I hope you have all had a great February, a bit of a wet one, but on the bright side,  at least it was still warm.

I have just got back from helping out at my youngest boys class camp.  We got quite a lot of rain, but it didn’t seem to bother the kids at all, as we still got out and got wet doing stuff. We went up to Mount Taranaki and hiked up to Wilkies Pools and Dawson Falls, such lovely walks, and so again I’m going to recommend these.

Also on in the “Naki”

WOMAD 16-18 March – Have a fantastic weekend to all those going!

Opunake Lions Mountain to Sea Bike Ride Sunday 18 March

2012 Rotary Street Fair Sunday 1st April 9am – 3pm Devon Street West

see www.newplymouthnz.com for more info on these events.

National Park

While the weather is still trying to be summery, why not brave a hike, mountain bike or jet boat ride.

Check out www.spiritoftheriver.co.nz or phone 0800 Jet Tour to talk to Brent and Claire about  Jet Boat Tours, Waka Tours, Cultural Stays, Hiking Tours & Cycling Trail Tours.

Also helpful is the www.visitruapehu.com for mountain biking tack infomation.

There are also a selection of balls happening at the Bayview Chateau Tongariro, that you may want to check out earlier rather than later to avoid disappointment.

14th April Masquerade Ball

19th May Pink Ball

23rd June Mid Winter Ball

see www.chateau.co.nz for more information on package deals.  The Chateau is a beautiful place to stay, very old world charm romantic, so if you want to spoil that lovely lady in your life, taking her to a ball there would earn you plenty of brownie points.

Palmerston North

www.manawatunz.co.nz has plenty of what to do, where to shop etc in Palmerston North and surrounding areas. Plus “Top 10 Free Activities” and “Top 10 Family Friendly Activities”.  I discovered an interesting place on there – Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre, 2489 Rangiwahia Rd.  I think I may take the boys to explore that in the next lot of school holidays.

There are some interesting exhibitions opening in March at Te Manawa, Museum of Art, Science and History.

Space Invaders opens 3 March

Now & Then opens 17 March

Migrating Kitchen opens 31 March

Also on at the moment

Movers & Shakers closing 22nd April

Bodytok Quintet closing 6th May

visit their website www.temanawa.co.nz for more information.

Wellington

On at the moment in Wellington is the “NZ International Arts Festival”, which started 24th February and runs until 18th March.  They have some very interesting performances happening, check out there website http://nzfestival.co.nz or look them up on Facebook at facebook.com/nzfestival.

Also one not to be missed ladies, is the “Unveiled: 200 years of Wedding fashion from the V&A” exhibition which is currently on at Te Papa, due to close on 22nd April.  I will definitly be heading down to see it before it closes.

Thank you to all our Rental Customers for the great start to the year.  And to all those people moving house, our furniture trucks need to booked sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment, especially if your moving during a weekend.

Thats all for now.

Enjoy March, fingers crossed for better weather – come on summer, turn it on!

Tara Rountree

The VCC Rally was a huge success, Wanganui locals and visitors supported and patronised this event with much enjoyment.

Antony and I holidayed close to home this year in the Taranaki.  We took our boy’s to the Dawson Falls and they really enjoyed the walk and visitor center.  We struck a nice day in New Plymouth, so we hired a tandem bike for us (as the boy’s already had their bikes) and went for a ride along the waterfront. So great to see so many other families doing the same and such a neat job they have done with their waterfront development.

Now schools back our rental vans will be in demand again, so if you are in the throws of organizing a trip, phone us for booking asap to avoid disappointment.

If you are planning a trip or weekend away, these  are my favourite web sites to visit.

http://www.wanganui.com/

http://www.newplymouthnz.com/

http://manawatunz.co.nz/

http://www.wellingtonnz.com/welcomeome

http://www.nz.co.nz/nz/gigguide/

http://www.wotif.co.nz/

I hope the weather settles into more sunshine and less rain and wind soon.  Enjoy February.

Tara Rountree

Administration

Famous for its culture and arts with the Whanganui Regional Museum and Sargeant Art Gallery being amongst the best in New Zealand, immerse yourselves in the energetic and talented artistic community with galleries and studios of glass blowers, painters, sculptures, photographers, and arts and crafts.

Rent a car to explore the historic Whanganui River Road, and greater region today!

Gary Mitchell

- Wanganui Enterprises