Black Monday

We were up before daybreak, trying to pack quietly so as not to disturb our neighbors in their tent. Ro was in a less than great mood for pretty much the whole trip north, through Whangarei, past the Bay of Islands, and over endless rolling hills. Somehow a bird managed to find the business side of our windshield, which Sherry took as a bad omen. We eventually wound through the incredibly twisty and hilly Mangamuka Gorge. We were in a beautiful fern-filled forest, but the curvy road soon made Ro carsick to the point of throwing up! Sherry crawled in the backseat to comfort him, and Mark drove as slowly as possible, but she soon succumbed to the winding road as well, losing her breakfast right after we left the gorge. She discovered too late that the bag she threw up in had a hole in the bottom! Fortunately for Mark, he couldn't smell it anyway because of his cold.

The rain was pouring down steadily by the time we reached the Harrison's Cape Runner headquarters just north of Kaitaia. Our tour bus driver was a funny guy by the name of Selwyn Subritski, a German/Polish/Maori descended from the first white settlers in Northland. He knew the history of nearly every farm and building we passed on our way north, most of which were owned by members of his extended family. Our first stop was at The Ancient Kauri Kingdom for some coffee, scones, and a little shopping. Living kauri trees are protected, so they use buried kauri logs up to 45,000 years old to make wooden products of every kind, from wine stoppers to dining room furniture.

http://www.ancientkauri.co.nz/

Ready for a rainy bus ride

A single ancient kauri log was hollowed-out to make these stairs

Further along our journey, the bus pulled up to a quaint country store run by Selwyn's family; we didn't mind the obvious nepotism because their ice cream cones were huge, cheap, and delicious. We also swung by Selwyn's homestead, on the shore of a beautiful bay at the Houhora Heads. He made no secret of his lineage being somewhat illegitimate, as his European male ancestors arrived in NZ three years ahead of their wives, fraternizing with Maori women in the meantime. He educated us on the culture and economy of Northland, which is based on the "Three F's": farms, fishing, and forestry. There was a large open area by the roadside, made notable only by some unusual cement ruins; turns out it was a bomb shelter at one end of what was once a huge WWII tent city housing UK and US troops. We also passed expansive avocado orchards, which were recently started by some American investors who bought up a bunch of dairy farms. As we proceeded north along the peninsula, the fertile orchards and forests gave way to windswept hills used for cattle and sheep stations.

The aging Houhora dance hall & cinema is reportedly haunted

Ratana church at Te Kao

SH1 became a bumpy "metal road" for a while

The tour usually includes lunch at Tapotupotu Bay, but it had rained so much, there was no way the buses could get back up the steep, muddy road, so we continued on to Cape Reinga. We were given a choice of eating lunch on the bus now or walking down to the lighthouse and eating later. Even though there was a lot of fog and a little drizzle, we elected to go to the lighthouse now since the weather could very well be worse later on. We could barely see the ocean below us and couldn't even see the lighthouse until we were about a hundred meters from it due to the thick fog. The mist cleared briefly for about two minutes while we were there, just long enough to shoot a few pics, then the rain and clouds rolled through again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Reinga

The Hills at Cape Reinga

Spirits of Maori dead depart here for the afterlife

The iconic signpost

We had tea on the bus as we waited for the tide to go out a little more. Our drive back to Kaitaia would be on Ninety Mile Beach, and whether that part of the tour occurs going to or from the Cape depends on the tides. A toilet break revealed no sinks in the huge loo at the Cape, just a battery of sanitary hand gel dispensers; there's no plumbing or electricity this far north. Just as we were about to leave, the weather started to clear, and half the people on the bus rushed out to snap a few last pics.

Te Paki Stream empties onto Ninety Mile Beach near it's northern end, and the flat riverbed provides easy vehicular access to the beach, but what makes it famous is the huge sand dunes nearby used for sandboarding and tobogganing. Since we were still waiting for the tide to go out, we'd have a whole hour (instead of the usual 30 minutes) in which to try to maim ourselves. We saw a few people going down headfirst on boogie boards, but Selwyn informed us that Harrison's no longer encourages this because too many people were dislocating their shoulder and breaking their collarbones when they wiped out, so now they only provide feet-first toboggans. They were like a cheap, plastic, hardware store snow sled. You sat on these and leaned back with your arms trailing behind you, steering and braking with your hands. We were warned not to put our feet down, or bad things could happen. And, oh, by the way, with all the rain recently, the sand was packed hard and extra fast, so be careful. Niiice.

