Next Uretiti Next King’s Birthday camp at Kekerengu Next Foxton Beach Next Three nights at Conway Flats Next Fantastic time at the Onearo campground Next Come camping Next Festivals Next The All Points Camping Club of NZ Next A summer of content: editorial Next Councils & Government Camping in Tairāwhiti this summer Read But I am not freedom camping… Read This is the summer to visit Queenstown Read Getting your camping vehicle certified Read Thornbury-Aparima Bridge Reserve Read Being able to get out into nature Read Making camping more accessible for everyone Read Dannevirke Holiday Park is making its facilities more accessible Read Safe toilet chemicals Read A summer of content: editorial Read Self-containment & Freedom Camping Camping in Tairāwhiti this summer Read Freedom camping news Read Self-containment warrant cards: Which ones are valid? Read But I am not freedom camping… Read This is the summer to visit Queenstown Read Getting your camping vehicle certified Read Thornbury-Aparima Bridge Reserve Read Being able to get out into nature Read Making camping more accessible for everyone Read Caravan tales Read Safe toilet chemicals Read View More

Ever wondered where the nearest cell tower is? BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up Mobile cell towers Miriam Richardson Ever wondered where the nearest cell tower is? Some places have none, some have a lot. Find out more about the cell towers near you, or where your are planning to travel: gis.geek.nz ©2023 JGrah.am (Downloaded September 2023) Up Up Up 1/0

Really feeling autumny now! Whakaipo Bay, DOC camp at Taupo. BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up Really feeling autumny now! Owain Humphreys Really feeling autumny now! Whakaipo Bay, DOC camp at Taupo. ©2023 Owain Humphreys Up Up Up 1/1

8 Winter 2024 8 Winter 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption campers need really fat cables going the shortest possible distances Watts & Amps Some basic science behind using electricity when camping Graham Leslie Using electricity safely while camping requires some basic knowledge to avoid electrocuting yourself or burning your caravan/camper down. This article explains some of the science behind this. Electricity at its most basic is the flow of electrons along a wire. Electric power is a combination of two things: how many electrons are going along the wire — Amps; and how much force is pushing the electrons along — Volts. It is a bit like using a water blaster, where the power comes from how much water comes out and what pressure it comes out at. Electric power it is measured in Watts. For example, a LED light bulb might use about 8 Watts, a laptop 30 to 70 Watts and an electric kettle uses 2,000 Watts. The power consumption is normally written somewhere on the appliance. The power or Watts is calculated by multiplying Volts by Amps. So if you run a 240 Watt appliance on mains power of 240 Volts, you will only need 1 Amp of electricity. But when you run the same appliance on a 12 Volt system you will need 20 Amps of electricity. 240 Watts = 240 Volts x 1 Amps or240 Watts = 12 Volts x 20 Amps In simple terms, when you have lots of Volts (240 Volts at home) you don’t need many Amps and when you don’t have many Volts (12 Volts camping) you will need heaps of Amps. So, when camping with a 12 Volt system you use heaps of Amps to get the same amount of power as you would at home. The more Amps you use, the quicker you use up the electricity stored in your battery. Look at the Watts on your device and if you are using a 12 Volt battery divide it by 12; this is the Amps the device uses each hour it is on. For a 150 Watt appliance: 150 Watts divided by 12 Volts: 150÷12= 12.5 Amps Remember Amps are the number of electrons flowing down the wire. Using the water blaster analogy, Amps are similar to the amount of water flowing. If you need more water to go down a hose then you will need a thicker hose. So, if you need more Amps to flow down a wire you will then need a thicker wire. Typical cross section of wires 240 Volt home wire needs more insulation. Lots of insulation to avoid electrocution from high Volts. Not much copper wire because not many Amps. (Using a water hose analogy; not much water but under lots of pressure.) 12 Volt camper wire needs more copper wire. Not so much insulation because Volts are low. Lots of copper wire to carry lots of Amps and avoid power loss and fire risk. (Using a water hose analogy; lots of water but not much pressure.) Big enough wire If the wire in your camper is not big enough then you can lose power as it goes down the wire. At the battery you may have 12.5 Volts, but at other end of the wire where the appliance is you may only have 11.5 Volts. The power drop increases with large loads. The power drop along the wire means there is less power available to run your appliance and it may not run properly. The power lost along the wire turns into heat and sometimes this generates enough heat to melt the insulation off the wires and start a fire. See arrows in the photo. To reduce these issues and the fire risk, in 12 Volt RV wiring, you need really fat cables going the shortest possible distances because you are using heaps more Amps than you would with 240 Volt mains power. For instance: A 2,000 Watt kettle draws 8 Amps at home, but in your camper, with an inverter, it would draw 167 Amps (2000 ÷ 12). For that many Amps your cables need to be huge. What might seem like not much power at home could be very different when you are off the grid. 240 Volt mains power and 12 Volt battery systems are both dangerous but in different ways. Why is 240 Volt mains power dangerous? Compared with 12 Volts from your battery, 240 Volts mains power is a bit like a high-pressure hose and the electricity really wants to get out and escape through whatever is close or touching it, including us (which would electrocute us). So electrical equipment with higher voltages (240 Volts) has more insulation around it to keep the electricity in the wire. Why are 12 Volts battery systems dangerous? 12 Volts does not have as much force to push electricity to escape. It is more like very, very low water pressure. So there is less chance of electricity being forced to flow through us and give us an electric shock. However, to get enough power and make up for the lack of pressure (Volts) we increase Amps or current flow. If the wires are not big enough to carry that much current, they can heat up and become a fire risk. Tips for installing a 12 Volt to 240 Volt inverter Set the inverter up as close as possible (short fat cables) to the battery and if need be run an extension cord from the inverter to the appliance. If you are buying an inverter with a big power capacity (anything over 150 Watts) get it professionally installed. Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 28

