New Zealand Childhood House

And we're off!

I had a small list of activities and places that I wanted to show Mark. Let me preface the next paragraph by saying that Mark is a sentimental sort of man. He likes to show me around Madison, WI when we visit... to see his elementary school, the house he grew up in and all the haunts of his youth. He had also voiced his enthusiasm for seeing similar things from my childhood, so that was high on the list.

We took off from New Plymouth on December 30th. Dad driving, mom navigating. Mark and I in the back, eating Licorice Allsorts and Cadbury mini's. Welcome to my childhood, Mark!!!

The first stop was actually Te Kuiti... for cabinet food and a flat white, of course.

I introduced Mark to a custard square dessert. They are hard to cut in half while still keeping the "square" shape but using a butter knife clearly doesn't help!

Then Mark got up close and personal with a shearing dummy before we headed off to Otorohanga, for the first event for today, the Kiwi House. We DID see a kiwi shuffling around in his dark enclosure, but sorry, no pics allowed.

Kea - NZ parrot

Tuatara - NZ lizard

And then we cruised through Tokoroa. I lived in this small city (17,000 people) for the first 13 years of my life. Mark got to see my childhood house, 12a Dalmeny St - which has seen better days. And the neighborhood it sits in, which looks shockingly the same!

Driveway

12a Dalmeny Street... 35 years after my dad painted it, it has not been repainted. The residents may or may not have been home when Mark and I crept up the driveway to take this pic. Mom and dad waited in the car on the street. I think the condition of the house that my dad lovingly built would have made him sad. 

A couple of burned out houses on my street? Just sitting there... with no plans to change?!

This is my elementary/primary school. I was super glad to see that it has had a lot of positive changes and looks great. 

We finished the day in Rotorua. All I can say about the hotel I booked, is that I didn't have that many options and it seriously looked much better online.  There were red flags the second we drove up. It didn't get better when the manager "showed off" his thermal spa pool which was in slimy green condition. But OMG I laughed so hard when dad found his reading light was attached to the wall with first aid tape! (At least his had a light bulb... mine didn't.)

See... I wasn't exaggerating.

On the bright side, Mark is still hanging in there with me.  :-)

Tea and Crumpets, please

In short, Mark told me recently that he thought "tea and crumpets" was something only found in British fairy tales.  LOL.

While crumpets may not be American, they are common in New Zealand. I grew up with them. Maybe everyone in New Zealand grows up with them... they are in every supermarket after all.

Crumpets became one of the kiwi things on my list to introduce Mark to.

FYI, I have never seen anyone eat crumpets with a knife and fork. I guess I forgot to tell him you eat a crumpet like a piece of toast... in your hands. :-)

Tootling around New Plymouth, getting all Kiwi

Part of the reason for this trip was definitely because of it's "long overdue" nature. The other part was to introduce Mark to kiwi culture, to show him a bit of where I came from and educate him on why I am like I am. Hahaha.

Christmas. I wish I took more pictures but I guess I was too busy enjoying myself. We had an awesome champagne breakfast. My parents, Mark and I, my sister and her family, my brother and his partner, Leanne. Then there was a wonderfully chaotic gift opening event and a bit of a relax before extended family dropped by in the afternoon.

Mark and I took some time to explore New Plymouth beaches, walkways and the downtown area, where we shopped for souvenirs and gifts to take back to Colorado.

Nope. The vintage glasses didn't make the final cut.

Neither did these beauties!

Although I have to say, I came close to buying one of these gorgeous canvases and "making" room in my already over-weight bag. Maybe next time. I do like this artists work! The Tui is my fav.

It became pretty clear during our stay that my dad has missed his calling as a tour guide/cafe guide around New Plymouth. We found a French patisserie downtown and volunteered to critique it on your behalf. 9/10 over all and you're welcome.

The red blooms are a seasonal feature of the Pohutukawa tree. Otherwise known as the New Zealand Christmas tree.

"All you can eat for as much as it costs"

And that is what we really call, priceless!

New Zealand Hut and Hiking Mt Taranaki

Mt Taranaki is iconic. One cone shaped mountain with a snowy peak, and the Pouakai Range sloping from it's west side down toward the Tasman Sea, is what the skyline is famous for.

The caveat? As the local saying goes "If you can see the mountain, it's going to rain. If you can't see the mountain, it's raining already!" So when I put a hut and hiking trip on the list of things for Mark to experience in New Zealand, I knew that plan was weather dependent and the experience would itself would be conditional on how amazing the views might be while hiking.

The route:
Leaving the trail head at Mangorei Rd in the early afternoon of December 26th, my dad drove us and indeed hiked with us for the first part of the trail, which we appreciated so much. This was my first time on this particular trail and we were headed for Pouakai Hut - also a first for me.

We hiked steadily uphill and there were times it felt like the steps would never end. The air was muggy and the forest gradually decreased in height.  Three hours later Mark and I reached a bustling hut and were relieved to find that most of those people were day-trippers with no plans to stay over. Pouakai Hut is located in the Pouakai Range. It features 2 bunkrooms with beds for 16-20 people in total and a shared common area with wood burning stove, counter space and community dining tables. Outside there is a nice wee deck that is perfect for hanging out and catching the last rays of the day and of course, a good place to leave those hot, damp hiking boots! Rain water collects from the roof into barrels and is available for cooking, drinking and washing up - Boil first! There are a couple of compostable (?) port-a-loos too.

We picked a room that was unoccupied as of yet, then went exploring. Five minutes further up the track was the first sensational view....

15 minutes up the track was one of the reasons we had come to this particular spot. The Tarns. A small pond perfectly positioned to capture the view of Mt Taranaki and it's reflection if the clouds departed, the wind died down and the other people didn't monkey around with the surface of the pond!

We got lucky. VERY LUCKY. And enjoyed the early evening light as we photographed Mt Taranaki.

The next day, having chatted with a National Park employee and consulting various maps and signs, we opted to take the lower route back to Egmont Visitor Center, where we were to be picked up.

The track took us back past The Tarns, to Henry Peak.

Then it dove back into the native forest and for the next 5 hours (including cheese and crackers breaks!) we trekked up and down ridges, across rivers, through mud. Our backpacks slowly adding discomfort to our feet.

What an experience, eh?!  It goes without saying that we were happy to see my mom/Sandra and her sister, Kathryn at the road when the track finally spat us out. A shower and some more left over Xmas food was waiting at home... Mmmm.

Were we sore the next day? Heck yes! And the next day... and the day after that too.
And so, our first New Year's Resolution was born. Get back in shape or trekking in Nepal is not going to be pretty.  :-(