Te Paki Stream snaking towards the Tasman Sea

The 100 meter-high dunes overlooking the stream looked pretty imposing from the bottom, but even more so from the top. A steady stream of tourists dragging their toboggans snaked up one side of the dune, with nervous people milling about the crest, sledding down in order of bravery. Casual observation revealed that about a fourth of the people made it down fast and straight, eliciting cheers from the crowd for a nice run. Another fourth made it down okay, but slowed themselves down so much with their hands that their efforts weren't worthy of acknowledgment. Another fourth wiped out about halfway down, rolling on the sand but not having built up enough speed to do any real damage to themselves. The other fourth wiped out at high speed near the bottom, taking some pretty painful-looking tumbles. You didn't want to be that guy.

Do I really want to do this?

Seemingly everyone was going down these dunes, from blue-haired old ladies, to a dad carrying a baby, to kids not much older than Ro. Obviously, accident liability is a non-issue in NZ. Some of those old people took some pretty nasty tumbles, and got up looking embarrassed but unhurt, so we figured, "hey, if they can do it, so can we!" Ro took one look at the massive dune and pleaded with Sherry not to go, but when she saw Mark make it down unscathed, she summoned her courage and marched the long way to the top. Meanwhile, Mark watched Ro have fun sliding down a bunny slope. Sherry found a smooth, unused path down the dune, and her ride was going great...until she hit the change in slope near the bottom. As the toboggan slowed, she slid off the front of it, flipping completely over as the sled shot skyward. She was facing uphill when her left foot stuck in the sand, wrenching her left knee while the rest of her kept rolling downhill. The audible, sickening "snap" in her knee was not what she wanted to hear, as she immediately grabbed it and winced in pain.

Sherry trying to psych herself up for a go

Ro wasted no time wiping out every chance he got

Sherry showing 'em how it's done

Scratch that

There goes the knee!

!%$@#&!

Mark and a few other witnesses rushed over to assist Sherry, who wasn't getting up. Ro wasn't paying attention, though, and even though Mark shouted at him to tell him where he was going, Ro soon looked around bewildered, thinking he'd been abandoned and calling out for us, tears welling up in his eyes. A nice lady saw what was going on and escorted him over to us as Mark, a nurse, and Allan (one of the bus drivers) tended to Sherry. She got carried off the dunes like an injured NFL player with her arms around Mark and Allan's shoulders, commandeering the backseat of the bus so she could stretch out. Between the ice packs and a few Panadol, she was soon comfortable, but understandably upset. Ro made sure mum was okay, then went off to fetch his jandals (i.e. take a few more toboggan rides). Selwyn tried to lighten the mood, informing her that she was the first of his passengers ever to get injured.

Borrowing ice packs from the chilly bin

Once settled on the bus, Sherry had the ignominy of being "that American girl" who everyone took pity on but was glad they weren't her. Mark was grateful this whole trip wasn't his idea, or he would have felt really guilty! The bus caravan eventually continued on through the Te Paki Stream to Ninety Mile Beach. The beach is very pretty, but nothing all that special compared to other beaches in NZ, except for the fact that you can drive a bus on it! The beach was actually a MUCH smoother and faster ride than SH1, although you could see the dangers inherent in the drive in the form of a few rusted-out car frames. There were a few spots where the water was still standing on the beach, and we plowed through them in a spray of water. Selwyn pointed out a large outcrop of rocks ("the bluff") where one of his cousins had recently been swept out to sea by a big wave while fishing. Guess our problems could be worse, eh?

Mark on Ninety Mile Beach

The reason why rental cars aren't allowed on the beach

Making our way between waves

We made a stop at a roadside fruit stand (owned by one of Selwyn's mates, of course) where Mark picked up a small watermelon. Northland is pretty rural, and tourist dollars are greatly needed here, so we were happy to help out. The bus had to make another stop at The Ancient Kauri Kingdom for the salt spray to be washed off and the interior swept of sand. Everyone except Sherry was getting off the bus, but Ro wouldn't leave her side, like a lion cub protecting his wounded mother. Mark fetched her a flat white from the café, with a slushy for Ro.

