Next Destination... Picton

 From my few days parked at Vinegar Hill it was only

a short drive to Wellington. I left early as I wasn't sure

how long it would take me or how often I would want to 

stop for coffee and how much traffic there would be... 

You know how it is! I was booked in the 1pm ferry to

Picton. I have been on the ferry many times but not

with a vehicle of this size.  but it turned out to be a

piece of cake - or if you're not familiar with that saying...

It was easy. Here I am parked in the queue...
I was also a bit anxious about my leg with stairs
and difficult places but that was all ok too... A lift, a cafe 
and comfortable seats made for a pleasant journey.

 Waiting to drive on board.

 Along with all the road-haul trailers...

 

 And trucks...

 And trains...

 All aboard the InterIslander Arahura and off we go...

 

I don't like the ferry, or rather rough seas, so I avoid 

the ferry and fly when I don't have a vehicle. But this 

time it was me and Licorice Allsorts. Luckily the

whole trip the sea was calm and still, we even saw 

some jumping dolphins... So I made it safely to

Picton to stay with friends there for a while...

And am having a wonderful time. 

Another Bedford Called... Snow Goose

 The other Bedford I met was Snow Goose... A

1961 J4. Recently bought in Invercargill, it is the

5th Bedford Kaye has owned since 1974.

 A little vardo is towed behind...
 

This is Kaye and Chris... Two more members

of the Gypsy Fair.They are travellers who
love life on the road... Work hard and sell
their wares at the Fair. This is their 1st
season with the fair. Previously they spent
12 years selling their art in galleries.
As you can see Chris can only just... Or
not quite, stand up in their bus. They are
in the process of doing up the inside and plan
to pop the top to increase the head height.
Kaye loves retro and autumn colours and
you can see her influence in her clothes
and the developing decor in the bus.

Kaye paints... Folk Art

This is an order... But there's more like this.

Lovely art work for the garden...

Unique little labels...

For specific plants.

Chris makes creatures from New Zealand Harakeke 

or Flax... Very realistic. 
www.fibreactive.co.nzhttp://www.fibreactive.co.nz/ 

Each one is a unique creation individually crafted

and no two are the same. They are inspired by

Chris's passion for New Zealand flora and fauna.

So far they have found their way to 22 countries

round the world.

Spiders... And lizards...

This octopus is gorgeous...

And little New Zealand Kiwis.

The Gypsy Fair is in Richmond, put of Nelson,

weekend of 22/23 February. I plan to be there.

On the web site it looks so unique and exciting.

I Met Some More Old Bedfords...

 While I was parked at Vinegar Hill I met two old Bedfords...

This is Belisama... A 1981 Bedford VAS... 8.5 meters 

So named because Belisama in Celtic polytheisim is 

connected with lakes, rivers, fire, crafts and light. 

 And the caravan, which is Garry's workshop 
is attached behind.

 
It belongs to Joss & Garry

And Charlie Brown... Lying under the bus to keep cool

Joss and Garry are members of the Gypsy Fair... a group

of very talented people who make a variety of art and 

crafts and travel round New Zealand for eight

months of the year setting up stalls and the fair

in different places each weekend.  

Garry is a jeweller who works with Jade, Paua, Sterling

Silver, Bone and Mother of Pearl.

Joss is the business administrator... She also makes

4 strand plait cords... used to hang Garry's bone 
and jade carving necklaces on.

Garry is passionate about Jade or Greenstone...

As they travel he said he is educating New Zealand

about Greenstone... One town at a time.

Vinegar Hill... Putai Ngahere Domain

 After my long drive south I reached my destination

in the late afternoon. What a delightful place.

Here I am right by the Rangitikei River...

My table and chair waiting while I pour a glass of wine.

 From a distance... The huge white cliffs and towering

poplar trees... Very peaceful in the sun the river

noisily running over the stones.

 The tall cliffs and beautiful willows...

 The clear shingle river and white cliffs...

More like the big South Island rivers.

 The river was deep in places, beautiful for swimming

but not for me just yet as my leg is not strong enough.

There are trout in the river as a fisherman proved

by catching one just fifteen minutes after 

first casting his rod. That might be the

next sort of fishing I try!

 Tents all round the edge of the river...

 And plenty of room for more.

 At the top of the cliffs is a fence and this

gate... No idea what is on the other side

or what might fall over the edge.

 I spent three nights by the river... Enjoying the sun, reading, 

going for short walks and visiting the other Bedford's 

that were parked nearby. The morning I left

was a thick fog... Eerie and beautiful.

 Can hardly see the bridge over the river...

Everything is shrouded and mysterious...

Until the sun emerged.

Is That Snow?... I Can't Believe My Eyes...

 As I left Turangi behind and drove south towards

the Desert Road, Waiouru and Mangaweka I was most

surprised to see what looked like snow on the
distant Mt Tongariro... A compound volcano in the

Taupo Volcanic Zone. Its elevation is 1,978 meters

But I was sure it was snow I was looking at.

 Behind the sprawling mass of Tongariro

was the composite cone of Mt Ngauruhoe with

its elevation of 2291 meters. From my viewpoint

it looks like a separate mountain but  is actually

part of the Tongariro Volcano complex.

 The mountains were continually in view...

Growing in size as I got closer and further south. 

Here a lot of logging has been done... There were

numerous logging trucks on the road.

 It's a good road... In the summer. In winter more

treacherous with ice on the road with plenty

of warning signs.

 It's quite isolated...

 Long straight roads...

 Because of volcanic ash when the various volcanoes

have erupted the countryside is very barren.

Nothing much grows on the hard dry ground... 

Snow and ice covered in the winter.

 The perfect cone of Ngauruhoe... Made of

alternating layers of ash, scoria and andesite

lave flows. The sides of the cone are steep, loose

scree slopes covered in material from recent eruptions.

Fumaroles exist in the inner crater and on the rim of the

eastern and northern  outer crater but steam is seldom

visible above the crater rim.

The cone started to build up at least 2500 years ago

although recent research suggests it may be up to

4500 years old.

 The road continued on... Easy driving but it

was my longest days driving since I have been

on the road again.

I eventually left the volcanoes and scrub

of the Desert Road behind as I continued

south to my next destination at Vinegar Hill.

 My next stop as I headed south was

A small DoC reserve

 It was deserted when I arrived  but

another bus joined me  later in the day.

             Here I am parked on the edge of the 
                  southern end of Lake Taupo

 It was a bit dry and dusty but a great

overnight stop. Plenty of space...

 Because, I found out from the local
people who visited... I shouldn't have been
parked there. The information in the
NZMCA travel book I have is incorrect.

Beautiful views of this large lake

All along the edge of the water was

an abundance of pumice. For those not

in New Zealand, pumice is a volcanic

rock that is thrown out of errupting volcano's.

It's smoothness denotes how old it is.

The pumice I picked up is totally smooth...

It's been buffeted for a long, long time.

Lake Taupo is the crater of a dormant

volcano that first errupted 26,500

years ago

An overview of the area...

Lots of room for buses, motor homes

and tents... It's a great base for
swimming, kayaking, boating, fishing,
walking and tramping. Also not far
from the hot pools at Turangi. 

This is the DoC  sign... Presumably the

correct information... Apart from spelling mistake...
For those thinking of parking here.