Life on the road

NOMAD: Ray Poulson, leatherworker. PICTURE / SUPPLIED

They arrive in vehicles as exotic as their lifestyle - mobile homes, eccentric and yet practical, showy or subtle.
They are travellers, members of the Original Gypsy Fair and they will be at Springvale Park in Whanganui this weekend.
Gavin McKenzie is one of the fair managers.
"This is our 25th year in our current format," he says, "but we date back to 1982 with the early Gypsy Fair that started after Nambassa [music festivals held between 1976 and 1981] and I've been with the outfit for 21 years."
Gavin is the field manager in that he marks out the park and ensures the ground is left clean and tidy.
He also runs the shooting gallery, a fairground attraction that uses some of the skills he gained from 20 years as an armourer in the air force.
"I'm just carrying on my trade, but I'm teaching kids how to shoot slug guns. We're on the road from September through to May - 33 weeks straight."
Outside of that, he lives off the grid in Hunterville.
The fair has about 22 stalls but with breakdowns and illnesses it varies as it travels from town to town.
Gavin also tootles around on a reproduction Vespa motor scooter and sidecar which spends a fair amount of time parked up beside his bus.
Ray and Jeanette Poulson hail from a farm in Marton where they winter for the four months they're not on the road.
Ray says they love travelling with the fair.
"It's a very enjoyable time; the lifestyle is one that suits us down to the ground."
He and Jeanette have made a home and leatherwork workshop in a 1983 Bedford with a late model Isuzu motor.
"Everything is pretty much stock standard and we like it that way because it keeps it simple and there are fewer problems.
"We've created a loft on top because we were short of room."
Naturally it complies with all safety and transport regulations.
"We all take pride in our vehicles and it's in our best interest to keep them sound and looking tidy. We have to be careful where we drive it at times, due to the height limit."
The Poulsons have been doing leatherwork for about seven years, but they have been with the Original Gypsy Fair for eight years.
Before that they worked in wood for four years on another travelling fair, Tinkers and Traders.
Their lifestyle now is a far cry from the days they spent dairy farming, or when Ray worked for Toyota NZ in Palmerston North at their customer services centre. The couple have two children, Jessica and Georgia.
"We were lucky that there were a number of parents with young children on the fair," says Ray.
"They're all well-behaved and very responsible, being brought up and learning from the rest of us."
He says the schooling is one-on-one and the girls have picked up a good geographical knowledge of New Zealand through the travelling.