29 Sunday Mar 2015
Reflecting on our wonderful holiday I think one of my favourite moments was approaching Queenstown over the mountains and seeing the town and the water far below – and all bathed in sunshine.
Lovely to be home but going from 27C in Sydney to 9C in Felsted is not amusing!
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
24 Tuesday Mar 2015
Unsurprisingly there is no shortage of great views and places to stay in New South Wales.
This at Coledale south of Sydney.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
21 Saturday Mar 2015
Tags
auckland, bay of islands, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, New Zealand, picton, Queenstown
We’re here in New Zealand for a variety of reasons. Faye has family here and is herself a New Zealander; I love Auckland and Queenstown – and Picton and the Bay of Islands; then of course there are the wonderful restaurants and on top of that some of the best scenery anywhere.
But for the two of us it’s the wine that does it.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
18 Wednesday Mar 2015
Just forty kilometres – but stunning New Zealand scenery all the way.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
14 Saturday Mar 2015
Posted in This and That, Travel
And as we travelled down the Kaikoura coast towards Christchurch we came across these people having a rally all of their own.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
14 Saturday Mar 2015
South Island, New Zealand.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
12 Thursday Mar 2015
Passing through the Marlborough Sounds between the North Island and South Island here in New Zealand is up there with the best tourism experiences I have ever encountered. Along with and equal to driving into Red Square, standing alone in Tiananmen Square and waking up overlooking the waterfront in Vancouver after a late night hotel check in.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
08 Sunday Mar 2015
Posted in Technical
Unsurprisingly smartphones are as prominent here in New Zealand as anywhere else and equally unsurprisingly have inserted themselves into everyone’s life as essential bits of equipment.
My photograph features an iPhone 5
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
08 Sunday Mar 2015
I think we all know that seeing New Zealand by motorhome is hugely popular – particularly the South Island – but the sheer number of rental motorhomes has to be seen to be believed. It is clearly very big business. The climate, the space and the beauty of the country combine to make this a holiday of choice for many people who have never been anywhere near a motorhome in their lives before.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
06 Friday Mar 2015
Posted in Politics
On 24 February 2015 the NCC held a briefing session in Parliament to inform MPs about the work of the trade association.
The event, which attracted 22 MPs, gave the NCC the opportunity to talk about the importance of the £6 billion industry to the UK economy and took place just days after the NCC run Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show at the NEC in Birmingham drew in almost 87,000 visitors.*
Across the UK, the caravan sector employs around 130,000 people and represents a UK manufacturing success story, with some 95 per cent of touring caravans in the UK made here.Over £2.4 billion was spent on UK caravan holidays in 2013 and more than 51 million nights were spent in caravans.
In addition to the 550,000 touring caravans and more than 205,000 motorhomes in use across the UK, there are more than 330,000 caravan holiday homes – a total of over one million leisure accommodation vehicles. In the housing sector there are around 100,000 park homes (mobile homes) in use.
NCC Deputy Director General, Alicia Dunne said:
“Tourism is hugely important for the UK economy. Holiday parks provide good value, family-friendly addition to ‘staycation’ tourist accommodation and touring in a caravan or motorhome is a fantastic way to explore Britain.
“Ahead of next month’s tourism week I am pleased that so many MPs came out in support of our sector. Working together, we can grow our businesses and provide more employment opportunities and deliver outstanding holiday experiences. Already well over two million people take a caravan holiday each year – if we can increase this, we can support British manufacturing and bring additional income to many areas, particularly rural and coastal ones.
“Similarly, residential park homes offer a unique and affordable housing choice for thousands of people across the UK and working with local authorities we can help make this a more accessible housing option/lifestyle.”
At the event, MPs learnt about the NCC’s services and initiatives, including the NCC Approved Code Schemes which provide additional consumer protection, the NCC Training Academy that aims to enhance skills of those working in the sector, and the Central Registration & Identification Scheme (CRiS), the national register for UK touring caravans, which provides a service similar to that of the DVLA for vehicles.
*unaudited figures
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
