Cat goes camping at Kaupokonui
Frank and Heather Eustace never worry about finding someone to feed their cat while they’re away camping – he goes with them.
The couple have been camping every summer for 50 years.
Jonty, a Siamese, has his own fluffy cushion in the Eustaces’ comfy motorhome, although he prefers Frank’s chair.
The cat, who is tethered on a long cord when he’s outside, is popular with other campers at Kaupokonui Beach Camp, on the South Taranaki coast.
Heather Eustace, 74, remembers childhood holidays at Kaupokonui with her parents and two sisters.
In those days the road in was gravel and there was a swing bridge that scared her, she recalled.
‘‘Dad would jump up and down on this end – we thought we were going to be thrown into the river.’’
The couple, who farmed together near Ha¯ wera after they married 53 years ago, continued the camping tradition with their own children and, eventually, grandchildren.
‘‘Frank’s mother and her best friend would milk our dairy herd for us so we could have a week out at the beach in Frank’s father’s caravan, then later we bought our own caravan,’’ Heather said.
Some years, they took along their daughter’s budgie, as well as the cat at the time.
‘‘We camped at Opunake for 40 years,’’ she said.
Then, about eight years ago, they decided on a change and started going to Kaupokonui each year instead.
Their seaside possie is beside a picnic table, tucked in behind a hedge that blocks the breeze off the sea.
A row of pots by the back door ensures a good supply of fresh herbs is at hand.
The couple enjoy unfettered days, patchy cellphone coverage, and meeting old friends and new ones from around the country and the globe.
‘‘It’s a place of memories, a beach holiday,’’ Frank, 78, said. ‘‘Grownups can always remember the times they enjoyed at the beach. Even if it was 50 years ago, it’s imprinted in the brain.’’
The camp was relatively quiet now that many campers had returned home, but it has been a busy summer so far, camp manager Laurence Mosen said.
Over the Christmas holiday break a paddock beside the normal camping area, land which is usually leased, was filled with camping families.