At the grocery store, Eden kept asking if I would carry her. I asked her why she couldn’t walk. She said, “It’s so hard for me to walk.” I asked why it was hard. She made two fists, and stamped both feet as quickly as she could. “Because it’s so hard to do this!” So I conceded, “Well… I can put you on my shoulders.” She wrapped her arms across her chest and asked, “Can you hold me like this please?” Then she continued explaining how hard it was to walk, to convince me.

We drove into Auckland early on our last full day in New Zealand. We had an all day tour planned. We ended up having a private tour. Our first stop was a great beach area. The water was nice to wade around in and really calm so the kids could try it out as well. I could have stayed there all day.

Next we went to a pottery factory. They had the greatest playground set up. I want one for our house. They did a demonstration of their facilities. I love seeing how professionals throw pots. They make it look so easy.

We went to the Matakana farmers market and had a ball. They had great music and I wanted to get all their wonderful products. Alden and I danced while he sat on my shoulders. Strangers kept trying to steady him like he was going to dive off. For lunch we had mussel fritters. So good. The atmosphere was so cheerful.

In the afternoon we went on a glass bottom boat ride around a marine reserve. We saw all kinds of fish, jelly fish and rays. After our time scoping out seaside caves and snapper we headed back to the city. We ended our time with a little walk through Parry Kauri tree reserve. The bush was beautiful. It was all really wild looking. I loved seeing the vines all over. After we got dropped off we walked along the wharf and got a nice dinner and ice cream to finish a great day.

True to form for most of our trip we did a lot of family friendly activities. One evening we went to a great little park up the road from our B&B. The short walk was filled with gorgeous scenery. There were huge redwoods and a crystal clear spring. It was very picturesque.

Another evening we went to Paradise Valley Wildlife Reserve. Again, the landscapes were so pretty. Eden got to pat a lion cub, which was huge. Then we walked around and petted animals. They had a river running through the property that had plenty of huge rainbow and brown trout. It made me want to order trout the next time we went out for dinner. But apparently they only allow private fishing, so no trout on the menus. There was a spring on the property that was safe to drink from so I lowered Eden down to take a sip. She slipped and got a faceful. It was pretty funny. She is a good sport and was ready to try it again.

We went to the Agrodome to finish up our time in Rotorua. They had a fantastic sheep show. There were something like 19 breeds they showed. They also did a sheep dog demonstration, sheep sheering, baby lamb feeding, cow milking. Eden got a chance to milk the cow, and she ran off after touching it. It was good fun. We went on a tour of their farm and saw kiwi vines, had some of their undoctored honey and once again petted more and more animals.

On our drive up to Auckland we stopped in Waitomo and did a glowworm cave tour. Caves are always something special. Those glorworms are like little lights all over, with sticky translucent threads hanging down. The guide said that when they metamorphose, they no longer have a mouth, so they only live a little while before they starve. Wow. At one point the guide was talking about the fantastic acoustics and asked if there were any singers. I whispered to Eden to sing and as she started everyone went quiet. We got a great little concert of Baa Baa Black Sheep. It was so nice to hear her little voice. My goodness, I love that girl!