The Adventure Machine

Brief Adventures 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:09:00 +0000

Been a bit slack on the posting front in 2014. Only had time for a couple of brief adventures in th 2013-14 southern Summer.
Had a lovely couple of days away exploring the western flanks of the Ruahines and Kawekas and the more remote sections of the Rangitikei River between the Gentle Annie Road (Napier-Taihape) to the north and Ashurst to the south. A lot of country in there with a lot of dirt roads which the Admach took in style. Found a great free campsite at Mokai Gravity Canyon Bungy and were the only ones there. Finally met up with the Gentle Annie Road just before it goes up into the Kawekas.

Earlier this year we headed off for a few days to the centre of the North Island. Started the trip at Whakapapa and then headed off into Pureora Forest Park. Clint had never been there before and we had a marvellous couple of days exploring. We checked out the geographical centre and then onto the site of the Pureora logging protests. They have a great platform up in the canopy where you can look out over the trees. That night we were privileged to see lots of native bats at our campsite as we were parked right on the the forest edge and this is apparently one of their favourite places.
If you are into mountain biking Pureora looks like a great place for a multi day bike ride.
We then headed off into the Whanganui River National Park. Quite a trip in there and we were the only campers from the road with a couple of parties of kayakers joining up later on. Lots of history tied up with the river and this site and it was a gorgeous place for a stop over. We exited at Raurimu and then headed home.

View over the Whanganui River

Road into Whanganui River

Spring skiing on a volcano

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:45:00 +0000

Although it has been a mild winter, the arrival of spring was still eagerly anticipated.

With youngest daughter home from uni we hatched a plan to get a day's skiing in before she had to go back. Luckily the weather played it's part and the cover came off the Admach, the batteries were charged and the cupboards stocked.

We stayed at the Department of Conservation's Whakapapa Holiday Park where we have visited before. We were lucky to get one of the last sites overlooking the Whakapapaiti Stream. A delightful spot.

Whakapapa Holiday Park

There are not many days in a season like this one. Fine, not a breath of wind and unlimited visibility. There was never a queue at the lifts and we managed to get more than enough skiing in, perhaps a bit too much for me.

Mt Ruapehu

Molly is a way better skier than me and her only fall for the day was caused by my ineptness at getting off a chairlift with her.
The last time we skied here the day ended badly with Molly damaging her knee in a collision. Back at the cabin that night the lahar warning siren went off. This means you have three to five minutes to get to safety before being washed away by mud, slush and stuff. Whilst deciding how to carry an incapacitated Molly to safety the siren stopped. It would appear to have been a test. Good for the heart that.

Molly

A magic day.

Ngai's View - Far North April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:08:00 +0000

After 22 years of living in New Zealand I finally got to take my lovely Clint around the top of the North Island. We have had a horrible drought in New Zealand and even now here in Central Hawke's Bay after significant rain elsewhere we are still very dry so I was a little worried how everything would be up north but they had some rain before we left and were starting to green up.

We met Clint's Aussie parents in Parakai after they had flown from Brisbane, picked up a motor home and managed to negotiate the North Western motorway in Auckland. It drizzled that night but that was the end of the rain for the whole of our part of the trip.
I am very fond of Parakai and have stayed there a few times now. Love the hot springs, love the atmosphere of the Kaipara harbour. It would be great to spent a few weeks on the water exploring its nooks and crannies. Perhaps some other time.

We headed on up to the Kauri Museum at Matakohe which I had previously visited with my Mum a few years back and had been very impressed with. Certainly a must see for anyone heading up the Kauri Coast.

Standing in the carpark waiting for the rellies a head popped up from around a caravan and said "Ngai?". It was my other Mum Jan's friend Jean from down Nelson way. Small world and we were to cross paths with Jean again on our journey.
A night spent at Trounson Kauri Park was highlighted or lowlighted (clever double meaning there) by a lovely night walk through the park to try and spot kiwis. After a long dark wait we were rewarded by the sighting of.....friggin possums!!
Next day we headed north to Waipoua Forest and paid homage to Tane Mahuta.
No song was being sung to him which was a pity as I believe this is the only way to come into the presence of Tane Mahuta.
I am at my most New Zealandish (new word :-)) in our native bush. It is here that I feel most in touch with the most important things in my life - the land I stand upon and my family and never more so than at the foot of Forest Giants like Te Matua Ngahere and Tane Mahuta. A highlight of any trip in New Zealand

Onward we went to the Hokianga, another favourite stretch of salt water of mine.

