Ruapuke beach camp Jan's birthday weekend

It's that birthday photo...!


Someone say something funny? Jan, Linda and Geoff have a giggle.

the kids launch themselves in to the estuary at Raglan


Lou and Ellie braving the swimming hole waters...

Kieran eventually enjoying the waters - it took him time to get in but once he did...


Went to Ruapuke motor camp this weekend, our "local" west coast camp site. Some friends of ours came along with us as well which was nice as it added a whole new dimension to our camping. It was also Jan's birthday, so a good weekend was anticipated.
Friday loomed with the weather forecast not looking too good. After the record breaking weeks leading up to this weekend, it was our luck that the weather would break, we didn't expect it to break quite so spectacularly though!
The car was loaded up, final arrangements made to collect Jan from her works Xmas dinner and to meet up with our friends. I had spoken to Linda on the phone in the morning and told her we wouldn't be offended if they decided to back out as the weather was looking poor - I also told her that the coastal weather can sometimes surprise you - but glad when they decided to jump in with both feet and come along.

The showers started as we were driving across to Hamilton on the main highway. By the time we got there is was a complete deluge! After collecting Jan we headed off to a fish and chip shop to get some food for dinner instead of having to mess about at the site. Suitable replenished, we drove across the ranges towards Raglan with the sky looking an ominous shade of grey. Thankfully the showers stopped and on arriving at site the sun was shining, the grass was dry and we sweltered in the heat to get the tents erected.
The kids, as usual, managed to find something very important to do as the tent building was going on, including taking the 3 dogs on an exploratory tour of the camp site. It suited us to be honest.
We relaxed that evening, drinking the odd beer and having a good chat. A walk up the hill to see the beach and walk the dogs rounded off the evening before we turned in for the night.

Saturday morning, Jan's birthday, and we all woke to a grey morning, not too bad, but warm and muggy. The kids were itching to go for a swim in the swimming hole so we had breakfast then traipsed up the track to the pool, where the kids and the dogs had a great time in the water. Us more sensible, older ones sheltered under the branches from the passing showers, enjoying watching the families having fun.
A trip in to Raglan was required in the afternoon as petrol was required. A quick stop off to collect cockles and another swim for the kids, this time in the estuary, was followed by a drive back to site on the "scenic route". Whaanga Road follows the coast line south of Raglan, is part of the World Rally Championship course and is not for the faint hearted with sheer drops to the Tasman sea in places. We stopped at a lookout for photos and to admire the spectacular scenery from the lofty viewing point, perched atop a cliff. Duly viewed, we set off for the drive to the site, to be greeted by a lot of young lads, with lots of beer and cars full of the stuff. Our hearts sank, it wasn't looking good, and it wasn't! They were there for a party and it turned out to be thoroughly miserable that night. We still went to the beach for a tradition driftwood fire, cooking bananas with chocolate and marshmallow for the kids.
Not at all impressed with the events of the night, we managed to avoid paying , and the odd moment of conflict aside, we managed not to let it spoil our weekend.
After seeing the rowdy ones leave, we had lunch and played a board game in the tent, having a good laugh in the process.

Also, a few new buzz words were added to our arsenal, with Geoff's constant "no, no, no, no, no, no...." being picked on by his wife and kids, and his flabbergasted response of "you're having a laugh" on finding out he had to act out, in charades style, "Swan Lake" in our game of Cranium. Now Geoff is a big feller, and seeing a 6ft plus guy in shorts and walking boots trying to get his team to guess what it was made us all laugh. The slice of bread guess from Linda has already gone down in Cranium and camp folklore! Especially as it got her 7 year old daughter crying, she was quite upset that her mum mistook her drawing of a wedding dress as a slice of bread, and dad's offered excuses just didn't get through, especially as mum said it did indeed look like a slice of bread!

Unfortunately, Geoff, Linda and kids had to leave us that afternoon due to work commitments, so we had a nap in the afternoon to try to recoup some of the lost sleep. While sleeping, we missed the stream bursting it's banks and wondering what the noise was when we came to, were astonished to see the amount of water pouring down out of the mountain. We knew it was raining but not that much!!
After dinner, another game before retiring for a much more peaceful night - thankfully! Although warm and humid, sleep came quickly which was very welcome.

Monday and it was time to strike camp and head for home. After saying our farewells to people at the site we headed north along Whaanga Road as there were roadworks on the usual stretch and parts of the road weren't in very good condition.
So we plodded on at a leisurely pace, stopping off to do a quick geocache en route. After a stop in Raglan for drinks and popcorn, we headed off for home after a very pleasant weekend with some good friends. We are looking forward to our next trip that is certain.......