A weekend getaway to Castlepoint

This weekend was no doubt one of the most relaxing weekends we have had here thus far. It consisted of a weekend getaway to Castlepoint, just a two hour drive northeast of Wellington. We took our new good friend, Dan, and his lovely four legged friend, Juno (black lab), and met our friend/landlords Shaun and Lauraine for a deluxe car camping adventure. Told that Castlepoint is rugged and exposed, we were expecting the worst I suppose, however it ended up being unbelievably calm, warm and wonderful.  A couple hours after the 3 (plus Juno) of us arrived and set up camp, Shaun and Lauraine arrived with the crayfish buckets. There was no denying we were there just to camp as we were on a paua (abalone) and crayfish (spiny lobster) hunting spree. While we were daydreaming on the days prior of a seafood only feast for the weekend, we were proven it takes more skill than we had...still fun anyone, and leaves us with an even larger craving! The three of us (plus Juno) running toward the cray pot after leaving it out overnight was a bit reflective of a good Christmas morning!

On our way to the cray pots...on the other side of the lighthouse!

 A very happy Juno looking for a restroom spot...

 This reminds us of how Avila Beach must have looked 50 years ago.

 The big daddy of tractor/trailer that pulled some big boats out of the water...this was the only one that had a built in cab!

 The boats surfed their way right into the back of the trailer...

 Boat surfing...?

 A pristine morning at Castlepoint

 Looking North with the lighthouse on the tip...

 Not a UFO in the picture...perhaps some friendly sand that didn't want to get out of the camera lens...

 A very fun, happy group!

 The sunset was breathtaking...

Very pretty view... 

 This was what the entire rock was made out of that consists of Castlepoint...a whole lot of compressed ocean floor (I am sure there is a more elaborate word for this)...

 Couldn't be more relaxed...

 A very excited Juno!

 Sunset. Waiting for the crays to bite...

 We don't think this was trash, but we don't really know how it made its way beyond where the tides reached...

 Someone obviously got a hold of the camera to document a much needed morning nap I was enjoying!

 For some reason this mossy rock captivated...

 Dan and Shaun carrying an empty cray pot... reluctantly!

 A very large cray boat coming in after a long day of catching some big ones (we were a bit envious of the latter part of that statement)...

A very happy Zeph and new friend Dan...and a tuckered Juno...Believe it or not, the wine bottle wasn't theirs (or mine for that matter)...it was all about the smores!

Sally Lives!

A while ago, Sarah and I decided to have a weekend out by doing a little car camping. Little did we know what the trip would lead to. We loaded up the car, fueled up, and headed north to the only camping spot I found that would allow campfires, which we have missed during all our camp-outs so far.

Just as we got to the start of the hills, about 45 minutes into our drive, we started up a small rise. Suddenly, Sally (our car) shifted, lost power, and shut off. We coasted to the side of the road to assess the problem. As we stopped, brownish smoke started pouring from under the hood. Sarah and I jumped out and while I dropped to look under the car for flames, Sarah grabbed our jug of water just in case....


With no flames, and the smoke becoming pure white, we opened the hood. Steam was pouring out of the radiator, which had blown the cap off. We let the steam subside a bit and started, slowly, adding water to the radiator to help cool everything back down. Every time we did this, the heat would create another geyser from the radiator. We decided to turn the engine over, very briefly, just to help circulate the water through the system. After about 30 minutes and 3 gallons of water, we got everything cooled down. With the radiator cap reinstalled, we tried starting Sally again.


I say tried, because after a couple attempts, she started, but ran extremely rough. not a good sign, but at least the engine hadn't seized completely. We called a tow truck and had it taken to a diesel shop for a diagnosis. It wasn't good.


If you look closely, you can see the scoring on the walls of the 2 and 3 cylinders. Unfortunately, this meant the engine would need a rebuild. Even more unfortunate, the quote to get this done was between $6,000 and $7,000 dollars, more than we paid for Sally in February. Common advice was to scrap the car and buy a replacement.

Not an option. So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. After doing some research, I found that I could get the parts I needed for less than 1/3 the price of the quote. I also was lucky enough to have a few tools handy, and was able to borrow some I didn't have. The following are a few pictures of the process.

Surveying the damage, and the upcoming project

Loosening the engine, notice the fire extinguisher on the front seat, just in case

Ready to lift

With a little persuasion, and some extra hands, Sally's engine is out

Beginning the rest of the tear down, and cleaning.

The new cylinder sleeves installed in the cleaned block

New pistons and rings being installed

Reinstalling the engine

The head, valve cover, and intake manifold reinstalled

The home-made hot side EGR block off.

Cool side block-off.

I also want to give huge thanks to my friends and family for their help, support, and advice during this unintended project. Huge and many special thanks to Graeme for loaning us a car for work, Shaun for his garage and tools, and Sarah for keeping me fed.

More good updates coming soon!