 May 1 The End…..We have enjoyed sharing just a bit of our wonderful experience touring New Zealand with 10 other fine folks. We traveled over 3000 miles with nothing but very minor messing with the cars. We experienced no roadside delays for Model A Seminars, a strong testament to our boys preparation and experience. Many many Kiwi folks contributed to our pleasure throughout our visit. We particularly want to thank Derek & Judy Thomason, David & Karen Mossman and Ewan & Susan McPherson who organized special activities for us in their areas. And to the many fine folks that supported them in “caring” for the Yanks. Frank & Janice April 30 Auckland to Home This was a really big long day, most of April 30th we had twice. Many of the gang from the North Island Model a Club greeted us at 10 am to show us some of the sights in Auckland and to see we made it to the Airport on time. Four vehicles gathered us up took us to the New Zealand War Museum. Built in 1928 it is continually updated reflecting NZ struggle from the very earliest days through the World Wars, and contributions through to today. Very nicely done! Next a the mandatory look at Model A stuff. Errol McAlpine has recently taken over the North Island Model A business and is organizing his shop, parts and collections. Very nice set up. Of course Sammy rooted out a few treasures, limited though by what he could stuff in his suitcase. A few more stops and a nice lunch. They then returned us to the hotel to pick up our luggage and deposited us at the Auckland Airport. Twenty some hours later, Saturday evening in the US we arrived home tired and full of memories.   April 29 Geraldine to Christchurch then on to Auckland It looks like things are winding down. We awoke to a frosty morning, loaded up and began our final Model A drive to Ch-Ch arriving at the shipper just before lunch. We contacted the helpful folks there, made a plan, then drove to lunch. With a couple hours to kill we drove to a Harley Dealer in the city near the earthquake center. Many roads were closed and you could see major work taking place taking down buildings and removing rubble. Not a pretty sight. Then back to the shipper where we parked and waved goodbye to the cars. The shippers kindly provided us transportation to the Airport for our short flight to Auckland. There we were met by several guys from the North Island Model A Club who delivered us and all our stuff to our Hotel. Even though it was late and we were tired we sucked it up and gave them a trip debriefing, in the bar of course. Long and busy day, tomorrow we fly home.    April 28 Queenstown to Geraldine Off early on the home stretch, we drove through rolling meadows, mountain gorges, past lakes with a view of Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, complete with it’s own glacier, and some twisty roads as we approached the East coast and the pretty little town of Geraldine. A stop at a craft shop was rewarded by a look at the owners garage in the back. An old English Standard 10, and a Morris along with an Austin 7 were hidden there. The good news is that our motel parking space was right outside our ground floor room so it made it easier to unpack the whole lot, divide up what goes with the car and what we carry home and repack in preparati0n for drop off at the shippers tomorrow. A really nice dinner in town along with some farewell speeches psyched us up to wave goodbye to our cars and make our way home.    April 27 Invercargill to Queenstown Easy morning today breakfast in the room 7:30 then pack the car and hang around until Ewan comes for us at 9:00. We visited the beach where Burt Monro tested his various speed modifications. The sand was well packed today but had a few rough spots in it so we couldn’t drive very fast. Pretty view and you could imagine 100+mph motorcycles flying by. We then visited the Bill Richardson Truck Museum. That was overwhelming, Trucks of all sizes from the 20’s right up to the 60’s Every marquee you could think of mostly British but some American big stuff too. Over 200 examples on display, gas pumps, stationary engines, signs and badges were everywhere. We were there for over two hours, could have stayed all day. Then off to Queenstown for the evening. We arrived later then usual so a walk down the hill to the mandatory souvenir shops and dinner made up the evening.    April 26 Dunedin to Invercargill What a full day. Wheels up 7:00 a.m. breakfast on the road and into Invercargill about 11:30. After lunch Ewan & Susan McPherson, friends from Hawkes Bay 2005 and Vancouver 2010, met us to show us the high points of the Southland. The first mandatory stop was “The Bluffs” the farthest South you can drive in New Zealand. Those of you that have managed to stay awake through all this may remember that on April 9 we touched the farthest North you can drive. We then visited another must see…”The Worlds Fastest Indian” on display at the fantastic E. Hayes & Sons hardware store in Invercargill along with lots of early Motorcycles mostly with British DNA and much memorabilia from Burt Munro’s shed including his alter offerings to the God of Speed. The McPherson’s then took us to their farm..sheep..cattle..deer where we learned a bit about NZ farmers and had a nice dinner. A bit on the cool side it was a full and perfect day for the yanks. We are now 5 cars as Dwayne & Juhretta Roark started for home tonight, we miss them already.      