Megan and Aidan’s trips: North Island 2009 II

Continued from page 1 on Aidan's site.

Then on Thursday our busy schedule took us to Wanganui to see more friends and family. Highlights were mini-pizzas with Karlene and Auntie Elspeth, a walk around Virginia Lake with Garth, Brydie, and Alex, and the river cruise on the Waimarie with Stephen, Varya, Benji, and Toby. The Kowhai Park playground is still just the same as it was when Keith was a kid - now it's nearly unique in the country, since while it's been maintained all the other playgrounds have been replaced with modern versions. The kids loved playing on all the concrete creations - the old woman's shoe with a slide inside, a space rocket to climb on, Mount Ruapehu with tunnels, snakes with swings, a clock tower slide, etc.

We travelled north from Wanganui to National Park, watching out for the usual slips and spotting a washout impressive enough to stop for - nearly half the road had slipped down the hillside! Further on we saw the rail viaduct Keith's great-grandfather helped build (on the North Island main trunk railway), and drove past Mount Ruapehu sadly without seeing it at all behind the cloud - but we were pleased we got through ahead of the promised snow. In the freezing cold we were pleased to find quality hot pies, sandwiches, and patisserie in a shop in Taumaranui, and stopped at a grassy lay-by just north of the town for a picnic lunch. Fresh air was a necessity, but we only managed about two minutes before we had to return to the warm car.

After seeing kiwis at remarkably close range in the excellent Otorohanga Kiwi House, we finally reached Josh and Mel's place in Pirongia. They've got a lovely little lifestyle block, with a bit of everything: three sheep to keep the grass down, a pond, a swamp, a garden, a wooded-dell-to-be, a big back garden with swings and a trampoline, a beautiful deck (if it had been a bit warmer!), and a house with a separate large garage/bedroom which accomodated us just fine. The kids loved wandering the farm and exploring with Amy and Daniel (Noah's still a bit too small to explore outside, though he was very keen to join them!). They're clearly loving being there, and we were delighted to share some of it with them.

We saw Josh and Mel off in the Pirongia Forest Park, after a lovely walk on the Mangakara Nature Walk. It was really sad to say goodbye, and we drove off home to Auckland as the sun set, suddenly realising that this was the beginning of the end of our time here.

See also page 1 on Aidan's site.

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

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Image 0097-0587
Canon PowerShot S45
1/249 sec., f/8.0
2009:05:28 00:43:33 UTC
(c) Keith & Carolyn

Playing on the beach. A lovely little beach just beyond New Plymouth. You can see the distinctive Sugar Loaf Islands on the horizon. The sand on the west coast is black - it's full of the iron ore titanomagnetite, a major source of New Zealand's steel.

Megan at the Big Sun a cafe in Waverley, on the Surf Highway between Wanganui and New Plymouth. Great cafe stop, with lots of good books for the kids too. Yum!