Cape Reinga and other Cool Stuff

Friday November 27
A big day today. With an early start, something we are really not used to, the bus picked us up at 7:15am. Off to Cape Reinga, the Northern most point of New Zealand to see the lighthouse and the meeting of the two seas. The green of the Tasman Sea and the blue of the Pacific Ocean did not disappoint. The weather was beautiful again and it made for some awesome photos.

On the drive up to the Cape the kids were very excited to drive a bus on the 90 Mile Beach. (it is really only about 64 miles.) It is really cool to be driving about 120km/h with no turns and the Tasman Sea on the left, flashing before your eyes. We had a few stops along the way to pick up some huge shells and put our feet in the sea. An interesting thing happened, we could see something up ahead on the beach. Crazily enough, it was a farmer driving his cows down the beach. A sight I have never seen before. I have driven cattle, but never down along an ocean beach. We then headed inland on a “quicksand” stream for the highlight of the day…sand tobogganing!! We climbed up some major sand dunes to experience a new sledding experience. Our legs and lungs were burning by the time we reached the top. Bridget needed some encouragement to make her first run down. She did it with some trepidation. She went up again with some more excitement. Her and I got to the top and the wind caught my sled and hit her in the head. Then on her way down, the nose of her sled went in and she flipped completely ass over tea kettle. Tears were not enough and she had had enough. Amelia on the other hand, raced up and down the dune 4 times. We all enjoyed our warm and sandy rides. It is truly a better way to toboggan. It just needs a T bar lift. Sorry no videos..dead batteries!

Before making our way back into Paihia at 6pm, we drove up 400m to a Kauri forest. The kids got to see these HUGE ancient trees. Our little tree huggers tried to get their arms around the tree, but really don’t come near half of the circumference. The tree they had their arms around was approximately 800 years old and it has just now reached its maturity. Earlier in the trip, the girls climbed a carved out spiral staircase that were build in the inside of a Kauri tree. Basically, to get to the second floor of the store there was a tree trunk that had stairs carved out in it.

A fun day was had by all and look forward to our last day in the Bay of Islands.

Carolyn

BAY of Islands WATCH

Wednesday November 25

Here we are in the Bay of Islands, Paihia. We have been enjoying the beautiful scenery and good weather. Highlights of our last few days have been going on a 4 hour cruise out to the Hole in the Rock. I can’t say that is has changed much since the first 3 times I have seen it. But on the way out we came across some “real dolphins” , not in a pool says Bridget. On the way back into Paihia, we stopped off on my favourite island, Urepukapuka. I had to take more pictures to compliment the ones I already have of it. It was just as beautiful as I remembered.

Today we went to the oldest house and store in NZ. The kids like making comparisons to these places to Laura and Mary Ingalls house in Little House on the Prairie. The house which was lived in by the Kemps was lived in until 1974. Let’s just say it would have been really chilly in the winter time. Amelia bought some Lollies from the oldest store. On the way there we stopped off at a chocolate factory. We had some nice free samples that of course got us to buy some!! (Sue Sue, you would have died and gone to heaven!) We could not believe the amount of sugar and butter that went into it.

The afternoon was topped off with our first sea kayaking adventure. It was a little windy and it made for some hard work on the way back to shore. Amelia and I were lucky enough to see a stingray next to our boat and Bridget and Dianne saw a jelly fish. By kayaking, we were able to paddle over to some little islands for rests and seashell hunting. We are all tired tonight with some rosy cheeks.

The kids are excited to SKYPE with their classes tomorrow morning. It was great this morning to do a practice run with Bridget’s teacher, Principal and of course, Jerry. Thanks to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Lee for getting hooked up on Skype and we were able to talk with family for the first time since we started our trek to the other side of the world.

One month until the man with the red suit comes. I hope he finds us over here.

Carolyn

Back in New Zealand

Saturday November 21

We are back in New Zealand and have spent a relaxing day doing normal things, laundry, groceries and watching TV. It was a very needed day of rest. We left Sydney yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We concluded our time there with a delicious dinner in Darling Harbour. It was the best pasta Bridget ever tasted. Our day at Manly Beach was hot and sunny. The only set back was the big rips that were happening. So we only did a little swimming or wave bashing. It was great to eat hot chips and fresh calamari in the sand.

Our flight back was puke free!! Bridget was medicated and was very content on the flight. We think that she just gets really anxious about flying. It is definitely not the motion, just her brain working overtime. She has insisted that we keep the medicine that we gave her to have on the flight home. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t have an expiry date.

