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.

Rotorua

Rotorua is a small city on the shores of Lake Rotorua -- about an hour and a half from Hamilton. The surrounding areas are full of geothermal geysers, boiling mud pools, and steaming craters - accompanied by the stinky smell of sulpher. We went to a park to take a look at some of the geothermal activity. For pictures, click here.

Maori Village Visit

We went on an overnight trip to Lake Rotorua. We stayed at a Thermal Holiday Park (campground to us) and while there, went and visited the Mitai Maori Village. A bus came and picked us up at the campground and took us to the sacred village. The whole experience was a lot of fun. We all went down into the village to watch the canoe full of chanting warriors arrive. We then went into a theater and watched the cultural performance. After the performance, we ate a traditional Maori meal(called a Hangi). For pictures, click here.

Waihi Beach/Mount Maunganui

Since the weather was nice, we decided to take a weekend trip back to Waihi Beach and then came home via Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. Mount Maunganui, or Mauao, is also the name of the extinct volcano which rises above the town. Shrouded in history and legend, the mountain is a dominant feature of the landscape, and a climb to the summit offers amazing views of the surrounding city and ocean. We didn't get to climb to the top of the mountain because the kids hadn't packed their sneakers and were all sporting stubbed toes. For pictures, click here.

Opononi

We stopped at a little seaside town, Opononi, on our way to the Bay of Islands. Opononi, is famous for a friendly dolphin, Opo, that lived in the bay during the 1950's. The dolphin was referred to as Opo, the Gay Dolphin and the LVC College students laughed their way through a video of Opo. Information about Opo can be found here.

To see our pictures of Oponini, click here.

Bay of Islands Trip

We spend the weekend of the 24th on a bus trip to the Bay of Islands with the college students. Althought the ride was long, the scenery and boat cruise was spectacular and definitely worth the trip. Boat cruise photos are here.

Bay of Islands is about 5.5 hours North of Hamilton (where we're living). It's a Pacific Coast attraction that has 145 islands and sub-tropical weather. It also has the Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitanga was signed between the English and the Maori in 1840. Scenery photos are here.

We saw a lot but really enjoyed the boat ride where dolphins swam next to the boat. We were on the front of the boat at the railing and had a chance to see the dolphins riding the between the two hulls of the catamaran style boat. Photos are here.

We also saw a Kauri tree, similar in size and age to our American Redwood trees. The Tane Mahuta tree is estimated to be about 1500 years old. Photos are here.

Chiefs Rugby

We went to a Hamilton Chiefs professional rugby game on Friday the 16th of March. The atmosphere and game was great. Tickets were cheap compared to American Football and we sat in a kids section which was free from alcohol and hooligans. The Chiefs are part of the Super 14 League which includes Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The Chiefs beat the Lions from South Africa for their first win of the season. Here are a few photos of the kids with their free Chiefs merchandise.
Here's a link to the Chiefs Rugby Team.