04/01/2026
It's 52 kms from Castlepoint to Riversdale. There's no coastal road, so we had to drive inland and then south to get to the seaside holiday town. Though quite windy, it was a pleasant drive through some nice farm land, and very little traffic, so I could take our time and enjoy the view, mainly thinking about how Noah's flood had shaped these wide valleys between the big hills with only tiny creeks which couldn't possibly have formed these wide flat valleys. There's a NZ Motorcaravan park in Riversdale which we took advantage of. At $10 a night for the two of us, who wouldn't? After a bite to eat in the motorhome, we set off to check out the beach. Unfortunately there was a cold wind coming off the sea, but it looked like a great spot for a family beach holiday, particularly as there's an active Surf Lifesaving club with life guards keeping a careful eye on the few that were out swimming in the surf. Next door to the NZMCA park was a rather cute old church which had an open sign outside, but no one to be seen when we had a look inside.
