NZ - travelling to Rotorua

We rented a van for the seven of us back in Wellington and there was a lot of room. It was great for storing the bags of snacks between the seats and stretching out our legs. It didn't have a lot of get-up-and-go but it did the job. It felt like being on an amusement park ride going up and around the hills though.










We drove from Matamata to Rotorua stopping twice. We stopped at a lookout to feel the wind on our faces. It was a lovely view. We were quite high up. And then we drove windingly back down. Lots of ups and downs!

There were high hedges on
either side of the road. Like
driving through a maze!

  

We stopped in the afternoon at Tauranga which is a major shipping port. The shipping yards were incredible as we drove past. Giant ships, containers, cranes, towers - it was incredible. And the beach was my favourite so far. Beautiful sand, lots of shells, a high green island on the right. It was picture-perfect.


Nana washed out some of Lucy's clothes in the ocean and the tide took it all away! Other people helped find the articles of clothes and we gathered them back up. However, if you find a kid's sock on the shore, maybe it could be Lucy's and came all the way across the ocean from Tauranga!



They have tsunami warnings posted along the beaches with a map of areas highlighted in red, yellow and green of where to run to if the sirens sound. I must admit, I studied the maps and chose which area we would head to. Not something I'm used to swimming in the lakes of Ontario.


We continued on our drive to Rotorua, happy to do laundry with our sea-soaked, sand filled clothes.

NZ - Hobbiton

We drove to Hobbiton in the morning for our tour. Unfortunately, Lucy got carsick and we had to rush to the bus to get them to wait for us while we cleaned up. But everyone got on board and off we headed onto the farm that holds Hobbiton.





It was a nice walk on a bright sunny day. Our tour guide told us a bit about the movies and how they made up the set. He seemed to have a grudge against Peter Jackson (who directed the movies) because of the inane details forced on the crew (e.g. hand-making each leaf of the big tree over Bilbo's hobbit hole. It happens to be one of the only fake trees on the set. And the type of tree was changed at the last minute). The sheep grazing on the hills in the background had to be specially shipped in because the sheep already there didn't have the proper black and white markings. Everyone here seems to be very familiar with Peter Jackson as all of them call him "Peter" like they were buddies.



The details were incredible. And the care that goes into maintaining it is also incredible. The fruits and gardens are real. So much so, that there were butterflies all over the place. The rolling hills, green pastures, stone fences etc. are all very lovely and exceptionally maintained. Each hobbit hole had it's own characteristic (e.g. a butcher, a baker, a candle-stick maker) and the holes of different characters in the movies was pointed out to us (e.g. Sam's hole after he came back from the adventures).





Although I admit that each hole was neat, the couple in front of us had to stop and take a picture of every single one. There are 44 hobbit holes in Hobbiton.



We passed by the mill and over the bridge to the Green Dragon where we had scones and ginger beer. The ginger beer (non-alcoholic) was very tasty. Yum! So tasty that the hornets drove us inside close to the fireplace. We even met a team of athletes from Canada that were in Auckland to compete. We saw their red and white jackets and so wished them well.

A lovely place that is run really well (especially to get the number of people through the tours every day - at least 1000 people/day). A nice little stop along the way that gave a sense of rest and peace in the world.

Grandpa Bear teaching Hannah
how to stand in a pose

Hannah's successful pose!
Crossed legs, hand on hip

Waitomo Caves

Waitomo Caves were incredible! If you are ever in New Zealand, they are a must see!  The glow worm tour on the boat had me whispering "God you are so incredible!" And singing in "The Cathedral" underground in natural caverns was awe-inspiring.

At the end of the boat tour.
Exiting from the caves into daylight.

The glow worm tour was the first one we did. We walked with a tour guide through several caves where there were occasional glow worms cached in niches in the ceiling. They were really neat to see.

The highlight was when we got into a boat and were silently pulled by rope into a cavern with glow worms. We all remained silent (including Hannah - ahh! I was so worried about this part! But she came through like a pro!). It was pitch black - we could barely see each other. The silence, the glow reflected off the water, the scattered blue lights above our heads was amazing. We exited the boat in the open cavern where these caves were first discovered.

Getting off the boat from the glow worm tour

Then we waited for the start of our next tour. And had ice cream.

Amazing formations and light/shadows

We went on a Cave Tour next. We entered into a fake rock covering and then walked down and down around a ramp and around and around to the bottom. There was a rock in the centre at the bottom that had water dripping off onto it. We touched the water with our fingers and then flicked it off to "purify" ourselves so that bad spirits weren't carried into the caves. There is an aboriginal burial site on the property that we showed respect as guests.

Cave tour - a curtain, ribbon or pig's ear

The caves had stalactites (hanging down) and stalagmites (building up) that take forever to grow (like 100 years for an inch). And there were curtains and ribbons and waves from the rock formations. At one point we stopped and found shapes of an elephant, a mouse and other creatures.

