1/5/26 – Picton to Wellington
The alarm woke us up this morning and it took a little while for the kids to want to get up as it was still dark outside. Patrick and Oliver were the first to get up and start breakfast, poor Arthur just didn’t want to get out of bed and when he finally did he had to rush his breakfast so we could get going. Thankfully the Bluebridge ferry terminal was only a 3minute drive, once checking in we waited in line until it was time to board the ferry. We were one of the last vehicles to drive onto the ferry which meant we drove right up to the top level which the kids thought was pretty cool, the ramps were quite steep. Once on the ferry we claimed a table and everyone got stuck into writing their diaries with the aim to get up to date. We had bribed the kids if they got up to date by the end of the ferry trip we would give them some spending money and it worked an absolute treat and with very little arguments all 3 were up to date before we hit Cook Strait. As I helped Patrick Rhys wrote non-stop for an hour or so only to find out our blog webpage was unable to save his work which meant he lost it all…….total devastation!
We had another stunning day crossing the strait, while I was outside saying bye to the South Island I spotted a seal swimming in the water, it was rolling around and looked like it was waving to me. We have had a wonderful time exploring the South Island and it is a little sad leaving but more adventure awaits us so can’t dwell on how much I want to stay too much.
When we arrived in Wellington we did a drive by Parliament House, I wanted the boys to see the beehive, they had a few questions about the politicians and that is as far as their interest got hehe. We drove North to catch up with Di and Rob again which was lovely, after lunch we walked to a local park for the kids to have a run around and play on the very cool flying fox which looked so fun Rhys and I couldn’t resist having a turn ourselves.
It was then time for us to head to Finn’s house which made the boys very excited. It was lovely to see Finn again and meet his Father, Matt. After enjoying some homemade cookies Finn and Matt took us for a walk around their neighbourhood, we ended up at Finn’s old primary school and played a great game of kids v adults soccer. Naturally the kids think they won however the adults definitely won.
On the way home we went via a number of playgrounds which Patrick thought was the best before getting back to the house for Finn to cook us dinner. Oliver had a great time helping him in the kitchen while Arthur and Patrick had fun playing with all the toy cars. Finn’s Mother, Carin, arrived after work just as Finn had finished cooking dinner, over dinner we all chatted about our bike riding which was great. Paul Kennett and his son Adam popped into say hello, once again it was great to meet one of the Kennett brothers and thank them for creating an amazing bike route. It was great talking about bike touring and all the adventures we both have been on. It was a wonderful evening, it is lovely to see how much Oliver, Arthur and Patrick look up to Finn and it is beautiful to see Finn spend time with them.
2/5/26 – Wellington to Waitomo
We had a big drive to get done today, up to Waitomo to meet up with grandma and pa! The boys were excited to see their other set of grandparents and after saying a final goodbye to Finn and his father we hit the road, listening to the faraway tree audio books and rotating favourite playlists to keep the mood in the car high.
The drive went pretty smoothly and it got even more exciting when we learnt that grandma and Pa had made it to NZ and were already driving south. This meant that they were hopefully going to make the glow worm caves tour at Waitomo caves!
We rolled into Waitomo with plenty of time to spare before our caves tour, so we checking in and waited for Grandma and Pa. The good news was that they had already headed straight for the caves and managed to get tickets onto the tour! Yippee! In no time at all they had driven back up the road and met 3 very excited boys out the front of our hotel! It was nice to see hugs all round.
It was now time to head to Waitomo caves for our tour. We got the obligatory tour photo then followed our charismatic guide Into the subterranean world…the cave was beautiful however had been heavily modified to accept large groups of people. Our tour guide gave us an amazing rendition of a Maōri song in the section of the cave with amazing acoustics. We then got to see glowworms up close which the boys loved. Apparently they paralyse their prey by dropping long tendrils out of their glowing bum. The glow attracts the insects then they become ensnared! We actually saw it happen!
Finally we were treated to the famous cave boat ride through the glowworm dense ceilings of the water filled caverns. The ceiling looked like the Milky Way in the night sky, absolutely incredible.
With the tour over we headed back up the hill to our hotel and cooked up dinner while having a great catch up. It was great to have grandma and pa here for a few days.
