Back Home Again

Our short road trip to the east coast of the North Island is ended with our arrival home today.

While I do recall passing through Napier in the way to a wargames convention in Hastings, maybe in 1984 I don't think I had ever stopped in the place. 

The first thing that struck me was the breadth of beachfront running nearly 6 KM along the eastern edge of the city, before extending even further south towards Cape Kidnappers.  

The city council has also done excellent work in making the waterfront available for all ages, from extensive playgrounds, skate parks, gardens and the fabulous National Aquarium. 

There are lots of great places to dine and excellent wineries, one of the best known being the Mission Estate - the first winery established in NZ in 1851. The winery has some great colonial buildings and a great view back over the city.

Next stop on the road trip was Gisborne, two and a half hours north of Napier. It was another winding road, not as bad as the one Waiouru-Napier, but many spots of roadworks - repairs from the recent wet weather.

Again I had only previously only been here once 30+ years ago and just drove through on the way to a New Year event at Tologa Bay. My first view of Gisborne was somewhat underwhelming, but it was Saturday afternoon and most of the stores had closed. We soon found a place for a drink and something to eat. On Sunday morning we drove a little to the north to Wainui Beach, a 5 kilometer long surf beach. We walked along the beach in brilliant sunshine.

After returning to the city for lunch we went for another walk. This time past the front of our hotel towards the mouth of the river. This is a working port and a ship was busy loading with logs for export.

Behind the ship is the marker recording the spot where Captain Cook set foot on New Zealand soil on 1769. On the opposite shore, where we walked, is the statue to Cook.

A few hundred meters further on is Young Nick's statue honouring the young lad who, from the crow's nest, had first sighted land for Cook and after who the location Young Nick's Head is named.

From here, within walking distance of the city centre, Waikanae Beach stretches into the broad curve of Poverty Bay all the way to Young Nick's Head, fifteen kilometers to the south.

Monday saw us heading towards home. We had decided to break the trip - normally it would have a seven hour drive that would gave brought us back into Auckland in the middle of the afternoon rush and we didn't want the hassle...and its not like we are chained to a schedule. We decided to spend the night at Rotorua. The original plan was to drive north through the Waioweka Gorge, but that route is closed due to storm damage so we had to double back towards Napier then take the Napier-Taupo road. From Taupo it is a short hop to Rotorua. But the trip was plagued with roadworks that made the trip somewhat tedious.

An early departure from Rotorua had us home by just after 10:00 AM.

It's Time to be on the Road Again

Sunday saw another American Civil War game.

Monday morning saw us heading out of Auckland for a few days on a trip to the Hawke's Bay region. Neither of us have been that way for many years - nearly 40 years in my case.

First stop was Taupo. The drive down was pleasant enough with tolerably light traffic. The summery weather of last week had cooled with the arrival of a low pressure system, but the view across Lake Taupo towards to the mountains of the volcanic plateau was spectacular, even if Mt Ruapehu was shrouded in cloud the whole time we were there.

I hadn't spent any time in Taupo since a family holiday in 1971 (apart from an overnight stay on the way back from a wargames convention in the late 1980s), so it was like visiting for the first time. The town itself is pleasant enough with a wide range of eateries and shops. As a tourism centre there is lots to do, although most of it is adventure activities. We chose to visit the Craters of the Moon, a geothermal area. It was a pleasant walk through a gently steaming vents and a couple of bubbling mud pools, although it was cold in exposed places.

After a quick lunch stop we drove the short distance to the Huka Falls, a fifteen meter volcanic rock chute through which the turquoise water of Waikato River gushes and falls some eleven meters in two or three stages. They are not the highest or most volumous falls, but spectacular in their own way.

 

After a stop for a drink in a local pub, we headed back to our hotel and 'took the waters' at the hotel's mineral water spa for about an hour. We considered a walk along the lake shore, but a howling southerly wind kept the air temperature cool. Instead we chose to watch the waves breaking on the shore from our room with a glass or two of pinot noir. After dinner, when the wind had eased, we did get out for a walk along the waterfront with the waves still breaking as though at an ocean beach.

Day three saw us back on the road, heading for Napier, via Waiouru. Locals are probably questioning why on earth am I taking the four hour route rather than the two hour Taupo-Napier route? Simple,  I wanted to visit the National Army Museum at Waiouru.

The museum is much as I remember it from 30 years ago. It covers the full history of the NZ Army involvement in conflicts from the NZ Wars, through the Boer Wars, WWI, WWII, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam,  Afghanistan and Iraq. I couldn't help thinking that it is a shame that the magnificent model of Chunuk Bair, commissioned by Peter Jackson and populated with thousands of 54mm figures, is not housed there. Still, the life sized dioramas still have appeal.

Then it was back on the long and winding road to Napier...and it was long and winding. By 2:30 we arrived in Napier and settled into our hotel for fresh adventures tomorrow.

The (Almost) Trostle Farm Completed

Over the last few days I have finished four small outbuilding and some fencing that completes the 'almost' Trostle Farm from the Gettysburg battlefield - I say almost because it is not an exact replica.

Bigelow's 9th Massachusetts Battery in front of the farm

Pricing details are included on the Buildings for Sale page LINK

The four final building are: 

The Corn Crib

The Carriage House on the right, Ice House on the left. 

The smokehouse, where they would have prepared cured meats

All these work in with the fences to create the complete farm, in the historical configuration.

The Trostle House

As a part of my American Civil War Buildings for Sale project I have completed the companion to the Trostle Barn that I posted last week;  the Farm house and its summer kitchen.

The image above is the farmhouse captured in July 1863, shortly after the battle. The horse carcasses from Bigelow's 9th Massachusetts Battery that was positioned in the farm grounds are still strewn on the ground. 

The house was relatively new in 1863, built "a few years earlier" and was home to Abraham Trostle and his family. They were compelled to leave the house during the battle even leaving dinner in the table that the staff of the Union 3rd Corps ate when the house became the temporary headquarters for the corps. The house on the battlefield today (below) is about one-third larger after an extension, with an additional porch, was added to the northern face. 

The model is built with the adjacent summer kitchen, which from the various photographs was made of brick painted white, but I have chosen to model it in stone.

Again I went through the pain of applying more than 600 shingles. The picket fence was hand built and almost as painful. I considered using some plastic picket fencing from Renedra, but I had none on hand and it would have taken too long for an ordered set to arrive. Also, looking closely at the wartime photos, the fencing was irregular (unlike the fences on the battlefield today)...I like irregular...and it is the irregular had built fencing that was the final touch that really makes the model pop.

Still to be completed in this farm set are four small out-buildings - the carriage house, the ice house, the smoke house and the corn crib - together with some fencing.