Friday, November 27, 2009

Day Nine- Wednesday

Path blocked



































We woke up Wednesday morning to beautiful sunny skies and warm weather and decided immedatly that meant it was a day to go to the coast. We made our way to Tomahawk beach which has fine white sand, clear blue water and beautiful, rugged cliffs around it. It wasn't really warm enough for swimming and water is cold here. You sometimes can see Icebergs floating off the coast- we are that close to Antartica. We did however, enjoy digging in the sand and getting some vitamin D in the form of sunshine.

After playing in the sand for a bit, the clouds started moving in a bit and the wind picked up, so we decided to drive around and see a bit more of the Oertago penisula. The goal was to get to Allen's beach which didn't look far on the map, but turned out to be a bit of an adventure. The roads were very narrow and windey and a bit scarey. We would driving near the edge of a very tall cliff and there were no gaurd rails. After a bunch of wrong turns and a lunch stop at a vey nice cafe we finally found Allen's beach.

According to the guidebook, this is beach is one of the ones that seals and sea lions sometimes hang out at. To get to the beach we had to hike through a sheep pasture and through some sand dunes filled with amazing smelling yellow flowers. When go to the beach, it looked like it was a bust. There were lots of foot prints, but no signs of any sea lions or seals. Mike took a walk way down the beach and past some cliffs and found one seal lion napping on the rocks and came and got Lil and I. We walked back the main part of the beach, but Mike thought there might be some more beyond where we had been, but in order to get there you had to get a bit wet, so Lil and I stayed on the main part of the beach and looked for sea shells. We found a lot and wandered around for awhile and there was no sign of Mike anywhere. He had been gone a LONG time when he finally emerged at a run. Turns out he found one small sea lion and one very large sea lion found him. He walked right by it looking at the other one and when they are sleeping the do just blend in with the rocks. When he came by it again to go back it was not happy. It barked at him and then moved to block him from getting back to the main part of the beach. The two of them had a stare down for a while, Mike clamored over some rocks to get some distance between them and just took off at a run and thankfully was able to outrun him. A day he won't forget anytime soon!

Day Eight- Tuesday

From the plane
A stop in the city near where Lord of the Rings filmed Hobbiton




Another travel day. Our dear friend Lisa got up at the crack of dawn to come and fetch us in the trusty red car. We had a quick stop at MickeyDs so she could have some breakfast and Lil could play in their playland- way cooler than ours before starting the 3 hour trip back to Auckland. While driving back we stopped in hobbiton- the area where the filmed part of Lord of the Rings. You can take a tour of the film site, but we couldn't figure out why you would pay $100 to see farm fields when the sets aren't even there and you can see farm fields that look the same for free as you drive by. All the same, still cool to see.






Then it was lunch and to the airport. We were making our switch from the North Island to the South Island. From Cross Fire friends to camp friends. Our flight went well- less than two hours and Lillianna slept the whole way. When we arrived we got our rental car for the week and Mike again did a great job. We arrived and were greeted warmly by Paul and Amy.

Day Seven- Monday

Enjoying swimming in Hot water









Maori cultural performance





Mike braves driving on the other side of the road




Lisa and Ian had headed home on Sunday so Monday was our first day of driving in New Zealand which means driving on the other side of the street. Mike handled it like a pro. It took him a while to get used to the turn singnal and the wipers controls being opposite as well, so we had a really clean window.












We started our day at Te Pue which is another geothermal park that also has a lot of information about the Maori people who are the native people to New Zealand. We got to walk through a mock village and see how they once lived. We also want to a cultural performance where we learned about the welcome ceremony as well as saw them do some singing and dancing. Lillianna LOVED it. I was worried how it would go because part of the performance was a bit scarey but even when they finished with that she wanted more. She was so not happy when it was done and didn't understand why we couldn't just hit the play button like we can with the DVD player. The other cool thing this park has is a geyser that shoots up 20 meters in the air. It was pretty cool to see. There is a smaller one that goes off first and we nearly missed the big one because we thought we had seen it when the little one went off and weren't all that impressed. We hiked another trail and came back so what all the fuss is about.













