Our night at the freedom camping area in National Park saw some of the heaviest frost we have encountered. The windscreen cover we use in these situations was almost frozen solid but did a great job of helping to keep the van warm. On our departure that morning, we were again without fixed plans, deciding that we were going to drive down State Highway 4 and see where we ended up.
First stop on the way to wherever was the Makatote Viaduct, standing almost eighty metres in height at the tallest point it’s an impressive sight. With the large, nearby parking area, pulling over for a photo is easy. The only thing that would have made it better, would have been a train going across at the same time. Although we didn’t make a stop at “The Last spike”, we have done so in the past. The spot marks the place in 1908 where the last spike was driven into the railway line completing the route from Auckland to Wellington. Interestingly Wikipedia say’s that the memorial is about three hundred metres from where the spike was driven.
About twenty kilometres south of Ratahei is the massive landslide that closed the highway for months, back in 2019. All up, some four hundred metres of road slipped down the hill. After extensive geotechnical work, the road is now open although its not really what you would describe as a road. Just some tarseal laid over some very uneven ground, it is quite the experience driving across the landslide and hard not to imagine that as you drive over the slip area that it is only a matter of time before it gives way again. I just hoped I wouldn’t be on the road at that time.
The geotechnical engineers have now installed inground sensors to give advance warning allowing for the road to be closed if another slip is likely to happen. We didn’t take any photos as we drove over the slip, but it certainly something that will live in my memory for a while. Driving the rest of the highway it was hard to shake the feeling that we were in one of the most remote parts of the North Island. And I guess we were. Thankfully other than the large slip the road was in pretty good condition with very little traffic allowing us a leisurly drive and the chance to take in the scenery.
As State Highway 4 comes into Whanganui there are a couple of freedom camping area on your right alongside the river. Somewhere we might have stayed in the past, but these days the camps have a large number of people sleeping rough in tents or under tarpaulins. I realise that homeless people have to be somewhere and being near toilet facilities is certainly a good thing. But, I felt that we would have been almost rubbing their noses in their situation by parking up in our motorhome. For that reason we kept driving, deciding instead to head to another NZMCA park on our yet to visit list.
Located in the quiet residential streets of Marton is one of the older NZMCA Parks. It has the feel of an old town small campground and maybe in a previous life it was that. (Someone who reads this might know.) I say this because there is a facilities building, built in a campground style, with toilets and showers which is almost unheard of for the Park network. Although there isn’t a dump station you can empty your cassette into the septic collection point behind the toilets. Whats more water is available at multiple points throughout the camp.
The Park is located adjacent to the local sports fields and for some strange reason I took very few photos of the grounds or the local town (read none). The local Countdown store (rebranded after we left and now called Fresh Choice) is just a short stroll across the sports fields and had a good selection of stuff crammed into a small store. For those wanting a larger, less cramped option, New World is also just a few minutes drive up the main road. Sadly the rest of the town has a rather neglected feel with quite a number of empty shops. Almost all of those also appear to have earthquake related structural issues, so maybe that’s why so many are empty. Whatever the cause it’s hard to get away from the slightly depressed feel they give the place. I know things have been tough over the last few years but seeing the effects in this town was a little sobering.
Surprisingly business or campers at the NZMCA Park was the opposite. When we arrived there was only one other van but by the end of the day another ten or so had rolled through the gates. Making it much fuller than all the other Parks we stayed on this trip. One thing I did like about this Park is that if you arrive early enough and are in luck then there are dedicated spots for a large vehicle like ours, with a grassed area between each spot. In warmer weather they would provide a great place for outdoor relaxing and socializing with other campers.
We only stayed the one night and unlike many other places we have stayed didn’t find much to do in and around the town. Perhaps we didn’t look hard enough. The following day we debated heading South to look at the relativly new and as yet unvisited Park in Foxton but decided to save that for another day and instead headed back North.
We aren’t really campground people especially during peak holiday times but since we were still in Augist and the NZMCA Camp Saver promotion was in full swing, we decided to try staying at one of the campgrounds along the coast that offer discounted rates to NZMCA members. More on the Kai Iwi campground, almost running out of fuel, and some of the other camping spots, both paid and free further up the coast in the next blog. And this time I remembered to take some photos.
To view the places we have visited click here to see them on Google maps. You can then click the link to read the blog about that area.
Licenced To Retire 
Yes, Marton NZMCA was a motor camp ba k in the day, although the entrance has been changed a d the caretakers house removed. I am remember staying there with our caravan club, with the church bells pealing loudly early on Sunday morning.
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