Last Day of School

Well, it is hard to believe but we are on the final stretch of our experience in New Zealand. The kids had a hard time saying goodbye to their friends and teachers on their last day of school. For a look at the classmates and friends of Rachel, Lexie and Evan, click here.

South Island

We were able to snag a great deal on airfare to Christchurch, so we took the kids out of school for three days and jammed in a lot of sightseeing in a short period of time. The scenery was beatiful - a mixture of rocky New England Beaches, California Hills and Rocky Mountains. For pictures, click here.

Christchurch:

We took a couple of trips downtown and walked around Cathedral Square. We stopped into the Cathedral and listened to the Boys Choir rehearsing. We were also able to ride a cable car and get a guided tour of the city. For pictures, click here.

International Antarctic Centre:

Christchurch is the "gateway" to Antartica. The International Antarctic Centre is home to the New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic Programs. We took a tour of the Centre and saw NZ Blue Penguins and went into a snow and ice filled room and experienced a simulated Antarctic Storm. It reminded us of January in Pennsylvania! For pictures, click here.

Willowbank Reserve:

We also visited a nature reserve. The Wallabies were roaming about -- but the kids didn't get too close. Lexie was especially excited to see the Kiwis again. For pictures, click here.

Christchurch Gondola:

We took a ride up a gondola and got some fantastic views of the ocean, Cashmere Hills and Southern Alps. We took a hike that exhausted Rachel. For pictures, click here.

Sumner:

We had a couple from West Chester join our tour -- lucky for us, they had paid for a personal tour of the area, so we were able to get an added little trip to the bay to see a really cool beach town with a cave and great rocks to climb. For pictures, click here.

Soccer in Raglan

Lexie's soccer team had to play their last game in Raglan, a town along the Tasman Sea. The team was their toughest opponent yet and they eventually won (4-3). It was a great experiences playing on a field with views of the sea. We then travelled up the coast to see some surfers and the kids got to play on the rocky beach. On the way home, we visited Bridal Falls and trekked all the way through the Bush only to find that the trail to the lower falls were closed. For pictures, click here.

Tirau

I took my parents for a quick "touristy" trip to Tirau, a small town off of Route 1 on the way to Rotorua that boasts sculptured buildings made from corrugated metal. The views to and from Tirau are beautiful. For pictures, click here.

Waitomo Caves

On Sunday, we took a trip (one hour away) to the Waitomo Cave District. We went to the Ruakuri Bushwalk and hiked through a caves, tunnels, saw a waterfall and beautiful limestone formations. For pictures, click here.

Hamilton

We've spent most of the past month in Hamilton, going to school, participating in sports and just exploring the city.

Lexie's Soccer Team:

Lexie is playing soccer for Hillcrest United Soccer Club. Her team is the U11 Fireballs. It is basically an all boys league besides Lexie and one other girl. So far, they are undefeated four games into the season and Lexie recently received the player of the game trophy. For pictures, click here:

Rachel's Netball Team:

Rachel is playing netball on her middle school team. It is a very popular sport with girls in New Zealand. It is a lot like basketball, without the dribbling. We don't quite get it, but Rachel seems to enjoy playing. For pictures, click here:

Hamilton River Walk:

I took my parents to a river walk along the Wakaito River in Hamilton. It is fall in New Zealand (May) so we got to see the leaves turning. It is interesting to see the maple, oak and ginko trees turning shades of red, yellow and orange right along side flowering trees and palm trees. For pictures, click here:

University Rugby:

This is mostly for my nephew Henry, who plays rugby in Lancaster. We like to go to the University Campus to see the varsity rugby teams play on Saturdays. I still don't understand all of the rules, but it is exciting to watch. For pictures, click here:

Miscellaneous:

Rachel went to a dance at her middle school this past Thursday. It was very different from the dances she attended in Palmyra. They learned how to waltz and disco dance in gym class and Rachel was asked to waltz at the middle school dance.

Evan got a police/detective costume from his grandfather and has been posing as a detective for days.

For pictures, click here:

Northland

The kids had a two week vacation from school for Easter, so we decided to go back up north while it was still warm. We went back to Pahia at the Bay of Islands.

Adventure World:

On Friday, we spent the day at Adventure World a park with water slides, a trapeze, high wire, jousting, trails, etc. For pictures, click here.

Kayak Trip:

On Saturday, Joel, Rachel and Lexie went on a 3 hour kayak trip in the Bay of Islands. They were able to visit the Treaty Grounds where the treaty between England and the Maori was signed. They also traveled to individual islands where the girls were able to gather sea glass and cool shells. For pictures, click here.

Whangarei Falls:

On our way down the coast to Leigh, we stopped at Whangarei Falls. We were able to take a trail to the bottom of the falls and the view was spectacular. For pictures, click here.

Leigh by the Sea:

We spent three days in Leigh, a tiny fishing village in Northland. We spent one day snorkling at Goat Island. For pictures, click here.

Pakiri Beach:

On Tuesday, we spent the morning horseback riding on the beach. We spent the rest of the day at Pakiri Beach. It was probably the prettiest beach we've seen so far. For pictures, click here.