06
House-bus/truck gathering
Retro bus get together in Woodville.
The gathering is a casual get-together of people into older buses and trucks which have been converted into homes, the event has grown rapidly since last year from around 40 to over 80 buses/trucks. This was the second year it's been organised and held at Ferry Reserve Woodville over Labour Weekend. People came from all around New Zealand to attend, with Facebook being used for wrangling the group.
I left the family back at home for this trip unfortunately as our 2nd baby was due soon and Kim didn't want to risk it, so it was just me and Tui the dog. I left Wellington late with next to no traffic on the roads, it was my first time over the Rimutakas and the bus handled it well although I do need to take more time going downhill next time as thats a fair bit of weight to control on those sharp corners.
On my way there I got mistaken for a commercial truck a lot, receiving the trucky nod which is an indicator wink, I wasn't sure whether to wink back or ignore but after a few trucks winking at me I decided to be polite and wink back. The trucks must realise after they passed that I'm not a truck. I'm not sure of the etiquette for motorhomes, the next truck driver I meet I'll need to ask lol.
I arrived in the dark at around 1:30am in the morning and was following Google maps to Ferry Reserve, unfortunately the map took me past the camp, I was taken up a dirt road on the opposite of the river from the reserve. After an 8 point turn I got back to where I was supposed to be, for a moment I thought I'd have to reverse all the way out. As soon as I started up the road I knew it couldn't be the right way, I think its the way up to one of the windmills. The joys of travelling in the middle of the night :), makes for memorable moments.
I ended up parking a bit out of the main thoroughfare to have some of my own space. The grounds were wet from some heavy rain prior to me arriving, the rain cleared but the wet and wind caused a bit of havoc with vehicles getting stuck and people loosing vents in the wind.
The grounds are huge, the mountains steep and the river is pretty powerful, probably not one for swimming in—at least not with the rainfall we had.
The buses were mostly huddled up like a little village, selling crafts and bits-and-pieces, just by strolling through you end up having a chat here and there. All sorts of people from all different backgrounds. I got to check inside of a few cool bus/truck setups, and meet some cool people.
There was a well organised BBQ where everyone got together to chat/meet with the rest of the group. A few drinks and some good homebrew concoctions came out from a few buses. I ended up heading back for a last drink in a small box-truck from a couple of guys I got on well with.
All together a welcoming bunch, all sorts of interests/backgrounds, permanent/semi-permanent/weekender dwellers.
I only ended up going for a couple days but there were others who were there a week or more. I spent another night camped out part way back to Wellington.
Most of the following photos are early morning shots so everyone is still couped up in their beds.
