Whew…. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted our adventures. Bet you guys thought we had dropped off the planet. Ha Ha We actually just went to this tiny island at the end of the world that has very little wifi. Ha Ha So last I posted we were headed south to the Bay of Plenty...which is exactly what we did. It was a bit exciting to actually see a town that had more than one super market, lots of clothing shops, cafésetc. etc. For all extensive purposes Tauranga / Mt. Maunganui is a thriving metropolis. The beaches are long white and of course sandy. J This is a popular cruise ship stop and the ship was in port so the town was hopping. We decided to spend the night a a holiday park just south of the main hub called Papamoa Beach.As we rolled into the little town we thought we had taken a wrong turn as it looked just like the pictures of southern California with the stucco houses lined up in rows along the beach. Papamoa beach was pretty… but just too touristy… surprising I know sincethis whole time we have been wanting civilization. Go figure… aren't we humans funny that way.It didn't help that the maintenance crew was up at 8:00am in the morning running around the park with their quads fertilizing the grass. Nick had enough of this touristy hub and we headed out first thing the next morning. Maybe we aren't such a fan of civilization after all. Ha Ha

From The Bay of Plenty we headed inland to Rotorua. This is a huge volcanic region. We didn't see any huge gysers, but we did see lots of areas that were steaming with hot water just coming up the ground and we could definitely small the sulfur in certain areas.Stinky. Rotorua was pretty cool. There were lots of Maori buildings to see and things to do around the city. They have several thermal spas and volcanic parks.. all which charge between $36 and $60 a person to get into. We opted for the less expensive route and just went to the huge lake they have in the center of the city. We had a nice lunch and then headed to Paradise Valley wildlife park where we got to spend the day with Ella and her brother. Ella is a 4 month old Lion Cub and her brother was 9 months. He didn't look much like a cub anymore… is paws were the size of Nick's hands… and he had a big growl. We did however get to play with Ella. She was so cute… and you could already see her big cat instincts growing. If you turned around and stopped paying attention to her she would then all of a sudden notice you and crouch down and "sneak" up on you and then pounce right on your back or feet. Needless to say… we had a blast, me in particular. We played with Ella for a little over an hour and then headed to the adult lion pen to watch them eat their dinner. Now that was an experience.I had no idea that lions are so big… and their roar.. oh my goodness.. it will make your heart stop.I just kept thinking about the people on Planet Earth that were in the safari with lions all around them… scary! At one point two of the male lions got into a scrap over some meat… as they were fighting the entire ground around them shook. We got the whole thing on video.. although it isn't quite as impressive without the ground shaking and the deep roar/ growling. It was very impressive. Once feeding time was over we went back to see Ella.. but she was asleep after her exciting morning so we decided to just wander around the rest of the park. We saw the usual barn yard animals… got to hold some baby ducks which is always fun… saw some huge fish in the stream and red about the may different uses for the native plants in New Zealeand. It was a great afternoon. From there we headed to Lake Taupo.

Lake Taupo was beautiful. There were green rolling hills as far as the eye could see. On the southern end of the lake the North Islands tallest mountain stood high above the lake… still covered in snow I might add. The lake itself was crystal clear. The little town was super cute and reminded me a bit like down town Gig Harbor. It actually felt the post like WA up here. There were pine trees everywhere and all aspects of the sub tropical north was gone. It really did look like WA… even the temperature… we were now back to snow pants.Brrr. The wind never stopped blowing the whole 3 days we were there.. but it was so cold that neither Nick or I got in the water. L After spending now 1.5 weeks traveling and realizing that the further south we went the colderand rainier the weather became we decided to head back up north and settle for a little bit so off we went.

On our way back up north we stopped in Hamilton and went for a walk in the gardens. They had gardens designed for several different cultures, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, renaissance, modern American, English, and so on. It was actually a perfect little stop. We did however, get caught in a torrential downpour. As Nick and I were dashing through the different gardens we almost felt like singing as if we were apart of some romantic movie. The funniest part is that we had rain coats and waterproof pants in the car.. but instead we were out in our jeans and sweatshirts. Ha Ha That's what makes it fun. People were looking at us a bit oddly though. But then they have been doing that all along. Ha ha

From Hamilton we went out to the coast to check out Raglan which we had heard was a great Kiteboarding spot. When we got out there is was so windy the rain was coming down sideways. We decided that it didn't look too enticing to get in the water in 4 meter conditions so we continued north after perusing the shops in town.We made it to Aucklandaround 5:00pm. The wind was still blowing so Nick got a nuclear session on the 7 meter. He was totally lit and boosting huge!After his session we headed to Whangeri. We rolled in about 12:00am and parked at a remote park and crashed out in the van. Oh how I do love to sleep in the car. Ok so not so much.. but I have to say that it is nice to have the option. The next morning we went bopping around Whangarie and some of the local beaches.We ended up in a small family owned Holiday park in Waipu Cove… about 45 min south of Whangerie degrees every day… with a nice sea breeze to cool you down. We have been at the beach every day.. laying in the sun and playing in the water. Nick has done more playing in the water than me as it's still freezing.. but I have been in a few times. J There hasn't been enough wind to kite so we have been relaxing and fishing.It has been really great to not be on the road every other day. Traveling really wears you out.We met a really nice family that is originally from Zimbabwe and now lives in New Zeleand. They were staying at the same park as us so we spent a few days with them… they really go all out when camping. It reminded me of our Force camp outs at the beach. Home for them is just outside of Auckland and they invited us to stop by when we roll that direction… we plan to take them up on their offer. J Nick has spent every morning and evening fishing. He has caught a few little fish but nothing big enough for dinner. He has now resorted to putting his wet suit on.. . or not and wading out about chest high into the waves to cast his line out. He is a determined fisherman and I love him for that! We have explored all the beaches around Wiapu and Mangawhi Heads.. we really like this area but are ready to explore some different beaches so today we decided to head to the Tutukaka Coast and spend a few days out there… so that's where we are headed. We are loving the weather and plan to enjoy it. Hopefully the wind will fill in so we can get some kiting in. It's been pretty dead the last week. Big bummer.. but it has allowed a chance for my foot to heal a little bit.You do really have to watch the sun down here.. it's like a lasar beam. Sunscreen is a must. We have actually done a great job of not getting burned… but we do have a great tan! Apparently the burn time in the summer is 7 min. Yikes!

Hope all is well back home! We loveand miss you all! Pictures to come soon!