Takaka Hill

Takaka Hill is the longest hill in New Zealand and rises to 791 metres at its highest point. Bernie was confident the truck would tow the rig up without any problems and he was right. It sailed up effortlessly.

The hill is littered with many strange forms of weathered marble and among these are sinkholes and limestone caves.

Some scenes from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movie were filmed on Takaka Hill.    

The road zig-zags and twists its way up the hill and for those that wonder if the constant winding will cause travel sickness you can be assured there are many pull over areas where you can take a breather and admire the breathtaking vistas.

I took this photo of the rig traveling down on the Takaka side of the hill, from Harwood’s Lookout. 

Harwoods Lookout is the perfect spot to pull over and enjoy the panoramic view over the glacier-carved Takaka Valley.

Just after driving through Upper Takaka I came across a fence smothered in all types of sneakers and shoes.

Published Articles.

At the beginning of this year I enrolled with 'N.Z. Writer's College' to do a Journalism course. My goal was to have an article published by the end of this year. Recently, in the Dec/Jan edition of 'The Motor Caravanner' (which is NZMCA's magazine) I had my first two articles published.

One article was called 'Sunshine, Sunsets & Vineyards'. It suggests things to do while staying in Blenheim. With the 61st NZMCA Rally coming up in February there will be lots of members traveling from all around New Zealand, and Blenheim may likely be a place people choose to stay to break up their journey.

The second article called ' On The Road With Our Four-Legged Friends' included several interviews with people who travel with pets. In the article, I mentioned the Facebook group 'Motorhoming With Pets In N.Z' that I started less than a year ago. Due to this exposure, we've had a surge of people wanting to join the group. Now we have over 1,000 members and it's increasing daily.

Last week, I got a nice email from Chris (the editor of 'The Motor Caravanner') saying he has accepted the next two articles I've submitted. These will be published in the following magazine. 

I have several more ideas for future articles and have an interview arranged in January to include in my next piece. I'm loving the challenge of finding an interesting angle to write about and taking photos to support each article. 

McKee Domain - Ruby Bay

With Christmas only a few days away I thought McKee Domain would be bursting with happy campers. However, when I visited today to arrange a time to interview the care-taker I was surprised to see lots of spaces available.
It was a stunning day. The tide was in and there was a gentle breeze that offered some slight relief from the scorching sun. There weren't many people swimming which suggested the water temperature was still chilly due to the cool weather we've had recently.
I stumbled across Ken Todd (the care-taker) painting one of the toilet blocks and arranged to interview him after the busy summer/New Year season. He certainly has landed himself a great job in a beautiful location. Ken's bus sits beside the beach with views across Tasman Bay. He has lived at McKee Domain for roughly 20 years now, after taking on the position not knowing how long it would last for. 
I'm looking forward to sitting down and chatting with him, so I can discover more.

Still lots of space about.

This camper van had tinsel around it and Santa sitting on the dashboard.

An interesting truck with an assortment of tools down the side and plants in pots on the top of the roof.

Loads of drift wood washed up on the tide line, which is ideal to use in the camp fires  that are provided around the camp.

$6 a night is a reasonable price for a site by the beach and swimming on your doorstep.

Track to the beach - underneath the Pohutukawa trees.

Bird's Eye view!

A Beach Christmas Tree.