New Zealand

Over the Easter Break we headed to the land of the Kiwi for eight days. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon we landed in windy Wellington where we were greeted by my aunt, cousin and her daughter. Gemma and I rode in the car with Claire and Rosie - Gemma and Rosie spent the whole ride to the house just 'checking' each other out. Their shyness did not last long though, and after a few short moments at the house the three kids were playing games and laughing together. I really enjoyed catching up with Claire and Anne.


The first day we spent exploring Wellington - a beautiful city that is full of character with its narrow and windy streets, and well-kept heritage buildings. First we went up to Mount Victoria to get a great view of the city (the picture above) and surrounding coast lines. We then headed into the downtown area to walk around and take in the Ti Papa Museum. Ti Papa is a wonderful place filled with all sorts of touch, sound and visual pleasures for adults and kids to explore. It is also the only museum in the world to have a specimen of the Colossal Squid.


After a great day in Wellington we headed on the road for a four day adventure to explore the mid north island. Our first stop was at a ski lodge in Ohakune - near Tongariro National Park. Here we met up with my other cousin, Micheal and his family. We had a fabulous time making communal meals, playing 'Chase the Ace' and hiking around the ski resort area of Whakapapa (in Tongariro National Park). What a beautiful landscape and so different to anything at home. It looks barren compared to the west coast but when you look closely you find a variety of plant life.



The images above were taken in Tongariro National Park. The volcano in the background is Mount Ruapehu - the largest and most active volcano on the north island. After two nights in Ohakune we headed up island to Rotarua - an area in New Zealand with amazing thermal activity. As we got closer to Rotarua the smell of sulfur became pungent and the sightings of steam coming up from the ground more frequent.

While in Rotaura, we went to Te Puia to view hotpools, bubbling mudpools and geysers. It was a truly spectacular spot to spend part of the day wandering around.

Te Puia is also a great place to see Maori art, carvings and weavings. The picture below is of a Maori war canoe which was on display at Ti Puia.

More than the thermal areas, the kids loved their time at the Luge track - they spent the afternoon bombing down a variety of tracks on go kart-style luges. They had a ball to say the least. New Zealand is also famous for its natural hot springs, on our way to Rotaura we stopped at a natural hot spring. As we entered these hotsprings, we were greeted by a sign that said "DANGER" followed by a warning not to submerse your head for fear that a naturally occuring ameoba could cause a particular type of meningitis resulting in brain damage or death! This did not deter us though and we thoroughly loved being able to soak in the very hot waters of this spring. Although we did enjoy the natural springs, we did spend our last evening soaking in the relatively safe pools at the Polynesian Spa.

A week is not long and the time flies by - after our time on the road we had one last day to explore Wellington and to spend with family.


Although I wish I could have had more time to visit with my family, the week felt rich and full of new sights. Again, another amazing side trip on this Australian adventure.

Until next time,
love Heather, Dave, Gemma and Ruben