Summer Vacation

Happy New Year to you all!

Two super-duper exciting bits of news: Grandma and Grandpa Procee are coming in 2 days and Jessica and Jeremy are engaged! WHOO HOO!!!!! I'm giddy with excitement and it's driving my husband nuts! :)

A few days ago we came home after a wonderful vacation on the North Island. I'm going to try the story-picture method to walk you through our get-a-way... I simply do not have time at this point to write a really detailed post, so you are going to have to bear with all the pictures please!

We packed and packed some more, and Sam told me I had too much stuff, and I said that I needed every item, and he said that I didn't, and by the end of the vacation it turned out that he was absolutely right, and I felt really stupid but I'm not sure I learned my lesson because this seems to happen every time. Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence.

We hit the road runnin', making great use of the 100 km/hr speed limit on New Zealand's famous, nauseatingly windy roads. We passed by some gorgeous scenery, but didn't stop because we knew the best was yet to come!


I forgot. We did stop. But only because we were hungry and the sign promised Hawaiian pizza and bbq ribs - you don't understand those cravings because you aren't light years away from hearty, large-portioned, succulent American food! Plus, the view from the restaurant was a breath-taking Lake Taupo. Could-not-resist! Sorry, we ate too fast to take pictures of the food!






After about five hours of driving, we stopped in Rotorura, a town that is surrounded by natural hot springs and thermal pools. We found a camp that boasted of regenerating hot pools, in which we soaked and soaked until we were wrinkled, light-headed and sleepy!

The next morning we continued driving until we reached the Coromandel. So far, it's my favourite spot in all of New Zealand (although I haven't seen any of the South Island yet). We were happy we found a tent site because it was New Years Eve day, and everything was busy. Setting up the tents was quite the process, as you can tell by the pictures! Sam had our tent up before I had even really started with Leah's.











Beach time! The weather was hot, sunny and it called for long dips in the ocean. The waves were rough and high. We enjoyed hours of being bowled over by them.

Cathedral Cove did not disappoint. The view was stunning as always, and the water refreshing after our long hike down to the beach. The hi-light at this place was swimming out to caves hidden in the rocks. Sam also enjoyed playing cricket with some guys on the beach.
























One night, at around 11p.m., we went out to Hot Water Beach. When the tide goes out on this particular beach, you can nestle your feet into the sand and hot, hot water comes up. Certain sections are literally boiling. The only down-side is that this tiny section of beach is crowded with tourists. But we crammed in with everyone else, started digging with a borrowed spade and made our own little hot-tub!





We couldn't leave the Coromandel without surfing. I gave it my best shot and failed miserably- I could hardly even balance myself while sitting on the board, let alone race against a wave, get the break, jump up onto my feet while rushing over a white-crested, foaming monster and then gracefully carve across the ocean beach. Fail. I probably looked more like a flopping fish. Sam and Leah performed much more professionally, even managing to get up! They get to brag about their surfing feats, while all I have is a collection of bruises.










After our time in the Coromandel together, we joined a church family that invited us to their camp for a few days. They had a boat, and we went tubing and water skiing. It was Leah's first time and she loved it!















After our time with this family, we joined another church family near Cape Palliser. Like I said, this church is way hospitable! They invited us to rough it out with them: they set up camp in the middle of nowhere, had no facilities and at times literally lived off the land by hunting! While there, we visited these incredible fresh water pools/waterfalls: three pools spilled into each other and then eventually flowed down to the ocean. One of the best parts of this camping experience was taking quads around the countryside: following a dry riverbed, bumping along in the middle of the bush, climbing way up high onto bluffs overlooking the ocean and speeding around the beach at night!





















It's short, I know. Some important guests are coming and I need to get the house ready for them :)! Life isn't all vacation, even if it might look like it in the pictures! We do have down time, cleaning time, laundry time and many other day-to-day tasks!

Hope you enjoyed the post!

Love the Kiwis