New ZEEland!

Took me awhile to finish this blog as Meyli is highly mobile now and it's rare I get any time on the computer. But here it is, a quick run through of our trip to New Zealand in January 2012!

It's official! Meyli has her first passport stamp! I don't recall ever traveling out of the country when I was 15 months old...actually I don't think I even had a passport then!

New Zealand (NZ) was, simply put, refreshingly beautiful. Rolling hillsides in a multitude of shades of green dotted with sheep and cows, and more sheep and cows......and more sheep and cows. But it was still a nice contrast against the lush greenery, especially the overachievers that climbed all the way to the tops of some pretty impressively steep hills.

My parents came for a visit in January and we took the opportunity to visit NZ while they were here despite it being peak school holiday season. Our wallet wept. But it was worth it, truly. I pre-booked most everything; flights, hotels, and rental car for our 6 day holiday. Qantas was great flying to Auckland. Unable to get us a bassinet for Meyli, which she was probably too tall for anyways, we were given a row of 6 seats all to ourselves so Meyli had her own seat and even a toddler meal. The extra space was definitely a luxury. She did well on the flight, minus the screaming diaper change in the business class toilet where she kept banging her head on the slanted siding. Fortunately there was only 1 business class passenger.

Meyli received a Qantas Flying Fun Pack which had a  booklet of activities, a coloring pencil, and  a set of 3D glasses to use with some of the activities in the booklet.

Meyli's toddler meal. Pretty nice!

Must be tough flying so young......

A little Jacob's Creek Chardonnay to wash it all down.

Touchscreen means Meyli friendly!

Meyli turned out to be quite the accessory to have. Instead of waiting in the queue for immigration and customs, we were waived through to the lines where the airline crews went through so there was only 1 person ahead of us. I was the only one to claim that I had carried food and as soon as I said it was packaged baby food (which it was), they did the "okay, whatever, not worth my time" face and hand wave off and sent us on our way.

We picked up our rental car and Anthony was in heaven. I rented us a diesel Toyota LandCruiser Prado 4WD. Throughout the trip, any thought of returning to the car at home made him cry a little. Even Meyli had a larger and plusher car seat! Whereas I was stuck in the middle hump seat the entire trip. Spacious SUV and all but the hump seat is still the hump seat, it'll never be truly comfortable.

Getting ready to have some Japanese dinner. Apparently sitting like this was more comfortable.

Everyone is happy when they have a full belly!

On our way to Rotorua we stopped to stretch our legs when we saw a lush green area with several cars already parked. It ended up being the Karangahake Gorge, a 1875 historic original gold rush site. The Ohinemuri River moving swiftly along the lush mountainous backdrop immediately made you want to stop, take a deep breath, and just let your eyes take in such beauty. 

Happy grandparents!

Crossing the bouncy suspension bridge over the river. The placard said something like a limit of  12 people crossing at  any given time.

Another bouncy suspension bridge to cross to get to the mining site.

Meyli found a flower at the old mine site.

Such a nice lush area.

"Flower...so..heavy!"

After walking around, we continued on and stopped at Waihi Beach. A beautiful stretch of beach where we stopped to wiggle our toes in the sand. Meyli had a blast, laughing insanely at the incoming waves and standing in the sand while the water swept over her feet. We ate at a nearby cafe before finishing our trip to Rotorua.

Group hug!

Our rental on the right.

Ready to run into the water!

Right on the outskirt of central Rotorua we stopped to take a peek at the ZORB site. What's that you ask? Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first heard of it from a friend. In short, you're in a gigantic inflated globe, whether harnessed in or sliding around in some water, then pushed down a hill of your choosing (straight or zigzag). It looked like great fun but we decided to watch rather than participate. I don't think Anthony would enjoy getting puked on by yours truly. We already found out on our last trip that I don't do so well with things that rock or in general, tosses me around.

This was one that was blacked out, must make for an interesting experience in the dark.

There were a couple paths to choose from. You can see the 2 straight down ones and part of the zigzag one on the right side.

Somebody coming down the zigzag one in water.

Driving into Rotorua, the first thing we caught sight of was a......WENDY'S!! We were just thinking the other day that we actually missed Wendy's and then there it was! Easy driving even during rush hour, better radio/music, and now Wendy's, New Zealand was looking heaps better than Australia!

The hotel we were staying at for our short stay in Rotorua was lovely! New owner and renovated, it was spacious and clean. The decor was full black and white which was an interesting change from most hotel decor. Our hotel room overlooked the small pool which we were told was kept at 25 Celsius (77 F). Yeah, that was so not true. It was freezing when we tried to go for a swim! But the small indoor mineral hot tub was wonderful, just too hot for Meyli.

"My chair!"

Rare family picture!

Meyli dreaming of swimming.

Lake Rotorua. Our plane is on the left there....yeah right. :)

Rotorua!

Being in Rotorua, known for its geothermal activity, we stopped at one of the more colourful and of course, very sulfur strong sites for a self paced walking tour at Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland.

Wai-O-Tapu from an elevated distance. It goes much further to the right beyond our view.

3 generations of Kuo!

No comment.

It smells!

Like a painter's palette with various splotches of color.

Sooo when does the fun part begin?

Within a few seconds of taking this pictures the steam blew our way and we could barely see. It was rather hot with a strong sulfur smell!

Poor Meyli!

The picture doesn't do it justice but we were trying to capture the brilliant shades of green mountains in the background.

HI!

Grandma and Grandpa Kuo weren't too enthused with the Superman gesture over the boiling water.

Daddy and the Bub

Happy baby!

Nice family stroll.

Don't forget to drive on the left!