Selwyn scores a rockmelon

Ancient Kauri Stump Couch, only $55,000

Everyone was very nice and helpful to Sherry, and we thanked the crew at Harrison's for their assistance. Fortunately our motel, the Kaitaia Motor Lodge, was right across the street from Harrison's. Ro wanted to play on the small climbing frame they had there, but we needed to get Sherry something more than just an ACE wrap and a couple of ice packs. We looked for a chemist where we might buy some crutches, but they were all already closed. We ended up at the A&E (Accident & Emergency) at the local hospital. It was really more of an after-hours clinic, and the doctor wouldn't even be there for another hour. Of course, they wouldn't just give us what we needed without assessing Sherry, so she had to hop to a gurney (the big-boy wheelchair she was on wouldn't fit through the door) and Phil, one of the nurses, checked her out.

Ro pitching in to help mum

To be fair to Phil, Sherry's knee wasn't swollen, and there wasn't any bony tenderness, so the need for an x-ray tonight was arguable, especially since we'd have to wait around for a doctor to read it anyway. It'd be easier to just get that done back in Tauranga. He wrapped her knee tightly with Tubi-grip and a crepe bandage to give her some stability, but when she tried to walk on it, it promptly gave way in painful fashion and the swelling ensued. Unlike in the States, Emergency Departments here only lend you crutches - they expect them to be returned in a few weeks, and Phil was hesitant to give away one of his last pairs of crutches to non-locals. He and Sherry were at a bit of a stalemate by this point, but Mark gave him an out when he asked if they had any extra Zimmer splints lying around, so at least her knee wouldn't give way. Now Phil got wise to us and asked if we had any medical training, at which point we saw our window of opportunity and played the doctor card, as much as we hated to. Once he learned that we knew what we were talking about, and weren't just hypochondriac Yanks or drug-seeking, he took Sherry a little more seriously, and gave her a splint AND the crutches, while thanking us for coming to NZ and helping out their short-staffed healthcare system. Good on ya, Phil!

On the way back to the motel, we stopped to pick up some Subway for dinner, and some much-needed wine from the Liquor King (Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir was on SALE - score!). Ro played with some Indian kids at the motel while we ate outside watching him. He had a brief swim at the pool before winding down, watching The Mummy Returns, which had him transfixed. Just as Sherry will have to get used to life on one leg for a while, Ro will have to get used to her not being able to help him as much, so Mark took over supervising his bath and bedtime routine. Ro made the most of his rare opportunity to tell Sherry, "I told you so!"

Ro thought the splint made him look like a Transformer

Here Kitty Kitty

Sunday

Sherry slept okay on her couch cushion pallet, except the floor really stunk. In the morning she got up and noticed it wasn't the floor, but Mark's Tevas that were funkifying the whole camper. Mark woke up to find his sandals permanently banished outside and his cold in full force. Sherry took pity on him and fixed him a cuppa and Nutella on toast in bed. Ro spent a good portion of the morning playing outside with those same kids from last night, loudly debating the merits of Ben 10's various aliens, but we had to put the brakes on his idea to invite all the kids into our camper for a play.

Hangin' out with the skater dudes

The first stop of our local sight-seeing was Mount Parihaka, once the site of New Zealand's largest Maori pa. Even though there was a road that went nearly all the way to the top, Ro was in no mood to walk up the 50 or so steps to the summit. After much coaxing, his demeanor brightened when he saw the impressive panorama, and he forgot all about being tired. He eagerly wanted to walk down one of the summit trails to the base (45 minutes one-way), even after we explained he'd have to walk back up to the car.

Whangarei Harbour from Mt Parihaka

The war memorial on the summit can be seen for miles

Our next stop was the A.H. Reed Memorial Kauri Park. We soon encountered an older couple that had snapped a pic for us on top of Mount Parihaka, "no, we're really not stalking you." Kauri trees are the oldest and biggest trees in NZ, akin to Sequoias in stature. The park features a remarkable feat of trail-building in an elevated canopy walk, which Ro initially couldn't wait to get to, then was a little scared of once he saw it. We bribed him with some trail mix; he carefully picked out the m&m's as he toddled through the forest canopy, and his attention was finally captured by some weird-looking insects. We continued through the woods to Pukenui Falls, clambering up a steep trail which Ro happily bounded up with ease. As per his usual, the more difficult the trail, the more fun he has; give him a wide, flat track and he's just as likely to plop down in the middle of it as walk on it.