The Admach as usual cops a lot of attention and Clint is quite happy to talk to anyone about it. I don't mind either but am adverse to people thinking they can just pop their heads in the back any old time!! Getting dressed here people!!

We went all the way up to the top that night. Cape Reinga finally.

Stayed two lovely nights at Tapotupotu campsite just by the cape. A marvellous spot and I recommend it for all visitors.

Heading away from the west coast toward the east means a shift in sand and finally sand that my Aussies can't say is inferior to Queensland sand. Clint was most impressed and Alan and I swam at Maitai Bay which was amazing.

Another fantastic DOC campsite. I just cannot recommend them highly enough. Great value and in wonderful places. Often with enthusiastic rangers looking after them as was the case at Tapotupotu.
Definitely heading south now. Mangonui is a lovely little spot. A young man was catching fish off the path by Clint.

Tauranga Bay was also a great stop. Nice old fashioned NZ holiday spot.

Time for some necessary NZ history for our Aussie counterparts so stops in Kerikeri and Waitangi. Alan was very impressed with the Waka.

Heading south to another of my favourite places Russell. Love its laid back party atmosphere. I think my Molly would love to stay there.

Uretiti Beach on Bream Bay was the next DOC site and Alan, Clint and I had a lovely walk on the endless sand.

And that was Northland done. A bit quick but as we we needing to get back south, necessary. A quick dash through Auckland saw us get to Miranda Hot Springs for a dash around Coromandel before the weather deteriorated and finally I got my next bush campsite and probably my favourite of the whole trip.
Wentworth Valley just south of Whangamata is an absolute gem. I even ventured into the river but bloody hell it was cold. Bird song was everywhere and at night the Ruru were really active. Could have stayed there longer but probably good we didn't as that was the end of the lovely weather and we probably would have been stuck on the wrong side (or right in my case) of the ford.

And then Clint and I made a dash for home leaving Alan and Shirley to head around the Bay of Plenty and East Cape in the rain.
And the stars of our trip - New Zealand and the AdMach. NZ because she is home and the AdMach cause she didn't miss a beat, was so comfy, and when Clint applied liberal dashing of CRC between where the chassis meets the box, non squeaky!

I love treading softly on our beautiful land.

Ngai's View - Herbertville

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:44:00 +0000

So as we are off to the Taupo bach at 5 Mile Bay this week Clint and I thought we might whip off quickly in the Admach before we head north. Clint wanted me to experience Herbertville so sadvised me we were heading there. I (of course) attempted to sway our trip away from the beach and toward the bush and river at Kiriwhakapapa north of Masterton but he was determined. Next time maybe!!

However Clint and Molly are quite right Herbertville is a little gem. From the village baches which are so locked back into the 60's the way NZ baches should be to the long endless stretch of beach this is a well kept secret for freedom campers.
Come Saturday morning we headed through Waipukurau and off toward Porangahau. Central Hawke's Bay is in the grip of a bad drought at the moment and we certainly saw the evidence all over. Some places are just dust bowls. Quite depressing.
We turned off just before Porangahau and headed down toward Wimbledon. A very scenic road even with the drought making the view brown rather than green. Still quite a few stands of native bush around and some good farmland in the open valleys.
I expected Herbertville to be similar to Blackhead or Kairakau beaches in CHB. Steep drop down into them and fairly enclosed till you get to the beach. However Herbertville is at the end of a long open sweep of valley and just tucks itself in against a little hill. We travelled on further around the beach and stopped in at Pipi Bank Station to ask permission to camp. We settled in after adjusting our camp spot a bit and headed up the beach for a stroll taking in the lovely vista back to Cape Turnagain ( So named because Captain Cook sailed south to this point and then turned and headed north again). Someone had thoughtfully left a homemade sled at the bottom of the sand dunes and we had some fun trying that out. I now have much more respect when I see sportspeople training up and down sand dunes. Jeez it is hard to climb up them.

We spent a relaxed afternoon reading and strolling, had a good sleep until the wind started up around 4am and then packed up and headed hope via Weber.
Another short trip done and dusted. Our next big trip is at the start of April when we head around the top of the North Island with Clint's parents for a couple of weeks. I've been up there a couple of times now and am really looking forward to showing the Aussies some of our NZ heritage spots.

