Christmas and New Zealand: Part 1

Coromandel

Pieter and Uncle Marky in Whangamata

Whangamata sunset

Our B&B hosts in Whangamata

Ella on swing over the ocean

Uncle Marky

Driving to Coromandel Peninsula.
Jackaranda flowers and Auckland skyline in background

Pieter on One Tree Hill with a Pahukakawa tree

Mark, totally petrified of the cow (pretending to pet it, might I add!).

New Zealand: December 25, 2009 – January 14, 2010.

Merry Christmas! It’s 5:00 AM , our flight lvs at 8:00 AM. We’re all happy and excited. Uneventful flight to Brisbane. Difficulty with customs there because of our Australian visas. Confusion over Rob’s work visa. Takes lots of time to sort out, but people are super nice and helpful. Kids are amazing on next flight, again. Land in Auckland 12:05 AM on12/26. Stand in line for a while to rent car. Drive ½ hour to Waldorf Apartments. Clean, modern, bright, cozy. Somewhere are Mark (my brother) and Erin (his girlfriend). When we will see them? I go to buy some food. Come up on elevator, door opens and there stands a couple. I weakly smile at them and then realize it’s Mark and Erin! Awesome to see them.

Go for a swim in crazy long skinny pool at hotel. Go out to see Auckland. Have lunch. Unsure what we should do. Auckland lacks heart. Walk towards needle. Come across market with great sketches. Wish I’d bought more. See people do a form of bungy jumping off needle. Plan to go up at night. Decide to drive up to “One Tree Hill”. See cow pasture which we can go in. Ella goes right up to a cow and pets it, not Mark. He’s having flashbacks of when the bull tried to impale him in the Azores…hilarious! Memorial at top of “Hill” with a great 360 view of Auckland. Pahukakawa trees all around (NZ’s “Christmas tree” – huge with amazing red blossoms). Mark, Rob and Ella climb one. Sheep and goats sprinkled on the hill. Fun to explore. Dinner at Portofino. Delicious. Kids run around outside restaurant and Pieter trips and smashed back of his head. Thankfully OK! Too late and too tired for night ride up needle.

12/26 Pick up M&E’s car. Start driving to Coromandel Peninsula – 3 hour drive. Scenic route out of Auckland. Beautiful Jakaranda trees, Pahuckakawa trees and Agapantha flowers everywhere. Lots of racy road signs warning you of various consequences of bad choices. Get in huge traffic jam for an hour. One way bridge that they don’t organize well. M&E start digging into the 6 packs of Tim Tams that we brought them. Once through, amazing curvy, cliff side drive along the water. Spectacular views. Pieter spills his yoghurt all over himself and carseat. Stop the car at rest area. Happens to have a swing that swings out over the water and a stream with tunnel under road. Spend almost an hour there having incredible swings. Lv the coast and head inland across to Wangamata. Amazing green mountains with steep cliffs, no guardrails. Around every corner is another breathtaking view. We start to realize that this is what New Zealand is all about. One breathtaking view after another and they are all different! Reach opposite coast – are now on East Coast. Drive to Bed and Breakfast. Randomly in neighborhood. The Bed(s): we have double bunk beds in ours with bottom bunk queen sized. Go down to harbour to playground. Have cheese, crackers and wine. Dinner across the street.

12/27 The Breakfast: toast and cereal. Hmm? We were thinking pancakes and French toast. Maybe not the kiwi way. Off to the hot water beach. Geothermals under the sand heat up the water to “wicked hot”. Tons of people down there digging holes/hot tubs. It was amazing. You needed to let some cold water in so you wouldn’t burn yourself. At first Pieter wanted nothing to do with it and didn’t even want his suit on. In the end he was all bathered up and was “swimming” in the tubs.