Left early this morning in the rain after a hard boiled egg and a piece of toast in the room. Ugh! Skies lightened as we drove South and were clearing when we stopped at a windy cold point to see some fur seals and other marine kind of things in the ocean. Proceeded on to Dunedin and were surprised to see a large and attractive city with streets like San Francisco, it is said that Dunedin is the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian heritage city in the southern hemisphere. Some of our brave boys will attest to ascending the steepest street in the world. (maybe). We did the tourist stuff. The Gadbury Chocolate factory, Olveston, a Jacobean style mansion, the Dunedin Railway Station and the works. Easy day weather in the afternoon clear and cool. Tomorrow it’s off to Invercargill and “The Worlds Fastest Indian”. April 24 Hanmer Springs to Oamaru Up early as this is our longest drive day, 232 miles. Breakfast in the village and we hit the road. Starting in the Mountains we descend to the coast and some very pleasant farm lands. When we joined State Highway 1 the main artery through NZ it straightened out and we made better time. As it is Easter some of us thought it might interesting to find an Easter Service. We located one church after the service had started but it just so happened we were in the neighborhood of the Motel near Christchurch where we stayed 2 nights during the Rally. The helpful proprietor did the google thing and sent us about 25 minutes down the road to a rural farm area church with an 11:00 service. We arrived around 2 minutes early and were immediately descended upon by the folks ready to start. Coffee, Hot Cross Buns and we joined a congregation of about 45 for a very welcoming and enjoyable experience. Lunch with several members of the congregation and sharing of experiences and we were off to the nice town of Oamaru on the coast. We all met up at the entrance to the Blue Penguin Colony. We watched the penguins arrive from the sea, waddle up the rocks and into their little penguin houses for the night. Not something you see every day and these birds were not in captivity like Sea World, we visited them where they live. By dinner time the town was pretty much shut down but we did find a restaurant that could accommodate us so after a pleasant meal we chucked it in after a long day.   April 23 Nelson to Hanmer Springs Rain this morning, off and on throughout the day. Dwayne & Juhretta pealed off for the Blenheim air show while the rest of us headed directly to Hanmer Springs. Well, it wasn’t exactly direct as there were many twists and turns crossing the mountains again from the West coast to the East. Not much traffic on a nice Model A road so it was not too difficult. A roadside seminar in the rain gave us something to do. Hanmer Springs is a big time holiday venue for the locals with thermal baths, pools and lots of other tourist stuff. Easter Weekend found many people on the streets as the afternoon turned dry and pleasant. Pizza in the Motel and early to bed finished a nice day.    April 22 Nelson Well, I though today was going to be easy. The farewell breakfast took a really long time as everyone in our group had to say goodbye to everyone we met and became friends with at the Rally. We had a chance to visit a couple of Kiwi garages, always interesting. Ron and Sammy collected several bits of rust to bring home. At Derek’s an exhaust manifold gasket, a bit of grease and some black stuff was applied to a couple leaky roofs. After a full day and part of the evening visiting with the nice folks on the rally committee and thanking them for all their efforts we packed it in for an early start South tomorrow.   April 21 Greymouth to Nelson We drove about 200 miles today along the rugged West coast, the sights were awesome. Along with stops at points of interest and 25 mph twists and turns it only took us about 8 hours to do it. We arrived at our hotel, freshened up and made our way to the hall for the final banquet complete with awards and entertainment. Dennis & Dwayne were awarded prizes for the speed event and Carol performed as part of the magic show. It was a sight to behold. When we arrived at the venue our supper was comfortable resting under ground in the pit, pork, lamb and chicken and vegetables cooked in the pit in the hangi style. Lots of fun, goodbyes to our old and new found friends as the meet came to a close. Tomorrow is a day to regroup in Nelson then its head South to the bottom.    April 20 Greymouth Today was an easy day, spent the day in Greymouth, no traveling. After a catered breakfast at our beach motel consisting of the traditional stuff plus the special whitebait patties. Tiny fish are mixed in a an egg batter and fried. Sounds a bit gross if you are not use to it, but they were really good. Then it was off to the races. An old horse race track was used to make a few laps to see who could go the fastest. It was a bit wet and loose in the turns but many did quite well. We haven’t seen the results yet but our own Dennis Cling should finish high in the standings. We strolled the town and had lunch at a Subway the eased off a bit in the afternoon. Dinner tonight was in Shantytown a heritage recreation of an 1800’s settlement. It was dress up night an most of the Kiwi’s were elegantly dressed in era fashions, up to and including black tie and tails. Furs for the ladies were also very nice. It was a fine day and tomorrow we are off to Nelson and Meets end.     