Scenes from the Franz Josef camper van park

Throughout our South Island journey, we always stayed in Top Ten parks. Top Ten is a brand and I really don't know if they are somehow superior to other parks, but they were consistently clean and well taken care of. One of my favorite things, strangely enough, was spending time in the kitchen areas either preparing food or doing dishes. There were people from all over the world at the parks and it was interesting hearing different languages and seeing all the different kind of food being prepared. People prepare real meals when Rv-ing....no cans of Spaghetti-os or ramen noodles!

The Franz Josef park was surrounded by mountains, so there were amazing sunrises and sunsets. Not to mention how incredible it was to go outside every night and look at the stars. We saw the Southern Cross ( ...for the first time....), Orion (upside down) as well as a bevy of other constellations that we are working on getting better at naming.   I do have to laugh because despite the fact that we were in one of the most beautiful places in the world and spent so much time pointing out amazing sights to the boys, their  favorite part of the Franz Josef park was the the trampoline, followed by the cool rental bike carts.   Oh-and also the fact that the check in offices always had coolers with ice cream treats available for purchase.

Well, at least we have lots of photos and when they are older they will have visual evidence of their time in New Zealand. ( But even then they'll still probably look back and think it was so cool about the trampoline.....HA). 

More South Island adventures

Afetr driving back over the Takaka Hill we headed toward the town of Greymouth. Stops along the way included the "World's Longest Swing Bridge" (pictures coming soon) and the famous Punakaiki Rocks and Blowhole. The blowhole happens at high tide so we zipped our way along the west coast to reach the rocks in time. It is another breathtaking area. The colors in the ocean are incredibly vibrant and a nice contrast against the jagged rocks.  At high tide, the waves crash in and water is forced up through the rocks, creating an impressive blowhole. The pancake rocks were formed by layers of dead marine animals and plants and water pressure over the years cause the sediment to harden and form layers. All of this activity was initially happening beneath the sea but seismic activity over time pushed the layers up to form the rocks as they are seen today.

Greymouth wasn't particularly great but it did have a fun beach filled with rocks and driftwood (always a bonus for 8 and 10 year old boys). It also has a ton of stone called pounamu, which is jade. We collected a ton of rocks here...there was a truly amazing assortment of pretty rocks. (Our bags were very heavy when we finally packed up for the flight home).
After Greymouth, we were en route to Franz Joseph. It was definitely cooler here and on the day we arrived, a rain storm came though. The mountains were impressive. We did the glacier walk which puts you within 200 meters of the glacier. You can't get any closer unless you do a guided heli tour ($$$) and in the interest of having funds to send our boys to college, we chose to do the walk instead. The barriers around the glacier base change almost daily due to concerns about falling ice. Apparently in the last few years, tourists have foolishly scrambled beneath the ropes and died. It's not uncommon to have chunks of ice the size of 2 camper vans fall from the glacier.   

The view from the walk was great and as a bonus you get to see a lot of water falls in the surrounding area. These are safe to get close to and we walked up under a few of them.

Camper Van Adventures-The Beginning

We flew to Christchurch to pick up our Maui camper van. The 4 person vans weren't available, so we settled into our roomy 6 person camper. It was clean, efficiently designed and seemed capable of handling 4 people in close quarters over the course of our week long travels.  Pretty much everything is provided...towels, bedding, small TV w/DVD player, pots, plates, even a French press coffee plunger. Our first day's destination was Hanmer Springs....just enough driving to get us settled in and adjusted to camper living. Hanmer Springs is a lovely little town nestled up against mountains, which include the Amuri ski area. There's a town center with just enough amenities plus the Hamner Springs Pool complex, featuring many different thermal pools surrounded by rocks, plus a water slide area and a fresh water lap pool. All in all, it was the perfect place to stay on our first night. In the morning we had breakfast and got on the road to Pohara. We had planned a little detour to explore the Saw Tooth Canyon. The road was listed as a 12k gravel road with gates. What we didn't know was the road was narrow and steep and it was questionable driving in a huge camper. We continued on and on....and the road became steeper and steeper....and more and more narrow. The final straw was a road sign depicting a car headed down a very steep hill...a warning that the road was going to become even steeper. The adventure was over! We managed to find enough room to do a u-turn and headed back to the safety of paved roads. (Little did we know there was more  crazy driving up ahead on the Takaka Hill).
One fun stop along the way was the Ohau Seal Colony...one of the members of the colony is pictured above.

An after dinner swim

Before we came to New Zealand, we found out there was a family living here who moved from our same town in Oregon. Without even knowing it, we booked a rental home that is about 5 minutes from where they live. It has been great to have some American contacts here and even better , all of our kids get along wonderfully and we've been getting together almost every weekend. The rocks and rope swing pictured here are from the little beach just down the street from their house. This is the second time we've met them for a picnic on the beach and then a quick swim. 

Feel the spirit

We headed to the town of Rotorua after our afternoon at Hobbiton. The official slogan for the town is ""Feel the spirit-Manaakitanga". We were also able to "smell the spirit" since the air  is filled with a distinct aroma courtesy of the thermal springs in and around the town. The official town website lists the smell as "a faint sulphur smell". I'd describe as a bit stronger than "faint".
Stinkiness aside, the city has a beautiful large lake and a multitude of natural wonders including he Waitopo Thermal area and the famous mud pools.

