Hot Pools, Haiku and Home!

The day started  with DH taking us to the parts place to sort out a small oil  leak in the car.  With that resolved,  we went to the Mt Maunganui Hot Pools.  They are lovely!  Chlorinated salt water warm pools right under the Mount.   PB had a lovely play and we had a very relaxing soak.
We packed up the camp and headed out to Katikati, where we stopped to have lunch and do the Haiku Walk.  This is a walking track around town (sort of behind the shops) along which there are a number of large boulders with haiku carved into them.  Unfortunately,  it was pouring down when we did the walk,  so we didn't muck around much and I'm sure we missed out a great chunk of it.
We carried on to the freedom camping place on Tuariko Road, which is lovely.
After dinner,  we had a little family disco (as you do when celebrating our last night on tour), then following the disco,  our four year old came out of the bathroom saying : "Ladies and gentlemen, a show is going to come on."  He followed this by dancing nude with two bright green plastic coat hangers.   It was spectacular.
Our last night of the trip.  Seems strange,  mixed emotions.   Sad it's over but looking forward to being home again.   PB summed it up when I asked him if it will be weird to be home, when he said "Yeah, but I like home. " xx

Biking and Babes in the Bay

Leaving beautiful Matata was not easy,  but we got on the road and drove through to Tauranga.
We took the bikes to the Waikareao Estuary loop and had a picnic lunch by the water.   The track was cool,  it went beside the estuary,  through the bush and over a boardwalk.
On our way back,  we bumped into our friend with the new baby that we were about to go and visit!   So random and great!   We called around to her place for the afternoon.  We got lots of cuddles with a coolest,  sweetest little baby boy and lots of chatting and catching up.   Great day in the bay!

Wild Times on White Island

The family was up and out early today to get to the boat to White Island by 7.45am.    We saw DH off on his adventure,  then PB and I headed out to the start of the Warren Coles Cycle / Walkway.
It was a lovely wide pathway that ran from the bridge on the outskirts of town right alongside the Whakatane River out to the beach.  On the way, it took us past a big playground, skateboard bowl,  'Kiwi Boy' statue and the statue of Wairaka at the end of the river.
We stopped on our way back for morning tea in a cafe then rode all the way back again to the start.   Around 10km return.
We popped in to have a look around shops and to get a gift for a wee baby we are going to visit this week.
We headed to McDonald's for a treat lunch and PB played for ages in the playground with twin boys who are nearly 4 years old.
Then DH texted to say they were back and we raced to collect him.  DH reported that White Island was definitely something you should have on your bucket list.   It was amazing over there,  with steam coming out everywhere and noxious fumes.  One of the steam shoots was chuffing like a steam train, it was quite freaky!   They had to wear hard hats and gas masks.   It took 1.5 hours to get out there on the boat.  Very interesting day.
Had a quick look at the historic cave near the boat ramp before we headed home again to Matata to enjoy sitting by the beach watching the sky change again.  Beautiful spot.

Mother's Day at Matata

Poached eggs on toast and a cup of tea in bed this morning!  Hooray!
Headed into Whakatane for morning tea at a cool cafe called The Beans.  They were so lovely,  the guy who runs it came out and said, "Excuse me, ma'am,  happy mother's day!" and handed me a tulip!  He went around giving flowers to all the mums,  it was super sweet!
We walked down the road to the White Island Tour office so that DH could chat with the tour people to gauge the likelihood of his trip happening tomorrow (after 2 metre southerly swells stopped it happening today).  They seemed quite confident of out going ahead in the morning,  which will be exciting.
We took the bikes down to a cool dirt bmx track and had some fun on three different tracks.   There were some other kids there,  a nearly 4 year old called Logan,  who was quite taken with DH. Sat beside him on the park bench and followed him around.   His younger sibling was awesome on the balance bike,  zooming down step tracks, no bother at all!
After the track,  we went to Awateri hot springs.   Wow!   So nice!  The temperature was 38.6 and the pool was lovely and big,  with a shaded area at one end.  It was cheap too!  $7.50 for adults,  as opposed to $48 at the Polynesian Pools in Rotorua, (which we didn't visit!)
Home for a play on the beach, a read,  a play on the playground for PB, then early nights for all,  since we need to get up early to drop DH to the boat to head out to the volcano!  Woooo!

