Time To Move On

After three and a half weeks staying beside Lake Pukaki we decided it was time to move on. Not that we really wanted to ... staying beside the lake has been relaxing and sooo scenic,  plus the dogs loved it (maybe a little too much!).
We packed all of the outside up the night before so we only had to sort the inside the next morning. 

Going ... going ... gone!

Over the last couple of weeks we'd noticed the dump station at Twizel getting busier and busier so our plan was to get there before 9am to dump. It turned out everyone else had the same idea, so when we arrived there was already a queue.
After dumping and filling with fresh water we drove through the Waitaki Valley towards Kurow. We'd decided to stay at a CAP (Cost Applied Parking) just south of Kurow on a farm.

Waitaki Valley obviously hasn't had much rain for awhile - it's barren and dry, so when Lake Benmore popped into view it was a refreshing sight.

And not far after seeing Lake Benmore, just off the main road was Sailors Cutting. This very popular area has a campground, small harbour and boat ramp. There were tents and caravans everywhere, set up amongst mature trees. The boat ramp had a long line of cars and boats patiently waiting for their turn to launch.

I was surprised at how many cars and empty boat trailers there were already parked up, their owners out enjoying the water.

I waited for Bernie at Kurow - we parked the rig on the side of the road and both drove to check out the place we had planned to stay. It's always easier taking the ute a short distance to check whether we will fit in rather than arriving in the rig and having to get out of a tight spot. We weren't expecting it to be quite so far out, so decided to give it a miss and head to Awamoto Domain an NZMCA park.

The Awamoto Domain has an easy access, is dog friendly, and has lots of space. We set up in record time and had a cuppa and some lunch. It's nice looking out the window at some greenery for a change, and there's the bonus of having a few plum trees smothered in fruit along the fence line ... yum!