The afternoon we spent exploring a bit of the countryside outside of Rotorua and made sure we got our moneysworth out of the rental car. First we went and saw the blue lake which wasn't much bluer than the lakes back home and then we went to one of the trip highlights so far- Kerosene creek. It is a hot water creek that has an awesome swimming whole. It is about 20 miles out of town and thank you guide book for the directions, we had a blast! About a 5 minute walk down a path there is the swimming hole with a nice sandy bottom. It was the PERFECT temperature! It was just like getting into the hot tub, except instead of smelling like chlorine it smelled like rotten eggs. It was pretty shallow- at the one end about knee deep- perfect for sitting and the other about waist deep. One end had a waterfall that gives an amazing massage. It was so great to stand under it and have water beat down on your neck and bath. Both Mike and I took turns doing that. Lillianna put her trusty bucket to good use once more. I wish I had a creek like this in my backyard (minus the egg smells- our suits still stink after being washed).

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Day Six- Sunday
















Another morning, another time to pack. Got all bags re-packed and loaded into car again in record time. Headed out to Rotarua- another beautiful, long windy road trip. We stopped for lunch in a nice little town that I can't remember the name of where Ian's grandparents used to live and where there used to be a big spa resort. Then it was on to Rototura. We got settled into our hotel- Ann's Volcanic Hotel- what a name and got to watch our first rugby match. The All Blacks were tied with England at the half, but pulled off the win in the end.










Rototura is a popular tourist destination because there is all kinds of geothermal activity in the area. New Zealand is a volcanic island and Rototura is the place where you can tell it is true. We headed to a city parks that has tons of geo-thermal activity. It is kind of freaky because you'll just be walking along and there will be smoke coming out from rocks. Most of it is in fenced off sections. There was everything to freaky colored waters with stinky steam coming up to boiling mud and blurping mud. Crazy stuff! Some of them small, some big like ponds. They even had a few pools you could stick your feet in. I was the only one who could take the heat. Lil loved the splash pad they had for kids even though it was cold water.

Day Five- Saturday











Enjoying the hot water

























We woke up Saturday to beautiful bright blue skies. Yeah! Lisa and Ian made excellent from scratch pancakes to get our day started. On their morning walk to the store they scored a red bucket which made a certain little girl very happy.
















We set off for Cathedral Cove, one of the filming sights for the Narnia movies. It was a short drive and a longish hike down to the cover. The sign said it was a 45 minute hike, but with little miss independent, I have to walk myself, it was more like 90 minutes. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day and gorgeous scenery so we didn't mind too much. The cove itself is gorgeous. Crystal clear blue water with big rocks and a tunnel that divides the beach. Lillianna put her bucket to good use. Ian learned that sand castle creations last seconds. The hike back up looked ugly at first because mommy was getting tired quick of the pony rides. Ian took over and did an awesome job of keep her entertained and getting us back to the top in record time.

















Back to the cottage for lunch and naps. Mike went on a hike while the rest of rested and got some great views of the sea and the gannets.

















In the afternoon we headed to hot water beach with all the other tourists in town. There is one section of the beach that when you dig down has hot water springs. So, we found a spot to dig a hole. It turned out to require a little more skill than I thought. The water is so hot that the first hole we dug was so hot none of us could stand in it for more than a second or two. To our amazement, however, there was another women who came and plopped herself down in it and stayed there the rest of the time we were there. So, we moved over just a bit so that half of our hole had water come from the hot water spring and part of it had water coming that was cold. It took some managing to get the temperature just right and you had to be careful not to stick your hands or feet too deep into the water or they would get scorched. All in all pretty stinking cool especially with a view out to the ocean. Plus its free!

Day Four-Friday

Enjoying the beach
Monkeys- Lillianna's request

The famous Kiwi bird


Auckland zoo



One tree hill sheep in the middle of the city




The Lindstrom Clan





So, we spent the early part of the morning getting organized and packed. After 3 comfortable nights sleep at the Fraser household we were heading out to see some more of New Zealand. Got everything loaded into the car for the weekend away (Lisa and Ian came along for the weekend) which took some work- a lot of stuff in a little space.












Then we went over to have tea with Lisa's parents and sister. It was good to see them again. The last time I saw them was when they were visiting the US about 10 years ago. Lisa's sister adored Lillianna and helped keep her entertained while we were there.