April 19 Christchurch to Greymouth After breakfast we charged on for a coast to coast drive, a trip of around 150 miles through nice farm country then up and down, twisty road with steep grades. With the curves and grades, and a lunch stop at Jacks Tavern it made for a 5 hour drive. Settled in at a nice place on the beach early enough to do a little check out of the cars, eg. tighten lug nuts, adjust wheel bearings and brakes. Some of ladies dipped their toes in the ocean. Much socializing in the parking lot as lots of us are staying here. Catered dinner of venison sausage and steak right here at this beach resort and early to bed.    April 18 Christchurch Rain today, accompanied with some wind made it nice and chilly. The good news is that it did let up for a while to allow car judging, car games and a root through the parts shed at the park. The facilities were those of the Christchurch local vintage car clubs. The clubs share workshops, spare parts sheds, meeting rooms with kitchens and the works. Sweet setup. Some of the boys from the club are going to replace the broken axle of the car from the “mud” day. As I was in line for the car games an observer noted that I had no passenger and needed one for the event, he volunteered and we played the games, backwards in some cases as the passenger was on the wrong side for the game setups. We only did fair but my new Aussie friend and I had some laughs. I should mention that after a visit to the winery next door on Monday the owner volunteered to open early and fix our group breakfast complete with rose table decorations and actual table cloths. The least I could do in return was visit them again after the days activities today. Our little group attempted to visit an Antarctic Expedition Museum but it or the surrounding area was inaccessible due to the earthquake. We visited a shopping mall where I fixed a door latch while the others shopped. Tomorrow we are off to Greymouth over the Southern Alps, that would be the ones covered with snow that we could see from ChCh when the sky cleared.    April 17 Kiakoura to Christchurch Somewhat damp and misty as we started out today as we started out down the East Coast (yesterday I reported traveling down the West Coast but was reminded my gyros were off) It was the East Coast yesterday too! The sun came out for a bit and it was quite pleasant when we stopped at the arts & craft show along the way. Crafts featured knitted wool hats, gloves and the like made from wool and possum fur. A couple folks made purchases. As we approached Christchurch around noon the rain returned and this time accompanied with some cold blowing wind. Good day for laundry, it has been a while. Not so good day to go to the car wash and wash off a bit of mud from yesterday, but we did that too. Dinner this evening was held in a large hall and more Kiwi’s joined the rally and a couple Canadians as well. Tomorrow is car judging and car games among other tourist things in the area. Don’t know how that’s going to work out in the rain, but hey…We are having fun!    April 16 Blenheim to Kiakoura After another one of those great cholesterol laden breakfasts we assembled at the vintage car museum with about 50 Model A’s for a drive to Kiakoura via a dirt road through a huge cattle & sheep station that was significant in the development of the area in the mid 1800’s. It was raining a bit but, not to worry. The rain came somewhat harder as we all made our way to the start of a 16 mile dirt/mud road. The autumn colors were very nice and we snuggled in our cars and bumped along. In several spots the mud on the grades made for a bit of slipping and sliding but we pressed on. At 6 miles a very steep downhill to a creek bed and then steep uphill out of the gully took it’s toll. The first few cars made it through however each car made the mud deeper and slipperier. Several cars were pushed and towed up the other side only to find the next bad spot even worse. Back they came, this time with two four wheel drive vehicles required to tow them through the mud up the return side. The bashing through the rocks at the bottom only produced one broken axle but it sure ruined the day for that cars occupants. Sill raining we returned to Blenheim and took the “real” road to Kiakoura. The rain eased a bit as we made our way along the beautiful west coast of the Western Pacific Ocean. We arrived at our Motel muddy and tired, (both the cars and the folks) but the greeting committee soon made us forget the dicey parts and all was well. A new respect was gained for the folks driving regularly under these conditions in the Model T and Model A days.    Aprill 15 Nelson to Blenheim and THE 10TH NATIONAL MODEL A FORD RALLEY It’s finally here, had a bit of a wet morning but after a few false starts we started seeing Model A’s all over the place. Todays drive was to Blenheim via some very pretty countryside and a visit to a really nice Aviation Museum and a car collection with lots of spare parts for sale. Ron & Sammy dug through them all. Tonights welcome dinner brought us together will many old and some new friends. We finally met up with some of the Touring Club folks and had lots of stories for each other. Really nice dinner and kick off to the Rally. The evenings program featured Ron and the rigors of building and racing a Bonneville Salt Flats race car, with Frank at the power point helm…some confusion there. Joel Young then had a video of his streamliner breaking the 200 mph barrier, and that my friends was with a Model T flathead, with some modifications of course. It was a record for vintage four cylinder class. Late to bed early to rise we press on tomorrow.   