The walkway was easy and lit up each section as we walked through. Hannah fell asleep in my arms halfway. It was so very impressive. Exiting the caves by walking up and around and up and around then into the daylight was like taking a journey out of a fantastical world back to our reality.

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On the cave tour, the guide stopped and let us each examine a glow worm up close. And then he told us about them. They are larva of a bug that hide in the dark caves and emit a lit to attract any stray moths or bugs that fly into the place by accident. They hang a long sticky goo down that sticks on the prey and then they draw it up and eat it. It's like when we were kids - did you ever have spit competitions? You know, when you leaned over and saw how far you could get the spit to drip down and suck it back up before it hit the ground. Essentially, it's like that. Only with carnivorous worms. With a glowing bum. Here's a link if you are interested in their life-cycle: Glow Worm Life Cycle

Glow worms close up

After the tours, we had lunch and played in a playground in Waitomo. Two huge tour buses with tourists pulled up. They had lunch and handed out popsicles. When they saw the girls playing, they offered popsicles to us too. We waved at them as they pulled away and dozens of people waved back.

At the Waitomo playground

We drove to Matama and stayed in a beautifully manicured, amazingly well-groomed farm home. There was sheep and one bully goat who protected them, a horse who got fed by the girls in the morning, and a cute little dog who the girls chased around. We had dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant, sitting outside under a heater.

Big Bird Bed 'n Breakfast

Why the place is called Big Bird?
Princess Diana and Queen Victoria

We headed out from Wellington to Waitomo where we had a reservation at a BnB.

Unfortunately, they did not allow children under 2, so we were kicked out (James was absolutely furious that someone had discriminated against his child. He roared for a bit). So they sent us down the road to Big Bird.


Turns out this place had a really cool farm. The owner toured us around and the kids had a great time petting and feeding the animals. There were goats, chickens, emus, yaks, smallest bull, miniature ponies, ostriches, guinea pigs (with a baby 3 days old), and even a small tortoise. And a dog. And cats.

A yak!

The farm was really neat. The accommodations not so great. Suzanne and Ken had adventures with their renovated shed. The owner would cook you an ostrich omelet for breakfast if requested.

Alpacas!

So, for unplanned adventures, this one was the most memorable. For good or for bad, we'll remember the Big Bird B'nB.

Guinea pigs with 3 day old baby!

Friendly farm dog

Smallest bull in the world!

New Zealand Trip - north island

While on this side of the world, we wanted to see New Zealand. So we talked to a few people and although the south island is gorgeous and spectacular, it is best for hiking and camping. So with three little ones in tow, we decided to tour the north island instead.

We flew from Canberra to Wellington on Singapore Airlines who had a fantastic deal on at that time. Hurrah!

We planned to have some driving days and some rest days with an activity at that location. We tried to keep the driving days to half a day or less (i.e. less than 4 hours if possible). And we booked places that had access to a pool or beach for our "water babies." Laundry was also planned for, especially nearing the end of the trip.


Here's a snapshot of our itinerary:
April 17 - Fly from Canberra to Wellington
April 18 - Wellington: visit the Te papa Museum
April 19 - Drive to Waitomo
April 20 - Waitomo: Caves and Glow worms
              - Drive to Matamo
April 21- Hobbiton Tour
             - Drive to Rotura
April 22 - Rotura: Hotsprings
April 23 - Drive to Napier: Agrodome Farm Tour
April 24 - Napier: relax
April 25 - Drive to Wellington: Pukaha Mount Bruce
April 26 - Wellington: Visit with Sarah and Hunter's family
April 27 - Wellington: Weta Workshop Tour
April 28 - Fly from Wellington to Canberra

The rest days were greatly appreciated by the end of the trip. It was nice to spend several days in one place. The roads were windy, especially on the east side. We ran out of Children's Gravol about halfway through the trip since we needed it much more than we had planned.

There were magnificent views over every hill. Most of the land has been cultivated on the north island. Even up the steep sides are trees planted for harvesting. Amazing! And there were sheep, sheep and more sheep. We sang "I just want to be a sheep, Bah, bah, bah bah" almost every day. Whenever there was a group of sheep that had just been shorn (very noticeable!) I would shout, "Look! Naked sheep!"

It was a fun, exciting, memorable trip with tons to see and do. Amazing sights, and interesting facts about the world. The kids adjusted to the drives pretty quickly, especially since we did the longest day first.



We had date scones most mornings and they were delicious! So I've started making them at home. Lucy loved the kiwi juice. Allison loved the Manuka honey. And we tried feijoa fruit for the first time both right off the tree (actually under it - you don't pick them!) and served as dessert at Sarah's house.  And we learned kiwi grows on vines like grapes. And that there are over 18 different kinds of sheep in New Zealand.

The North Island was great to travel around with the family. I am looking forward to going back to the South Island for some hiking and camping when the girls are older, with or maybe without them (it'd be fun for just James and I too). Wanna come?