Then we headed over to One Tree Hill- another volcanic mountain in the city of Auckland. It once had a tree on the top of it. That was cut down and another planted. That was also cut down, so now there is no tree, but there is a statue and it is the home to a ton of sheep. Different to be looking down on a major city and be surrounded by sheep.













We had lunch and then it was off to the zoo- the place of employment of both Lisa and Ian. It is a very nice zoo. I have to say it has done the best job of any zoo that I have visited of having the animals be both in natural looking environments and yet still be able to see them. Lillianna, of course, like it because she loves animals. The hippos and monkeys were big hits. We also happened to be there in time to go to the native encounter where we got to see a real, live Kiwi bird. It ran around a bit which was cool to see.













After Ian wrapped up his work for the day we hit the road to head to the beach- like nearly every other person in Auckland. We were stuck in traffic for awhile and Lil was in need of nap. The combination was pretty rough for a bit there. It was a beautiful three hour drive to our destination- Hahei- a beautiful town on the coast of the Coromandel peninsula. We stayed the next two nights at a cottage at a campground. After dinner we took a walk on the beach and got to see some gannets diving for fish.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Day Three







Lillianna on the ferry to Davenport








Today was our just missed it kind of day. Lisa dropped us off at the wharf to take the ferry across to Davenport and we just missed the Ferry, so we had to wait 1/2 hour for the next one. It is a nice short ride across- less than 15 minutes. When we got across we wandered around a bit, but before we could get far Lillianna spied the park, so it was slides and see saws until it was time for a diaper change. Then we had lunch in a cute little cafe. And because Lillianna decided to start the day about about 5:30 she was running out of steam, so we started to head home. We got to the ferry dock to see it pulling away. Another half an hour wait. Got to the bus stop just after the bus left and got home just in time for the sun to come out. We still had a good morning, but we wish the sun would have been out earlier...






On the way to the ferry we stopped to look at the Christmas window displays at one the expensive department stores. They had mice doing all sorts of things to get ready for Christmas. Lillianna's eyes lit up like nobodies business and I was glad she was excited to get on the boat otherwise we might have had a tearfest leaving them behind.







Tomorrow we leave for a couple of days to see other parts of the north island (in other words probably won't be updating the blog again for a while:) )

Day Two

Baby stingray- less than 2 weeks old

Baby penguin with mama or daddy













We headed out to Kelly Tarltons' Antarctic Encounter in the morning. In order to get there we took a shuttle bus they run from downtown Auckland that has a shark on the top. It was pretty cool looking. It was a pretty cool place. It has a lot of interactive exhibits for Kids. The first section had an intro to Antartica with penguin viewing and some snow machines you could play on. Then there was a section where they had a replica of the base camps you could see how people live. Then there was a hallway with chalkboards on the wall with instructions for how to draw penguins. Lillianna made quick work of earsaing other people's masterpieces. Then there a larger area with some interactive exhibits and a huge tank for viewing giant stingrays and a tank for viewing some baby sharks and baby stingrays. We got to go on a ride where you get in this little cart that is like the snow mobiles they have in antactica that takes you through the penguin exhibit. It was pretty cool. Then there is a section where you go through an aquiram that surrounds you on all side and has a convery belt that you ride on around to see the fish. We went on it several times because it was so cool.










While we were there they were feeding the babies which was cool. The staff didn't know the mom was pregnant, but one of other sharks bit her in the side and when her guts were hanging out they figured out she had a bunch of babies in there. So, they gave her an emergency c-section and out came 8 baby sharks. They are now about 2 weeks old.

Day one

We Made it!


The gannet colony


Our host Lisa








Lisa was waiting at the airport when we arrived. So good to see her! We came back to their place and had some breakfast. We headed to Mt Eden where we could see both coasts of the north island and the city of Auckland. Then we headed to the coast where we got to see black sand beaches, a playground (Lil found her swings), surfers, a gannet colony of birds, and incredible scenery. It was totally stunning and even with just a few minutes of sleep in several days of travel we were all able to enjoy it. Then it was back to Lisa and Ian's for lunch and naps. I had to wake Mike and Lil from their naps so they would still sleep at night. We had a relaxing evening in and were all in bed by just after 9.