It's no secret that I love to travel. Always have. I still remember the excitement of my first airplane ride and I've been hooked ever since. Thankfully, my husband and kids are hooked too. We just returned from a week in New Zealand. Can you believe it? New Zealand. When I saw those islands on the corner of the map in world geography, I never dreamed I'd visit there someday with my husband and 5 children. It was incredible!
It was a 3 hour flight from Brisbane to Auckland. We loved sightseeing in Auckland. The Rugby World Cup was held there a few months ago and we found USA, Australia and New Zealand Rugby jerseys.
We rented a car and drove to the Eastern side of the north island. We stayed in a beach town called Whangamata (Wh makes an F sound in Maori). It was the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. Seriously, words can't express...
We took a day trip to Waihi-- an old gold mining town.
We took a walk around the old mining sites.
Then we drove to Hamilton where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. The temple and visitors center were amazing.
I love this picture of Mary telling Luke about Jesus.
The Christmas lights at the temple were great. I love Christmas lights on palm trees.
We took a day trip to Rotorua. We took a gondola to the top of a mountain. It was spectacular. The kids LOVED it (as you can tell from this picture).
Michael and Sara at the top of the mountain. That island in the middle of the lake is the eye of a dormant volcano.
From the top of the mountain we took a luge ride down part of the mountain and then ski lifts brought us back to the top to do it again. The views were spectacular.
Michael is going to comment on this picture: That luge ride was awesome! I wasn't old enough to go down the advanced track but I went down the intermediate track on my own and it was super fast and fun.
Americans call them flip-flops. Aussie's call them thongs. New Zealanders call them jandals. Whatever you call them, Mary's are super cute! Also in this picture is the New Zealand drink L&P. A really tasty soda. McDonalds in New Zealand even has L&P slushies. Yummy! Also notice in this picture the pile of family jackets on the left. A day trip in New Zealand called for clothes for every season. The hotel worker told me on the first day that 'you know you are in New Zealand when you experience 4 seasons in one day'. He was right.
We visited a Maori village for a traditional dinner and show.
Some friends of ours had a flat tire. Look at the beautiful scenery.
We visited the Waitomo caves. We took a boat ride through the caves to see the...
Glow worms. It is hard to describe how incredible it was. Thousands of these glow worms lit up the ceiling of the caves. We had to be super quiet because noise frightens the glow worms and they won't glow. Thankfully Sara fell asleep in my arms as we made our way through the quiet caves. Spectacular!
Luke with a giant Christmas kiwi and a glow worm.
Our rental car.
Michael in the fields near the temple.
Our family touring the temple grounds.
Back home in Australia.
