Takapau, Hastings, and the best Fish & Chips in town

Romany Rambler: Travelled 19250Km; 322 Nights Away

Wouldn’t you just know it, after a rather chilly weekend in Clareville, the sun finally came out on the day we had to pack up and leave.  Most of the others were heading home but our plans were to travel north, stopping the night at Takapau, in Southern Hawkes Bay.  This property is owned and operated by the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association and members can stay here at a very reasonable cost.  The Maori word Takapau translates to “sleeping mat”. 

Plenty of room for us at NZMCA property at Takapau

The rain set in and followed us on our drive the next morning to Hastings.  We were staying at my sister’s property and the caravan fits rather snugly on the drive.  The family had recently had a car port erected and as Murphy’s Law dictated, our caravan of course was just a few inches too high to fit underneath.  Just as well I was at rear while Robin was backing up the drive and yelled out “Stop” in time before he hit it.

Staying with the rellies in Hastings

As usual, our cat Muffy was travelling with us.   Lily, the resident ginger cat did not take too kindly to an interloper on her home turf and we caught her peering in the windows trying to catch a glimpse of this cat who dared to show her face where she wasn’t wanted.  No doubt Lily was hissing catty insults through the window at Muffy.

  Lily is not happy

Lily relaxing now she has told Muffy off

Adam, the young man of the house is a keen “gamer” and is the proud owner of the just released new Xbox game.  He rushed down to the shop bright and early to pick up his copy of the Assassin’s Creed series, “Revelations”.  The new game got a great work-out and Adam is delighted with his purchase.

Xbox game, hot off the press

We called around to visit Robin’s former workmate Dennis and his partner Sonya.  Robin and Dennis had worked together on Toops trucks and had plenty of reminiscing to do about their former working lives.  Now the four of us are happily retired, life is so much more relaxed.

Sonya and Dennis

“They serve the best fish and chips in town”, we were told so we went looking for Hawkes Bay Seafoods in the main shopping street.  What a busy place it was (that’s always a good sign) and there was the biggest selection of fresh fish we had seen, both whole fish and fillets, and all so nicely presented too.  We ordered our take-away meal of fish fillets, garlic prawn kebabs and kumara (sweet potatoe) chips and ate them in the sunshine at tables outside the fish shop.  What a delicious meal at the end of our busy day.

Whole fish for sale

A meal fit for a king, battered fish and prawn kebabs