So great to have Grandma and Grandpa Kuo with us!

Continuing west we took a day trip out to Taupo, home of NZ's largest lake. On the way we stopped to visit Huka Falls, where the Waikato river is squeezed from 100 meters wide to 20 meters wide creating a fast moving waterfall. It roared impressively and the crystal blue water makes you want to reach out and take a drink.

Huka Falls from an elevated distant view.

Not an optical illusion, I really am that much taller.

Getting up close and personal. Standing on the bridge directly over the narrow water way.

Where the fall ends and the waterway expands.

 Continuing on to Taupo, a lovely busy town with ample shopping and restaurants, we were all pretty wiped out from visiting the geothermal site so we just grabbed a quick meal, took some pictures by the giant lake then started back to Rotorua.

A McDonald's at Taupo. Interesting choice of decoration.

Lake Taupo. Since we weren't going for a swim, Meyli could care less.

On the way back to Rotorua, we took a detour and followed some signs to another geothermal site. We didn't pay and go through it. But it had a lovely view just at the entrance. So dense and green, looks like a rainforest!

Across the street from the hotel was what looked like a pretty packed Mexican restaurant. So with some reassurances from Grandpa and Grandma Kuo, we left the napping bub for a long overdue adult only dinner. Only to receive a call shortly after we got our food with an inconsolable screaming Meyli in the background. So we packed up our food and scurried back to the hotel. We'll try that again....in about a year.

Daddy and Bub went for a quick dip in the chilly water. Mum chickened out.

Burrito!

Enchiladas! Believe me when I say it's hard to get Mexican food like this. Still pales in comparison to what we use to get in Texas but it's the closest we've found so far.

We splurged and got a margarita.....a $13 margarita  in a glass that's about  the height of your palm. It was good but not THAT good.

On our way back to Auckland, Anthony decided to humor me so we stopped at the Hobbiton movie set. Well, more like we stopped at the tour station/store but once I saw the admittance price, I think I grunted in awe and then just stood there speechless. It's not like these people built the darn thing but were certainly charging like they did. To top it off, I'm pretty sure it just got a facelift for the upcoming Hobbit movie. I had to decide if it was worth the money to see some small doors and little gardens built into the rolling hills while dragging a 1 year old that could care less about hobbits and their wee beds. So we picked up a souvenir to say that we've been there, took some pictures with some sheep then we hit the road. All in all, very uneventful.

Anti-climatic.

But lots of sheep!

This one just stood there and stared at us for the longest time!

More sheep! And flowers for Meyli. She always stops to smell the flowers.

Another increasingly rare Kuo family picture.

Closer to Auckland is the city of Hamilton with its tourist attraction the Hamilton Gardens. It is a pretty expansive garden made up of 5 different collections then sub-divided into a more specific themed garden. Definitely lovely and considering it was free, supported only by donations, made it even more impressive. It was getting pretty hot under the sun and we were all getting hungry so we cut our visit short and headed back on the road in search of some lunch.

In one of the Asian style gardens by the pond.

Part of the garden along the river.

Interesting water feature?

Different garden, like an Italian villa.

Hanging with Grandpa Kuo on the way back to the car.

In Auckland we stayed at the Hilton which was uniquely built at the end of a long pier. It was also where the cruise ships docked to drop off and pick up passengers. I had checked the schedule beforehand so I knew there would be a cruise ship coming into port the morning we were checking out. Anthony actually got up when it docked at 4 am and went down to check it out only to realize the camera didn't have the battery in it!

Front of the Hilton viewed from the side. The whole building is suppose to resemble a ship.

Tip of the Hilton, almost hangs over the water.

Side view of the Hilton from a distance.

Quick shot with Grandma Kuo right outside the Hilton.

Sadly the last full day we had in Auckland was a rainy day. We drove up to Mount Eden, Auckland's highest point, a dormant volcano. From here you could see all of Auckland and the surrounding suburbs. Fortunately we dallied around long enough that the rain let up and the clouds blew away revealing the landscape view it's known for. It was a pretty breathtaking sight and you could see just how green New Zealand is even in the denser city areas. It seemed to be a pretty popular walking/jogging destination. I bet climbing up is killer on those quads!

Ready for a day out in Auckland. This was from our hotel room balcony where you can see the open water behind Anthony. Can you make out what their t-shirts says? (Pint & Half Pint!)

Is Meyli small or is the bed big??

Panoramic photo of Mount Eden.

View of Auckland from Mount Eden.

The volcano opening.

Anthony and the Visitor Guide was engrossed in conversation for a while. At least they had a nice landscape to view while chatting.

The point at another smaller volcano is One Tree Hill. Apparently doesn't  have that one tree anymore.

These three magpies were squawking up a storm up at Mount Eden. They were flying and hopping all over the place, always together. Meyli found them highly entertaining.

Great picture to caption!! Anthony calls it the Husband and Wife. I'm sure you can guess which one he thinks is the wife.

 Back at the hotel later that evening, we ventured out to see what was around and to grab some dinner.

Spirit of New Zealand boat next to the hotel.

Some other fancy boats right next to the hotel.

People watching the Australian Open live. Pretty crappy image though.

"No Mum, I'm not playing with the knife."

Auckland at night as we're walking back to the hotel after dinner.

Last family picture with Auckland as the background!

Full flight back so no seat for Meyli this time. We made her stand the whole flight. Yeah right, like she would have allowed that.

Well that was a high level summary of our trip to New Zealand. Since Anthony didn't get to do any bicycling, we're hoping to go back and take in some more of what New Zealand has to offer.

If you ever find a chance to visit, we highly recommend it!

- julie