Helping Hands in Rotorua

Yesterday we spotted some rubbish dumped by some reprobates at the entrance to a lovely marae. In the middle of the night,  I woke up and couldn't sleep,  so hatched a plan to get rid of it.
We hired a trailer, headed out there and pulled in to load up the junk.   Fortunately for us,  the Periodic Detention guys were doing some scrub cutting on the driveway and they offered to help load it up.   Awesome!  We had that mess cleared up in no time. We called our mate to see if he had any other waste to get rid of.   He did, so we collected an old slide and some other bits to go.
Dropped everything out to the Landfill,  where another guy helped us unload it expertly! Many hands make light work, as they say,  and we managed to get that job done easily being blessed with all that help.
We called around to our friends place for bacon butties and cake and a quick play for PB. 
Then we got groceries, packed up and left Rotorua.  While we were in the supermarket, PB said:  "I've been a very very good boy today, do you think you could buy me a treat, your majesty?".  Ha!  Love this kid!
We made our way over to Matata.  We got a campsite right on the beach, (Murphy's) just as the sun was going down.   It was just gorgeous.  The sounds of the waves crashing on the shore will be our sound track for the night! 

Visiting in Vegas

Got up and made some biscuits to take with us visiting today.  Popped into town to visit my aunty.   She had made us some sausage rolls,  a real treat on stich a rainy, horrible day!  Had a lovely visit,  then dropped DH off at the laundromat and took PB home for lunch. 
After lunch we visited my uncle and surprised him with some biscuits and our cheery faces,  too!  Was lovely to visit them both.
In the late afternoon we headed in to the Rotorua events centre,  to watch our friends kids play mini ball (which was a junior version of basketball).  It was GREAT!  There were so many kids involved and some of these tiny kids were really good!
In between the games,  we popped down to Eat Street for dinner,  but ended up going to a delicious and welcoming pizza place just over the road.
So nice to catch up with this family,  and PB was well entertained by their little boy. 
A great visiting day in Roto-Vegas!

Wild Animals of Opotiki

I got up to have a run this morning,  heading out of the gate at the back of the campsite, which led up onto a track along the stop bank beside the Otara River.  This is party of the Motu Trails.
Along the way, there were heaps of horses!  I  am fond of horses,  but this fondness is purely from afar.  I'm not so keen on being too close to them,  given they are a LOT bigger and faster than me!
So I managed to avoid them (including a mum and foal) but vowed to find another route home.
I trotted down some streets to try to get home, but each time I went to go down a side street towards home,  I  spied a loose dog or two wandering free on the road.
Given I do not have a fondness for being mauled by a dog or two,  I  avoided those roads,  and ended up having a healthy long run!
We had a nosey around Opotiki before leaving town. Of note,  the Opotiki Police Station -"The Opo Popo" oh, haha, how I crack myself up!
And down at the wharf, is a cool slide and two rope swings into the water!   Very neat.
Off to Rotorua to avoid being in the worst of the rain expected with Cyclone Donna.
On the way, we were diverted due to a bridge repair, which meant we ended up in Whakatane for morning tea.   Had a look at the ceremonial Waka and found where DH has to go for his White Island trip on Sunday.
Rotorua association campsite is at Ngongotaha and is elevated above the road,  so a good place to be when expecting rain.
To spend a rainy afternoon, we headed to the pub and the movies.
Home again to catch up with a lovely friend who lives locally and drives past  the campsite on his way home.   Then dinner and bed!

Easy Days on the East Cape

Man, it's easy to cruise through a day on the beautiful East Cape.  We set off this morning from Te Araroa, after seeing a stunning orange sunrise.    Made it to Hicks Bay after a very short drive.   Had a lovely little walk on the beach,  and I found a paua shell.  (Took a photo of it and left the real thing behind.) PB found a big bone and fortunately we managed to convince him to leave that behind too!
Carried on around the coast to a beautiful bay called Oruaiti. We had morning tea there and running races on the beach.   Saw a police ute drive up the beach and back up onto the road. 
We continued to the next spot,  a wee playground and freedom camping site right by the water at Te Kaha.   There were horses grazing, tied up with rope.   In fact,  we could not get over how many horses we saw on the way around the East Cape from Gisborne.  Today we counted over 50.
We had our lunch there and DH went out into the bay on the kayak to have a fish.   No luck, but the day was so still and water so calm that it seemed rude not to get out there. 
PB and I made chocolate chip biscuits and then he played on the playground.   We took his net down to the water to see if he could catch any fish,  but alas,  no.  We DID find a hairy crab though!
Final leg of the day saw us follow the most beautiful coastal road.   The view was just so stunning,  each bay was pristine and gorgeous.   We were really impressed by the beauty and untouched simplicity of it all. 
Made camp at the Association campground in Opotiki,  and we are the only people here!   One lone abandoned caravan and us!   A few games of matching the NZ animals later, and time for bed. 

