New Zealand
Auckland
Our first few days in Auckland have brought back tons of memories from years ago when we lived here. We recognized many of our hangouts, and toured around the city showing the kids where we lived and worked. It was nice seeing old colleagues and friends.
One of the activities during our first few days was a trip to the Auckland Museum and Kelly Tarlton's Underwater Museum. A penguin colony, sharks, and stingrays were some of the highlights.
Piha Beach
Known for its giant surfing waves and its black sand, Piha is another spectacular site we visited. We stayed with some friends for a few days playing at the beach, learning about cricket, and reminiscing about old times. It was a great visit!
The Bay of Islands
Located north of Auckland, the drive took several hours through windy roads. The kids were thankful to arrive! The Bay of Islands is a historic site, and a popular spot for whale watching and swimming with the dolphins. The weather wasn't too great, but we did learn about the history between the Maori's and the British.
The Coromandel
The Coromandel peninsula, a popular holiday spot for Kiwi's, is known for its lush native rainforest and white-sand beaches. We explored two world famous beaches. The first, called Hot Water Beach, is a more touristy spot and known for digging your own hot tub in the sand during low tide. The other, New Chums Beach, rated as one of the top twenty beaches in the world, is more secluded and requires a bit of a hike through water, over rocks, and through dense forest to get there. When we arrived it was all worth it! After a day at the beach we feasted on green lipped mussels, a popular New Zealand export.
Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park is a popular spot for outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking. The landforms, volcanoes, and ecosystems of the park have given it World Heritage status. We spent a number of days exploring the area and taking in just of few of the many hiking trails. Our best was a 6 hour hike to Lower and Upper Tama lakes, two infilled explosion craters on the base of Mt. Ruapehu.
Wellington
New Zealand's capital city has a great waterfront full of cafes, shops, and park areas. We spent a few days here taking in some of the touristy attractions. The highlight was Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's largest museum, very educational and enjoyable!
Does the Tooth Fairy come to New Zealand? Elijah was proud today for pulling out his very first tooth! He did it all by himself.
Nelson / Abel Tasman National Park
Beach, beach and more beach! A good deal of our time here included going to the beach, hiking through Abel Tasman, going to farmers markets and eating lots of fresh fish bought from the fish market just down the street. Delicious!
Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs is a thermal hot pool resort where we relaxed in many different hot pools ranging in temperatures from 33 - 42 degrees. The hottest was a sulphur pool with a nasty smell, but very relaxing and good for the skin. The kids couldn't get enough of the water slides.
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Christchurch is very English looking. Old stone buildings like the Christchurch Cathedral are scattered throughout the downtown core. Some evidence of the September earthquake was noticed, but for the most part everything is pretty normal. Daily aftershocks are a regular occurrence. We've experienced 3 this past week, but most locals seem to have gotten used to the tremors. Most of our time was spent wandering around the Cathedral square and doing last minute souvenir shopping.
