Bula!

Sean running over to show me a tiny crab he found on the beach.

Couldn't pass up a chance for a photo at the infinity pool.

Jim and Jackson on the jet ski.

Kayaking on Suvala Island.

One of the beautiful birds we saw.

All those shadows in the water are baby sharks!

Lunch time entertainment.

If you ever decide to go to Fiji, you will need to know the words "bula" and "vinaka". That is "hello/welcome" and "thank you". Every person you pass (everyone!) will say "Bula"! It's a friendly place, to say the least. It is also very, very humid. This is the tail end of their rainy season so had one day of intermittent showers but otherwise it was a mix of sun and clouds. There were exotic birds, frogs and bats everywhere. I don't really like bats. On our second day there, I was out on our patio taking pictures of an interesting bird perched in a palm tree just outside our room. (pictured above.) All of a sudden what I thought was a sea gull swooped into the tree. And then I looked closer.....BAT!!!  Of course everyone ran out onto the patio. The boys were delighted....a bat, right outside our room...how cool! From that point on, whenever we ventured out in the evening, I was on alert, looking for low flying bats.

For your viewing pleasure, a close up of the Fijian monkey faced bat. (Not taken by me!).

Other Fiji highlights were swimming in the big resort pools, riding jet skis and taking a boat cruise to a small island about an hour from our hotel. The boat cruise was somewhat touristy thing to do but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The crew of Fijian guys who ran the cruise were hilarious and played guitar and sang songs throughout the day. Singing  along was encouraged and it got funnier as the day progressed.  We snorkeled, had lunch on the island, watched a shark feeding (after we snorkeled in the very same water!!! But only harmless baby sharks, so they said) and cruised back, singing the whole way. On the ride back, everyone was noticeably chattier (perhaps the beers at lunch?) and we met people from France, Zimbabwe, China, Tonga and Australia.  The crew asked that everyone stand up and sing a song from their country...yes, we did it ,too and I have to say we did a rousing rendition of "Yankee Doodle Dandy!". 

Back in Auckland, we were relieved to find cooler temperatures and also surprised that every single grocery store was closed due to Good Friday. The only stores open were the corner markets, called dairies here, and they only stock bread, milk and other convenience store items. Luckily, our pantry had enough to put together dinner. 

A New Zealand birthday

I completely forgot to do a post about Sean turning 9! It's pretty cool to have a birthday while you're in New Zealand! A few gifts were tucked away in our suitcase and brought from Oregon. We also had a mini birthday celebration with Jack and Keelin and their mom Betsy. I even baked a cake....not easy with our limited kitchen set up here. It was a rainy day so we ended up at the movies. Then we got home and there was an earthquake! We all felt it but weren't immediately certain it was an actual quake. Then we saw our neighbor and her daughter piling in the car to drive up the hill just in case there was a tsunami. (The water is less than 100 meters from our back door).  It took us a few seconds to  grab phones and passports (just in case!) and off we went, zooming down the street and up the hill to the college behind our house. Turns out there was no need to be worried....it was actually 2 small quakes but neither was big enough to cause any damage. We all had a laugh about it afterward  but I guess better safe than sorry!   Plus it certainly made Sean's birthday even more memorable. (Side note: the first week we were here there was an actual  tsnumai warning. Once again we needed to quickly assemble the essential items...just in case. It was a good reminder to be somewhat prepared if you need to vacate quickly. Our passports and travel documents are all neatly sorted but beyond that we weren't entirely organized. Something to work on, especially since there was recently a headline about the real possibility of the "big one" coming...as in volcanic eruption or earthquake!).

The Bay of Islands

Intersecting waves

How many miles to Portland?

The tip of the cape is off limits.

The Bay of Islands is close to the northern tip of New Zealand. It's a popular vacation spot filled with beautiful sights. We tried to cover as much territory as we could in 3 days. We stayed in a  little town called Pahia (not to be confused with Piha which is another lovely spot just north of Auckland). We made the drive to Cape Reinga on our second day there and it's not a quick little jaunt. It's about 100 km  north of the last town so its best to get your tank filled before you make the drive. Also, until 2010 the last 19 km was unsealed gravel. Thankfully the road is paved now. The area is magical. According to Maori legend, this is where souls begin their journey into the next life. It's also where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet up and you can actually see waves crashing together in a criss-cross pattern.  The landscape here is something that takes your breath away. The beauty combined with the Maori legends about the area make it an easy place to spend lots of time silently watching the waves. It draws visitors from all over the world....another place where within just a few minutes we heard a wide variety of languages.  
Back in our trusty Mazda (now missing a hub cab...a story for another time), we headed for the great sand dunes of Te Paki for a little sand surfing. I was truly amazed at just how big the dunes are and how it appears they go on forever. There is a little shack where you can rent boards to sand surf so of course, the boys were climbing all over in a matter of minutes.    
 

