Aidan and Megan’s trips: North Island 2009 I

See also page 2 on Megan's site.

At the end of May 2009 we went on our big trip around the North Island, visiting family and friends. Picked Aidan up from school and headed south to Rotorua to visit the Polynesian Spa - the one thing Aidan was set on doing before we even left Scotland, and we didn't manage to do it in February. It's a great thermal hot pool - we took a private room which was open to the stars and the lake, beautiful in the misty starlight.

On Saturday we had the classic four seasons in one day. Leaving Rotorua we were driving through rolling green hills in glorious sunshine. Through Taupo (past Grandpa's hole in one) it began to cloud over. At the heights of the Central Plateau, on the verge of the Desert Road where we stopped for lunch, the cloud blocked all view of Mount Ruapehu and we hurriedly stopped throwing snowballs at each other when it started to snow again. And as we descended through the gorge into Wellington we watched the heavy rain being driven upwards against us, and heard the extreme weather warning as we pulled off the road to our motel. Whew!

Wellington showed us its true colours for once - horizontal rain for three solid days. Dramatic but not conducive, but we made the most of it. Te Papa is a fantastic museum and a great place to meet friends with kids. The walk out towards Pencarrow lighthouse during a spell of lighter rain was a highlight - Aidan and Megan collected nearly thirty beautiful paua shells, and we saw the spot where Grandad helped rescue survivors of the Wahine disaster in 1968, in conditions not dissimilar to those on that fateful day.

On Tuesday we headed north to New Plymouth, stopping for lunch at a lovely beach (Kai Iwi) just north of Wanganui, and just before sunset at the North Egmont Visitors' Centre on Mount Taranaki. The kids were a tiny bit scared in the goblin forest, but it was good to tell stories of when Daddy nearly lost a rucksack climbing part of Mount Taranaki when he was a kid.

We stayed two nights with Keith's long-lost second cousin and her family in New Plymouth - it was wonderful to meet such lovely people! Aidan and Megan had a great time playing with Heath and Georgia, and we all enjoyed a boat trip on the harbour to see the Sugar Loaf Islands (complete with seals) and the Tampa (the largest boat ever to dock at New Plymouth, and the inspiration for Aidan's subsequent ship-design project).

Continued on page 2 on Megan's site. (or go back to the first photo page).

Go to: Aidan: photo page | Aidan: big trip page 1 | Megan: photo page | Megan: big trip page 2

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