6 Summer 2023 6 Summer 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption RV-Business-Services_MW.webp Rv & Camper services Find rv and camping services. Any relevant business can list; it is free. Anyone can recommend a business to add to the list. No endorsement is implied. The thumbs up shows people you can ask, if you are stuck. Their local knowledge can help you find the service you need. North Island listings South Island Listings Up Up 6 Summer 2023 , p 40

Winter 2025 ISSUE 12 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption chilly_H_nverc-morto.webp chilly-morton-inverc-6.jpg chilly-morton-inverc-7.jpg chilly-morton-inverc-5.jpg chilly-morton-inverc-4.jpg chilly-morton-inverc-3.jpg GO TO CHILLY CHILLY CHILLY OUT THERE Winter camp 2 of 3 Winter camp Invercargill, July Andrew Morton I am having one winter camp each month. This is 2 of 3. This time Invercargill. Fantastic beach, sun set, awesome hard frost to wake up to. Friday it’s four years since I changed my life, getting a Retrocamper. Tomorrow night will be night 391 in my camper with many more to come. 🏕️ Winter camp 1 Up Up 12 Winter 2025 , p 11

8 Winter 2024 Winter 2024 ISSUE 8 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption editorial-MNR_0991_H.webp ©2024 M Richardson GO TO Autumn Gold keep warm, keep camping, keep enjoying Editorial Miriam Richardson I have been enjoying following along on Facebook the many campers who aren’t intimidated by the season and are planning to continue camping in Winter. I have been perched at the campground in Glendhu Bay, plugged in to power while I work on this magazine, enjoying day after day of beautiful weather and stunning views, while the North Island has been cloudy, buffeted by wind, and fairly damp. I am not sure if this is a charmed spot or I have just been lucky. It has been a pretty grim time for people who want to freedom camp, having to work hard to find practical solutions within the flawed regulations. You will find some articles here on how to meet the toilet requirements for the new green warrant. There is a possibility there might be relief from the bizarre requirement to drill a hole in your toilet cassette and your vehicle. Holding off might save $ (and defer payment of the $120 government self-containment levy). There are more vehicle inspectors for the green warrants, though still not enough. You might be lucky enough to find one in your area. The government has announced an increase in the visitor levy on tourists. So far it has wasted all it collected this way on enforcement — if it created more facilities the need for enforcement would be less, but there is no impetus, either locally or nationally to improve or increase facilities for these, our most lucrative tourists. As we head in to winter, keep warm, keep camping, keep enjoying and caring for our lovely country. Tiaki mai. Miriam Richardson Image: Glendhu Bay, Wanaka, ©2024 M Richardson Up Up 8 Winter 2024 , p 4