Our final stop was the glow worm caves at Waipu. Finding the caves involved driving on windy unpaved farm roads but it was well worth the trip. We read about the caves in a guide book and knew to bring head lamps so we could explore. This adventure involved walking across a field with a large cow (who grew bored with us and slowly ambled away), entering the cave through a narrow passage and walking a few yards in total darkness. When the head lamps went on we were in a huge open area with stalactites (hanging from the ceiling of the cave) and stalagmites (on the ground) everywhere. It was surreal to have walked through such a small opening and suddenly be in such a huge open space with rock formations that looked like chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. At this point, we hadn't seen the glow worms yet, so we ventured in a bit further, turned off the head lamps  (yikes, it was dark) and started to see tiny little specks of light all over the ceiling. It looked like constellations everywhere! In case you were wondering, the glow worm is the larva of New Zealand's most famous fly.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get any photos in the cave because the low light makes it impossible. Only when we were safely back in the car did Jim mention the possibility of eels and sinkholes in the cave...eeekkk!

Risk? As in EELS???

One of the thousands we saw during our trip to Bay of Islands!

Zip Lining on Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island is not quite an hour away by ferry. It's an island that many people live on year round but also a popular vacation spot. Many people have a vacation home called a bach here (rhymes with match). It's also the home of many wineries producing the famous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Wine tasting sounded like a lovely idea but if you can't sample wines, why not take a zip line tour?
We checked into Eco-Zip Adventures and met our friendly guides Morgan and Sally. We spent a good amount of time getting hooked and harnessed and strapped in...safety is a priority! Before we knew it, we were zooming through the sky on fast paced zip lines. There were 3 different course, each one slightly different, ending with the fastest and steepest. After the zip lines, we took a guided bush walk back to base camp and along the way learned many interesting facts about the New Zealand rain forest. We saw Supple Jack vine which can be cut open to provide drinking water and used as a climbing rope. We saw a huge tree called a Puriri tree which is considered the mother of the forest by the Maori people because it flowers and produces fruit all year. It also provides a home for a variety of forest species, including the ghost moth. These moths burrow in the tree for up to 7 years and only live for  days once they emerge.  We also saw a Totara tree, considered the father of the forest. These trees grow straight and tall and have extremely weather resistant wood. The wood was used to build Maori war canoes as well as to make joists and posts used in meeting houses. The word Totara is commonly used as a metaphor for "mana" which means strength, honor and humility. As Morgan told us, if the boys were likened to a Totara tree, that would be high praise!  

Sea Scouts and life in NZ

The boys have been spending Monday evenings doing Sea Scouts, which is sort of like Cub Scouts but with an emphasis on water activities. So far they've done science night, fishing and kayaking.
Its been a nice way to spend time with kids their age and get a closer look at life in New Zealand.  We also visited the local school. Almost every student rides a scooter to school, they all wear uniforms and every school has its own swimming pool. Students here learn how to swim....it's not optional. Water safety continues through older grades and incorporates kayak safety as well as how to do water rescues. Because we are right on the beach, we've seen the college (that's high school to us) kids down here every week doing water related activities.

 Trips to the grocery store have been another fun way to learn about New Zealand.

Eggs aren't refrigerated. The yolks are bright orange.

    
 

Lots of spreads but very little peanut butter.

Tons of varieties of mint sauce.

Our favorite: Hokey Pokey ice cream!

Camper van before and after

First Day in camper van

Last day in camper van

South Island Wrap Up

The time in Queenstown ended with a few more adventure activities. We all did the Skyline Luge, which involved riding a very steep gondola , then a chairlift to the top of the mountain. From here we rode 800 meters down the mountain on a windy track...lots of fun and incredible views of the mountains surrounding Queenstown.   The grand finale was Ledge Swing. Jim asked if I wanted to try and the answer was NO! So he carried on alone with all of us ready with the camera. It is somewhat like a bungee jump, but instead of going you straight down, you swing back and forth. A little terrifying to watch!