Tolaga, Tokomaru and Te Araroa

PB woke up as Mum was getting ready for a run before 7am and was super keen to come along on his bike. We managed to get out along the waterfront towards the port and town while the sky was still pink.  Lovely!
We left Gisborne and made for Tolaga Bay.  It was a beautiful day,  blue sky and lovely and still.
We walked out on the very long Tolaga Bay wharf (660 metres!) Chatted to some British travellers on the way.
The bay was gorgeous, lots of drift wood and white sand with gentle waves.
Then we made for Tokomaru Bay.  On the way, a mob of sheep was being moved down the road.  We happily sat and watched them rushing by!  Tokamaru Bay was another gorgeous bay, and we sat on the beach enjoying our lunch and the view.
We carried on up the coast,  taking in St Mary's church at Tikitiki and Ruatoria before making camp at Te Araroa.  The church was cool, it had stained glass windows with Maori designs and a monument to Sir Apirana Ngata.
The campsite at Te Araroa had welcoming signs on the office door, saying :  "The shop opens at 3.30pm.  Not 3.27, not 3.28pm, but 3.30pm. "  Friendly! Dumped the caravan and headed out to East Cape lighthouse. On the way we stopped to explore a flat rock area and watched waves rushing through a big crevice.  Found so.e cool crabs, too.  Carried in down the very narrow winding roads,  mostly gravel,  with road works, horses,  cows and cliffs down into the sea.   Saw a funny sight, of sand blowing up to the top of the farm fence and footprints of a cow going right over.
Made it to the lighthouse ready to do the 800 steps up to it just as the sun was going down.   Bit of a puff going up,  but stunning once we got to the top.  Got safely back down and were stunned by the beauty of the moon and its reflection.
Drove back to Te Araroa safely and called in to the RSA for very yummy take aways.  
Home for bed, having seen the sun rise and sunset today, we've definitely made the most of our day. 

Rere Falls and Rock Slide

Only 40 minutes away from Gisborne,  through some very pretty farmland, is Rere Falls.  At this time of year,  the autumn colors of the trees were a delight.  The falls were lovely,  quite a dramatic flat drop off.
Two kilometers down the road is the Rere Rock Slide.  Wow!  How exciting it was!  We got on our wet suit tops and grabbed the boogie board.  DH had a go first, mastering it beautifully and landing nicely. Then he had another go, this time with PB on his back.
The river was so,  so slippery,  it was really hard to get your footing with the water rushing over the rocks and the slimey surface underfoot.
The boys headed off, and this time DH started to go horribly sideways.  There was no easy way to control the slide,  you just had to go with it.  Fortunately,  PB clung to DH like a little monkey,  even turning so that he was heading the right way down the slide even though DH was sideways!
Then it was my turn.   The water was freeeeeeeeezing!  The slippery rocks were so hard to get across,  so I ended up going in closer to the side than I would have liked.   I set off bravely, only to have me and the boogie board turn right around so at I was heading down the slide feet first!   I was hooting and hollering in a rather unladylike fashion,  I must confess,  but made it to the bottom.  The water at the bottom was deep and so it was a fast kick to the edge of the pool,  to haul out onto the grass.
DH came down to confess that he'd stuffed up the videoing of it.   He got the start and the end,  but not me actually doing it.  (Just quietly,  grounds for divorce is my thinking).  But on reflection,  given the unorthodox approach and caterwauling, perhaps it's not a bad thing that there is no lasting evidence.
As we were having morning tea, some tourists arrived to have a look,  but couldn't be convinced to give it a go.
They got their car stuck in the mud, so DH had to once again get out the towing strop and save the day.

When we got to the top on the driveway to the falls,  we saw the sign predicting injury and death if you attempted the slide.  Oh.  Ok.  (It wasn't quite that bad, but certainly would have slowed us down somewhat had we seen it on entry!)

We popped back to the falls to look at some cool toadstools that looked liked a smurf village,  then back to Gisborne.
In the afternoon,  we took the bikes along the water into town and along to a little bridge.   We watched some school boys fishing off the wharf and even saw them catch one!  The walkway was cool,  it had a statue of Young Nick who spotted NZ when traveling with Captain Cook and of Captain Cook himself.  Rode home again for tea.