Sherry in her element

And that's a SMALL kauri tree

Careful, mummy, watch your step!

There was a trail along the Hatea River from the Kauri park to Whangarei Falls, but it was a half-hour each way. We didn't want to push our luck with Ro, so we elected to drive. The most popular scenic attraction in town, the falls are located in the middle of a residential area. All the nearby residents must get tired of campervans constantly parked in front of their houses. There was a nice, big, sloping, tree-shaded lawn above the falls where we had a little picnic, watching the local kids jumping into a large pool above the falls. Most were content to swing out over the pool on a rope, but one daring girl (looking about 10yo) kept climbing a large pine tree and jumping at least 8m from a high branch that barely held her weight. There was a walking track down into the gorge which took you to the bottom of the falls, but Ro was tired and content to just watch the falls from above, waving to Mark down below.

Sandwich, anyone?

Junior daredevil showing how it's done

That's far enough, Ro!!!

Picture of Confusion

There's always a nice Asian tourist around to take your picture

The major stop of our day was the Zion Wildlife Gardens, located out in the countryside in the middle of a bunch of small dairy farms. We wondered if the cows ever got spooked from the roaring of the big cats at Zion. Home to the television series The Lion Man, the Gardens are chock full of rare cats, many of which are extinct in the wild.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Man

Cheetahs hungrily eyeing a Kids Meal

Ro's mane is even whiter than this lion's

Ro sooooo wanted to pet one

There was a fatality at the park last May when a white tiger mauled one of the keepers, so the pricey tours that involve guests actually getting into the cages with these beasts have gone by the wayside. The exception to that is the "Cheetah Chat," since apparently cheetahs aren't considered a threat to a full-size human. Even so, we were happy with our "Works" tour, which showed us all of the wildlife at the park, and most of the big cats getting fed. Zion, the big Barbary Lion from which the park gets its name, played Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Ironically, there's another lion at the park named Aslan, who lives with his sister Narnia.

http://www.zionwildlifegardens.co.nz/

Like most celebrities, Zion was too busy to sign autographs

Mmmmm...horse

[Insert 80's hair metal band reference here]

We got much more detailed information about the animals from our experienced guides than we would have gotten at a zoo. For example, one guide Antoine, when talking about the park's baboon, related a story from when he lived in Africa and his house kept getting burglarized by the local baboons who were eating all his food and drinking all his fizzie drinks (i.e. soda). So one day he stuffed a bread roll with the hottest chili peppers he could find, and watched as the dominant male baboon scarfed it down, tears soon welling up in its eyes, lesson learned.

Ash has to take a submissive posture to hand-feed the cheetahs

No way Antoine would let Aslan crawl over him for a steak. Note the mane extending down the belly of the Barbary Lion

Ro found the Royal White Tigers to be funny-looking, because they were all cross-eyed. The only cat he got to pet, though, was a stray house cat. He and a couple of other little boys were pretty hot and tired towards the end of the afternoon, so we skipped the Serval feeding and headed for the office to get some cold drinks. Ro promptly fell asleep on the drive back to Whangarei. Mark watched him in the car while Sherry ran in to New World for some groceries; he was still sleeping when we got to the Town Basin (sort of a marina/riverwalk), so Mark let him sleep while Sherry did a little shopping, then we all rendezvoused at the big playground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whangarei

While browsing, Sherry picked up a little gossip from the shopkeepers. Apparently the ostentatious, locally built, brand-new $8 million yacht Isabel parked at the marina belongs to none other than US Senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry, who was allegedly just in town a couple of days ago to take delivery on it. The ship's registry is in Newport (?Rhode Island). We ate dinner on the waterfront at Reva's, a Whangarei institution, with the yacht as our backdrop. Mark had the seafood chowder and scallop & bacon salad, Sherry a veggie burrito, and Ro a cheese pizza, all of which was pretty tasty.

Ro doing what he does best: giving Sherry a heart attack

Do we hafta eat? I wanna play some more!

Ro seeing how our humble public servants live

After another play on the climbing frame, we drove back to the holiday park where Ro tooled around on his scooter with the other kids. We struck up a conversation with one of the mums, Kiri, who invited us down to the beach to share their campfire. Their extended clan were all from the Hibiscus Coast, near Auckland. Although we all came from more spectacular beaches to holiday along this bay, sometimes it's necessary to extract the kids away from TV and video games for a few days, eh? We were invited over to their little tent complex for drinks, but it was already nearing 10pm, and we needed to put Ro to bed, knowing we have another long day tomorrow. They tipped us off to a free shower facility just up the hill; no more rooting around for coins! As Ro and Sherry were walking back to the camper after rinsing off, Ro spotted a vintage Airstream that was probably newer than our camper, exclaiming "That's an OLD camper, eh mum?!"

