26th February 2010 (i got the dates wrong on the last blog, serves me right for backtracking so much. We flew to NZ on the 24th February!)

Our adventure begins......... we drove to Paihia and stayed for 2 nights in a motel (which in NZ is a self contained apartment)
The first night, dad took us to a 5* hotel for dinner where we had an amazing meal and even Neil managed to eat some of it too :)
On the second night the boys went to play pool while me and mom went to watch a Maori culture show. It was so good and all of the performers really impressed me and mom. The opening scene was a little strange where the male performers tried to intimidate the 'chiefs' of our group to see if we were intruders. This is apparantly what the Maoris did so there was a lot of spitting and tongues. We were told to be really respectful but it was realy difficult to keep a straight face...thanks god dad wasnt there! :) On our return we had a little celebration for dad who was celebrating 2 years off alcohol! He even splashed out and had sparkling, alcohol free, wine!

28th February 2010

This morning we had lots of missed calls from Hayley who had heard all about the Tsuanmi warning after an earthquake in Chile. Due to the time diference we knew nothing of it until we turned the news on. Of course there was a Tsunami warning and although it didnt seem too serious and people were still walking on the beach we thought best not to hang around and get to high ground.
Dad packed the cat and drove to the top of a hill where we waited in anticipation, watching the sea. Nothing happened and an hour and a half later we decided to make a move. We were due to go to Cape Reinga today but due to the coastel drive there, we changed route and headed to Opononi on the west, the home of a dolphin who became tame here but sadly died! We had 1 night here in a lovely motel. Neil had a swim in estuary which was dangerous due to the current and the speed. Neil didnt feel this was the problem and found the temperature more of a challenge. Dad just found it funny to watch. That evening we ate yet another lovely meal. :)

1st March 2010

The next day was a very long drive right down the north island to Waitomo. We arrived in the evening and found a motel where we cooked for ourselves. The next day we woke early and headed to the caves to see teh glowworms which was a lovely trip and great to see. Our next stop was Lake Taupo so off we went.

2nd March 2010

We arrived in Lake Taupo and found a motel which was lovely. We decided to stay 3 night here as we got an instant feel for the place. Whilst here we wlaked around the lake and found a small pebble area where dad and neil found some stones to throw. We also went to the Taupo hot pools and spent a few hours relaxing here. Watching dad go down the slide is still a highlight for me! :) We also did a cruise on the lake to see the Maori carvings, saw the amazing views from the bunjy spot and visited the Haku falls. Again we ate great meals (imsure you will get the picture!)

5th March 2010

We left Lake Taupo and moved onto Roturua which we decided wasnt really our cup of tea so drove on to Whitianga on the Coromondal peninsula. This was a lovely place with a great beach and just the kind of place we were looking for. On arrival there was an airshow which seemed to entertain da for a while. We found yet another motel and spent the next 5 days relaxing and of course eating gorgeous meals. Whilst here we caught a small ferry across to a secluded beach where I had a great giggle watching mom, dad and neil in the sea trying to jump the waves. Another day me and Neil had a day to ourselves and drove to SImpsons beach for a walk. There was a bit of a commotion so we had a sneak peek to find a whale on the beach and men trying to push it out. We got closer to it and neil stripped off and jumped in to help. They eventually got the poor thing, which was injured, back out to sea. Neils was very proud of himself so we decided against the walk and headed back to mom and dad to share the news!
The following day we went to the hot water beach and had a good walk towards Cathedral cove seeing lovely views out of the ocean.

10th March 2010

We felt we had slightly over stayed Whitianga so moved on to Coromandel, another small town with a nice feel. We stayed in another great motel which had a colonial feeel. mom said it was a favourite and could live somewhere like that. We had a stroll through the town stoping for a quick drink before heading back to our paad. There was a pool so we took a dip before dinner. In the morning, me and mom got up and did 20 lengths in the pool and got ready to leave back towards Auckland.

11th March

We headed back to Auckland, checked into YHA central and drove down to the Viaducy Harbour for a stroll and dinner. Very lively with a lot of people around. We enjoyed seeing the 'city of sails' and had an early night that evening after seeing the Sky City.
The next day we drove to drop the car off and Michael picked us up and took us back to Dairy Flats. We spent the day with michael and his family, went kayaking in the sea and had a lunch. They took us back to his house and gave us wine while dad entertained everyone with the guitar! A real delight to see them again. Michael and Michelle drove us back into the city although we wish we had of stayed over another night, oh well!

March 12th (i have become a little muddled with dates: mom and dad actually flew home on the 14th March...oops)

So mom and dads last day. We walked through the park into Parnell, a district of Aucland. We ate in a lovely tea shop and had really nice tea and cake afterwards. Dad wanted to buy souveniers so we shopped around a bit. Me and Neil hung back to get mom a pressie for mothers day and when we caught up we found mom and dad sat outside The Bog irish bar. Very funny! Gave mom her gift and walked back into the city. Finished mom and dads packing and sent them (tearfully) on thier way in the shuttle bus!

So another adventure over and a good 1 at that!!
(i now realise I missed 1 night in Tauranga and possibly a night somewhere else)
Time to hit the South Island