Celebrating 60 yrs of the Transporter - An article written by Ineke Manshande
On Easter Monday at 11.00am and still buzzing after a great Nationals, just over 60, mainly Kombi’s set off heading for Hanmer Springs. The great weather guided the group for the day with wonderful scenery to keep people occupied. Some of the group travelled only as far as Christchurch, but on average there were about 35 vehicles a day, about 100 people and 27 children.
One of three Nelson couples on Tour
Even though each morning most people would set off between about 8.30am and 9.30am, the string of vehicles soon spread out, only to gather again at points of interest. And there were many, from natural wonders, to coffees, to lots of talk and a lot of light hearted bulls@%t.
On the second night, John and I joined the group in Christchurch (after our Nationals clean-up), a very adventurous and cold 7 hour trip in our now famous Rustybus. Before Kawatiri Junction, we ‘lost’ our back wheel. All the wheel nuts had come undone and gave us an enormous fright. John fixed it in no time though and on we went. About half way the cab started to fill with dense smoke and we swiftly evacuated the building. Just for interest sake, John had thought it necessary to install a GPS (12 volt), in our 1956′ (6 volt), Transporter by way of some wires and a spare battery behind the passenger seat, my seat. Some issue with the earth caused the smoke and an even bigger fright because of the horse hair filling under the old seats!! Very cold and heading towards Christchurch (no heater in the old girl), but met by a lot of warmth at the camp from our fellow travelers and a supper put on by the Canterbury Club.
Day 3, Christchurch to Orari, saw us heading towards Rakaia Gorge for lunch and a photo shoot, what a wonderful spot. Unfortunately I had misunderstood instructions at the previous evenings meeting and guided John, and our friends following, Rob and Bea in their Ambulance, to Rakaia township, not the Rakaia Gorge some 80kms away. This meant John was awarded the ‘Wally’ hat that night at our camp in Orari, just outside Geraldine, (another very cold night). The local Central South VW Club put on a BBQ for us and this went down very well.
Each day it was great to come across other Kombi’s, (actually, most overtook us!), give them a wave, or join them at the picnic spot, cafe, or other suitable place to have a chat and share our experiences, everyone also made great use of the photo opportunities in all the wonderful places.
The TV3 film crew joined us on Day 4, (Orari to Twizel), as we set off for lunch at Lake Tekapo. After this we drove along the salmon farms toward Twizel and some vehicles made the most of the stunning weather to drive the extra 100kms to Mount Cook and back, it was well worthwhile and a thrill to get there, together with the Ambulance(1959). This deserved a good cup of coffee before returning to Twizel for the night.
Day 5 (Twizel to Oamaru), at dawn we found a frost on the roof of our poorly insulated Rustybus, with three blankets and a couple of hot water bottles, we kept warm during the night. A fairly relaxed day with a shorter distance to travel to Oamaru.
John and I stopped at Omarama to enjoy the most wonderful hot tub! set in wonderfully landscaped surroundings. Each tub was very private with banks of rocks and tussock and with the a view of the mountains in the background. What a way to spend an hour and a half!! Great scenery through to Oamaru, and a wonderful camp for the night.
Day 6 (Oamaru to Dunedin), Dave and Ivan, the organisers, had gone to quite some trouble to manage to get us into the Oamaru Limestone Quarry at Weston, just out of Oamaru. It took all the Kombi’s available and a few beetles to line up and form the VW logo. This photo was later printed on canvas, and one each presented to the organisers, they were thrilled. After the photo shoot, most of us went to Dave and Penny’s for morning tea, and to have a look at Dave’s collection of VW’s. Another wonderful mornings weather, even though the evenings and nights were quite cool, the days were amazing. We all made our way through to Dunedin Holiday Park where the Otago VW Club provided us with the evening BBQ.
Day 7 (Dunedin to Pounawea) saw us take it easy and travel down to the Catlins, with many diverting to Nugget Point Lighthouse. Again, the weather was unbelievable. All the time people told us they had been here or there but had never seen the Lighthouse, Mt Cook, Moeraki Boulders and many other sights because of the bad weather, but the weather Gods were certainly with us so far. The Catlins are a very spectacular part of the South Island. Pounawea is one of the many places we need to go back to and spend some more time at in the future. Lovely down to earth facilities with a good coal range in the dining room/kitchen area which was just large enough to hold the whole team for the daily get together. Each night, lots of different stories were told about the days happenings which were similar, but at times also very different to our view of the day.
