POTD 2023 365:083
Back at Castlepoint.
The original plan had been for six to nine people to stay at a DoC (Department of Conservation) cabin in Catchpool Valley.
About a month before we were due to go, DoC told me they would have to cancel the booking as there would be loggers staying there and the property would not be available until spring.
So we looked for somewhere new and booked a place at Te Kopi, near The Pinnacles in the Wairarapa. It's further to drive, you have to go over the Remutaka hills, but we were looking forward to it.
A few days before we were due to go to Te Kopi, Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand. It didn't come this far down the island (well, we were hit by the tail) but DoC told me that all their tracks and all their accommodation on the North Island was closed until they could check for damage. So we changed the dates. We decided to go for a couple of weeks later, to allow for any damage to be fixed.
So, we had a new date to go to the cottage near The Pinnacles. We were going on Friday. On Wednesday morning we discovered that the bad weather had washed out the road near the Pinnacles. We couldn't go. We had to cancel the weekend Meetup.
We looked for somewhere else. Jae found a cabin for three at Castlepoint. More money per person than the Te Kopi Cottage (which had been more money per person than our original booking at Catchpool Valley) but we and our friend, Barbarba, decided we wanted to go.
The weather stayed nice. The cabin was a little cramped but manageable and I was glad to have got away for a weekend.
Friday, 24th March 2023.
POTD 2023 365:083
Back at Castlepoint.
The original plan had been for six to nine people to stay at a DoC (Department of Conservation) cabin in Catchpool Valley.
About a month before we were due to go, DoC told me they would have to cancel the booking as there would be loggers staying there and the property would not be available until spring.
So we looked for somewhere new and booked a place at Te Kopi, near The Pinnacles in the Wairarapa. It's further to drive, you have to go over the Remutaka hills, but we were looking forward to it.
A few days before we were due to go to Te Kopi, Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand. It didn't come this far down the island (well, we were hit by the tail) but DoC told me that all their tracks and all their accommodation on the North Island was closed until they could check for damage. So we changed the dates. We decided to go for a couple of weeks later, to allow for any damage to be fixed.
So, we had a new date to go to the cottage near The Pinnacles. We were going on Friday. On Wednesday morning we discovered that the bad weather had washed out the road near the Pinnacles. We couldn't go. We had to cancel the weekend Meetup.
We looked for somewhere else. Jae found a cabin for three at Castlepoint. More money per person than the Te Kopi Cottage (which had been more money per person than our original booking at Catchpool Valley) but we and our friend, Barbarba, decided we wanted to go.
The weather stayed nice. The cabin was a little cramped but manageable and I was glad to have got away for a weekend.
Friday, 24th March 2023.