Even our 5.5 hour drive up to Rotorua was nice. The scenery was beautiful. There must have been a car show in Wellington because it seemed like half the cars going the other direction were restored classics and other impressive vehicles. We were welcomed to our bed and breakfast, Mokoia Downs, with tea and scones. The grounds were beautiful and we really scored on a great place for kids. We didn’t use half of the things they had that would have been great fun. We drove back into a little village for a quick bite to eat and some playing in a park before getting back to put the kids to bed.

Our first full day in Rotorua we headed to Waitapo Thermal Wonderland. We started out by watching them start up a geyser. They put a little soap in it to change the surface tension of the water and jump-start the eruption. Eden was excited about that and it was pretty impressive. We saw some hot pools and a very cool florescent green pool. Sadly we totally forgot our camera and were afraid if we turned back to get it we would miss the geyser eruption. I really expected to see dinosaurs pop up out of the palm and ferns so it is a shame we missed out on photos but Yellowstone is at least as visually exciting as this place was. Now we want to take the kids there!

After our morning in the thermal park we took a gondola up one of the hillsides and went luging. It was a total blast. They had multiple tracks down the hillside and then you took a chairlift back up for another go. We all went together the first time. Then Chad and Eden went on another track together. He said it was so fun that he talked me into taking her one more time. Lucky girl! I am glad I did. It was such a fun thing to do. The chairlift alone would have been great.

We got back in time for short naps and afternoon tea. Mick and Teresa had left us cake. Then we went to the Mitai Hangi (think hawaiian luau). The piece of land they have there is beautiful. We walked down to the stream and there were costumed Maoris peeking out at us. They were definitely in character. They looked pretty menacing. I tried to tell Eden that they were out there to protect their homes and families. She waved, but these guys were no Disneyland characters ready to give hugs and sign autograph books. Then we saw a group of them paddle up stream. They were shouting a chant and doing their traditional scare-every-living-thing-away looks. It was great!

Next we were treated to a show. They did demonstrations for weapons, games, instruments and the Haka. Wow! They are fierce. We had to constantly reassure Eden that everything was okay. She got pretty scared during the yelling. I forgot how threatening the Haka can be! Then we had a great big meal. The kids did great but we were all beat after.

We had planned to leave early the next morning on a scenic train to go through the Tongariro National Park. But we just weren’t ready to leave. We stayed an extra day and had a great time. We went to a wildlife park and petting zoo called Staglands. My day was made when a cute little potbellied pig came running up to us like we were long lost friends as soon as we went through the gate. He followed us around for most of the rest of the time.

Eden loved feeding all the animals. She got to touch about everything. All regular zoos are going to be spoiled for her from now on. Although Chad got a raw deal when a miffed donkey gave him a hard bite on the arm. What a nasty bruise. It was a beautiful park and was so much fun. There was a shaky bridge to cross and a zip line. We had a great time with the Ostler’s. The only bad thing was that it ended!

Friday we all hopped in the car for a drive out to see seals at Cape Palliser. Our little portable DVD player came in quite handy on the long drives. Poor Ben was squished between Eden and Sam’s car seats. He was such a trooper. We were on quite a windy road and no windy road is complete without carsickness. Poor Sam threw up. We stopped the car and basically hosed her and her car seat down. Everything cleaned up fairly well. She likes traveling in her underwear anyway.

We stopped for lunch at a great little cafe and then carried on to the coast. We passed a cute little town with tons of tractors. We stopped at a lighthouse and climbed a bunch of stairs up to it. Then we went searching for the seals. Wow! We found quite a colony! There were so many of them lounging about and playing around in a tide pool. They let us get really close. The photos were fun to take! We could have stayed and watched them for a long time. Eden had a blast climbing around the rocks.

On our way back we stopped at a beach and the kids had so much fun playing in the sand. Eden stayed pretty far away from the water. That worked out well since I was holding Alden and Chad was playing Jenga with the big boulders trying to get a fallen sippy cup. We stopped on the way back for some excellent fish and chips while the kids played in the local park. The kids just barely made it to the end of the day. The last hour they were pretty sensitive.

Saturday was pretty rainy and gray. It was a perfect day to lounge late into the morning and play games. In the afternoon we went to the Te Papa museum. We ducked out of the rain and had a great time snacking on a bunch of the local yummy treats.