Once we finally boarded the flight was lovely. Probably the nicest flight I've ever been on and I'm a big fan of South African Airlines so Emirates had some hefty competition. It didn't hurt that our flight attendant was Canadian and put her hat on Emily and let her be a flight attendant as people deplaned - super cute.
We arrived in Auckland 5 hours later than we thought we would and I had contacted the rental company to let them know and they sent me an email while I was mid-flight to tell me I needed to fill out additional forms to pick up the car after their 7pm closing time. Of course I didn't get this until I arrived in Auckland. So there we were in Auckland without the rental car I had rented that had included car seats (so we hadn't brought ours from Australia) and no way to get to Hamilton (1 hour away) where we had rented a room for the night. Obviously it was a bad idea to leave my lucky Irish horseshoe of a husband at home playing Magic. We finally rented an expensive station wagon and unbelievably expensive rental car seats for the night from another location (seriously it's possible I could have bought them for that cost) and waited for the rental car people to pick us up. At this time it was almost 9pm, the kids were exhausted, hungry and cold. The rental car place finally came and it became apparent that there were two Amanda's waiting for this company, both who had been screwed over by the early closing time of the other company, both waiting for the new company's shuttle and both going to Hamilton. The other Amanda was very nice to let us go first with our exhausted children - my somewhat intimidating-appearing father probably assisted her in making that choice but that was ok with me.
We got to the rental car location and the rental process was expedited as the other group was waiting. The night manager didn't seem to know his stuff as well but things got done and my dad started loading the 90s Nissan station wagon while I did the paperwork. It was loaded stem to stern as my parents had all their luggage plus we had a suitcase and the stroller so it was pretty packed. Plus, in case anyone hadn't done at the math, there were 5 of us and 5 bum spots. Two of us legally required preciously expensive tank-sized car seats. Your internal question should be who had the misfortune of drawing the short straw and sitting in the back seat. Well, I was the only person allowed to drive by the rental company and I was the only one comfortable driving on the left (especially at night) and my father is 6'4''. So my poor mother had to fold herself into the back between car seat and booster seat. We all barely fit burgeoning at the seams in the darkness - no one around to witness our clown car antics as the rental car company guy had gone to pick up the other Amanda. We were all buckled and I turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. I have many pictures from New Zealand but the one I really wish I could have had was an immediate photograph of the 5 of us exhausted at 1030pm in the abandoned parking lot of the car rental company with a dead station wagon. I figure it looked something like this...
..
At this point all you can do is laugh and wait for the guy to come back and give you a different station wagon that you pour your family and belongings into and hit the road for Hamilton.
The Hamilton accomodation was quaint and lovely. The kids were so exhausted we could have put them in cardboard boxes and they would have been happy. I went between the twin beds sharing half the night with each of my kids until they kicked me in the face and I woke up. Otherwise I slept quite well. In the morning we tried out some McDonalds Playplaces on our way back into Auckland to pick up the Magic gatherer. We picked up the original rental van and returned the cosy station wagon and car seats of desperation all while forever circling the arrivals gate at the international terminal. This endless Groundhog Day at the Auckland airport was not my favourite part of our vacation. We finally got the Magic man (he won 4/9 for those of you who are only concerned about his Grand Pris performance - that's probably 2 of you reading this :P) and we were off to Rotorua.
New Zealand is a stunningly beautiful country. In fact, I am unclear why anyone would ever emigrate other than it's expensive. It was a lovely windy drive out to Lake Tarawera where our cabin, the Cheeky Tui, was situated amongst leafy trees and winding vines. I had done a lot of research to find the perfect place to stay as 3 generations and the cabin exceeded my expectations. There was lots of space, modern amenities, bright conservatory and a big fenced backyard with a slide, swing and trampoline. It was a little out of the way but we all needed a little time tucked away from everything for a while.
On Monday, the rest of my family went to the Buried Village (a village that was covered in hot mud when the nearby volcano erupted in the late 1800s) and I stayed in my cosy sunbeam and finished my book. That night Keith and I went (ON A DATE!) to a Maori cultural evening. Before it started Keith was talking to a girl from Ireland and it turns out she was from Ballygar and got her school uniforms at the Hanley shop (that's Keith's aunt and uncle's shop in a small village) - the world is a small place. It was really interesting to see a country that seems to have (from a complete outsider perspective) a better relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous people. They did a great job of showcasing the Maori culture and making people feel very welcome and included. It was a lovely evening and we felt young again hanging out with the backpacking crowd.