Winter 2025 ISSUE 12 BUY PDF ToC Click on image for full view and caption now_H_20250430_151535.webp GO TO CHILLY CHILLY CHILLY OUT THERE Bigger batteries are no use without the means to charge them Now we have the power to go off-grid Graham Leslie We bought a modern lightweight English caravan a couple of years ago. It was set up for comfortable off-grid camping. We can run most of the caravan on gas ie., the fridge, cooking, water heating and central heating. We found the limiting factor was 12-volt battery power. Why we wanted more power Being a modern caravan, it is well insulated and has its own bathroom so we want to extend our camping season out of summer into winter. Winter camping for us means longer time with the lights on at night, using the shower rather going for a swim, watching TV in a warm caravan rather than going on an evening walk. We have also found we are taking more electronic devices and these are using more power than before. We also need more power for our caravan’s facilities, for instance, the gas central heating has an electric fan and there is an electric pump to get water to the shower or sink. We needed more battery storage Our goal was to increase our battery capacity to store more power. We opted to go with lithium batteries. These offer two major advantages to us. They are about a third the weight of, and provide about double the usable power of, similar lead-acid batteries. We opted for two 100 Amp hour LiFePO4 batteries to replace our old single 100 Amp hour AGM lead-acid battery. This should give us four times the power storage at two thirds the weight of what we had before. They should also have about double the life span of a lead-acid battery. LiFePO4 batteries are a type of lithium battery commonly used in deep cycle applications. Unlike lead-acid batteries they have smart electronics in them called a BMS (Battery Management System) which protects the battery from damage or catching fire. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that lithium battery prices are now dropping as they become more common and now can be bought at prices approaching those of lead-acid batteries. If you have more than one battery, it is best practice for the batteries to be matched. This means in simple terms that they are the same brand, model and age as each other. Also you should not add additional batteries later on to your existing batteries. For these reasons we bought two batteries upfront, rather just one. Bigger batteries and bigger electrical loads need to be set up correctly to last and be safe Unfortunately lithium batteries can’t just be swapped into where your old lead-acid deep cycle battery operated. They have different charging needs and so battery chargers and solar controllers often need to be changed. Although the batteries were not as expensive as we initially thought, we realised we were heading for a major upgrade of the whole 12 volt system on the caravan. I guess this could have been done in stages but we did it all in one hit. Wayne Ravelich’s article in issue 9 of Camping the Kiwi Way; “Solar basics for dummies” was very useful. Getting specialist professional help to set up a new expanded system is highly advisable. It is not just choosing the correct charging equipment, but also setting it up safely with the correct fuses and wire sizes. 12 volt systems today have to deal with much greater electric loads and so there is more danger when things go wrong. We went to Rigs’n Things in Stratford and worked with the owner, Merv Hooper. Working with Merv was great experience in itself. His workshop is in ex-railways workshop complete with tracks running through it. He invited us to camp inside the workshop in our caravan while the work was being done. He also allowed us to help with the work to keep labour costs down. It also meant we were able to get a more hands-on feel about how everything fitted together and he listened to our ideas. We were concerned that the weight of solar panels could cause our flat caravan roof to sag in the centre. Merv appreciated our concern and so put together a roof rack system for the solar panels to take load on the outer edges of the roof. Bigger batteries are no use without the means to charge them Having decided we wanted 200 Amp hours of lithium battery power we needed to look at how we charged them. Solar panels are now much cheaper and better than they used to be, so my advice is to go overboard and put as much up as you have room for. Once installed they provide free power. In our case it was 640 Watts worth. Solar panels also like to be matched to work best. Due to space limitations on our roof we have two different types of panels so we installed two separate solar controllers; one for each type of panel. We added two further battery charging systems: A new 230 volt mains charger to charge batteries when the caravan is plugged into mains power and a DC to DC charger that charges the batteries from the car’s alternator when we are driving. We went with Victron (brand) Bluetooth components for all our chargers and controllers. This means the different chargers all talk to each other and are able to manage the different stages of battery charging in a coordinated manner. It is all automatic, and we can also see it all on our phones via Bluetooth if we want to. We also wanted a reliable fuel gauge to see how much battery power we are using and how much is left We added one more component to the mix in the form of a ‘smart shunt battery monitor’ which keeps track of the power going into and out of our battery by looking at the amps going in and out. The ‘shunt’ provides us with an effective fuel gauge and tells us how full our battery is. Due to the nature of lithium batteries the old voltage-based battery monitors in caravans don’t show how much power you have left. Our shunt has Bluetooth too and so we can monitor our power usage through a phone app. We put a ‘smart shunt’ in our caravan. It is easily installed between the negative terminal of our batteries and the chargers and loads. The smart shunt measures the current going in and out of our batteries and calculates how much battery power we are using and how much power we have left. We can see this information via Bluetooth on our phones rather than needing to wire in a separate display unit to show the information. It is like a fuel gauge for our power shown on our phones. We are looking forward to getting off grid and not worrying about how much power we have. 🏕️ Up Up 12 Winter 2025 , p 15