Day 8 (Pounawea to Invercargill) and we travelled to Curio Bay to gather for another photo opportunity, what a spot. Some people diverted to Niagra, some for the famous Niagra Falls, most for the awesome fish ‘n’ chips. On to Invercargill where the pub next to the camp was the most exciting thing. Good food and supposedly the place to watch the TV3 broadcast but postponed again. Still, we spend good time at the pub, it was warm and dry and with more good food and drinking.
Day 9 (Invercargill to Te Anau) Great way to start the day with a visit to the world renowned Richardson’s Truck Museum. Do read the story and view the photo’s of this on the blog further down. SO INTERESTING, (even for a girl who doesn’t care much for trucks). We stopped at quite a few places like Cosy Nook (look it up on Google Maps). Even though I have never been to Scotland, I knew this is what it looks like, fantastic. A little dry spell saw us have lunch next to the Kombi here, a magical place. Drove to Te Anau via Manapouri, the drizzle was with us for most of the day but it dried up and it turned out warm. At last, time to get the shorts out and do some washing!!
Day 10 (Milford Sounds) and we all got up at 5.30am!! to get to Milford Sound in time to catch the 9.00am cruise. Most of us went and the continental breakfast put on by the cruise company went down well. The scenery was stunning as usual. If you haven’t ever made it to Milford Sound before, then you must put it on your ‘things to do before I die’ list. Magical is an understatement, another long but great day.
After dinner that evening, everyone gathered in the beautiful dining room to watch Campbell Live, how thrilled we all were. We felt privileged to be on the Tour and to be enjoying such a great adventure.
Another lovely day dawned on Day 11 (Te Anau to Lake Hawea), for the drive to Lake Hawea. About 300 kilometres, so we set off at 8.30am. Shared some coffee and chat on the way and met for lunch with some of the team in Arrowtown, which looked stunning in it’s Autumn colours. After lunch the real challenge started with the climb up the Crown Range, quite something at the best of times, but for a 36 hp Kombi …….. We took the opportunity to photograph Rustybus in front of the Cardrona Hotel, a lovely place in full sunshine to enjoy a nice cider in the garden, a nice reward.
On to Wanaka, where we spend a little time at the lake front, very windy, but time to relax a little. It is amazing how tired you get driving and spending time at Cafe’s!! We had tea with friends in Wanaka and only arrived at Lake Hawea at 8.45pm, but not too late to catch up with everyone. We felt sorry to have even missed these four hours of the Tour. The camp was right on the edge of the Lake.
Day 11 (Lake Hawea to Fox Glacier) started cold, but as you can see, stunning again with all the Autumn colours. Great chance for another photo shoot.
The drive through the Gates of Haast and the actual West Coast was one of the best gifts to John and I, because all the previous trips through here it had rained, but this day was gorgeous! No wonder it took us all day to get to Fox Glacier. We had a beautiful camp at Fox Glacier, I could have stayed for a week! The set up for the group was great as well as the facilities. We all started to feel a bit sad that the Tour was coming to an end soon. Lot’s of carry on in the dining room this evening. It was great to get to know the other people so well.
Our good friends Rob and Bea in their Ambo
Day 12 (Fox Glacier to Hokitika), overcast, but hardly any rain really. Great grey feeling for photo’s on the West Coast. It all seemed to set the mood for the upcoming farewells. Again, a great setup at the camp in Hoki, although the facilities didn’t compare to Fox Glacier, but nobody minded. Off to the farewell dinner put on by the local Boy’s Brigade not far from the camp. Back to camp by 10.00pm but nobody wanted to go to bed. We all wanted to stay and carry on with the Tour, but unfortunately it had nearly come to an end. Late night, nearly midnight but mild and lovely to sit outside.
Day 13 (Home ….. ) After a photo session for the local paper, farewells were said and “see you in Auckland for next years Nationals”. John and I drove North to Westport, collected the much needed driftwood, enjoyed a coffee in Berlins, and hooray, in Murchison we caught up with the ‘Jaffa’s’ and Rob and Bea in the Ambulance. They were all heading for Picton and the ferry the next morning. We waved them off at Kawatiri Junction and felt that was really the end of the Tour.
The trip of a lifetime with the love of my life
Thanks Dave, Penny, Ivan and Carol for the idea of the Tour, and Peter Vaughan for the blog and photo’s
By Ineke Manshande
