New Zealand

This will be our last update from the beautiful country of New Zealand, where we have been since mid November.  After our relaxing month in Nelson, we got back in sightseeing mode, staying in six places over the last couple of weeks.

After a one night stay in Picton, a quaint little seaside town, we took a car ferry to New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, on the southern tip of the north island.  We enjoyed a long day of exploring the waterfront, botanical garden, and the excellent museum of New Zealand, Te Papa.

Next, we drove up to Taupo, a small town on the shores of Lake Taupo, a 238 square mile lake that lies in a caldera created by a volcanic eruption many years ago.  The highlight of our visit to this area was a family friendly white water rafting trip on the Tongariro River, a tributary of Lake Taupo.  Our guide was a young American woman who was working her way around New Zealand.  I can see our Caroline doing her job in 12-15 years or so!

Lake Taupo

Huka Falls

After enjoying the Taupo area, we headed east to Papamoa Beach, in the Bay of Plenty region.  We had a relaxing five days enjoying the beach, the motel pool, scenic hikes, and celebrating Bill’s birthday.  Caroline gave surfing a try, taking a class with eleven other kids early one morning.  She and I also took a fascinating tour of a local kiwi grove, learning about why this area was particularly well suited for growing kiwis and other fruits and vegetables.

Perhaps our favorite spot during our north island travels was Paihia, a relaxed and welcoming town in the Bay of Islands, where we spent a week at a nice resort that we arranged through Armed Forces Vacation Club.  We spent hours in the pool each day, luxuriating in the heated water.  We had an informative tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, which were right down the road from Paihia.  The Waitangi Treaty, signed by representatives of Great Britain and various Maori chiefs in 1840,  was the rather controversial founding document of New Zealand.   We also had a wonderful four hour cruise amongst the islands off the coast.  The kids were delighted by the dolphins that entertained the boat on our way out.

Cultural performance at Waitangi Treaty Ground

The aptly named “Hole in the Rock”

This was an active week, with a beautiful bike ride through the countryside, and a a day channelling our inner circus performer at Action World.  We were all sore and tired by the end of our week, ready for a vacation from our vacation!

This was the only time I won…

Bill goes airborne

I think I can, I think I can

Look mom, no safety harness!

Now we are back in Auckland, spending a few days getting ready for our trip to Chile next week.  Having a rental car for two months meant that we acquired more “stuff” than normal, so now we have to figure out what to get rid of, and what to replace for our final months on the road.  We are loading the kindles and phones with new music, books, and apps for the 12 hour plane trip.

New Zealand has lived up to the hype…it’s a beautiful, friendly country that everyone should see if they get the chance!  We were fortunate to be able to spend such a long time here, exploring all it has to offer.

Ah, it’s hard to sit inside and blog when the sun is shining. Another beautiful summer day here in Nelson, New Zealand. I appreciate our time here all the more after reading about the cold back in the U.S.! Sending warm thoughts your way!

We’ve had a wonderful month here in Nelson, a town located on the north end of the South Island. We took three days to drive here from Wanaka. Our trip up the west coast was beautiful…lush rain forests, glaciers, fascinating rock formations, glow worms, quaint towns, beautiful coastal views.

Fox Glacier

Hakitika Gorge

Pancake Rocks

Nelson has been great. We have a rental house up in the hills just a few minutes from downtown. Walking and bike trails are minutes away, and the view from the deck is incredible. Our landlord neighbors are wonderful people, and their ten year old daughter has been a great companion for Caroline. We have all the cable channels, including ESPN, so Bill was able to watch all his favorite teams compete in the bowl games.

Nelson has a great beach, with lots of playgrounds and other activities for the kids.

Caroline and Daniel trying out zorbing, which originated here in NZ

We made several day trips to other lovely beaches in the area. Farewell Spit, the northernmost point of land, was notable for the incredible winds that were blowing that day…we are still getting the sand out of our various orifices!

We stayed here for a month so we would have some stability over the holidays. It worked out great. We decorated, baked, shopped, ate lots of treats…we had all the good aspects of the holidays, but without the jam-packed schedule of events and obligations normally associated with them.

Over the last week I’ve been back in trip planning mode, booking hotels, apartments, and flights for our last three months. We’ll be returning to Michigan on April 15. As much as they appreciate the experience, the kids are really excited to get back home and get settled in a place of their own. In the meantime, we are all trying to learn some Spanish in preparation for our final continent…South America! However, we have a few more weeks of adventuring in New Zealand before we go!

Our view for the last month…I’m going to miss this!

First impressions of New Zealand: friendly, laid-back people; beautiful mountains in the South; lush tropical greenery in the North; very little free wi-fi! I’m wrapping up a few hours in an Internet cafe, where I’ve been catching up on the business of life (at least that part which is conducted on the Internet). So this will be a quick update, with an emphasis on pictures!

After our week in Auckland, we had a great 5 days a bit east of there on the Coromandel Peninsula. We were in a cozy cabin with a view of the bay and beautiful rolling green hills all around us.

The kids enjoyed sea kayaking, 2 on 2 soccer against mom and dad, swimming, and climbing on an old sailboat in the play area. Bill and I enjoyed the serenity and beautiful views. We had a few fun outings in the area, including a trip up into the hills on the Driving Creek Railway and a day at a quirky park called the waterworks.

We celebrated my birthday and Thanksgiving while we were there, indulging in some smoked mussels, which are one of the local specialties.

After this short intro to the North Island, we caught a flight down to Queenstown, and then drove on New Zealand’s highest roadway up to Wanaka, where we have been for the last week. Wanaka is a wonderful little town beside a lake, surrounded by snow-topped mountains.

We have enjoyed hiking in the area (or “tramping” as they call it here), and Caroline and I tried standup paddle boarding for the first time. Loved it, despite the blustery winds and 1-2 foot swells! We have another week here in Wanaka before we head up the West Coast to Nelson, where we have rented a house for a month.

We are officially at the halfway point of our trip, with 5 months down and 5 to go before we return around 1 May. Hard to believe!