Winding down a long day

Keep watching me, mum!

Too bad we didn't have any marshmallows

Roughing It

Saturday

With our time in NZ running short, and Mark with a few days off, we wanted to see Northland. All the credit for planning the trip goes to Sherry. We got a late start this morning, as all our efforts to get out the door kept getting thwarted. Sherry tried to pick up a few last-minute things at New World, which was a madhouse. Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas was in port today, so all the pedestrians snarled the already busy traffic. We had problems trying to print Sherry's carefully crafted itinerary with all the directions on it, and then got caught up trying to jumpstart a neighbor's car in the carpark. Aigghh!

Ro finally meets Mark's "other woman" in Katikati

Ro was in a less than great mood on the long drive north, and we were relieved when he finally fell asleep. The Karangahake Gorge was packed with holiday makers, but the usually oppressive traffic through Auckland was blessedly non-existent on the weekend. Ro finally woke from his nap as we were crossing the Harbour Bridge, each new kilometer marking the farthest north we've been in NZ. Winding through the hills of the North Shore, we encountered a somewhat unusual toll road - you had to stop at a kiosk on the side of the road to pay, but we elected to use our five-day grace period and pay it online when we got home.

We took a little side trip Sherry had scoped out to Piroa Falls, literally in the middle of nowhere. Mark looked at her dubiously when the rural road turned to gravel and a small sign pointed the way to the falls - 6km down the road. We didn't see any other cars on the way, but were a little relieved to see a few at the trailhead. Ro changed into his togs faster than you could say "waterfall," and bounded down the steep trail, slipping and landing on his bum a few times. The bumpy drive soon proved well worth it, as we were treated to a gorgeous scene.

The Hills at Piroa Falls

The pools beneath the falls are a popular swimming hole, and are deep enough that Mark couldn't even touch bottom. A few backpackers were actually taking showers under the falls, but the dominant activity seemed to be jumping off the treacherous rock ledges above the pools. Sherry convinced Ro to egg Mark on so he would jump, too. Then she claimed she didn't get a good picture on his first attempt, so he had to jump again. Ro wasn't too keen on diving in, but he did psych himself into opening his eyes underwater (he'd forgotten his goggles), and wanted to stay at the falls indefinitely.

Mark taking a deep, chilly dip

Geronimo!

Our drive into Whangarei featured some amazing scenery along the coast, looking towards the imposing Whangarei Heads dominating the horizon. We stopped for necessary provisions at Four Square (a small grocery store so ubiquitous it has become Kiwiana) and Liquorland, then continued through town to the Blue Heron Holiday Park along the bay. Our friendly hostess Elaine, a transplanted Canadian, oriented us to the place by just pointing out the window in different directions. All the baches (i.e. vacation cottages) had long since been rented for this busy weekend, so Sherry had booked us into a camper that was permanently parked on the grounds. She figured it would be a good trial run for our campervan trip next month.

Home sweet home

The camper was vintage 1960's, with faux wood panelling and a mattress lumpier than bad mashed potatoes. There was a sink, but the water wasn't hooked up. There was a gas burner, but trying to turn that thing on would void the hazardous endeavours clause on Mark's disability insurance. If you thought of it as a simple motel room, you'd be really disappointed, but if you thought of it as a glorified tent, it wasn't half bad. "No, Ronan, daddy didn't call it rusty, he called it rus-tic. Well, I guess it's rusty, too."

Fortunately, the holiday park had a kitchen, a grill building, and bathrooms. Fifty cents got you twenty minutes of gas cooking time, or a five-minute hot shower. Like any good Kiwi on holiday, Mark cracked open a Woody (i.e. Woodstock Bourbon & Cola) after the long drive, and poured Sherry a glass of wine to drink as we cooked dinner. The bottle of Villa Maria wine actually came with a game ticket to win passes to the Ronan Keating concert at the winery next month! It took a little while to figure out how to work the gas grill, not realizing that the built-in igniter didn't work anymore. Mark finally noticed the pack of matches sitting nearby and put two and two together. While cooking the food, we met another camper from Seattle, who said we were the first Americans he'd met in the three weeks he'd been touring NZ. We had veggie kebabs and sausages for dinner, made all the more delicious by our intense hunger.