April 14 Wellington to Nelson This was a different kind of day. This morning we strolled the city, visited museums and generally hung out until about 12:30 p.m. when we made our way a short distance to the ferry terminal. Met some folks going to the meet while waiting in line and finally boarded the ferry just before 3:00 p.m. The three hour crossing was easy with cards, a bit of food and lots of chatter. A pretty lazy day up until then. It was dark by the time we debarked and a really twisty up hill, down hill 2+ hour drive finally brought us to our Hotel in Richmond (that next door to Nelson). We were two hours late for meet registration however all our registration materials had been placed in our very nice rooms. Several Kiwi Model A’ers were also staying in our hotel so we spent a bit of time chit chatting in the parking lot and had a glass of wine with old friends. Late to bed, early to rise, the postings might be a bit sporadic for the next few days as this having fun is a lot of work.   April 13 Okakune to Wellington Another full day. The beautiful, relaxing farming and grazing landscape gradually turned to the frenzied pace of a big city. A few days ago I said all the Kiwi’s were driving in Auckland City, but it turns out they had a bunch left over to get our hearts pumping in Wellington. Janice was a bit nervous racing through a downhill, narrow tunnel in heavy traffic just because our gas gauge was on “0” with no place to pull over and no opportunity for refill. But, somehow we managed to muddle through again and found our way to our downtown hotel in the Cuba district. The main events during the day were a stop at a really big shopping center and the wonderful Southwards Car Museum. The museum experience was especially enhanced as we were allowed to visit the shops where the restorations happen and to see the huge collection of spares leftover from projects or waiting for the next one. The shop foreman spent a lot of time with us telling about some of their rarest and most difficult restorations. They usually have a project car and at least one donor as parts for the rare vehicles are difficult to impossible to come by. Take a look http://www.thecarmuseum.co.nz/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=84 Tomorrow we take the ferry to South Island and on to Nelson to meet up with a couple hundred of our Model A friends, most of which we haven’t met before.     April 12 Rotorua to Ohakune Early start this morning as there is lots to do and not time to do it! Shortly after leaving Rotorua the country side turned to farms, fields and fog. Actually very pleasant but not a place to find a Roadside Café for that hearty traditional fried breakfast. Finally happened upon a small town gassed up and fed we were off to meet the day. Todays highlight was the Smashed Palace (Horopito Motor Wreckers) a collection started in the 1930’s and continued today by the Daughter & Son-in-Law of the founder. Thousands of vehicles in all states of wrecked, rusted and disassembly from the 20’s onward reside in the yard while the more complete and restored vehicles and parts, parts, parts reside in the buildings. http://www.horopitomotors.co.nz/ So if you need spares for your 30’s Simca, Vauxall, Mini or Austin you might find it here. Ron and Sammy were in heaven. They ferreted out RHD Model A parts among other interesting bits. Now where is Ron going to put the roadster door he could not live without??? Oh, jettison a bit of Carol’s stuff from the “Box” (his woody that is) and it fits right in. Another fun day, tomorrow it back to civilization in Wellington, New Zealands second largest city.   April 11 Pukekohe to Rotorua After leaving one our most pleasant motels early AM we made our way South. Easy drive to the Caterpillar Museum, not the butterfly larvae but the big yellow Cats that turned the forests of New Zealand into very productive farming and grazing land in the late 1800’s until the mid 50’s, great stop. Then on to Rotorua, the land of geysers, hot springs and steam vents that smell a lot like rotten eggs. After finding the hotel we ventured to Te Puia, New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, for a really good look at mud pots, Geysers and a bit of the Maori culture. Early dinner and turn in to regroup for an exciting day tomorrow at the Smashed Palace.   April 10 Paihia to Pukekohe Off again about 7:30 a.m. in search of breakfast and a day on the road. All the restaurants were just North of us so naturally we turned South and were immediately into the lush country side. Really pretty but no eggs & bacon. Just horses and cows. About an hour down the road we happened upon our morning fuel stop and the nice lady at the counter called ahead to a couple of places to find one that was, 1. Open on Sunday morning and 2. Could handle 12 starving yanks. Found a place that would open early and feed us a really nice breakfast. Only one of the servers admitted to being called out of bed. Off we go to Whangarei in search of a Museum/Kiwi House. Nice lecture and display, some claimed to have actually seen the Kiwi in the darkened enclosure but I’m thinking they were pulling my leg. Interesting place, also housed a museum depicting the history and settlement of the area. Next stop at a second hand store to explore for treasures. Not many found but it too was fun to browse. Our stops are never quick as it is really difficult to get 12 people into their cars all at actually the same time. Time to go, one couple gets in the car, sees couple number two chatting with locals, couple number three looking for the potty and so on. Couple number one then gets out of the car to join the action and…so it goes… Finally rolling toward Auckland and the many lanes of traffic on the main artery. Arrive at our Motel about 5:30 just in time for a bit of wine and decompressing. I totally emptied the car looking for the brake light switch I really though I had to repair the one reported failed during the drive. Couldn’t find the switch so decided not to worry about it when it was reported that it had fixed itself and started working again. Ordered pizza for the group discussed the day and crashed early. Good day.   April 9 Cape Reinga We accomplished the first of our objectives…we made it to the top of NZ, Cape Reinga is the Northern most point accessible to the public. The site of the last built and operated lighthouses as well as a very important Radar site in WWII. The Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide here and the result is a rolling boiling bit of sea visible from the cape. The sun was shining, it was a “fine” day. After the cape we drove to 90 mile beach to dip our toes, but the boys could not resist and Model A’s were displayed racing each other down the beach. A visit to the Mathew Vintage Car/tractor Museum on the way back down South rounded out the day.   April 8 Auckland to Kaitaia Today we traveled 200 miles and it only took 10 hours…Must have been the traffic. No wait, it was the stopping, visiting and enjoying the beautiful countryside. North Island Model A Club member David Mossman gallantly met us at our hotel and escorted us out of the city, which was extremely helpful. A stop for a nice breakfast and we were on our way. First stop was the home (and B&B) of Model A’ers Ross and Ann Bolton, a beautiful place in the green rolling hills for coffee, cakes and Model A talk. Even a seminar on how to change a bendix spring put on my Joel. As we ventured further North the views of the sea and the hillsides were spectacular. Much less traffic with lots of twisty ups and downs, great Model A roads. Arriving at our Motel we unpacked, relaxed and had a wonderful meal cooked by the Motel owner. The day was sunny and bright all day adding to the beauty of the trip.   . April 7 Auckland On our first full day as tourists we first visited a really nice transportation museum housing all kinds of vehicles, trams, tractors, trucks, cars and many historical displays of the development times of New Zealand. Then figuring we had the driving process down we headed for down town. Now I don’t know the exact population of New Zealand most populous city, but they were all driving in the downtown area. We lost one car as we first approached the main part of the city. The rest of us proceeded to find lunch a the AA, the equivalent of our AAA and head for the sky tower with beautiful views of the city and surrounding areas. The day alternated between bright sun and drizzles on about a 30 minute cycles. As we braved the traffic back to the hotel, we immediately lost two more cars, the horror of horrors we lost out leader. Some how after a bit of aimless motion we came across something we recognized and all made it safely to the hotel. Several Model A’ers from the round the area met us after dinner in the bar to welcome us and get acquainted. It’s always easy to have something to talk about with a Model A’er know matter where you are. Nice day, tomorrow we hit the road./   April 6.. Well, after worrying our way through the Southwest Airlines cancellations our happy travelers met up at LAX only seven hours before our New Zealand Airways flight time. Then after an uneventful but pleasant and really long flight 12 ½ hours flight in a brand new Boeing 777 we arrived in Auckland at 5:30 am local time. Our gracious shipping agent met us at the airport took us to their warehouse where our cars awaited us. One had been so lonesome it cried it’s battery totally dead. Another developed a sympathetic electrical problem but both responded to some TLC and we were up and running. Afterwards the head of the warehouse fed us breakfast in their cafeteria and led us to our hotel. All very welcome gestures as some of us were a bit punchy. We did a walkabout near our hotel in Auckland, had a nice meal and crashed. Tomorrow will be a whole new day.   Looks like this trip is really going to happen, 4 cars left Phoenix in February and rumor has it they should be in New Zealand as of March 21.....hmmmm, We will be on our way April 4, arriving in Auckland April 6 and hitting the road. Happy Travelers are. Frank & Janice Gemmell Samuel & Bonnie Guthrie Dwayne & Juhretta Roark Dennis & Marie Cling Joel & Donna Young Ron & Carol Mosher I will post after we pick up the cars and get settled in Auckland    |
New Zealand Tour 2011 |