Christmas 2015 Part 1 - Auckland

Maggie here.  Yes, I know it's already March (well, in NZ anyway) and I'm writing the Christmas post.  But I've been busy!  Okay, I've been lazy.  But it's happening now, so enjoy!

My family, both parents and all 3 brothers, flew all the way to New Zealand for Christmas and we had a fantastic 17 days with them, traveling to both the North and South Islands.  They have since told me that the exhaustion and the money were completely worth it (hint, hint to everyone else who wants to visit!).  I was so happy to share our beautiful adoptive country with them.

Here's the timeline for their visit:
Dec. 19-23 - Auckland and surrounds
Dec. 23-27 - Bay of Islands
Dec. 27-Jan. 1 - Jespersens in Queenstown, Webers in Wellington
Jan. 1-5 - Nelson

DAY 1

After giving Ed, Jolene, and my brother Ian an hour or two to rest after their 20+ hour international flight (we were feeling generous) we hit the ground running.  My other brothers, Luke and Nathan, were joining us in a couple days after their South Island road trip together.

We drove up to the town of Matakana for their fantastic farmers' market before heading to Tawharanui Sanctuary where they relocate the endangered native bird species of NZ and try to keep it a pest free park with strict regulations and traps.  Pests here are feral cats, stoats, possums, rats, and hedgehogs.  I know, hedgehogs, right?  They're adorable!  But they reek havoc on native bird nests and insects.  They will actually attack chicks in their nests on the riverbank!

Yep, this guy.

We were lucky enough to see a Takahe cross the path in front of us on our hike, which was a bird that was thought to be extinct until a random nesting ground was discovered on the South Island in the 1950s.  They've been trying to increase the population ever since and they are in the upper 200s.

We started out going down to the water where they have a beautiful beach with interesting rock formations to crawl over, and tunnels that appear during low tide.

Ian

We were there at high tide, but we decided we were too cool to worry about a little water stopping us.  Except for Lance, who decided he didn't want to risk climbing over rocks with James on his back.  And I HATE to admit it, but he was right.  My mom fell and was soaked up to her waist (in white pants), Ian dropped his shoes in the water and almost had to watch them float out to sea, and the camera nearly bit the big one on the rocks.  Needless to say, Lance was feeling very satisfied as we walked back to him bedraggled (or crying from laughter on my part) and regretful.  On the plus side, my mom's pants were nearly dry by the time we finished our hike!

A stop at Oob Ice Cream parlor on our way home soothed any hurt pride and we ended the day on a high note.

DAY 2

We went to Long Bay Beach and did the low tide hike along the cliff faces before heading back along the tops of the cliffs.  Along the way we passed the nude beach and my dad decided to go for it!  The children who did NOT want to see their father in the nude, that is to say EVERYONE, continued on while my mom stayed to witness my dad checking another one off the bucket list.  Good for you, Dad.  Lance was mortified, I just thought it was funny.  I have no pictures from this trip for some reason...

DAY 3

Happy Birthday, Mom!  To celebrate we decided to take my mom to New Zealand.  Tada!  Best children and spouse ever!

We went to Lake Wainamu by Bethells Beach (where Taylor swift recorded her Out of the Woods music video...all 10 seconds of it) and hiked the black sands creek to the lake before heading around it to the waterfalls.  We've done this hike before with our friends and it did not disappoint.  This was one of my parents' highlights of the trip.  It's very unusual scenery.

Lance and Ian racing to the top of the dune 

See my mom's pose?  She was in the middle of saying, "This is incredible!"  for the umpteenth time.

You have no idea how long this picture took to get.  "Get your steps in sync! Catch up, Ian!  Slow down, mom!  Wave your right hand.  No, you're other right hand."

Aw, 35 years of marriage.

Ian and Maggie racing to the top.  Took significantly longer than Lance and Ian.

DAY 4

I honestly can't find any pictures this day and can't for the life of me remember what we did.  I think we just hung out at home and enjoyed a day relaxing at the park.

Luke and Nathan also arrived in the evening after their campervan trip around the South Island and 3 day hike on the Routeburn Track.

Luke and James

Luke and Nathan

Queenstown (I think)

Akaroa (outside Christchurch)

Next post, Bay of Islands!

A lovely day!

On December 5th we found another beautiful hike north of Piha called the Te Waha Point Track.  Great views and of course the black beaches at the end.  Enjoy some pictures!

Pulling up those soggy pants!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Ed Jespersen clan came for a 15-day visit over Christmas and New Years.  More details to come but here's a festive picture for the holidays in the meantime!

Americans in New Zealand

Hidee ho neighbours!

At the beginning of November I was lucky enough to have three friends make the long haul from USA to NZ to see little ol' me!  Well, and the amazing country I live in.  Mostly the country.  But I'm here too so...bonus!  Cari and her husband, Matt, met our friend Julia here in Auckland for a week before they headed to the South Island for the second week.

We kept them busy with activities everyday.  We took them to Piha Beach for a hike (and an accidental soaking when the tide came in).  We spent a day walking around the island of Waiheke exploring the vineyards and drinking in the wine and the views.  Then three of them drove down to Hobbiton to take the tour of the movie set.

Piha Beach

Matt and Cari lost their luggage for a day after a series of unfortunate events and Matt had to borrow clothes from Lance.  Being the long torso-ed type, Matt basically had a belly shirt on the whole time.

I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes.  Cari was wearing knee high socks over her jeans.  Or they were wet.  But picturing them as knee highs over jeans was much more humorous in the retelling to Lance via pictures that evening.

 

Cari, commanding the waves.

Fail, Julia.

The water was significantly higher on the return journey as the tide came in.  If you zoom in on the faces, Cari and Julia look relatively serene during their crossing.  I look like Rambo on a mission.

Stonyridge Vineyard

Hobbiton

I wasn't there that day, but this picture was too embarrassing to not put on the blog.

Shakespear Regional Park

Over the weekend we did an overnight houseboat cruise up at the Bay of Islands, about 3 hours north.

The Rock Adventure Cruise was a blast!  It was just one night but it was busy with activities.  There was paintball target practice off the back of the boat, fishing, night kayaking (with AMAZING stars and bio-luminescent plankton that sparked when you paddled!), roasting marshmallows, hot chocolate, tasty meals, snorkeling (the water was SO COLD), sea urchin collecting and eating, beach time, and hiking with views.  Overall a very enjoyable weekend.  Cari, Matt, and Julia drove separately (and successfully on the other side of the road) because I had to wait for Lance to get off work.  We recommended they stop at some glowworm caves along the way since they had more time.  We've done those caves before ourselves and they are lovely and you feel like an adventurer!

I'm pretty sure he said this particular species of urchin has the largest teeth to body ratio of any animal.  Those are the 5 teeth in the middle.  They tickled my scalp.

Cari, Matt, and Julia departed for the South Island to explore Queenstown, Doubtful Sound, and Lake Wanaka.  Cari and Matt flew back through Auckland after a week while Julia took another week to drive from Queenstown to Auckland before heading to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef.

It was so nice to see friends from home and share my beautiful adopted country with them.  Thanks for making the trip, guys!