Heaven or Hahei?

Hahei Beach upon our arrival at the RV Camp.

At 7pm our first day in New Zealand, I crashed with the kids, utterly spent from being on the go for nearly 60 hours. I regained consciousness long enough to see my sister, Melanie, standing in the RV after Colin picked her up at the airport around midnight. In the morning, there she was - I wasn't dreaming after all! (Melanie also had a crazy series of events en route to New Zealand involving a long stop in Sydney, Australia. Guest post, Melanie?)

Melanie! You made it in once piece!!! 

After welcoming Melanie into our humble abode and getting her situated in her spiffy top loft, we set out on that rainy Tuesday morning to our first adventure - Hahei Beach...(of course after three additional stops, but you don't want to hear about our grocery shopping escapades, or our grey water hose mishap.)

Waiting for our gray water hose repair/adjustment. The joys of RV life. 

Where was I...Oh yes! HAHEI!

Aside from the kids, all of us had been to Hahei before, but none of us ever stayed there over night. Melanie and I did a Hahei sea kayaking trip in June of 2009 that was so adventurous, Colin and I booked the same kayaking excursion for our honeymoon in January 2012. This trip, we never booked our camp sites ahead of time. Our plan was to get to town, rent a beach spot, (hopefully) and just veg and recover from the exhaustion of flying half way around the world.

En Route to Hahei. Tea, anyone?

Through the rainy mountains. Many a time lapse video was taken on this road.

After a rainy drive through the mountainous, twisty road, we arrived with the setting sun in Hahei. Or was it heaven? Either way, this coastal hamlet is absolutely gorgeous. 

"Ocean in view!"

We stayed three days, but we all loved it there so much that we easily could have spent the entire vacation on that beach. Our camp site was a minute walk from the sand. But the best part? The beach...deserted. Empty. All ours. Our own. Our precious. (Sorry, Lord of the Rings references happen a lot in New Zealand.) I expected Hahei to be quiet since it was the off season, but this was like winning the lottery. Gorgeous beach and surrounding islands with mild weather. Cha-ching! During our time there, I never saw more than four other people on the entire beach at one time. Unlike when Colin and I were there in the middle of the summer, there were hundreds, if not thousands of people on that same beach.

Good evening. 

Obligatory Selfie. 

Our days there typically started around 4am. (Jet lag, y'all.) The stars were spectacular (we had skylights in the camper) and around 4:30am the moon would rise up over the water. Then around 7:30, we would have a morning brew on the beach to welcome the sun. Rejuvenating, calming perfection. The sea breezes, hearing the waves crash onto the shore day and night, watching the changing sunlight dance across the landscape, all did wonders for the soul.

Good Morning.

Morning cuppa'.

Happy Melanie. 

While we were in town, we took an amazing motor boat tour that covered the surrounding coves, caves, islands and blow holes. We all loved it, including the kids, especially when we got to feed fish! It was an unforgettable experience.

Getting suited up for the boat ride with Hahei Explorer! 

But first! Sand? 

Looking back towards Hahei Beach 

Smile! You're in the Coromandel! 

Mamma had fun :-)

Melanie tried to snap pics for me. 

Cathedral Cove and surrounding cliffs.  

Intrepid Toddler. She loved it! 

Looking straight up a blowhole! 

We also did a hike to the beautiful and iconic Cathedral Cove. It's one of my favorite spots in all the world. The babies loved playing there. Big Sis really enjoyed exploring the beach with Colin and Little Sis discovered the joys of eating sand, though I tried to dissuade her from doing so!

Let's explore, Dada. 

Running into Paradise. 

Exploring the beach. 

This stuff is so tasty!!! 

Mel and the driftwood. Huge! 

A beautiful afternoon. 

The wind and waves put Big Sis to sleep on Colin's back! 

Awwwww love. 

Storms approaching! 

A good time was had by all! Also, please note the amazing Dad Pram :-) 

We also just relaxed around Hahei beach and played in the sand and water. Big Sis eventually learned not to go running into the water, because being drenched in Autumn temperature waters is not so very pleasant after all. She traded in wave chasing for stream play and learned that throwing rocks into said  streams is the bomb. Little Sis loved to collect shells when she took breaks from sneaking sand into her mouth. Colin loved jogging on the beach and not getting asthmatic, thanks to the low elevation. Melanie and I loved just walking and photographing this amazing piece of God's creation. I asked Colin more than once if we could move there. I haven't gotten a "Yes" yet, but he hasn't said "No" either, so I will keep on hoping!

Out shooting photos with Mel. Not a bad sunrise. 

Intrepid Baby. 

Totem Pole.

Playing in the nearby cove. 

Perfecting the art of throwing rocks into streams. 

Weeeee! 

Toddler plays, baby naps. 

Did I mention already that we always had the beach to ourselves? 

Now that we are home, in the chaotic day-to-day life activities, I sometimes stop what I am doing and say to Colin..."Do you know that right this very minute, there are waves crashing onto Hahei beach?" When a place makes such a deep impression on you and forever embeds its charms into mind and steals a little of your heart, that's what I call paradise. Hahei, save us a spot on that beach, cause we are coming back for it, someday.

