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May Crown Site - Hunua Falls

Location

The event site is Hunua Falls Camp (203 Falls Road, Hunua, Auckland). It's an extremely well-appointed, well-maintained campsite, with a large hall, comfortable accommodation, good facilities for SCA use, and beautiful and extensive grounds.

Hunua Falls is nestled in rolling hills at the base of the Hunua Ranges, a little South of the Auckland metropolitan area. It's between pretty farmland and a large forested reserve with lakes, waterfalls and hiking trails.

It's about 40km, or a 45 minute drive, from Auckland airport (depending on traffic). It's 5 minutes from Hunua (a small village), and 15 minutes from Papakura (the nearest substantial town/suburb).

Locals: this is where we ran the Bloth in 2013.

Directions

Directions from North, South, and airport. Maps.

 

Features

  • comfortable bunkrooms
  • good, large feast hall and kitchen
  • beautiful surroundings for tournament
  • space for archery
  • tournament can be held inside if it rains
  • relatively close to Auckland airport (so direct flights from most cities in Australasia)
  • swimming hole
  • bonfire
  • tourist sites nearby

Map of Site (pdf)

Photos

 

Accommodation

Bunkrooms

There are small, new bunkrooms that sleep four or five (one double, three singles) (see left); and slightly rooms older that sleep six (see right).

Each bunkroom has a heater: built in with timers in newer rooms; portable fan-heaters in older rooms. The bunks are long enough for adults (our tester was over six foot). There's plenty of room for suitcases.

All bunkrooms have power-points.

Bedding

The site provides the bed, mattress, and heater. Bring your own bedding - sheets, blankets, sleeping bag, pillow, etc.

Tents

There is room to camp. NOTE: site opens 5:30pm on Friday, and we must be entirely off site by 3pm on Sunday. Bring a bed - there are no spare mattresses.

We're not arranging hire-tents.

Toilets and showers

There are several toilet and shower blocks, and instant (gas) hot-water. Most of the showers are on 3-minute timers.

All water on site is potable.

 

Accessibility

Flat, paved pathways between buildings; ramp-access to feast hall, kitchen, and bunkrooms; two disabled-access bathrooms; spacious bunkrooms, all with heaters and power points.

There are some steep areas on the site, but the major parts of the event will all be held on the flat area.

Crown Tournament itself will be just outside the main hall: it should be accessible to all.

 

Restrictions

Alcohol: discuss with steward

This is a dry site. Please discuss the matter with the event steward before bringing alcohol onto the site.

Smoking: off-site only

This is a non-smoking site. Please refrain from smoking in the buildings or on the grounds. Any who wish to smoke may do so off-site at the end of the driveway (about 100m from the main hall): it's a pleasant, safe area by a quiet road. We want to accommodate smokers in comfort, but if you break the site's rules you'll be asked to leave the event.

Candles: discuss with steward

The site custodian allows us limited use of naked flames, with precautions. In the past we've used oil-lamps, but no candles. Please follow the stewards directions, and no naked flames without checking in first.

Parking

Parking is limited (about 40 vehicles). Car-pool if you can, park efficiently, and follow the instructions of the parking-warden.

Animals: no pets.

No pets on site. There are possum-traps and bait in the area, so the site forbids animals.

 

Transport

Car rental

For groups of 2 or more people, a hire-car for the weekend may be as cheap as a shuttle (or cheaper).We definitely recommend this!

Parking is limited, so group together if you can (6-8 people hiring a van, rather than 4 cars?). We can put you in touch with others with similar travel times.

Some companies that do reasonably-priced car-rentals out of Auckland airport:

  • ACE - allows after-hours pickups from airport - useful for late-night arrivals

  • JUCY

If your Friday pickup time is later than your Sunday drop-off time, most companies will charge you for only 2 days (since it's less than 48 hours).

Driving directions from airport to event site.

Shuttles

Shuttles aren't covered by the event fee, but we can help arrange them.

Shuttles from Auckland airport to the event site range from NZ$20-100 per person each way, depending how many share the shuttle. The upper end is for a single person who doesn't share the ride - essentially a taxi.

E.g: www.supershuttle.co.nz/Default.aspx

We'll arrange at least one shuttle on Friday evening, and on Sunday afternoon, and extras as numbers require.

We won't be able to tell you exact times or costs in advance; but we should be able to give a likely range. If you can arrange to arrive in groups of about 10, you'll get the best price! We'll advertise latest shuttle times well in advance, so people can make suitable plans when booking flights.

We'll try to schedule a stop in Papakura, to visit supermarket, chemist, bottle-shop, etc, if it's not too expensive.

Our Barony is very small, so we probably won't be able to do one-off airport pickups for anyone except the Crown.

Rides for Locals

If you're a local (Ildhafn city or Cluain) and need a ride to the event, or would like to car-pool, please say so on your booking from. We should be able to put you in touch with someone else who is coming from your area. 

Locals: please do carpool if possible - parking at the site is limited.

 

Nearby Amenities

The nearest town of any sort is Hunua. It's very small, but has a convenience store and a bottle-shop.

The nearest substantial town is Papakura, about fifteen minutes drive away. Papakura is a well-equipped suburb of Auckland, with supermarkets, restaurants, banks, medical centre and so on.

Overseas travellers: There are ATMs and currency-exchangers near the arrivals area at Auckland International Airport. We advise travellers to acquire whatever NZ cash they need before they leave the airport.

You may be able to negotiate with your shuttle-driver for a stop in Papakura to visit to a supermarket, chemist, bottle-shop, or other convenience.

Other Local Attractions

 

Meeting Rooms and Royal Chambers

The site has several options for meeting rooms, royal ready rooms, A&S display, etc.

Royal Chambers

LoungeOur plan is a suite of Royal Chambers in the best bunk block, comprising two bunk rooms (one for the Crown, one for their retinue or attendants) and the adjoining lounge. The lounge has armchairs, space for dressing, a kitchenette (including sink, crockery, microwave, urn and a small fridge), and room for meetings. It can be divided into two smaller rooms, which might prove convenient if the Crown wished to share it with their Heirs, while maintaining some private space.

Meeting rooms

ChapelWe intend to schedule meetings in the Royal Chambers. The lounge has space for a meeting of up to about 20 people.

If the Crown do not desire to meet in their Chambers, or we have unexpectedly large numbers of peers, we can use the chapel: a free-standing building with seating for up to 100 (chairs included, separate from those provided for the feast hall).

A&S Competitions

The A&S Competitions will be in the main hall, on Saturday morning, so that as many as possible may view the entries and other display. There is a small private room off the hall that could be used for judging.

If the weather is poor and we are preparing for an indoor tournament, the A&S display will be in the chapel.

Event: