Taranaki Garden Festival 2019

Ohope 2019

Jammed in at Ohope, Whakatane, New Zealand

A weekend of Aircraft

We towed the teardrop 400 miles south to a WWI airshow at

Hood Aerodrome in Masterton, NZ.  On the way there we just

had to have our photo taken next to this DC3 posing as a restaurant.

An astonishing collection of WWI aircraft awaited us. The above

Sopwith Camel, 3 SE5's, 3 Fokker DR1 triplanes (Snoopy!),

2 Fokker D8's, 1 Fokker D7, 1 Phaltz, 1 Nieuport, 1 Tiger Moth,

1 Stomp and one WWII P40 Kitty Hawk dressed up like they

were as the Flying Tigers in China.  And all of them were flying!.

 The Stomp, similar to the Tiger Moth.

 

 

Two of the three SE5's that went up in a dogfight with the

three Fokker triplanes.

 

 

 

 

On the way home, our teardrop was accosted by a large Kiwi. 

Fortunately no injuries were sustained.

Beach Hop Whangamata NZ

 

This past weekend we attended the Whangamata Beach Hop which celebrate the V8 cars, vintage caravans and rock n roll from the 50's and 60's.  We entered the teardrop in the vintage caravan show and we had 7-800 visitors through the day.

 

 

One of my most lasting impressions was of the look on people's faces when they approached it and realized what it did and how. 

 

 

There were two other teardrops there.  Both were larger than standard versions.  The one above was from Australia and is on its way to the USA.

 

 

The Australian teardrop had the best tow vehicle ever.

 

This one from Whangarei has standing headroom and is of all metal construction.

 

 

We flagged down a gorgeous  Ford truck whose paint job matched ours.  Much better than our Camry.



Lazy Days of Summer

 

We've made several 2-3 day trips around the North Island this summer.  This photo is at the Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) near Rotorua.  There's an easy 7 km hiking trail around the lake with part of it passing through a redwood forest.
The excellent French pastries at La Bonne bakery nearby were memorable too.

Awning Test

I cut up an old sail to test the usefullness of this type of awning.  It's pretty simple with just two poles to put up.  Next I'll sew up one with good quality Sunbrella fabric that will last forever and not make any noise in the wind.
The photo is from a relative's wedding that we attended.  After all the celebrations, I was in no shape to drive home and only had to flop into the teardrop.

Window Screens

After a few late night mosquito attacks, I finally got around to installing the screens.  The screen frame is made up of two layers of 4mm plywood with the fiberglass screen sandwiched in between.  Some black Sikaflex glues it all together.  A pair of large washers at the bottom and a pair of Perspex turn pegs at the top hold it in place.

 

 

Spent two nights at Fernland with hot soda springs in Tauranga.  Attractive bush surroundings and a large warm pool for relaxing.