3/5/26 – Waitomo to Taupo
We woke up to another sunny day so after breakfast we started driving towards Taupo. On the way we stopped at the start of the Timber Trail, it was nice to be back here as once again it bought back many happy memories. We went for a little walk through the forest which Grandma and Pa enjoyed. It was lovely hearing the bird noises again, when we got back to the car Patrick wanted to continue to walk so we let him walk along the road, when we caught up to him in the car he started running and was having a great time. Eventually he was ready to get back in the car and was happy to know he had run 1km. We stopped at a bakery/cafe for lunch and Oliver enjoyed buying a chai and having it made in his new thermos cup.
Next stop was Huka Falls, I loved being back at the falls as I remember them so much as a child. The boys were super impressed by the fast, powerful water flowing through the canyon. It is incredible to think 200,000L of water flows over the 9m waterfall every second! That is apparently enough water to fill 5 olympic size pools every minute – wow. Another interesting fact is due to the intense flow eels cannot swim up the river into lake Taupo which is the reason there are no eels in the lake.
After Huka Falls we drove to our accomodation, a lovely little batch right beside the lake, and settled in. As Rhys, Grandma and Pa went shopping the boys and I played some Rummikub, I was impressed with how quickly Patrick picked up the game and eventually won.
After our game we found some kayaks, a surf board and boogie boards and ventured to the lake. It was a lovey afternoon watching the boys all try to stand on the surf board, Patrick had a great kayak around by himself and I had a pre-sunset tour in the double kayak with Oliver paddling me around. Arthur was determined to surf and even while shivering he tried time and time again to stand up.
I slipped away for a lovely run along the lake as dinner was being cooked and returned to 3 warmed boys in their PJ’s reading a book with Grandma.
After dinner the boys completed their diaries then each enjoyed lying in bed reading a book, it was a lovely evening.
4/5/25 – Taupo
A foggy morning dawned across the lake and we made a plan to hike up Mt Tauhara to hopefully gain a view across lake Taupo with the peaks of Tongariro and Ruhapehu in the background. We made a relatively early start, hoping that the fog would burn off by the time we hit the summit. The start of the hike was incredibly steep, Pa was blowing some black smoke on his way up, the kids were loving riding up the slope and picking their way up the uneven ground.
We reached the tree line and the gradient did not let up, however there was plenty to hang onto as we made our way up and up and up. Grandma was enjoying the challenge and Pa was pretty happy with how his knees were holding up to the challenge! There were a couple of other walkers heading up the hill but for the most part we enjoyed the bush in relative peace and quiet.
The boys reached the summit as a group, miles ahead of everyone else, what a great team of hikers! Raelene and Grandma were next in while the boys had to run back down the hill to give a lolly snake for Pa and I as we brought up the rear. Unfortunately we made the summit and the fog had not cleared and we saw…..absolutely nothing! We mucked around on top for a little bit, rock hopping, hoping for a view and having lunch. Patrick and I were playing together and he kept knocking my sunglasses off….so I put them down out of the way….
We made the call to pull the pin and head back down, hoping that it wouldn’t be too hard on Pa’s knees. Again, due to the high amount of things to hang onto the going down was no where near as bed as we thought. as we reached the tree line again we were treated to a beautiful view over the lake due to the fog finally clearing! So awesome! We got to the bottom and congratulated each other on a great effort. As we were rolling out of the carpark I went to put my sunnies on…..and immediately remembered leaving them on the summit of the damn mountain! I weighed up the options, buy more sunnies vs go back up and get them….I decided on the latter. Raelene dropped me back up at the start of the hike and Grandma and Pa left me their Hire car which was handy. They all piled into the other car and headed into Taupo while I tackled the 500 odd meters of elevation again!
I reached the top for the second time today and luckily found my sunnies right where I left them. I also managed to enjoy a view off the top that was not afforded to us earlier in the day. Finally I raced back down and drove back to the lake house, meeting Raelene and everyone else there soon after. The kids said that they had had a great day in Taupo, checking out the plane at the local McDonalds while having an ice cream.
The rest of the afternoon was spent eating kiwi dip and crackers on the shore of the lake while the kids played in the Kayaks and tried to paddle up a little inlet. Another awesome day out however I could certainly feel my legs after two ascents of the beautiful Mt Tauhara.
5/5/26 – Taupo to Rotorua
Straight after breakfast Oliver was nagging to go out in the kayaks so while we packed up the house Oliver went for a kayak which then meant Patrick and Arthur wanted to follow, it was another stunning day so the lake was gorgeous and the boys had a great time on the water.
