Where in New Zealand is Pollock?

So I am currently sitting at the Awhitu Regional Park, in a beautifully quiet spot with one tent and one campervan and me.

Awhitu Regional Park, Peninsular Campground

The weather has cleared up from a wet day yesterday and this morning.
So yesterday I spent heading from Huntly to the back of Onewhero. It was a nice trip and I saw some lovely countryside and then I came across this …

Oops

I stopped as this seemed to be a recent accident. I cautiously approached the car, smelling a bit of petrol but more scared of what I might find. I carefully peered inside and breathed a huge sigh of relief finding the car empty. I had a quick look around the scene to make sure that no-one had been flung from the car and then headed back to the bus and then another car pulled up and two locals got out. I told them that I had checked the car but we went back and did another check and search. I then phoned the accident into the police and they identified the car as a rental, so the police dispatcher went away to see if they could track down who ws in the car. We then tried to work out what had happened by examining the marks. It was strange as there were no skid marks, and it really looked like the car had parked on the verge and tipped over, but it was the wrong side of the road. About three minutes later a car pulled up with a man and two passenger in the back and told us that it was his parents rental car and here they were. They were thankfully unhurt and explained what had happened.
They had been heading south and come over the in slightly drizzly weather and when they came over the brow of the hill the windscreen had gone opaque with a change in temperature and the driver was essentially blind. He had slowed considerably and was almost at a stop when he had left the edge of the road. Unfortunately at that particular point on the side of the road there was a drop off of about a metre and the car just rolled over onto it’s roof. Luckily they were able to crawl out and flag a car down which took them through to Glen Murray. he called their son who had come and picked them up and here they were. They were shaken but not hurt. I then called the police back to say that I was leaving the scene and headed off. About 5 minutes later I passed the police car heading to the scene.
I then headed off to visit my friends Denise and Stu who a are on a sheep farm on Waimarama-Onewhero Road in the back of beyond. Stu was away but Denise and I had dinner and chatted away the evening. I drove the quad bike back to the bus which was parked over by the woolshed about 500m from the house.  Had a lovely quiet night and didn’t even hear the rain that fell.
Had breakfast then took the quad bike back to the house and had a coffee with Denise and gave her a lesson on Windows 8. Denise has been one of my friends that I have tried to teach them how to use their computers effectively. Luckily she had had little computer experience when she bought a laptop with Windows 8 on and so she has picked it up really well.
So after spending the morning gossiping and teaching and drinking coffee, we raided the garden for rhubarb, eggs and tomatoes and we wandered back to the bus. I packed up and said goodbye and was told that if I didn’t drop in every time I passed she would be disappointed! One does not disappoint Denise!
From there I wandered down through Onewhero towards the Waikato River and paused at the Tuakau Bridge.

		Tuakau Bridge VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I had a bit of fun with some juvenile seagulls.
From there I stopped for fuel in Pukekohe and then headed out towards Waiuku and points north. I stopped at the  Pollock Co-op shop and had a great chat with an awesome artist there who does some amazing mixed media work with kauri, stainless steel and other stuff. Most of it has some Maori influence from his time as a teacher at Tuakau College. A shame that I don’t have much wall space in the Fredrock Cafe or I might have been tempted by at least one piece.
So here I am at Awhitu Regional Park for the next few days while I explore the area. There is so much to see out here with everything from the Manukau Heads and lighthouse, all the little beaches and bays, on the west coast and the inner Manukau Harbour. Both sides being completely different.

View from Peninsular Campground looking north

View from Peninsular Campground, looking east

The view from behind the bus and since starting this blog post another 2 vans have arrived making three vans, 1 bus and a tent!