America's Cup Sailing Tour

Maggie here.  Our friends Megan and Rob had volunteered to watch James a couple times so Lance and I could do the Tongariro Crossing together.  It didn't work out as planned (see future post by Lance...not me :-( ) but for their flexibility and willingness to watch James we took them on the America's Cup Tour around the harbor in mid-March.  The New Zealand America's Cup team almost won a couple years ago but then the USA pulled a win out of nowhere.  It left the kiwis a little bitter.  Their maritime museum has the boat on display.  The NZ team also purchased an incomplete boat from another team (they didn't need it anymore) to try to gain insight into their strategy.  Now that boat is used for tours around the harbor.

The speed around the harbor was incredible and the angle of the deck when we got underway was thrilling!  We had to turn the grinders to get the various sails up and down and even got to take the wheel at one point.  I was surprised at how sensitive the wheel was.  Even a millimeter or two changed the heading noticeably.  It was a fun afternoon and we are lucky to have friends like Megan and Rob!

Port Waikato & Raglan (mostly Raglan)

More Black Sand Beaches & Fun in the water

Lance here.
We visited Port Waikato and Raglan during the summer and took in some great beach time activities on the black sand.  We did what we do best over here and played in the sand and rode some fun waves in the sunshine.  Raglan is know as the ultimate surfing beach here in NZ so of course I had to give it a shot.  Luckily the trip to the beach was well timed around James' nap, so while he and Maggie hung out on the beach I rented a surfboard and headed out into the waves and totally killed it, bro.  Just kidding, there was a bit of challenges and I definitely had some epic spills, but managed decently well and caught my fair share of waves.  (Maggie:  When did my husband start talking like a surfer dude?)

After a day at the beach with a nice hike mixed in we headed to Bridal Veil Falls.  These falls are hidden deep in farm country within the Waikato region, which is the dairy capital of the world.  In the midst of all the farms and forest were some enormous and beautiful waterfalls.  We were very glad that we headed off the beaten path to take in these beautiful falls that appear as a large crater in the middle of the forest.