We are off to the Bay of Islands for a week. It will be the longest time we have spent in one place. Either we will be bored or not wanted to pack up and leave again. The weather is not looking the best but maybe the winds will change.
We are wishing Adam good luck with big game against the USA today.
Happy days
Carolyn

Sydney in Seconds

Wednesday November 18th,
The days have passed by very quickly, here in Sydney. It might be all the activities we have packed in. Yesterday, by Bridget’s request, we went on a double Decker bus tour of the city. It was a hop on and off thing. So we hopped off and went to the Australia Museum. They had a special display of Egyptian artifacts. The Grade 5 teacher in me was fascinated. I could have spent a couple of hours in there, but there is only so much you can make a 5 and 7 year old endure. They had some “text to world” connections as they just finished reading The Magic Tree House book, Mummies in the Morning. Jack and Annie was a great learning tool to understanding mummies, tombs and Gods.

Next stop was the Sydney Opera House. What an amazing structure. The roof is actually tiled, with beige tiles. Definitely not white as the pictures show!! We didn’t do the tour of it. The adults wanted to, but knew the kids would not be interested in anyway. We had our first views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from here. Once again, the teacher took more than enough photos of this structure.
Our last tour of the day was out to Bondi Beach. Just strictly seeing it as it was the last bus out there that day. It is no wonder than Janne’s daughter calls this area home. We saw lots of people learning how to surf on the huge waves. The white beach area was breath taking.

The toughest part of our stay here is that we don’t have a kitchen. So every meal is take away. Did I mention that we are staying in Chinatown. It makes finding food for our little Canadians a bit difficult. They are not interested in the BBQ ducks hanging in the shop next door for some reason! There are many places to eat and we have pulled it off. You can’t have too many hot chips (aka French Fries) can you??

The weather fined up today and we did a cruise of the Sydney Harbour. Thanks for the tip, Lep. What an amazing trip. Learning the history of Sydney and seeing the different architecture of homes located along the water. The kids really liked the morning tea served on the boat. So of course the trip was a success. They had the best chocolate muffins and orange juice.

Next was the Sydney Observatory. We learned about the solar system and black holes. We got to look through a huge telescope in a dome that opened up. We saw 2 stars in the middle of the day!! We promised the kids if they could manage a big walk from the quay area to our next stop it would be worth it. They pony-ed up and were very excited to get on the MONORAIL. Yes Quinn, a train that runs on ONE rail!! Bridget had been seeing it for 2 days now and couldn’t wait to get on it for Quinn. It is just a short loop around the CBD, but really neat to be travelling above the busy streets and right near the buildings.

Finishing up Australian tour tomorrow with a day at the beach. We are heading over to Manly on the ferry for the day. We have to soak up our last bits of heat, before we head back to the slightly cooler New Zealand.

Carolyn

Photos from a few days ago

We have seen almost all fauna of the Australian world and now that we are in Sydney hopefully we will see some architecture. I hope that you enjoy the better late than never photos.
Yesterday we spent in Old Bar. (it is really a town)There were some great surf that we played in for hours. Both Ameila and Bridget have learned how powerful the waves can be. It was a very warm day here today. At 9:30 this morning it was 27C and it rose to 38C by 2:30. It was awesome, not so much. We are thankful that we are not in Adelaide where it is hitting 40C. Look what you are missing Lep!!

Carolyn

Amelia's Australian birthday

Friday November 13, 2009 Today is my birthday. We went to Pet Porpoise Pool. For my birthday, Mommy and Mom let me swim with dolphins. Other kids were with me too. I got to pet a dolphin and she was pregnant. She already had a kid dolphin that was 4 years old, named Bella. The dolphin I was with was named Calamity. The trainer was in the pool with us and she asked us where the bellybutton was. I was the first one to answer. We got to throw a ball and Calamity would catch it. Then we got to put the ball on her nose and spin it and she balanced it. I got to brush her teeth. When I felt her belly, I felt the baby kicking. I also got to feed Calamity. And then I got my picture taken with her. I got kissed by 2 dolphins, Calamity and Buck. I got kissed by the same seal, Ellie, twice. Next we watched a show of dolphins and seals performing for us. The seals sang songs for us and showed us how they balance on their front legs. The dolphins did 2 back flips in the air and landed in the water. The 2 dolphins were Buck and Zippy. They were Dad and son. I got to feed big fish, a sea turtle and I saw a shark in the same tank. When the fish took the little fish out of my hand it scared me a bit. I fed blue penguins and pet Calamity and Bella again. I did not want to leave! It was the best birthday present ever!! Amelia We took a big risk parenting today, by allowing Amelia to be in the water with dolphin. It wasn’t having her in the water with the dolphin, but the fact that Bridget wasn’t doing it. She was some pissed off. "Amelia was stupid and the dolphin was stupid". Lots of stomping of feet and dirty looks. I think she is over it now because as the day progressed she also got to touch the dolphins. She was really nervous when she was going to be kissed by the dolphin and the seal. The pictures really show it. So the place was a very interactive Marineland. I highly recommend it. The kids got to do so much hands on stuff with the animals it was incredible. They would never be able to do such things at home. I love the risk management of the Southern Hemisphere. Topping off the afternoon by taking Amelia out for a birthday dinner. All she wants is fish and chips. So she will get them this time just not wrapped in newspaper. A nice dinner is in order for the parental units too! Moving south tomorrow to Forster for a couple of nights and then on to Sydney. After a while Crocodile Carolyn

