|
Raid Lavande Fourteen 2CV's on Tour in the Lower North Island - by Michael McBryde |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Sunday 10 November saw the beginning of the first-ever 2CV trek in the North Island. After seven "Raids" in the South Island, the tireless Warren Herrick turned his attention to our part of the country. This time most of the participants came from the North Island, including Pam and David Gerrie from the GWCCC in their trusty Dyane. But a few keen South Islanders crossed the Strait for the trip, which lasted a week and turned out to be one of the most adventurous that I have experienced so far. |
|
||||
|
After some publicity photos on the grassy mound at the Wellington waterfront, the 2CVs trekked on up to Kapiti, where some sponsor's cheese was loaded aboard and we met members of the GWCCC who had turned out to wish us well. Next stop was Wanganui, where a visit was made to Ray Francis, and the travellers admired his collection of Citroëns. Our motel in Wanganui was not far from the famous Moutoa Gardens, where the Maori protestors remained encamped. The Wanganui Chronicle did a front-page story on us the next day, and indeed there was media interest in us wherever we went, except in Wellington itself. |
|||||
|
In Taranaki we called on Stuart Craig. He was our guide during a short tour of Manaia, regarded as the home of Citroën in New Zealand. The local garage owner Max McKay proved to be such a successful salesman and service agent that in the 1950s and 1960s there were said to be more Citroëns per head of population than in Paris. The site where the famous McKay garage stood now houses the premises of a vet ! Up on Mt Taranaki the temperature was dropping rapidly. A series of hailstorms lashed us as we headed towards our dinner up at the Swiss-run Mountain House restaurant. But hailstorms seem less noisy when you are driving a car with a soft-top roof. In Stratford we watched the mechanical Romeo and Juliet speaking Shakespearean language to each other in the tower in the main street, then we set off along the "Forgotten Highway" across country to one of New Zealand's most isolated settlements, Whangamomona. It was perhaps instructive for the South Island participants to see that we have some amazing wilderness in this part of the country too. (see pic below of the "Whangamomona Pub) |
|||||
|
At Mount Ruapehu we drove right up to the Whakapapa skifield. Although the ski season had ended, a lot of snow remained. Some French tourists were up there enjoying the early evening sunlight, and they thought us a weird mob. I suspect that modern French people feel slightly embarrassed about the 2CV, considering it a primitive relic that does not sit well with the more sophisticated image they seek to convey for their country in the new century. The banishing of 2CV production to Portugal in the late 1980s provides a historical example of this thinking. |
|
||||
|
The next morning we had a gracious morning tea with Danish pastries in the famous Chateau, looking out from the comfortable lounge at the sparkling Mount Tongariro. Then it was on to Ohakune, where a local journalist photographed us drinking a toast in the main street, and we came eventually to Palmerston North. (Below: There is still some snow on the Whakapapa skifield, Mt Ruapehu) |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Near the Manawatu Gorge we crawled up a steep and winding gravel road and came to a whole forest of wind turbines. That was an interesting experience, as was the visit to a charming lavender farm near Woodville, where we learned about the production and therapeutic qualities of this plant. Went to an open-air theatre in the style of ancient Greece at Rathkeale College near Masterton, and then overnighted at Greytown. Or the others did. I had to dash home for a rehearsal of my Hutt Repertory play and then crossed the Rimutakas again the next morning for what turned out to be the most exciting part of the tour. On a perfect summery day we drove to the coast at Castlepoint. With the permission of the local sheep station owners we took a rugged private track across country, following the coastline. It was a road more suited to four-wheel-drive vehicles, being rutted, bumpy and very dusty. We bounced over rocky dry streambeds and up precipitous slopes. At one point the road descended right onto the beach. But nobody became stuck. Our vehicles, having been designed for use by French peasants on their farms, were arguably in their natural habitat. The combination of light weight, big wheels and soft suspension meant that we travelled slowly but in relative comfort over the most testing terrain. We were accompanied by a new Citroën C3, which also came through with flying colours, although its lower ground clearance meant that it had to proceed with caution. That evening there was an air of exhilaration at our feast at the splendid Saluté restaurant in Greytown. I was nominated to make a speech of thanks to our heroic organiser Warren and his wife Liz, and willingly agreed. On the Saturday and Sunday the good weather which had accompanied us for much of the journey deserted us completely. The visit to the Italian-Gothic stately home at Whangaimoana took place under a leaden sky. But the house and its English-style garden were impressive, and the owner permitted the Citroënistes to have their picnic off the huge oak table in the dining room. An excursion to Lake Ferry, an inspection of the Olivo brand olive groves and a visit to the Te Kairanga vineyard completed the day. |
|||||