Leaving our cute house on the lake front was difficult however the thought of jumping into Waikite hot pools made leaving much easier, Grandma and Pa had never experienced a hot pool so it was great to show them what they were all about.
3 hours disappeared very quickly as we went from pool to pool enjoying the different temperatures, it was also a nice trip down memory lane as we come here 8 years ago when Arthur was only 7weeks old. At one point Patrick accidentally put his head under which made him ask straight away if he had the bug in his brain, there are many warnings around hotpoiols to keep your head above the water due to the risk of meningitis. To have a break from the hot pools we walked to the spring which flow into the hot pools is incredible, the water bubbles out of the ground at 99oC and never stops. Sensibly we had food in the car so enjoyed a picnic lunch at the pools then enjoyed another dip before we had to continue onto Rotorua heading straight to the luging.
We all had been very excited to go luging, even Pa had been talking about how fun go karting was with Uncle Alex in Perth last year so excitement levels were high walking into the luging area. Unfortunately Pa and Grandma decided not to have a turn on the luge however they still came up to the top to watch. Patrick was old enough to steer his own luge which he was stoked about. The view from the Gondola as we went to the top was fantastic and as soon as we got to the top the boys raced to the start of the luge tracks. For the next 2 hours we had a blast riding the tracks, racing each other then talking about how awesome the tracks were as we caught the chair lift back up. During one chairlift ride Patrick put his hand on his heart and said to Rhys “Yep, phew my heart is still beating I don’t have the bug” he was worried about having put his head under at the hot pools.
Patrick is a little speed demon who loved going as fast as he could, the very first ride he wanted to go a different way to Oliver which ended up being through a very narrow zig zaggy concrete path it was hilarious watching him pin ball his way through the section. Arthur was very controlled and concentrated the whole time, when he was brave enough to turn to look at us he would smile. Oliver also concentrated hard and loved to go as fast as he could. All 3 were great to race, Rhys and I even had the opportunity to race each other but Rhys was very restrained considering last time he went luging he nearly broke his hip racing my Dad. When I was going down with Patrick on our 4th lap he would say his arms were getting tired, you had to pull the handles forward to go, if you pushed them it would engage the brakes, I told him to slow down but he didn’t want to get too far behind me so I stopped with him. He waited for literally 3seconds then took off in front of me laughing. When our 5 rides were up we checked out the photos then went to find Grandma and Pa, while telling them how fun it was Rhys snuck off and found some jelly beans to share after dinner.
Oliver, Arthur, Patrick and I went to check in to the house while Rhys, Grandma and Pa went to pick up fish’n’chips. While we were waiting for the food to arrive Oliver and I tried to lite the gas fireplace, it was taking a few turns to ignite then when it finally did a few seconds later the fireplace exploded! It gave me a huge fright and we were very lucky the glass door did not break. Soot flew everywhere and all over Oliver’s back as he was reaching down to give my Monopoly money. Deciding to stay away from the fireplace we turned on the electric heater and went back to our monolopy game.
After enjoying yummy fish and chips, burger for Oliver, then opened the bean boozled jelly bean game. oh my goodness it was horrendous! When Rhys got a spit bowl ready we all couldn’t believe they could be that bad however they were. Rhys was the first one to try, he spun liver and onion or cappuccino. Not too bad you would think however he picked liver and onion and nearly vomited with how bad it was. It was truly gross, Oliver got smelly socks, Arthur got stink bug, Rhys had another turn and got burnt rubber, Patrick was brave and got toothpaste and I was unfortunate enough to get vomit flavour while Grandpa was lucky enough to get two good ones. We finally convinced Pa to have a turn and he was lucky to get roasted marshmallows. With our tummies hurting from laughing we put the game away, while we were out of the room Patrick dared Oliver to try another jellybean saying “if you do it, I’ll do it” so Oliver picked one and was unlucky with burnt rubber, but when it came to Patricks turn to pick one he wouldn’t. This caused quite the upset and eventually Patrick learnt the lesson of a dare and picked his jelly bean, the poor thing got dead fish it was terrible.
It took a while for the boys to calm down after the game and get to sleep as every one of them complained how awful they mouth tasted now and how much they didn’t like the game.
