Kiwi Palooza

Hi fam and friends! We are still adventuring around New Zealand, and man, it is fun. So much of our trip has been immersion into places so different than home, and it's nice to spend time somewhere more familiar. We have been jam packing our days so we don't miss out on any of the things. Get ready for a lot of pics...here we go!

We finished up our roadtrip on the north island with two final stops: Lake Taupō and Tongariro National Park. Lake Taupō is the largest lake in New Zealand (the second largest in Oceania) and is home to Māori rock carvings only visible from the water. We sailed out to the rock carvings, feeding ducks mid-air (a treat for everyone!).

The carvings were massive and incredible. They were created by a Māori artist in the 1970s and rise 10 meters above the lake surface.

We jumped off the sailboat into the seriously frigid water and lasted about one minute before scrambling back onto the boat. Once back on shore we headed toward Tongariro National Park, with our eyes on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 19.4 km hike through a wild volcanic landscape.

But first...river rafting! On our first day in Tongariro, we cruised some Class 2 rapids on the Tongariro River. It was pouring rain, so we got totally geared out for the trip. For some reason we put Lu up front with me and Ryan, so of course she got soaked in the first rapid and was cold and miserable for the rest of the trip. But the rest of us had fun!

The weather forecast stayed dismal, so our dreams of the five of us completing the Tongariro Crossing together were fading quickly. We sent Ryan off to run it solo in the rain and gauge whether the little kids could do it in bad weather the following day. While Ryan was off scouting, the kids and I hiked to Taranaki Falls, which (as with all things New Zealand) was beautiful.

Ryan returned from his quest and decided we could do the Crossing together, but it would not be fun. So, plan B. The next day, we all hiked the first 2.5 miles of the Crossing together, and then Ginny and I continued alone. I had a whole day outside with my big kid, in an incredible landcape, and I was so happy.

From Tongariro we made a short stop in Wellington, which was fine. The highlight was the Te Papa Tongarewa museum, which had a spectacular marine animal exhibit with a preserved giant squid!

Then we embarked on our journey to the south island, using as many modes of transportation as possible. First, we taxied to the ferry terminal in Wellington. Next, we boarded the Inter-Islander for a 3.5 hr ferry ride to Picton on the south island.

We bussed from the Picton ferry terminal to the train station and caught the Coastal Pacific Train to Christchurch. Thankfully the train had an open-air car, which was a lifesaver for energetic kids.

We then taxied from the train station to our new home in Christchurch, and we were done! Whew!

Christchurch has been great. We visited the Quake City museum to learn about the 2010 and 2011 quakes that demolished Christchurch. Then we headed over to the International Antarctic Center, where we saw Hercules (the C-130 that lands on the Antarctic ice) and the kids rode in a legit Hagglund.

Ryan took the big kids zip-lining on the the longest (1.1 km!) zipline in New Zealand. (Lu, again, was too little, so she and I went and got haircuts instead.)

Ginny and Baker continued their surf lessons in nearby Sumner and even stood on their boards this time! I just watched and cheered while praying that all the sharks had their fill of sea lions and don't want to eat my kids.

The kids and I also hiked the Godley Head Loop, a stunning cliffside trail along the coast. I loved it. They tolerated it, but only because I had candy.

Then we ventured north for a weekend in Kaikoura, a beach town 2 hours from Christchurch. We arrived in time to squeeze in an afternoon kayak in the south bay of Kaikoura. We saw some big New Zealand fur seals (which are actually sea-lions, but okay), and we loved the crystal-clear water.

And then it was time for what we really came to Kaikoura to see.....DUSKY DOLPHINS! These little dolphins are known as the acrobats of the sea because of their jumps, flips, and somersaults.

About nine months ago, I signed us up to swim with wild dusky dolpins in the open ocean. Like, to jump off a boat deep in the ocean amidst a pod of dolphins. In New Zealand. What I'm getting at here is my insane fear of sharks (if you know, you know), and why I thought this would be fun. Spoiler: it was awesome.

Baker and Lu were too young to swim, so they were our dolphin spotters from the boat. Baker also got some sick GoPro video, which he will very happily show to anyone when we get home.

Ryan and I took turns swimming in the ocean with Ginny. Ryan went in first with Ginny, and they jumped into the middle of a traveling pod of around 300 dolphins. Here they are with a dolphin right under them.

It's hard to convey just how many dolphins there were. They were everywhere, and then just minutes later, they were gone. We found the pod again, so it was my turn to swim. Before I could even consider being an anxious mess, Ginny jumped off the boat, so I had to catch up to her. I was so excited and amazed that I didn't have time to be terrified. It was incredible to swim in the water with these beautiful creatures. As far as Type 1 fun goes, it doesn't get any better than that. Also, dusky dolphins are the coolest.

We drove back to Christchurch today and will spend two more days here before heading to our final NZ stop in Queenstown. Then, off to Australia for a really hot Christmas!

We miss you guys, especially during this holiday season!

All my love,

Madeline