A beach to ourselves

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:20:00 +0000

Our beautiful daughter has returned from a year in Wales and wanted to experience the Adventure Machine, this called for a trip to the beach. Given that Christmas is just around the corner, there were not many days to choose from, luckily we chose well.

Herbertville is a delightful coastal settlement just south of Porangahau, not too far to go for an overnight trip. We had the place to ourselves but this time next week it will be packed for sure.

Longest name in the world

Cape Turnagain

Ngai's View - Marlborough Sounds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:59:00 +0000

What a lovely week down south in the AdMach. Fantastic weather.
It started with us being shoved to the end of the campervan line for the ferry cause they didn't quite know which lane to put us in. This meant a very long wait for embarkation and disembarkation on the Aratere but not so bad on the Kaitaki since it loads front and back. We spent the first night near The Grove just as a starter since we were headed to Nelson to catch up with my other Mum - Jeb and my lovely brother Tim and his partner Lisa. Beautiful weather in Motueka and I took Clint to the Riwaka Resurgence and out to the Abel Tasman Park. After a few days we headed off to the Sounds via Moutere to visit my father's memorial.

An amazing road out to French Pass which is quite a mission to drive. Superb views and a nice little DOC campsite at the end of the road. I had always wanted to visit the tidal channel between the island and the mainland. Quite spectacular when the tide is heading out and in.

We headed back to Pelorus after this and a date with some kayaks and the river. Clint and I tend to have differing views of paradise. His is sun, sand and tidal bays. Mine is bush, river and swimming holes.To cover our bases we try to do one then the other. Pelorus River was warm and running quite low so there was quite a bit of bum shuffling on some of the smoother, shallow sections and I swam a fair bit thru the deeper pools. Not a lot of white water activity but enough to get Clint a little wet and a backward slide into an eddy resulted in me leaning the wrong way and falling in. Fun
We then finished by heading off to Havelock and a lovely dinner down at the Marina to top off a lovely few days.

The road goes ever on and on...

Next day saw us heading up to Keneperu Heads and Clint's favourite campsite so far.

A beautiful sunset and a lovely spot. Lots to watch out on the bay at low tide.

Off to Titirangi Bay next and another windy, dusty road but oh so worth it. An amazing campsite in a farmers field amongst the sheep. A pristine bay, shellfish galore - perfect.

The AdMach went like a dream the whole way and is an absolute delight on the dirt roads. Not sure why but I can have my window wound right down and get no draught or dust in. Love that. It's great being on the road.

...Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

Marlborough Sounds

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:14:00 +0000

The Marlborough Sounds have lived up to their reputation both scenic and weather wise. We have had a week of glorious weather and the outlook remains good for the next few days.

French Pass

After a couple of very pleasant days with Ngai's 'other' mum in Motueka we headed for French Pass. A dusty, windy road that left arms tired from battling with the steering wheel for a couple of hours.

Road to French Pass

The Dept of Conservation campsite is very pleasant but not as spacious as we imagined. Cold showers were not appealing enough to entice me.
We had the constant company of Wekas, one stole my muesli bar from my hand whilst I was otherwise occupied gazing at the view. Cheeky bugger.

Abel Tasman NP

Next stop was Pelorus Bridge and the DoC campsite there is a credit to them. Very new facilities and a lovely setting. As it was Friday night there was quite a crowd including a large group there for a child's birthday. What a way to spend a birthday, they were clearly having a great time.
Ngai braved the chilly, crystal water for a bracing swim. I watched gallantly from the bank, keeping an eye out for crocodiles. Luckily, none were seen.

Riwaka River

This afternoon we paddle down the Pelorus River for a couple of hours, spend the night in Havelock and then head for Titirangi Bay, likely to also be a dusty trip but the campsite has been recommended by people we met at French Pass. A stiff norwester is forecast so we may seek some shelter there.