Koalas and Kangaroos

Australian Day 2
A change in plans has occurred. It was way too far to travel up to Brisbane, so we have settled for plan B. We have settled in Coffs Harbour for the next 3 days. It is on the coast with beautiful surf and some good activities for us to do. Stay posted!
The highlight of our adventure was in Port Macquarie in the morning. First stop was a walk along the river mouth in hopes of seeing dolphins or sea tortesies. No such luck again, but it was a neat walk along the break wall, which were all painted by visitors to the area. The kids wished that we had paint with us. Next, we went to a Koala Hospital. It is the only such hospital in the world. It rescues any reported injured koalas. It was a hit. Koalas!! We got to see one climb down a tree and see how they are recovering. To top of the morning we went to the Billingbong Wildlife Service. We got to be in with the kangaroos and got feed and touch them. Holy cow were the girls excited. Amelia got at feeding the roos right away. It took fearful Bridget awhile to get her courage up. She did it and loved it. We spent a lot of time in there and got lots of videos and pics of the pure joy in their eyes. Amelia, being the “can I poke it kid”, stuck her finger into the pouch of a mother kangaroo and into the joey’s world. She was fascinated with it. Just before we left we went into the koala area and here they now got to pat a koala and they learned more about the koala joeys. When they are born they are the size of a jelly bean.
We have great accommodation here and look forward to soaking up some rays and relaxing for a few.
Thursday November 12, 2009
We are in Coffs Harbour and spent a relaxing morning at the beach. We caught some sun and had really good fun in the waves. Amelia is learning the technique of body surfing and Bridget really likes getting pushed around in the waves. The water temp was about 21, but still a little too chilly for Princess Dianne. We watched the surf lifesavers throw boomerangs and skydivers land on the beach. Learned about banana plantations and watch candy being made. I am on a deadline so this is just a short one. Tomorrow is Amelia’s Bday and we have something really special planned for her that I think that she will always remember. Stay tuned.
We are having difficulties downloading videos to the blog so you will have to bear with the pics. And now no pics. I am sitting in the car and picking up someone’s wifi service and it is not strong enough to pull them up. Sorry, cuz they are great.
Cheers Mate
Carolyn

Australia

We are now in Australia. It was a very loooonnnggg day. Our day started at 3am NZ time, as we had to catch a 6am flight to Sydney. The flight was uneventful, except me getting puked on again!! I asked Bridget the next time we fly that she throw up on Dianne instead of me. We have learned our lesson and she will be completely drugged for the return vovage back to NZ and Canada.
We arrived in Sydney and got our rental car and headed out on our travels north. Yes it was during morning rush hour. And let’s just say it is not the easiest to maneover through. The highway that goes out of town goes right through downtown Sydney. My navigator eventually got us through it all, about 1 ½ later we were finally out of Sydney. We stopped somewhere along the way at a café and had a few pit stops along the most boring highway ever made. There is no civilization along the highway. All the towns are located about 5 – 20 km off the road. In theory it is a good idea because you don’t need slow up in every little town, but it leaves something to the stimulization of the driver and it’s passengers. We finally got to our first destination Port Macquarie, 15 hours after our rising time. Let’s just say we are all a little tired and hungry.
We are very unsure of our plans now in Australia. We definitely underestimated the travelling time between Brisbane and Sydney. We will see how our travelling goes tomorrow and make some decisions along the way. The kids have managed very well today, but we are thinking about how much more driving they can endure. And we don’t want their Australia experience to be spent in a car.
On the plus side, it is really warm. It was about 28C, whilst driving today. We had our feet in the ocean again. It is warmer than NZ, but still not as warm as Paul’s pool. And the surf was way to big for us to be in it to enjoy it. The girls have found a new fun activity, the jumping pillow! It is like a jumping castle only without sides and about 50 feet long. Hours of fun to be had there.
Signing off because it is bedtime and big decisions need to be made.
Carolyn

