Volunteer changed her travel plans before crash

Christine McRobbie. Photo / Supplied

One of the final phone calls Christine Jeanette McRobbie made was to tell her friends she was heading home to Taupo early, while the sun was shining.

Hours later, the 68-year-old died when her red Suzuki Swift crossed the centre line and smashed into a vehicle heading north along Gordonton Rd at 4.15pm on Sunday.

Friends said the volunteer and casual retail assistant was a careful driver and are putting the crash down to a blackout due to her "reasonably serious" diabetic condition.

Marjorie West, 89, from Morrinsville, died at the scene and Mrs West's 62-year-old son and 57-year-old daughter in-law are in Waikato Hospital.

Auckland couple Bob Jamieson and Barbara Kelly were getting ready for Ms McRobbie to visit when she cancelled on them.

"She rang about mid-afternoon and said 'Bob I think it's such a lovely day I think I might head back to Taupo'," Mr Jamieson said.

"With Chrissie you never put up an argument because when she had something on her mind that's it."

The next call Mr Jamieson received was from a friend of Ms McRobbie's in Taupo, who called to speak to her after seeing the familiar red car flash up on a news bulletin that evening. "That's when it clicked."

They had known Ms McRobbie for about 30 years and had spent the weekend with her at the annual four-day Kiwanis service group conference at the Novotel in Ellerslie.

Ms McRobbie had earned a reputation as a great hostess who ran her home like a "five star-plus B&B". He said she had wanted to get her house ready for overseas guests who were to stay with her on Tuesday night.

He said she was an extremely organised and generous person.

Bob Reay , Kiwanis governor of New Zealand and the South Pacific, said she had a "good sense of fun" and would be deeply missed by the volunteer service group after 30 years of involvement.

"She was the probably the most giving person you would ever come across," he said.

He said she had recently knitted and made clothes for the children in Christchurch after the earthquake.