A frisbee on the roof and a mouse inside
Updated: Jan 4, 2021
Yesterday was our official take off! Yes, we made it all the way to Taupo. Please understand for Ferrari and me this is a great accomplishment. After a lovely farewell by Jaco, Anel and Bernard we headed off to Ann's place in Te Puke. An unexpected phone call during our coffee and 5minutes later the clothes I had left behind in Maungatapu were in my hands! It was lovely to see Ann, she looks really happy and is doing well. Seeing Jaco was a pleasant surprise for her.
The next stop was Rotorua. Being in two minds whether to turn off at the Redwood Forest or to keep going, I totally missed the turnoff (I wonder how) with a very loud meowing Ferrari in the back of the motorhome. She was frantic to get out for a bit so we stopped at the waterfront close to the event centre. By this time she looked a bit overheated and anxious. After taking her for a short walk in the rain, I half closed the window just so that she could get a little bit of air, turned on the aircon and put her on one of those gel pads that keep pets cool. Off we went again and things seemed a little better. The weathers was atrocious with heaps of rain just before we reached Taupo. We overnighted at the NZMCA-camp next to the airport. With tight restrictions on keeping your pet on a leash at all times, I felt a bit anxious with a wild cat that loves to roam the night, which is exactly what she ended up doing. Luckily she was very discreet and returned before dawn and before being spotted. The weather created a few issues:
It was harder to get a frisbee of the front of the motorhome roof where two boys had accidentally threw it. They were thankful for getting it back and I was happy with my ability to walk on the roof without slipping or falling through!
By the time I realised my e-bike was soaking wet from all the rain, it was a bit of a mission to get it inside the motorhome, wipe it down, wait for a dry spell and put it back on the bicycle rack with a cover.
When Ferrari decided to catch the most beautiful, cutest, tiniest field mouse, she absolutely had to play with it inside because it is simply too wet to do so outside! At one point I was really concerned that it would go into one of the heater vents, but eventually, with a bit of help from me, she got it outside again.
After all that in one day, and with an even worse weather forecast for this afternoon, we decided to drive to Turangi this morning and stay at the Turangi Holiday Park for two nights. A beautiful place with heaps of trees and flax, big sites, electricity and water, all at a very reasonable price of $23 per night (that's the usual price - some places can go up to $60 per night). Usually they take arrivals from 2pm onwards, but with the terrible thunderstorm on the way we asked if we could book in earlier and they kindly agreed. And off course as we are sitting in this beautiful place, the sun is shining and for the moment the weather is great!
Camping close to the Taupo Airport - a dry spell between drizzles.
Taken through the skylight - rain bucketing down at Taupo.
Camping at Turangi
Jaco made a ramp for Ferrari so she can get in and out of the motorhome without me having to leave the door open all night! Also the way she brought the mouse in!
A beautiful morning in Turangi.