Our trip has come to an end. It was a fun filled adventure we are grateful the Lord blessed us with. Without much difficulty we made it to the airport and on the plane. The last couple days a few of the kids got a cough and were not feeling 100%, but they were troopers.
At the airport it was pretty easy getting through customs and getting picked up. We arrived home and unpacking began. This trip was long awaited and now we are thankful with a bank full of great memories. The Lord is truly kind and we are ready to enter back into the routine of life. I will probably do a final post on Sunday to review a little add on to our travels. Today we are driving down to LA for John MacArthur's memorial service on Saturday. I guess we just needed one more drive and adventure before life continues on.
The days are counting down for our final few days in NZ. Monday it was really nice just to unwind and soak up some sun on the beach by Mount Maunganui. First we explored the rocks and found a baby seal sleeping next to a snail graveyard. Then it was warm enough to sit for a couple hours napping and reading on the sand. We didn't know how long we were going to stay, because it was so nice out, until at about 1:30pm the clouds rolled and it started to rain. It was nice while it lasted...
After another night camping near the beach, we headed inward to visit Hobbiton. Many have spoken highly of these Hobbit holes and they did not disappoint. There are different options for the tour, so we choose the dinner option. And what a dinner it was. So much good food.
If you look above the construction (a new wedding venue) you can see Bilboa's house, with the oak growing on it.
Here I am standing at the door of Bilboa's house.
In the many hobbit holes they built some they made small for a forced perspective. The small doors were to make Gandalf look big. All the big doors were to make the hobbits appear small. This door with Whit was a small door. Rosie and I were in a big door. Rusty was in front of a big door.
This is Samwise's house, it is just down the hill from Bilboa and Frodo's house.
Next to Samwise's house, they built two hobbit holes fully furnished. They did a really great job decorating and furnishing it.
After walking around Hobbiton for a couple hours, the last stop was the Green Dragon. This was were we enjoyed a fine Hobbit feast (and feast it was). After gorging ourselves with so much goodness, they cleared the table from dinner as we waited for dessert. It was all so yummy. If only I could just take one more bite!
Wednesday we got to go to the Auckland Zoo to see some Kiwis for real!!! Then we finished the day with a visit with Aunty Lin at NZ only Costco. The boys also could see out one window McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC and Carl's Jr. all in one shot.
Before we left Hastings on Thursday, there is one more movie from the top of Te Mata peak. When we hiked it on Tuesday it was raining and there was not a very good view. So when it was sunny on Thursday after the hike, we drove up and got some pictures. Such a great panoramic of the entire Hawks Bay.
After saying goodbye to the Campbells on Friday morning and stopping at one last shop to buy some wool, we continued on to Taupo. The campground was a Top 10 and was very nice. Some were still sore from the lone hike on Thursday, so we used there thermal pool and hot tub. It was a nice easy place to regroup. Saturday morning first we went to Huka Falls which is unbelievable the amount of water that is always flowing through there.
After Huka, there was a fun Bee keeping house with all kinds of honey goods. Then a short drive up to Rotorua for some luge!
Sunday morning we had a recommendation to attend Fenton Park Bible Church. It was a great time gathering with more NZ believers of Rotorua.
Driving from church, it was a 1 hour drive to Mount Maunganui. This was a highlight for me as Nicki and I camped here 17 years ago on our first trip to NZ. Once we parked in our camp spot, Rosie, Rusty and I went to hike the mountain.
Finishing the week strong, we did a big hike up to Sunrise Hut. I learned that apparently NZ has about 950 of these huts all across both islands. We had a super early start waking up at 6:45am!! That is a first for this trip. But it was such a blast hiking 3 hours up, eating lunch at the top and two hours down.
While Whit and Scott were walking up, they collected all sorts of NZ fauna.
Here is evidence we made it to the top!
The view from the top.
On the hike down, we found a spring and made a little damn for the sheep to drink from.
As we were driving from the mountain, coming around a corner we became sheep herders!
At the end of the adventurous hike, we went to the Campbell's to have a birthday party for Rosie.
Spending time with the Campbell's all week proved to be a definite highlight. We connected with their family like butter on bread.
We arrived in Hawk's Bay Friday, August 8 and thus I haven't posted in 5 days. Driving from the Himatangi Beach on the West coast to the Napier on the East coast took 2 hours and 50 minutes. But once we entered Hawk's Bay game was on. As we draw closer, Nicki's tour guide antenna was on high radar. First stop was to have dinner with the Leyser's house for dinner. That was fun catching up with their family and meeting their two dogs. Every chance to see some dogs in light of missing our two pups. Driving in we saw the first look at Te Mata peak.
Te Mata Peak can be seen from most of Hawks Bay. If you look closely, you can see the sleeping giant. Next to the giants head you can see the big bite of the mountain that the giant bit off.
Saturday we spent the day seeing the sights in Hastings. After a nice trip to the library, we went to Warren's bakery. For many years when Nicki was 12-13 she had a bread delivery job at Warren's. The bakery was actually closed and now in it's place is the Cranky Chicken. It was good chicken too as we heard the stories of Nicki growing up. Then we went to the park Nicki grew up in, only this modern play equipment was not what she used growing up.
There were some massive Cedar trees in this park. Nicki said these trees looked this big 25 years ago. Once trees are this age, I guess a couple decades are a drop in a bucket. Nicki said she would climb this tree when she was young just like Rusty here.
This street was actually named after the Woodfield's. Andy had worked with the developer and thus got a street named after him!
Saturday night we finished off the night at the Bisley's. This was a family that Nicki grew up with. They even pulled out some photo's of the Woodfield's growing up.
Sunday was such a great day meeting friends of old and making new friends from Riverbend Church. The whole day was spent at church in the morning, eating at an after church lunch, and then back to church for the evening service. A special couple we spent a long time talking to was Brittney and Isaiah. The are actually going to be moving to the states this coming year, so we might be able to spend more time with them on stateside.
Monday we continued to adventure to place's Nicki grew up seeing. This first stop was a Mauri defense site that dates back to the 1500's.
Later in the afternoon we to Bluff Hill in Napier. We could look up the coast to see the smoke stacks and had a great view of the port loading logs on a boat.
Monday Night we had dinner with Liz and Murrey Bensen. Their daughter Wendy and the Campbell family also came. It was a full night of playing games. Little did we now after connecting so well with their family, we basically spent the rest of the week with them.
Tuesday was a little rainy, but that didn't stop us from having a hike on Te Mata peak. Us boys did the red trail all the way around. Most others took the blur trail up and took the road back. The trails were pretty slippery.
Tuesday night we got to have dinner with cousins! The Michell family. This was another great game night with older kids this time. You can see the similarities in looks with Thad and their oldest as a child in this picture.
Wednesday was pretty chill. Nicki went to the women's meeting. Daddy and the kiddos played with the Campbell kids and others a nice game of Ultimate frisbee. That was a good time introducing the game to them. They picked it up really well. Later in the day we did a little shopping and stopped at the Bandit dealership! This is actually the same as my chipper and about the same price to what I bought mine.
In the afternoon we hung out at the Campbells and ended up feeling a 4.5 earthquake! This is a somewhat normal occurrence for NZ, but a first for our children. We will finish tonight with more of Nicki's friends Andria and Chris at a restaurant called Off the Track.