On Tuesday, we were off to Hobbiton. We are huge nerds and booked in advance as it was something we really wanted to do. We got up early and drove out to Matamata where the tourist information is designed like a hobbit hole. Keith popped in to ask directions and Emily (who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the morning drive) proceeded to projectile vomit three or four times. Keith was gone for 1.5 minutes and in that time the aroma in the rental van had been transformed to resemble an Irish pub bathroom at closing time. Poor kid. And, of course, as parenting luck would have it that day was the ONE day we had forgotten to bring extra clothes. The ONE day in the last two years. None of her clothes were salvageable and she was distraught as she's never really thrown up before so in between projectiles she looked at me with eyes saying "What is happening to me???" Yay for grandparents that bought her new clothes and everything else got cleaned up and we switched our tickets because the idea of a tour bus with a barfy 2 year old sounded like a TERRIBLE idea. On the drive back she seemed to be infinitely better as she has probably inherited her father's "throw up and feel better" gene. She was so great that we decided to shuffle our plans and go to the Sheep farm. I'm not sure why we thought that farm animals would make her feel better than a tour bus but it worked so I won't analyze it in retrospect.
The farm tour was a HUGE hit. As we arrived there was a 10 day old alpaca walking around that loved Cian and Emily and they LOVED her - super cute. The tour part is a covered wagon pulled by a big tractor and the kids were vibrating with excitement. It was better than anticipated because you got to feed the various animals as you toured the farm. I am a farmer's daughter (that is a true statement for those of you that didn't know) and I have never been so close to a cow. They came right up to the tractor and we got to see all the different types of cows on the farm. We then saw and fed sheep and alpacas and saw deer and pigs too. They also had olive and kiwi groves that we toured through which were really interesting and the kiwi juice and wine were delicious. The kids were totally enthralled. After the tour was the show. They brought out all the different kinds of sheep and it was a super cheesy show but also tonnes of fun. My dad volunteered and milked a cow (which was sort of cheating as a retired farmer :P) but the bigger surprise was Cian bravely volunteering and going on stage. They gave him and other bigger kids big milk bottles and then surprised them with baby animals and Cian fed the lamb. Afterwards he led the baby animals all the way into the pen on the side of the stage and high-fived the MC of the show. Super proud mom moment but who wouldn't be proud of this guy. This was Cian's favourite day.
On Wednesday we had Hobbiton Take 2 and no one threw up! Emily however decided to share attitude instead of vomit that day. She was a little grouchy dwarf so I stayed behind most of the tour which seemed to work. The only thing she really liked were the Hobbit dance at the party tree (she was by far the most enthusiastic dancer) and the drinks at the Green Dragon Inn. A Morris that loves dancing and drinking???? :) For the adults though the whole thing was really interesting. I've never visited a movie set before but the views were all beautiful (probably because a lighting designer arranged it) and they had done a great job of Bag End and the Green Dragon Inn. It was also icing on the cake that they give you a beer to enjoy at the end of the tour (Ginger beer for the kids). It was a gorgeous day and fun for us Lord of the Rings nerds.
That evening we went to Rainbow Springs which was beautiful at night all lit up. There was a fantastic playground for the kids and lots of wildlife including the elusive kiwi bird. They are quite shy and come out at night. I have never seen one and it was so weird to see this strange-looking bird hopping around in the silence. We returned to Rainbow Springs in the morning for the bird show and the Log shoot ride. Everyone but mom went on and it was a great time - it was nice to see my dad being goofy and riding the log shoot like a cowboy.
The next day we drove my parents back into Auckland and visited our all-to-familiar Auckland airport. Omi and Opa went home to Canada and the four of us went to Hamilton to stay at a hotel. It was fun for us to have a TV since we don't have one at our house in Australia and the Motor Lodge was by far the nicest one I've ever been to - they were amazing. The next day we explored the beautiful Hamilton gardens and then went back to Auckland for our flight. It was a very full vacation and lots of fun. We are so fortunate to be able to travel as 3 generations and our kids are lucky to have grandparents that have an endless supply of toys, treats, stories and cuddles. Kia ora!
No comments:
Post a Comment