Last night

We had a most amazing day yesterday/today!! After Castlepoint we headed to Tinui Cafe & Bar at a little place called Tinui. It has the infamous honour of holding the first formal ANZAC celebration. Back in 1914 there were a thousand single men in the area; many of whom volunteered and some lost their lives.

I contacted the Tinui Cafe and following a prompt response we parked in a beautifully kept park land next to the Cafe. It was totally fenced which meant we didn’t have to put up the fence and Mac and Rose checked it out thoroughly as we were the only occupants for the evening.

We had pre-dinner drinks followed by dinner and cannot fault either the service or the meal…..they went the extra mile and it was most appreciated so we left a very positive comment on the NZMCA site.

The sleeping arrangements on Dogonit have been interesting to say the least…..Heather and I are currently sharing a platonic bed while Mac, Rose and Rodney are in the spare as Heather currently has crook hip. I made it perfectly clear that Heather keep to her side of the bed and no hanky-panky and so far she has honored my request lol. We have laughed and laughed through the last few days and it has been therapeutic. 

This morning we headed to the Tinui Anzac Walkway so we could do the walk through spectacular views, plantation forest, farmland and native bush – peaking at the ANZAC Cross and trig point at the top of the Tinui Taipo.

It was in 1916 that Rev Ashcroft held an ANZAC ceremony and erected the cross. The original cross has been replaced by a more modern cross. 

Rod and I intended to make the tramp with the dogs and were disappointed to see that dogs were banned so following discussion about the difficulty of the walk I stayed with Heather and the dogs. Rod’s comments supported the difficulty of the walk when he returned so it was just as well I didn’t attempt it.

We travelled back to Masterton to find a laundry and then travelled to Carterton for a dump station as the only one in Masterton is in a camp ground.

We arrived at our night’s destination around 5 pm following some confusing directions…………..we are spending the night in the NZMCA Plimmerton park and about to enjoy roast beef, potatoes, onions and carrots……yum. Certainly not doing it hard in regards to food!!