We stopped for a late lunch at a place called Fergburger because we kept hearing about their great burgers.  (Note: burgers here are different! They taste different in a way that's hard to describe and also feature a sweet ketchup sauce, lots of mayo and sometimes a bit of beet). They were huge...maybe not the best ever, but pretty tasty.   

Once again it was time for that favorite family activity: packing up! All the rocks, all the sticks, all the shells....safely bundled up to take home. Thanks to Jim's ingenuity, the sticks had their own little travel bundle. A little tape+towels+plastic bags...voila! Sticks ready to go! The lady at the Jet Star ticket counter didn't bat an eye when we added this to our luggage.  So long Queenstown!

Queenstown

First glimpse of Queenstown

Sadly, the only photo of the camper van to rental car transfer. Where's the overloaded trolley?

Not for the faint of heart!

Another gorgeous view.

The sad day arrived when it was time to trade in our lovely Maui camper van for a compact car. Attempting to consolidate the many rocks, sticks and shells collected along the way was challenging to say the least. Plus we were hoping to transfer at least some of our food/beverages to take to our Queenstown condo. It was not our most elegant moment in travel.   Fortunately, all we had to do was pile everything outside the camper van drop off, load it into the shuttle and pile everything onto a trolley which are helpfully provided free of charge at the airport. After a short walk to our seemingly tiny car we headed to Queenstown. We had barely settled in when it was decided that we needed to do at least one adventure activity on our first day in Queenstown. After all, Queenstown is THE adventure capital of New Zealand! So, off t the Shotover Jet we went. I've done jet boat rides before so I figured it was just a fast cruise on the Shotover River. What I didn't know was the boat narrowly misses crashing into the rocky walls of the canyon (on purpose) and the boat does 360 degree spins in very narrow passages that don't appear capable of accommodating the boat's length. All this happens while the boat is going really fast. Afterward you get to watch video of your ride...for about the first ten minutes my headed was bent down and my eyes were closed....fun!
On day two, we were headed to The Doubtful Sound for another tour...this time a bus ride through the Manapouri Hydroelectric Power Station and a boat cruise in the sound.  The power plant tour involved riding on a giant bus on a winding road that took us on a 2km below ground. The power station was completed in 1971 and involved blasting and drilling to excavate 1.4 million tons of rock.   Grueling labor. A second tunnel was completed in 2002 to increase the station's capacity. The boys enjoyed the dark, somewhat spooky bus ride below ground and were impressed by the amount of machinery in the main hall.  After the brief tour, we headed back to the bus and took a cruise over the Wilmot Pass, descending very steeply to the dock where our boat awaited.
It was a perfect day to cruise through the sound and the sights were awe inspiring. Many sections of the valleys surrounding the sound were carved out by huge glaciers millions of years ago. It is an area largely untouched by humans and pretty much inaccessible unless you are on a boat. At one point the boat captain turned off all the engines and we got to hear a minute or so of complete silence. Very tranquil. No dolphins or penguins were sighted on our ride but we did see a large colony of seals on rocks just as we came out of the sound into the Tasman Sea.   

Look at all those cool machines!

Very windy on the top deck.

One of NZ's long white clouds. 

Jackson got this pic!

How long do we have to stand here, Mom?

Seals!

Continuing South

Wanaka was probably my favorite stop. The camper van park was perched high above the city, surrounded by mountains with a great view of the lake. Plus, as an added attraction there were sheep right next to the campground. Probably not something most people would be excited about, but the novelty of seeing sheep everywhere hasn't worn off.

Sheep!

Beautiful Wanaka sunset

 

 

  Before pulling in to the Top Ten park, we made a stop at Puzzling World, which is a famous tourist attraction with mazes, illusion rooms and other quirky wonders. I was expecting it to be hokey but it was actually a lot of fun. Our favorite parts were the "Ames Forced Perception Room" that created the illusion of short and really tall people. From the viewing window it looks like a normal room but inside the shape is totally distorted. We also liked the wall of 3D faces that follow you as you walk around and the tilted house.    The last thing we did at Puzzling World was "The Great Maze". This is a 1.5 K maze outside with different levels that takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to complete. The goal is to get to all four of the different colored posts in the corners, then back out through the exit. We successfully navigated all the corners but got stuck trying to get out and had to use one of the emergency doors.     

We decided to go out to dinner in downtown Wanaka and found a really good restaurant called Relishes, then headed back to camp. Next stop Queenstown!