Lakes, Luges, and Lessons Learned.

Lake Taupo Fun

Where were we? Oh yes...Hahei. It was wonderful. None of us wanted to leave, but more adventures were to be had down the road. So after one last glorious morning of playing on the beach...

Glorious 

Just glorious... 

...we said our farewells and headed towards Rotorua and Taupo in the Central Plateau...a land of lakes, hot springs, volcanoes and tourists. Tourists EVERYWHERE.

We stayed one night at a great (and very clean, yay!) family holiday park (Surprise! Dinosaur Themed!) just outside of Rotorua. It had a huge play ground and a heated pool which the girls loved. The receptionist, Tracey, was super helpful and (coincidentally) was planning a big road trip to the Pacific North West later this year. I had some great conversations with her about things do to in our corner of the world. (If you're ever in need of a place to stay in Rotorua, we recommend All Seasons Holiday Park Rotorua!)

Watch out for Dinosaurs.

Isn't that a cool treehouse? 

We had the pool to ourselves. 

She only went under three times. No biggie. 

Now, since I was put in charge of planning this little-half-way-around-the-world-adventure, I tried to pick places and excursions we could all enjoy together. Rotorua caters to every age group and boasts a wide variety of interesting things to see and do. But with this comes hoards of tourists! Yes, I know, we were tourists too...But still, Rotorua was a tad crowded. The only activity we ended up doing whilst in town was the Rotorua Gondola and Luge. Melanie and I did the Queenstown Luge (2009)
and Colin and I did the same one (2012), and we all LOVED it. It is a great rush, and really brings out the kid in you. Small kids are allowed to ride with their parents, so off we went. 

I guess this is where my pre-children brain and post-children brain kind of had {un poco}  miscommunication. You go up the mountain on the Gondola and ride down the Luge.

Good, safe fun. 

Not nervous like I was in Banff. Well, not as nervous. 

Easy. Fun. Riding the Gondola is great with kids...the doors lock while en route up the mountain and it feels relatively safe. However, I had forgotten that once you ride the Luge down, you must go back up. On the ski lift...

Nervous? Me? Never! (Also Note: Husband and First Born behind me.) 

...That part escaped my memory. But surprisingly, the staff didn't bat an eye as we wrangled squirmy toddlers onto the ski lifts, so I guess squirmy kids are allowed.  You can imagine how tight a grip I had on Lil Sis, because one false move and she would have fallen 20+ feet. Ay yi yi!

Me with a death grip on Lil Sis.

Colin and Big Sis.

Me hoping Colin has a death grip on Big Sis. 

Thinking back on it now, it all seems ludicrous that we did it. But despite possible disaster happening at any moment, it was fun! 

Good, old fashioned, dangerous fun.

Colin took Big Sis on his luge and I took Lil Sis on mine a couple of times until she decided to snooze out a round with her mom and auntie. 

We went on the slower tracks and I rode with my brakes partially engaged. ;-) But it was a beautiful course, and while the kids did enjoy it, they were not as wild with delight over the experience as I thought they'd be. I guess Melanie and I are also getting old or something, because when we rode the partially icy Luge in Queenstown (2009), we drove like bats out of hell, full speed ahead, airborne, hairpin turns, wild and crazy and all that. This time, we both admitted to each other that the slow track was nerve wracking! (Sigh, what happened to us?) Also, we rode the Luge on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. So did every other tourist in New Zealand and ten of their nearest relatives. It was SUPER crowded and there were always long lines to get a luge/ski lift. By the way, small children HATE waiting in lines. ;-) So, all in all, yes, it was lots of fun. Would we do it again?....Um, maybe not. ;-) 

Well, never say never. 

After surviving the Luge, we drove to Taupo, just about an hour south of Rotorua. Taupo is a gorgeous place on the shores of a spectacularly blue lake and in the shadow of three imposing volcanoes. Colin asked that we spend one night there because we only drove through on our Honeymoon (2012). However, Melanie and I spent several days there (2009) due to being quarantined by the New Zealand government! We were exposed to swine flu on our flight to New Zealand, and just like that, quarantined for five days despite never falling ill. That's a whole other saga for another post, but while we were in town, we drove past the house in which we stayed during the quarantined all those years ago. It was surreal and brought back lots of memories!

ACK!!! It's our quarantine house!!!!! Six years later! 

{Deep breath now...} Anyhow, like Rotorua, there are tons of (expensive) things to see and do in Taupo. We visited Huka Falls, (free!) an amazing series of water falls on the Waikato River. 

Thundering River.

I can't remember the exact stat, but I think this water fall could fill a football field in five seconds?

Dad, go that way. 

I want the water! 

We also parked the camper near by the beach (also free) and had lunch and tea in view of the lake. We took the girls for a walk along the shore and played on the beach as well. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, begging for some play time in the sun. Big Sis could have spent ALL DAY throwing rocks into the lake and Lil Sis could have spent all day sitting, examining and trying to taste all the rocks on the beach. They were in heaven.

Someone didn't want to leave. 

So, lest you finishing reading this post nodding off, let me give you my PROFOUND lessons learned from this segment of our trip: Small children like ours do not really care about things like Luge rides, or most other expensive, adrenaline rushing excursions. While they tolerated the Luge very well, in retrospect, it was probably a sensory over load for them and they would need to be some years older to fully appreciate it. This was a surprise to me since Big Sis has always seemed like a daredevil and adventure junkie. In the end, our children could have happily spent two full days throwing rocks into Lake Taupo. And I kind of wish we had done just that instead. Another lesson learned: I do not like crowds! Something about traveling with toddlers and the claustrophobia of waiting in long lines with hoards of tourists wasn't very appealing. Plus, coming from the deserted hamlet of Hahei to the bustling towns of Rotorua and Taupo was a bit of a shock to my system. Both towns are beautiful, but if I had to do that portion of our trip over again, I think we'd bypass the bigger towns and stay in small towns off the tourist loops. There are so many great things to discover when you turn off the beaten path and onto the road less taken. Luckily, that's where the road took us out of Taupo and into the Tongariro National Park. More on that next time! 

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!