Beautiful Day in the Coramandel

Well, I have found my new favourite town in NZ. It is Tairua. It is a coastal town that has a quaint feel about it. Amazing houses that range in price from half a mill to 2 mill. I think I could finance a couple of them. My day started with a nice, sunny 5k run. (As I look out the window right now, the sky is pink as..) We are staying in a nice bach in town. Our hosts have been great they have given the kids bikes and toys and shovels to play with at the beach. They have been very excited to get back on bikes again. Our adventure today, was a hike to Catherdal Cove and Hot Water Beach. Both of these activities needed to take place at low tide, which was at 5pm. That means that there is a 2 hour window on either side of 5. We spent a leisurely morning at the town beach watching the surf roll in as the kids played in the sand and collected even more shells. After lunch we began our hike into Catherdal Cove. It is about a 40 minute walk, up and down, to the Cove. With the kids it might have taken a little longer. It was well worth the hike, to see the beautiful colours of the water and the white cliffs. And we saw a STING RAY in the water. It was so coooool. It was only about 4 feet from where Amelia was standing. Dianne dragged us out of this area, so we could make to Hot Water Beach still at low tide. Hot Water Beach has an area that when you dig down in the sand at low tide the geothermal activity heats up the water that fills back into the hole. Both girls found out really how hot it becomes, with some really red feet. We attempted to dig our own hole, unsuccessfully. But someone left an area and we snuck in and used their hole. A very neat experience for the kids. And since this was my second time there I was determined to find hot water. A great day of memories was had and for only the price of petrol. Until next time Carolyn

Rotorua continued

Here are just a few more pics from our week. The kids and I Zorbing and the big Kiwi fruit. If you look closely you will see Dianne and the girls way up at the top.

We apologize for our lack of blogging, but the internet at the last place was shocking. We are back, hopefully for a few days.

Another hint when you comment on the blog.. for some reason when you comment it goes to our email address as "anonymous". So sign your name to the bottom of the comment so we know who it came from. Thanks

Long live the sun
Carolyn

Rotorua

Those of you wondering if we fell of this side of the world, we have not. We have just had terrible internet service for the last 5 days. It was costly and really poor service. Anyways, we have been in Rotorua. Land of geothermal activity and tourist traps, otherwise known as Roto- Vegas. And we have fallen into a couple of traps, but the kids loved it. We went to the Agrodome. (Yes, Uncle Jim you were right. You always have been and always will be!) The kids loved seeing and touching all the sheep. They even got to milk a cow! Then off to the Gondola ride and sky rides. It is similar to the old slide rides in Collingwood. It was good fun racing down the hills. Amelia and I were only out of control a few times and I have the scar to prove it. Day 2 in Rotorua meant an Amphibious Duck ride. Old war GMC DUKs used for water and land. There were lots of learning for the kids and us about the history and the lakes of the area. The hit of the day was going to the Maori village for a hangi feast. (same one we went with Adam and Karina, many years ago). The girls were scared and timid at the beginning, at the Te Wero. They really thought that this is how things were still here on a native village. Once they figured out it was a show about their history and ancestry, they relaxed. They got to see many of the dances and weaponry of the Maoris and were mesmerized. Now they have an idea that the poi’s that Bubbles gave them were not for hitting each other with. We were worried that our picky Canadian eaters would not enjoy the Hangi feast. But to our surprise it was all good. Amelia thought the beef was good, up until the time that Bridget announced that it was lamb!! Good times were had and they really enjoyed saying “Kia Ora” over and over again. It is great hearing them. Day 3 Out to venture through more Geothermal areas. This time we saw Lady Knox’s geyser erupt and walked around the many active craters. I have almost had enough of bubbling water and mud!! The kids have learned the about the wonderful aroma of geothermal areas…Rotten Eggs! They are enjoying the colours it produces but the smell not so much. Thank goodness, we are not staying in the hard of it like when we stayed with Jim here. Can’t even smell it at all! The kids have enjoyed our accommodations here. There is a playground 20 feet outside our door and the pool is 30 feet away. The pool has been a lovely 26C. No worries about the heating bill here! Two more sleeps and on we move. Off to the Polynesian Spa tomorrow can’t wait. I hope I don’t get water in my ear, right Jim! Day 4 was a very relaxing day. The weather was not the best, but it was not cold. We went ZORBING this morning. (just as Lepannen told us to). It was a lot of fun being put inside a big ball with water and rolling down a hill. It was similar to snow tubing only in a bathing suit with warm water being sloshed around you. Amelia was brave and went all by herself and Bridge and I tumbled together. Di was the official stuff girl and photographer. We wished it didn’t cost so much, because we all wanted to go again. The afternoon was spent at the Polynesian spa, soaking in the 33C, 37C and 40C family pools. A great way to finish up the week here. We also went to the coolest playground ever. It definitely wouldn’t be found at home. It had liability written all over it, but it was fun!! Interesting fact of the day..price of gas/petrol $1.65 per litre. Cheers Carolyn

Rotorua

Just want to update you a little but we won't be doing a full blog until we have access to unlimited internet ($2 for 15 mins is a bit steep when the server is slow!)
Today,(yes Jim, thank you) we went to the agrodome for a sheep show and both of the girls got to milk a cow. Bridget was hilarious...she would hardly touch it!!
After lunch, we went up the gondola and 4 runs down the slide rides.
More when we are able.
Dianne