Waitomo Caves and Rotorua



Today we visited the Waitomo Caves – an interesting underground cave that is full of stalactites, stalagmites and glow worms.



In the Aranui Caves



this is what the glow worms look like inside the cave



 

 







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then travelled to Rotorua.  Rotorua is famous for its geyers – warm pools of water that are heated by volcanic lava.  In the evening we went to visit the Tamaki Maori Village.  Upon arrival the tribe challenged us – Te Wero – they then present a peace offering – Teka – that is to be received by the visiting chief.  Sean was nominated by our canoe (bus) to be our chief and got to do some traditional events throughout our evening.  We then explored the traditional village and learned about the Maori way of life in years past.  We also got to experience a Hangi – the hangi uses a traditional cooking method where the food (meat and vegetables) are cooked under the earth on hot rocks. The boys had a great night and really enjoyed the experience.   

The boys hanging out with the Maori

Chief Sean

 

Kia Ora (means hello, goodbye, welcome, and have a safe journey)

The Rennies

Surfer Paradise

Raglan surfers beach

Travelled to see friends from New Zealand that we met in Niagara Falls this summer while they were on holiday in Canada.  They live in a small town on the coast called Raglan.  It is a great town and we could have stayed there for a week.  It is a surfing town and we saw lots of VW's so the boys, all 3 boys, were in heaven.  Graham and Barb were great hosts - fed us tea and treats and Graham took us for the local tour of the surrounding area in his Jeep.  We saw all of the cool surf spots and hiked to the Bridal Vail Falls (same name as the falls on Manitoulin Island but much bigger).  Lots of driving through the country side today - the roads are narrow, tight and hilly - Sean thought he was a race car driver.

Our hosts Barb and Graham - the view from their house

Bridal Vail Falls

Raglan Oceanside

 

We Have Arrived in Auckland

So all went well to start - we managed to pack for a year into 1 bag and 1 carry on per person and we also did not go over the weight restriction.  The Ontario winter decided to hold onto us for a couple hours and we almost missed our connecting flight in Vancouver!

can you believe this is all we packed for a year!!

The flight was long but not as bad as I had thought it would be - the sleeping pill helped - thanks J.  Upon arrival we gathered our things and got our rental car.  The first couple of minutes driving were strange, every time Sean wanted to use the turning signal he washed our windows.  Thankfully it was not busy as it was 6:30 in the morning and we literally just followed cars in the direction of downtown to make sure we stayed on the right side of the road.  So in Sean Rennie style we headed to the hotel - with no address or directions - just the knowledge of what it looked like and that it was near the water - would you believe it took us 5 minutes to find - who needs a GPS when you have Sean.  We unloaded the car and then headed out to explore Auckland.  The weather is nice - the minute we got to the hotel we changed into our summer clothes - sorry Canadian friends and family who are still wearing their winter wear.

View of Auckland from the Sky Tower

Another view from Sky Tower

Our dinner - fresh from the market

mom and boys



Auckland Harbour

Nice to have a pint and watch the kids practice their kids





view up to the sky tower



Twas the Night Before........Departure

Well it is the night before our departure and Christmas.  We spent the day packing and running around with last minute errands  - not exactly easy when the rest of the world is running around doing last minute Christmas shopping!!!!! We left our house an hour and a half later than desired and had to turn around as we forgot an important package - some Christmas gifts.  Jim, Sean's dad, was our chauffeur, and the first part of the ride was little treacherous with all the snow and ice - winter's last gift to us. But we made it to our hotel in good time and managed to get all the luggage to the room.  A family dinner in the hotel restaurant and then of course a Christmas eve swim - a first.  We are now snuggled in our beds watching the Grinch movie and enjoying relaxing prior to our busy couple of days of travel.  

Merry Christmas to all and us a good flight!

Sean, Krystin, Matthew & Kade

First Day of Winter

Ok - the first day of winter is officially tomorrow but it sure feels like winter here - lots of snow. Still busy getting ready for the big departure.  Sean is putting in some insulation in the basement that we have been meaning to do for a couple of years, I am still really busy with work and getting that organzied so I can work from Australia.  I have also called in for reinforcements - my mom is now here to help - today she was in charge of the boys and carting them all over the place.  And no we have not packed yet - that is the plan for the weekend.  Will keep you posted.

snowshoeing at Osler - only 4 more days to get them in

9 Days until Departure

Well 9 Days until departure - just over a week and so much to do - actually so much that I don't even know where to start - so I decided to start with this post - kinda like procrastination!!!! 

We had a family Christmas the last two weekends and had great visits with our families - I really don't think it has hit us that we will not see them for over a year - unless they come for a visit - come on family you have accommodations if you come!

 

Every time we see anyone who knows that we are leaving the first words out of their mouths is "how is the packing going?".  Well the answer still today is it is NOT going!!!  Our plan was to pack this weekend but between hockey, Christmas parties, report cards, my work and those odd jobs around the house we did not get to it - I mean eventually we will - we are kinda last minute people.  I might need to enlist my friends to come and pack for me :) 



Well with that said I should get back to work as I need to pack that up too.

Krystin