We are on the move again - having left lovely Matauri Bay and Keri Keri, which must be one of New Zealand's loveliest small towns, and are on our way south again, first to Waipu where Warren has a short term contract. Money is a priority sometimes.

One of the most fantastic things about life on the road is all the people we meet driving a wide variety of rigs; caravans, fifth wheelers and buses big and small. Some have another home to go to but others don't.  Some committed life stylers have been on the road in NZ for years. Most are retirees who have realised they don't want the hassle of a house and garden any more, and prefer the freedom a motor home provides. Every day we meet someone new, someone we would never have known if we had stayed home. Matauri Bay was no exception, in fact it was one of the friendliest places we have been.

Larry and Jenny from Napier have been on the road for the last three years. They live in what most would consider a very small motorhome, but they make it work, and they even carry their musical instruments - two electric guitars, mics and sound mixing system. Its a mystery to me how they fit it all in. They do tow a trailer for their fishing equipment. Their music was much appreciated at Matauri Bay happy hours.

Andrew and Carolyn have a Winebago Vectra which is like a purpose built bus. It has all the acoutrements of a very nice one bedroom apartment. Carolyn told me they have been on the road most of the time for the last for nine years, in several different vehicles, though they do have an apartment which they occasionally return to. They started by setting off on a four month holiday to the South Island, fully intending to return to their business, but had such a good time that they decided to keep going. They wanted to enjoy doing the things they love, fishing, tramping and hunting while they were young and fit enough. " We kept meeting people who weren't couldn't do these things," she said, and realised it was important not to leave it too late.

We also met some fellow Rotoruians escaping the cold.

Many have small boats and fishing gear, which keeps them occupied when the weather is decent. Changeable weather is one of New Zealand's notable features, so stormy days sees us all tucked up our vans with books, cards and TV for company. No one is complaining.

I'll probably be off line for the next couple of months as we'll be stationery for a while.

Matauri Bay

We have discovered the winter habitat of a sizable bunch of that migrating human species of which we are members - the baby boomers - who have up sticks to live on the road in NZ. There are many beautiful places in Northland, but I think Matauri Bay is the pick of the bunch for wintering over.

A week of stunningly sunny July days have helped. Can we really call this winter?

Other people may think we are all crazy living in our motor homes, caravans and buses at this time of year, but I can assure you we are all toastie warm at night and dry too. We have all the necessities for comfortable living at the Matauri Bay Holiday Park; hot showers, laundry and TV in our vehicles.


Warren and I think the last time we were here was more that 20 years back when we sailed by in the Tuatara, our hippie 23 foot flat deck catamaran, on our way to the Whangaroa Harbour where we moored with a bunch of gin palaces. We were even crazier back then.

This interesting sculpture was erected in memory of the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior after it was sunk in 1985. The local Maori community provided it with a resting place in the waters off Matauri Bay.

Warren at the Rainbow Warrior lookout.

Matauri has also proved to be a very sociable destination, and along with a lot of chilling out and chatting with other campers, we have enjoyed happy hour most afternoons (coffee works too if you don't want to drink). These occasions have been enhanced by the music of Larry and Jenny who travel with their guitars and all the electronics to make it sound fantastic. They are excellent singers too so we have been very spoiled. You never know what talent lurks in those buses and vans. 

The ukelele is a popular instrument to take on the road and Warren doesn't need too much encouragement to get his out. Several of our new friends have been practicing ukelele in private and they are sounding pretty good too.