When Caroline and Nathan Lockyer’s tent was washed out while summer camping, they decided to upgrade to a vintage pop top. There was only one proviso: it had to be yellow and, of course, the exact right shade of yellow. Peta Stavelli finds out more.
It’s an eight-hour trip from their Palmerston North home to beautiful Ōhope Beach in the eastern Bay of Plenty. However, for the Lockyer family, the long drive has always been worth it, allowing them to enjoy their annual carefree camping holiday under canvas.
Five years ago, the skies opened, and their Christmas camping holiday was a complete washout. The Lockyers decided to avoid a repeat of that precious ruined holiday and began searching for a caravan to replace their tent experience.
“We decided on a pop top caravan, as it’s light to tow, not too long, and it has a low profile for storage,” says Nathan.
“And yellow was our favourite colour, so that also became part of our criteria,” Caroline chimes in.
When a bright yellow pop top popped up on Trade Me, the couple was undeterred that it was located in Christchurch.
“It was a 1980 New Zealand-made Liteweight Pop Top Caravan and looked like it had been well cared for. It was owned by an older gentleman, Allen Durie, who still used it regularly and had recently camped in it at Tekapo. So, along with my oldest son, we decided to make the drive south to hopefully purchase and return home with it,” says Nathan.
The drive home was anything but carefree. The first problem was that the safety chain was too short, so “a quick trip to Repco for new chain and D-shackles” was the first issue to be resolved.
Then, as much of the return drive had to be completed in the dark, Nathan had to urgently find an auto-electrician – late on a Friday afternoon – to sort out the trailer lights, which were incompatible with his vehicle. Fortunately, an apprentice came to the rescue, working alongside Nathan, who is tech-savvy, and together they got the job done rapidly and relatively inexpensively, finally underway on the drive north.
At home, the couple assessed their new purchase.
“Overall, it was in good condition,” Caroline says.
“There was a damaged wood panel and a good collection of cobwebs. Inside there was some flaking paint and a bit of a damp smell. Nothing unexpected for a 40-year-old vehicle.”
One aspect that shocked them, however, was the narrow size of the single beds. “We were camping at Himatangi Beach and our then five-year-old fell out of bed one night, onto the dog no less.”
They knew the narrow beds would need to be replaced eventually, especially as the children grew.
“We didn’t go away for a year after that, and then we camped again at Ōhope in the pop top – still with no real modifications.”
When they did get away again, the kids slept inside the caravan, while Nathan and Caroline slept on an airbed in the annexe. It was during this trip that the full force of the egg-yolk yellow canvas pop top was experienced, with the bright colour both filtering and intensifying the sunlight.
This was not enough to put them off their favourite colour, however, they did begin to consider toning the yellow down a little to create a space that was calmer and in keeping with the purpose of a holiday, which was relaxing.
As they pondered plans for a renovation, a potential solution stared them in the face. Parked near the Lockyers was a stunning vintage caravan conversion, which had been completed by a local Bay of Plenty craftsman, Mike Wells, whose company, Retro Custom Caravans, has been rescuing vintage vans and turning them into mobile works of art since 2010.
So, with the extensive Resene colour palette at their disposal, Caroline and Nathan picked up some paint sample cards and began to narrow down their preferences. Caroline says Mike was clear about the importance of the correct colour match. In the end, they went with Resene Witch Haze, which they paired with Resene Quarter Moonbeam and Resene Geyser to achieve a classy contrasting finish.
The Lockyers decided to complete their restoration in two parts. First, they would tackle the outside, and later – when time and finances allowed – they would turn their attention to the inside of the caravan.
Mike asked them to draw their dream restoration, and Caroline did a basic drawing showing the colours they hoped to use. This formed the basis of the master plan Mike used to bring their dreams to completion. She also sent an extensive mood board she’d created.
The pop top was taken to Mike’s yard in Whakatane and picked up just prior to Christmas that same year, as the Lockyers headed through Whakatane to Ōhope Beach. At this stage, she was nameless.
“It was honestly easier to name our child than to come up with an appropriate name for the caravan,” Caroline says. Eventually, they called it Pop Top.
“Finishing it had been something of a last-minute scramble for Mike and the team, and in the end, the pop top struts were put back on incorrectly. We found this out at 2am when rainwater entered the vehicle and began running down the walls, dripping onto our sleeping children. Everything was soaking, and we all just retreated to our bed in the annexe.”
The following morning, Mike turned up with a unique 1950s caravan for them to stay in while he took theirs away to remedy the issue. It was then they all realised that the struts for the roof had been put on backwards. With the problem solved, the couple bravely began to consider the inside renovation, which was now more pressing due to the water-damaged roof. The double drawers were removed from between the single beds, and the space was used to make the beds wider, including the addition of a king single.
Right: New vinyl flooring in a complementary grey, while wider sofa beds and overhead striped canvas all add to the calm and classic charm of the makeover
The gas cooker had been removed because the couple didn’t fancy using gas inside where their children were sleeping. These days, the Lockyers mostly cook in the annexe on a Weber Baby Q, although, they have installed a larger fridge in the new kitchen, complete with its custom Resene paint job – Mike’s speciality – in keeping with the style of the van.
“Another Mike special feature is to ensure the paint job includes a custom step stool, also in Resene Witch Haze. These unique additions really set the scene for the completed renovation,” says Caroline.
In 2023, they took a gifted load of heart rimu recycled by Caroline’s father from her childhood home, Halstead House, up to Whakatane. It was converted by Mike into a table and benchtops, adding yet another touch of sentimentality to the van.
With the renovations nearing completion, the couple were looking forward to picking up their caravan, this time with the intention of taking it to Taupō for Christmas. But a few days before D-day, Mike had a fall from the roof of another caravan and broke four ribs. He later contracted pneumonia and was hospitalised with a secondary leg infection. However, as soon as he was allowed home, Mike admits he waited until his wife went shopping before he sneaked off to the yard to complete the Pop Top along with the many other remaining jobs he had left to do, with the help of a team of his mates.
Caroline says it was Mike who insisted the look would best be completed with silver Venetian blinds, and she says he was again right. The canvas pop top was also replaced, and the work was done by Harry at Rotorua Canvas. The resulting finish is not a true retro remake, she says, but instead a combo of whimsical yellow for the summer and cool grey for that ‘easy breezy holiday minimalism’, making the space perfect for a restful break with a busy family.
Caroline says she approached the renovation as any mother would approach a house renovation: “with plenty of sensible storage options” and a desire for family ease and comfort. The result is a stunning, cosy, symphony in yellow. Mellow yellow.
