Oh my nose...

After leaving Queenstown, we headed to the North Island to Roturua. We chose to go here for a number of reasons. We wanted to take the kids to see all the thermal activity and volcanic sights in the area. We stayed here because it was easy to fly into and we flew home from Aukland so we did not want to drive further South. That being said, Rotorua is not really that wonderful of a place. There are not many restaurants and the hotel/motel selection is quite limited. Oh, and it STINKS! But, we knew this going in so it was fine.

We did enjoy our day at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. The bubbling mud pools and other pools were amazing. Poor little C could not handle the smell and cried most of the time. The older two were in awe of God's creation. It was a really neat place to go.

Lady Knox Geyser


Bubbling mud pools




The famous Champagne pools


Some serious sulphur in this water...

We also enjoyed a day trip down to Lake Taupo. The town itself is a big step up from Rotorua and the lake was lovely also. We also liked Huka Falls. The highlight of this day however, was the Debretts hot springs pools. The kids loved the waterslide and various pools - all hot water of course! If we had stayed in this area longer, and did not have to fly home from Aukland, I would have wanted to stay in Taupo.

Huka Falls

Loved this sign.

All in all, we had a wonderful time in New Zealand. If you ever get to this part of the world, New Zealand is not to be missed. I would go back in heartbeat - but next time I would steer clear of the smell!

Queenstown again!

I took so many photos on this vacation that I need one more Queenstown post. A few other highlights of our trip were the Gondola in Queenstown where we were able to luge at the top of the mountain. Here we are with our helmets on before our first luge down the mountain. Everyone had a blast!


We also went to see the notorious Kiwis at Kiwi Birdlife. I was not overly impressed with the park but we had to see those kiwis. As a side note, not a good place for a stroller so bring the ergo if you go here!


Mostly we just enjoyed being together. This was one of those vacations where things just went right. The kids did not bicker, they played nicely together, they enjoyed the freedom of just entertaining themselves outside, they napped well, and had a great time.

We had lots of ring around the rosies happening...

A little wrestle mania...

Some good daddy play time...
...and a wonderful vacation!

Milford Sound

While in Queenstown, we took an amazing flight in a 15 seater Cessna down to Milford Sound. Then we cruised around the sound for a bit before flying back. The views from the plane were amazing and the sound itself was beautiful too. We were able to see seals and dolphins in the sound which was a treat. Here are a few pics from our fabulous day out.

Lots of seals on "Seal Rock."

On the cruise getting VERY close to the waterfall!

Arrowtown

While in Queenstown we also visited Arrowtown which is an old gold mining town. The kids had a fantastic time panning for gold. The town itself was very picturesque. It really reminded me of Idaho Springs in Colorado. Lunch time came and I just wanted Beaujeau's Pizza! But, since this was not CO, we settled for a cafe and had a very slow lunch! I took a quick walk into the old Chinese settlement which was very interesting. I wish we had more time to explore all the old houses. Overall, Arrowtown was a great outing. On the way home, I took the older two on an amazing jet boat trip. It was freezing cold but an amazing adrenaline trip. We had a fun day!

Getting the gold...

An original house in the Chinese Settlement

Unbelievably beautiful canyon on the way to Arrowtown. This is the canyon we went through on our jetboat trip.

Breathtaking Queenstown

We recently returned from a holiday in New Zealand. Everyone says that New Zealand is amazing and you should be sure to visit. Let me tell you, they are right! Queenstown was beautiful. Now I may be a bit biased as I do have a special fondness for the mountains, but I thought Queenstown was absolutely breathtaking. As we drove from the airport to our hotel, the water and the mountains were all you could see. We also happened to be there at the height of the autumn color. Autumn happens to be my favorite season so all the gold and red in the trees made things especially beautiful.


We stayed at the Heritage in one of their 3 bedroom villas. They were beautiful villas and the view from our door was to die for.


We experienced a variety a weather while we were there. It was fairly cold and there was a bit of rain our first day there. But, with the rain came beautiful rainbows.


Overnight on the first night, the mountains around Queenstown got their first snow of the season. We woke up to beautiful snow covered peaks.


On the banks of Lake Wakatipu right in Queenstown, there was a little park that the kids enjoyed. Even though it was cold, they enjoyed the swings and the "flying fox" (aka zip line). It is always nice to find a good park to let the kids run off energy while on vacation.