Find businesses and services BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up RV & Camper business services Find rv and camping services. Any relevant business can list; it is free. Anyone can recommend a business to add to the list. No endorsement is implied. The thumbs up shows people you can ask, if you are stuck. Their local knowledge can help you find the service you need. Up Up Up 1/0

7 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2024 ISSUE 7 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption Al Points Camping gathreing at Waihopai Community Centre and Reserve Our All Points Camping NZ park and camp was at the Waihopai Community Centre and Reserve, 16km away from the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival. ©2024 Marty Ireland Jet trail overhead. We had a large area to choose from. We had a large area to choose from, with the use of the small hall with lounge, kitchen, toilets and river-fed fresh water supply. ©2024 Marty Ireland. A mercy dash by Morgan Plumbing Friday saw the need for a mercy dash by the local plumbers (Morgan Plumbing) to effect running repairs on the toilets which was done with efficiency and much appreciated. ©2024 Marty Ireland Setup at Waihopai ©2024 Marty Ireland Setup at Waihopai ©2024 Marty Ireland Arriving at Waihopai. ©2024 Marty Ireland Setup at Waihopai ©2024 Marty Ireland Water supply ©2024 Marty Ireland. A private stretch of river. ©2024 Marty Ireland A private stretch of river. ©2024 Marty Ireland ©2024 Marty Ireland A private stretch of river. ©2024 Marty Ireland Nibbles Day visitors joined us to swim in the private swimming hole, enjoy pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and wide ranging discussions, as one does, along with some good laughs as we tried and tasted home-made spirits.©2024 Marty Ireland wine food waihopai pre dinner drinks and nibbles.jpg Day visitors joined us to swim in the private swimming hole, enjoy pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and wide ranging discussions, as one does, along with some good laughs as we tried and tasted home-made spirits.©2024 Marty Ireland Waihopai camp and the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival Marty Ireland Marlborough’s iconic wine and food event was held at the Renwick Sports Domain in Blenheim in February, which living up to its reputation for sunny, fine weather. Previously held at the Brancott Vineyard, attendees felt the change of management and venue detracted, and the new payment system, that seemed to attract extra fees, took the joy out of the experience for many. Our All Points Camping NZ park and camp was at the Waihopai Community Centre and Reserve, 16km away, past the renowned Spy Base facility, now minus the two controversial cover domes. For $20 per van per night we had a large area to choose from, with the use of the small hall with lounge, kitchen, toilets and river-fed fresh water supply. Friday saw the need for a mercy dash by the local plumbers (Morgan Plumbing) to effect running repairs on the toilets which was done with efficiency and much appreciated. We were a small group from Blenheim and Christchurch, and day visitors joined us to swim in the private swimming hole, enjoy pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and wide ranging discussions, as one does, along with some good laughs as we tried and tasted home-made spirits. The weather was hot and sunny with a temperature drop-off in the morning and some strong wind one evening dropping some guy ropes on the awnings. One stunning feature was the stars visible over head at night time. A great weekend in a great place. GO TO Celebrating Summer drinks, nibbles, discussions, good laughs Campground. Not affected by law changes. Up Up 7 Autumn 2024 , p 36 ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 4 editor@campingthekiwiway.org