6/5/26 – Rotorua
After a slow morning we headed to Te Puia, a geothermal area and home to NZ’s Maori arts institute. 8 years ago we came here and you were able to simply pay and entry fee then wander around yourself, checking out the amazing landscape. However, following the White Island irruption, we were now required to have a guide escort us around the site, so we joined a tour and away we went (side not here, Raelene’s NZ passport came in handy again, saving us 200 bucks on our entry fee! Grandma and Pa were amazed yet again by the geothermal park, geysers, bubbling mud and steam vents were everywhere, it was as cool as we remembered from last time.
We were also shown through the arts Institute, it was incredible to see the weaving wood carving and stone carving all on display, the pieces were so intricately made, it was a pleasure to see. The boys enjoyed sitting on the hot rocks at the end of the tour and found it quite funny that if you “sit on and open crack, you might burn your crack”. Nevertheless they heeded the warning and refrained from sitting on the open cracks incase the steam came up and burnt their bums!
Finally during the tour we were able to wander through the Kiwi house which housed 2 kiwis. All of the boys have been simply hanging out to see a Kiwi in NZ and were so excited to learn that they would finally see one today. We were ushered through the dark enclosure and were treated to seeing both birds out and about looking for worms that the keepers hide in the ground for the kiwi to forage for. In a beautiful moment Oliver put his arms around both of this brothers, pulled them in close and whispered “Yes! We’ve finally seen a Kiwi!”
To continue our cultural lessons for the day we attended the Mitai village to check out a Maori cultural show and have a buffet hangi dinner. We had faked Patricks age on the the tickets, saying he was 3 purely so we didn’t have to pay another $100 for him to attend, we had worded him up that he needed to act like a 3 year old so he snuggled up into me shoulder as we went in and cuddled a little lizard teddy, not making eye contact and being really quiet. He did such a good job Grandma asked what was wrong with him “he’s acting Grandma!” Hehehe.
The night was amazing, we got to walk past the Hangi being cooked then see warriors approach in a traditional Waka (canoe). We were then treated to an hour long performance of singing, dancing, weapon displays and poi work. It was well worth the money to go and check it out. Finally it was time for dinner and what an incredible dinner it was. A huge amount of food was put out, Lamb, chicken and Kumara cooked in the Hangi along with seafood, stews, salads and a wicked potato bake. Arthur ate a HUUUUUUUGE plate of dinner, I didn’t know he could fit that much in. Grandma and Pa had a great night and were appreciative of the opportunity to have the cultural experience here in Rotorua. It was a bit sad that it was their final night with us but it had been awesome having them visit! Thanks Mum and Dad/Grandma and Pa.
7/5/26 – Rotorua to Cambridge
Today was finally the day the kids were going to ride the Zorb (Granny and Grandad had given them money for the Zorb before they left). We had a slow morning around the house before heading to the Zorb. It was brilliant as all 3 were allowed to ride in one zorb without an adult so off they went to get into their togs. We weren’t allowed to go up to the top to watch them get into the zorb so I gave Oliver my phone and asked him to try and video the ride. We could see them being loaded into the giant ball from our view point at the bottom of the hill. Apparently Patrick was a little nervous once in the ball but was reassured by Oliver and Arthur. It was so funny watching them roll down and seeing their bodies being flung around, then when it came to getting out it was like they were being born again with a huge wave of water coming out with them as they exited the zorb. They had a smile from ear to ear as they ran up to us and jumped into the hot spa. Immediately they were asking to go again, we gave into their pleading and let them have another go, this time on the track that zig zagged down the hill. Once again they absolutely loved it and could have gone a hundred more times.
After the excitement of the zorb we found a cafe for a quick cuppa before saying bye to Grandma and Pa. It has been a lovely week with them and everyone was sad to go our seperate ways, Grandma and Pa back to Australia as we were going to Cambridge to catch up with Andy and Dani.
For the past few months Oliver has not liked wearing his glasses for reading, they were hurting his eyes so we took the opportunity while being in a city and having a few hours to get his eyes tested again. Specsavers were great and fitted us in which turned out to be a good idea as Oliver’s eyes had changed and he needed a different lens prescription. Unfortunately we were leaving NZ before the new glasses could be arranged so we got he prescription written down with the plan to get the lens in Sri Lanka.
It was great to get to Dani and Andy’s house as they had the most exciting news….they are expecting their first baby! Woohoo. It was brilliant to be able to give them a hug and have a night celebrating. Oliver, Arthur and Patrick enjoyed the spa while we chatted then we all had an informative night learning about dinosaurs.