Ngai's View - Castlepoint

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 03:48:00 +0000

Last time I was in Castlepoint was a school camp back in the 70's! Stayed at the same place as well and all I can remember is that one of the boys fell off the trampoline and broke his leg or arm. I'm not sure that Castlepoint has grown that much since then except perhaps up the hill. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

As chief navigator I managed to tiki tour us all the way around the back of CHB and Tararua. As Clint said it was very wet out Weber and Pongaroa way and the clay soil has this creepy way of oozing across the roads as if it were alive. Got pretty sick of seeing mud and bull rushes! I had actually been wanting to come this way for ages because years ago an old friend of mine Alex Hayes lived out near Alfredton. Somehow I was expecting an Onga Onga type of village instead it was a Sherwood like turnoff (meaning a school and a community hall).

Our campsite at Castlepoint was really well situated. Beautiful view and slightly sheltered from what we were expecting to be a very windy night. Afterall Castlepoint is notorious for its strong winds often over 120km an hour and not unknown to go over 200km. The boardwalk we were both expecting that connected the end of the road with the lighthouse walk is no longer. I guess it is not needed since it looks like the sandy bar is above the tide line. Really windy out at the lighthouse. Sort of hold on to the railing type stuff. Stopped and watched the surfers taking on the waves coming through the gap by Castle Rock. Very impressive.
I always get spoilt by Clint on these trips as he has all his kitchen and cooking stuff sorted out and I just sit back and stare out at the view...

Yep I know I'm lucky! Dinner and breakfast - Yum.
Clint spent the first half of the night pissed off at the flap connector banging and then finally he got up and took it down. I slumbered through all of that because I listen to music and podcasts all night with my earphones on.
I got some great early morning photos the next day. As I got up to take them a muffled voice from the depths of the top bunk said: "It looked better 30 minutes ago". Hehe. I notice he didn't get up though to take these so called better shots.
We had a leisurely drive home on SH2 and Melle was ecstatic to see us since Ana was still in bed. (not surprised).
So another place in NZ gets ticked off my list in my quest to get Clint to see all of the country. In November we will head down south to Karamea, Heaphy and then Golden Bay. We haven't been out to Farewell Spit yet. I will also take Clint over to Pureora in the next few weeks. Such an unsung hero of a Forest Park.
Then next year I will look forward to taking Clint and his Mum and Dad around the top of NZ. My Mum and I did a great road trip around there a couple of years back and Molly and Ana and I went up to visit Tane Mahuta a few years before that. (highlighted by Ana's refusal to get out of the car to see it:-).
So Rakiura and Breaksea Sound are the last two places on my own bucket list - Can't go there in the AdMach!

Castlepoint weekend

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 01:49:00 +0000

We needed a trip to test the new petrol tank. Somewhere not too remote was called for just in case things didn't go to plan. Being winter reduced the possibilities even more.

Since the weather looked good we headed for Castlepoint, somewhere that had been on the list for a while. We headed inland from Dannevirke via Weber, Pongaroa and Alfredton. The countryside was showing the signs of the recent wet winter, plenty of slips to skirt around.

We stayed at the Castlepoint Holiday Park. $16.50 per person per night powered or unpowered. It was very quiet, not surprising for this time of year, but very clean with excellent facilities.

Dawn at Castlepoint

Castlepoint Lighthouse

surfer

Dawn, from bed.

Castlepoint camp ground

New life

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:26:00 +0000

The Adventure Machine is getting a new petrol tank and has been in winter recess but now it's calving.

Australian Lowline calf- 4 days old

Our first calf of the season. Unfortunately the mum, who is a first time mum, doesn't quite know what to do and thinks the calf is a threat so bunts her away everytime she gets near. This means getting the cow into a bail to let the calf feed. But what a wonderful calf, so full of life and determined. She is yet to named. Ah the joys of having animals.

Final Stages. The awning.

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:12:00 +0000

An extension from the rear of the vehicle has always been a fundamental part of the design. It will provide space, shelter and privacy when needed.

Animated gif of the awning.

The cost of getting one made commercially was not in the budget so I decided to make it myself.
I purchased a light weight poly/cotton canvas. Green was the only colour in stock so green it is.
My little Brother sewing machine could not handle the thickness so I bought a 1937 Singer model 99 for 80 dollars and it works a treat.


Singer sewing machine model 99

When the fuel don't flow....

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Our planned Anzac Day trip to Lake Waikaremoana was curtailed just an hour into it.
Whilst going up a reasonably steep hill, the truck suddenly lost power. It would idle fine but as soon as a little accelerator was added it died. If I stepped on the accelerator hard it would roar into life.