Next time...The North Island's Central Region of Lakes and Volcanoes!

Kia Ora, New Zealand!

Every good journey begins in the middle of the night...like when we left our cozy home at 3:20am to race to the airport to catch our first of two domestic flights.

(There's our hometown! Bye, house!!!)

(Lil Sis, the intrepid baby, ready for traveling from Spokane) 

Spokane to Salt Lake City to San Francisco took ALL morning. Luckily, we got a hotel room near the airport for our 9 hour stop in San Francisco. That was definitely worth the hotel points. Baths, naps, meals and quiet outside the terminals...it was the perfect way to break things up for the kids.

(Staying distracted and non raging during our domestic flights)

To be completely honest, there were so many times en route to NZ where I was thinking "This is insane." "Never again." "We should have stayed home!" It's not that the trip down went badly; it actually went extremely well. The girls were slightly antsy on our domestic flights, but the 13 hour flight across the pacific, the one I was dreading, turned out to be just fine. Big Sis ended up sleeping 6-7 hours and Lil Sis slept about 8 hours in her bassinet they provided. But from 6:30am Friday to 11:00pm Sunday, I only slept maybe 2-3 hours. THAT is why the journey was hard at times! Otherwise, our kids proved to be fantastic little globe trekkers. But, books, toys, food and a charged iPad helped immensely!!! (No, I never really slept in San Fran. Too much adrenaline pumping in my veins!)

(Happy on the long flight.)

Once we arrived in Auckland, we went through customs, baggage claim and biosecurity in less than 20 mins. It was amazing and probably an all time record for getting through international customs. It was 6:30am and we were ready to take on the day...but unfortunately, we had to wait around the airport until 8:30 to catch a bus to the camper van rental agency. We roamed the halls of the Auckland airport, keeping the kids happy with snacks and little videos of themselves on our iphones (Big Sis loved watching videos of herself taken at our neighborhood park and our backyard. Familiarity helps!) 

(Welcome to New Zealand)

When we made it to the camper van agency, they got us situated as fast as they could. (The staff were so great and accommodating!) We spent a couple of hours in the parking lot unpacking our stuff, getting the car seats set up and making it all as comfy as possible. The girls were tired and getting a little impatient, but again, food, toys, books, ipad, saved us! 

(Lil Sis inspects one of the camper van beds)

We spent the rest of the day grocery shopping, getting situated at our campsite and waiting for Melanie's arrival at midnight. After playing at the playground, dinner and baths, I crashed with the kids at about 7pm. It felt WONDERFUL to sleep! 

(After nearly 60 hours non stop, this was a must) 

It was so surreal and yet also normal feeling to be back in New Zealand. It holds a special place in my heart, and I couldn't wait to head out of Auckland and onto to fresh adventures with my family...but first, Melanie had to catch up! More on that next time! 

Family Adventures Ahead!

New Zealand, May 2015 

(Daddy and Big Sis playing in the stream while mommy holds Lil Sis during a morning nap on the beach) 

It’s been almost a week since we got back from our epic New Zealand Adventure. I had hoped to blog about our journey in real time, but ultimately realized that being fully present for my family and a super early bedtime trumped blogging into the ground. So, a retrospective blog it is! 

In these humble posts I hope to share the good, the bad and the ugly of international travel with our toddlers. Overall, our trip went extremely well, but it wasn’t without its momentary meltdowns, for kids and parents alike! Needless to say, it was a huge learning experience. I want to share what we learned in the hopes that it might inspire other parents to take the plunge and do the unthinkable…travel with children!

Colin and I both have a bit of wanderlust running through our veins. But after having two kids back to back, I started believing that once you have kids it’s "game over". No more travel. No more adventures. Of course, we have done day trips and small road trips, along with tons of cross country travel to visit family in Texas, but I really thought the “big trips” were over and gone. But Colin has always remained in the mindset of “With savings, a good budget* and a lot of determination, traveling with kids IS possible."

After going to New Zealand for our honeymoon, Colin always talked about going back. I remained dubious! We did an RV road trip to the Canadian Rockies in the summer of 2014 (the inspiration for my blog) and had the most wonderful time. It was great practice for a similar trip we dreamed of taking in New Zealand. Then one day in March of 2015, we decided to dive in and purchase tickets. People told us we were brave, but I know they really meant we were crazy!

We are home now, having traveled across the world with our two babies. We did it and never misplaced a child or our sanity in the process. I call that success! Check back here for more installments about our epic family adventure. Oh! And a very special thanks to my sister, Melanie, for going on the adventure with us! 

*(There is no denying that money is a huge aspect of being able to pull off any kind of travel. This is where putting savings into a travel budget becomes vital because you will never save up enough for a big family trip by throwing spare change into a jar on the kitchen shelf. Maybe I’ll get Colin to write a post about budgeting. It's definitely his expertise, not mine! :)