Nice view at the kitchen window

Sunset over Whangarei Harbour

Dinner's ready, daddy!

The ambiance was overwhelming

We relaxed with our drinks after dinner, sitting at a picnic table on the beach, watching the waves lap on the shore as Ronan played with a bunch of other kids. We'd brought his Ben 10 scooter, which he enjoyed riding down the main drive as the other kids coasted down on their BMX bikes and skateboards, jumping over the speed bumps. They'd all scatter when the rare car would come creeping through, and Ro would dutifully shoo a couple of little girls out of the road.

Finally taking a minute to chill

Once it got dark, we put Ro to sleep in the one bed we had, and we chatted quietly, planning tomorrow's itinerary and dipping chocolate into a jar of peanut butter as we finished the wine. The stars were amazingly bright, since we were a couple hours from the nearest real city. We shifted Ro to some cushions we had set up on the floor when we went to bed, but he woke up scared so we let him into our double bed. Nobody was getting any sleep, especially Sherry since she was scrunched up between Mark and Ro, so she finally gave up and slept on the floor. Mark couldn't sleep anyway, as he was coming down with a cold and sore throat. Just in time, eh?

Can you spot the Southern Cross? Careful!

Auld Aquaintance

Friday

Sherry spent all morning planning our trip to Northland, making various calls and reservations. Although frustrating and time consuming, she had finalized things by the time Mark rolled out of bed around 11. Because he has to work the evening shift today, he'd stayed up late last night trying to get the blog caught up!

After a quick brunch, we all walked down to the Main Beach to meet Kim and Mark, our friends from Rarotonga. They were up here on holiday from Taranaki (about 5 hours southwest of us). Ronan was excited to see Kelsea and her brother Josh again, however, once we spotted them, Ro got quite shy and hid behind Sherry's legs! Evidently, Kelsea had suffered the same quickening of the nerves, and Sherry saw her leap up from her sandcastle, run to her mum's blanket and sit down while flinging her hat off. Ro promptly took off his sun hat, too. And all this from still a good 50 feet away!

Catching up

American Mark stayed to chat for another 15 minutes before having to run off for work, and during that time, Kelsea and Ro still hadn't spoken to each other. They just sat awkwardly on the fringes of the adult conversation, while Josh took Ro's boogie board out for a spin. With Mark gone, Kim and Sherry fell into the easy path of ex-pat conversation, and with both families going back to their home countries at the same time, they discussed the endless list of odds and ends to wrap up before February! Aussie Mark took off to play with Josh, leaving Ro and Kelsea to finally start what passes for five year-old conversation. Sherry whipped out her camera for a picture when Josh returned with the boogie board, and Kelsea and Ro decided to share it as a bench. She told them to scoot a little closer, and the next thing you know, they were running around hand-in-hand just like in the Cook Islands. They were so adorable!

Taking a break from the waves

Picking up where they left off

The tide was out, so everyone went to the wonderful tide pools forming on the boulder-strewn beaches at the base of Mauao. Josh found a huge brittle star, while Sherry found a large sea cucumber and some small fish. Kelsea and Ro climbed up on one of the largest rocks and sat engrossed with one another, climbing down long enough to take a peek whenever someone found something interesting.

Someone had a REALLY good time last night

What IS it with this guy?

Getting away from the adults

The breeze off the ocean was giving the wet kids a chill, so Sherry invited everyone back to The Anchorage for a dip in our heated pool. On the way, Sherry took them by the locally famous Copenhagen Cones for a homemade waffle cone filled with ice creamy goodness (and plenty of whipped cream). Walking along Pilot Bay eating ice creams, the kids enjoyed watching the boats come in.

One last afternoon with the Beightons

After a play in the pool, it was nearly dinner time, and sadly we said goodbye to our Aussie friends, hoping to catch up at least once more before February. Ro gave Kelsea a hemp shell bracelet Sherry had made him while driving to Auckland on our trip there before Christmas, and Kim whispered to Sherry that she'd probably never take it off her little ankle!

Five minutes after she'd left, Ro looked up at Sherry sadly and exclaimed, "I miss Kelsea."