The Davitt boys also tried the Ogo experience...basically rolling down a hill in a giant bouncy ball. Apparently a trip to NZ isn't complete unless you've bungee jumped, done a zip line, or tried one of the many other adventure activities. 
We stayed the night in Rotorua and in the morning drove to Okere Falls....a pretty waterfall with a fun little swimming area...then more driving to the fun beach city we still can't pronounce correctly...Mt. Maunganui. The town of Mt. Maunganui sits north of Raglan in an area called the Bay of Plenty.  The beach was amazing, great waves, really interesting shells and a cute little town with fun shopping and cute cafes.. If you come to NZ, stay here, not in Rotorua!!!
 One thing we've noticed is that it is expensive to eat out in NZ. Even a quick meal at a little cafe can be very pricey. And the food isn't great. It's not bad but it just isn't quite what we're used to back home. Portland has spoiled us with all its great restaurants. Kiwis have definitely embraced the coffee culture and we have enjoyed good coffee and lattes so far. However, most morning our coffee comes from our simple little French press!   
And because it's already Sunday here....Happy Birthday, Uncle Brian!!!!

Hanging out at Hobbiton

We drove about 2 hours to get to the Hobbiton, the sight of movie scenes from Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.
We learned interesting facts about the making of the movies from our witty tour guide. Mostly, that what director Peter Jackson wants, he gets. Including moving trees and completely altering nature to fit his movie making vision. The NZ Army was contracted to build the roads leading to the set and every hedge and plant was brought in from nurseries throughout NZ.
Mr. Jackson decided he needed a specific type of tree for Bilbo's home, Bag End. The perfect tree was located in a nearby town and was taken down, branch by branch. Every part was numbered then it was transported to the movie set and bolted together. Fake leaves were imported from Taiwan and individually wired to the tree. Just before the movie was to begin filming, the leaves started to turn blue. The crew recruited a team of college students from Hamilton to individually spray every leaf so the tree looked  perfect.

After the completion of filming the Lord of the Rings, the set was scheduled to be torn down but was delayed due to poor weather. Fans of the movie started coming to visit the area and eventually the owners of the farm (The Alexander Family) collaborated with Peter Jackson to restore the film set and turn it into a destination.  

Hot Beach and Cathedral Cove

  We started the week quietly....Jackson wasn't feeling well and we needed two solid days of home schooling catch up. We did make it to the local pool (free) and did laps and we also connected with a family that used to live in Oregonand had a picnic on the beach with take out(known here as takeaway) fish and chips. The boys got to try out an amazing rope swing off some rocks and had fun swinging into the water.
But then we hit the road, heading toward an area called the Coromandel, about  a 2 hour drive from our rented home. We got our first taste of the twisty, hairpin turns that are a part of NZ driving. Jim did his best to focus on the road and not on the sheer cliffs off to the side. Nice views....some scary driving. Our first stop was the Hot Water Beach. It's mentioned in all the guide books so it's not exactly a secret spot. But it was the middle of the week...and all the NZ kids are in school...surely it wouldn't be that busy?!?  As the second picture shows, we weren't alone in seeking to experience the famous hot water.  We found a spot to dig out a little hot tub (since that's what you do at Hot Water Beach) , and the water just beneath the sand was indeed very hot. The incoming waves bring in cooler water and then you can sit and relax in your own little man made tub.
The next day we hiked in to Cathedral Cove which is filled with spectacular rock formations, tunnels and gorgeous blue water. The boys had tons of fun running in and out of the waves and climbing on the rocks. 

A trip to Goat Island

Strangely, no goats have ever been on Goat Island! We did see some on the drive there, though.  This is a snorkeling spot so we stopped on the way to get the necessary gear and got right in to explore. We saw lots of large fish, a few schools of smaller fish and Jackson said he saw a sting ray. Of course, before we even left the rental shop, I cornered the local girl working there and got the rundown on what creatures were lurking below the water. She assured me the sting rays were shy and it was unlikely to encounter anything dangerous. Phew!
The boys love the beach....Jackson especially loves snorkeling. That worked out nicely since Jim and Jackson were interested in a longer excursion while Sean and I were ready to head back to dry land.  
Tomorrow we head to Coromandel!

NZ Sport

One of the language differences in New Zealand is with the discussion of sports. For instance, in the US, you might ask someone what sports they do. Here, you'd ask, "Do you do sport?". Also, the front of the Sports page says "Sport". So, in an attempt to learn more about popular "Sport" in NZ, we went to Eden Park Open day. This stadium houses the world famous New Zealand Blacks rugby team, as well as the Auckland Blues (another rugby team), the Black Caps (cricket) and the White Ferns (ladies cricket). For a small donation, you get to tour the entire facility, including coaches boxes and the locker rooms and several members of the Auckland Blues were on the field mingling and signing autographs. The boys even got to line up and field a punt from one of the rugby players (even though we still are very much beginners in understanding rugby). I wish I knew who these two players were in the photos with the boys. We will try to find out!