I am mechanically challenged, but it seemed as if it were a carburettor problem and it felt as though the carby had two types of jets, one for low revs and one for high revs, the low revs causing the problem.

I managed to nurse it home and had a look through the factory service manual to find this motor has a carburettor with low and high flow jets, a primary and secondary for each. A trip to town to get some aerosol carby cleaner and the problem was sorted....sort of. It still run rough and hesitated on light throttle.

I asked Ongaonga Motors to clean and check the carby, which they did quickly and expertly and she runs just fine now. Marcus (the mechanic) said the carby 'was full of water and sh*t'. Hmmm this would explain the problems.

Wikipedia has this information on carburettors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carburetor

East Coast New Zealand- Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:05:00 +0000

Kaiaua Beach, East Coast New Zealand

Freedom Camping in Gisborne

Donneraille Park, Gisborne.

Freedom camping is alive and well in Gisborne. For a very reasonable fee, the camper gets rubbish collection and a great set of locations to choose from.
I was impressed that there was no rubbish left at either location. Freedom camping doesn't necessarily mean a mess.

Somewhere to cook

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:13:00 +0000

A blurry photo of the new shelf with cooker.

My idea of a shelf

Folded away for travel.

We have light

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:49:00 +0000

Lights and switches now hooked up.

Running water

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

After too much time and effort trying to get a 12v pump system to work without leaks, I decided to go with a simple, and effective, hand pump. Cost $59.95
This meant the battery would only have to supply the LED lights, so a cheaper battery was required.
Also means that if you want a glass of water at 2am there isn't a pump making a huge noise.

First over-night trip

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:38:00 +0000

Adventure machine at Waipawa River looking east

Looking up to the Ruahine ranges

On the bank of the Waipawa River, on an unusually calm night we spent our first night in the adM.
Three thumbs up was the conclusion.

Bench and sink

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:24:00 +0000

The bench for the sink and storage is partway done.
I used off-cuts of the 'ultrasign' board and plastic drawers from 'The Warehouse'. Nice and light.
Still have the plumbing to do and a step on the left side to get up to the bunk.

Ver 3.02 big rear door

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:26:00 +0000

Big rear door is much smaller rear door now.

Interior in 'travel' mode

A look at where I went

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:08:00 +0000

I haven't tried this before but here goes..

Google Earth should show you my GPS track.

Ruahine adventure 1

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:34:00 +0000

Four days in the Ruahine mountains tramping. Good weather and not another soul met from start to finish. Solitude.

I didn't actually sleep in the AdM but it did get me to an out of the way place and I have found the site for our first overnighter. Just 100m on from here via a 4WD track to the river is a flat sheltered spot. Perfect.

Real (off) road test

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:07:00 +0000

This afternoon we took the Adventure Machine for a decent offroad test. I am happy to say it went very well indeed. The roads have seen better days after the recent heavy rain so a real test of its ability.
One steep uphill section required low ratio 4WD as it was soft, rutted and very steep. I needed a cup of tea by the top.

Design flaw

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

The project had one large design flaw, the big rear door, in particular the inability to close it whilst in the rear cabin.
So if you are, for instance, by the sea and it gets windy, you can't close the door and hunker inside. You would have to get into the front cabin.
In addition, the big rear door was a bit bigger than I first planned and a lot heavier.
After a great deal of thought the only solution seemed to be to hinge part of the door so that it could fold down and attach to the supporting doors for strength but also allow us to get in and out.

So off the came to door again. A bit of cutting here, a bit of welding there, a few hinges extra and it was ready for a trial fit.

Of course now that I have put in a hinge I also need a way to hold the door straight as well.
All up the door weighs 20kg. This puts a lot of pressure on the supports. It all looks ugly.

Version 3 will do without the second part of the door all together. This reduces the sheltered part at the rear but more than halves the weight of the rear door making it much easier to support and manhandle. We will have an 'awning' made to create a covered an enclosed rear. The size and details are yet to be decided.

I have spent far too many hours constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing this door and I am heartily sick of it.

Road test 2

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:16:00 +0000

With Tom and Molly's help we managed to get the counterbalance weight back in to place beneath the front bumper. Not an easy task but no lost fingers or toes which is good.

This improved the handling and it felt less skitery in the front.

plumbing next...

Next step...

noreply@blogger.com (clint) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:51:00 +0000

The next pane in the panorama is filled. I wonder how many more panes there will be?