Are we there yet?

If I had a $1.00 for every time Kate asked us, "Are we there yet?" during this extended trip - ON, South East Asia, and NZ - I would be a really rich woman... the time has come for THAT blog.. what goes on during the hours and hours we have spent in the car.. the LC, Loser Cruiser.

On a travel day, which is typically every other day and more recently, every day, we travel 4-6 hours in the car. Kate climbs in the back and announces... 'good night!' It is true, she spends most of the time sleeping - to avoid being car sick, to deal with the boredom, because she is warm... who knows. She sleeps! Which of course means when we arrive at our destination of choice, she is awake - very awake - often until midnight awake! Mira passes the time talking, daydreaming or counting bridges. I bet you didn't know that between Franz Josef and Queenstown, there are 97 bridges. I estimated 93, Paul 100 and Mira estimated 80, Kate guessed 150.. I was so close, the last bridge being just before our campground. I suggested we walk the last bit to avoid the bridge but I was vetoed. So Paul won... I was not pleased. No I am not competitive.

Paul as driver.

Mira being silly.

Catch a picture of someone that passes us...

or our names written on the window...

Kate doing what Kate does best.

Are we there yet?

Sometimes... the best thing comes along. This Flying Fox in Gore, just happened to be by the highway and so we just had to stop. Look how awake Kate is now.

Mira is up for the challenge.

Take a photo of fruit?

Or mom's toes?

Paul relaxing with a nice glass of vino after a long drive with his family... anyone around? hope not!

The road trip continues. Cheers mates. sharon

Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef Glacier, the whole area reminds me of parts of the Yukon. When driving along, Mira noted that parts look like the Skagway pass, other Haines Pass, but there is the rain forest that makes it very Kiwi....

We arrived in Franz Josef with the intention of just passing through but it was so beautiful and the girls were so tired of the car, we decided to try our most ambitious hike yet. The kids had completed 2 - 4 hour hikes so we thought they were ready for an alpine ascent! We headed off to get above the glacier on the Robert Point Trek. It is supposed to take 5.5 hours to complete. We left at 10:30 am on our adventure. The tramp was much more challenging than we had anticipated but the girls were amazing. We climbed, scrambled, awed at the view, swayed on bridges and completed our mission. A couple of German tourists greeted us at the top and said they had 'much respect' for us for having made the trek with kids. (hmmm does that mean we are crazy or just....?). We crossed a rope bridge that had the weight restriction posted on the far side! yikes and only had a couple of tumbles... I rolled off the side of a hill when I lost my footing but didn't roll far. Kate climbed 'steps' that were at her hips. In the end, with snacks and a wee lunch the trek took us just under 7 hours. The kids slept really well and I did too.

The mountains from afar...

Reflections in Peter's Pool. Mira took this photo.

The hike starts out in the rain forest.

First Bridge - that is Paul on it.

Mira crosses the first bridge.

Great hiking attire.

Scrambling along some rocks.

Another bridge/foot path along a cliff. Don't look down.

Streams to be crossed.

When in doubt, go up.

The glacier, pronounced glass-ier by the Kiwis.

AT the top, the German tourists were carving their names into a picnic bench. Kate wanted to do the same but we only had a butter knife, so she had to scratch her name in the mossy, mould on the seat. Mira was laughing so hard, she had tears. Kate wrote her name about 6 inches high.

Congratulations Girls - you did it!

Happy Family at the top.

Cheers, for now. sharon

The Northern Tip of the Southern Island

Autumn in Nelson, NZ

Hi all,

Happy Mother's Day.

We have been enjoying the road trip so far. Here are some highlights from the Nelson/ Abel Tasman National Park. We had two great nights in Pohara, right on Golden Bay Beach, where we had to share the beach with maybe 20 other people. We were told by the caretaker there that over Christmas they have 1200 campers there a night. We were happy to have some sunshine and the beach to ourselves.

We drove out to the end of the road - cause that is what we do - so that we could say they we had been to the tippy top of the South Island as well as to the top of the North Island. There we had a hike through farmers' fields, by cows and sheep to the Farewell Spit at Cape Farewell. James Cook said his farewells here before sailing to Australia. It was a few hours long but well worth it. The kids found what we later identified as a dolphin skeleton and Mira has a souvenir bone (more to take home) and Kate hiked back another 10 kilos of rocks for her collection. She also had to bring back a tooth that fell out during our trek. The tooth fairy comes to NZ too.

Sharing the trails with the wildlife.

Tooth number 3? Gone!

Sharing the beach with..... no one!

Farewell Spit.

Mira drawings in the sand.

Kate's horse in the sand.

Sisters having fun.

Playing in the surf.

After leaving the Abel Tasman area we drove through some of the windiest roads to Westport and Greymouth. Towns of little note other than they are on the beach and we got to see some fur seals. There were tons of them but they blend in really well with the rocks and don't provide great photos - especially when it is pouring rain. The pancake rocks - limestone carved out of the surf- were amazing and also too wet to photograph. Fun continues... cheers. sharon

On the road again...

We have now affectionately renamed our vehicle the LC, (Loser Cruiser) thanks to my bro. That is the best name.

We started out on own journey tenting along. When we got to Ohakune, gateway Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park, World Heritage Site and at the base of Tongariro, a big mountain in these parts, the air was crisp and cool. I didn't sleep much the first night - Paul says I am becoming a wimp - too long since we have had snow I guess. Mira wouldn't even believe the white on the mountain caps was in fact snow. The second night - I didn't sleep a wink, neither did Paul. While the children slept blissfully unaware, Paul and I had to endure gale force winds, which pushed out tent almost horizontal. A long, long night.

However, while the nights were eventful, the days were even more fun. We got some great hiking in. We did a fun tramp over streams and another along a railway trestle bridge. Cool!

Unpacking LC - can you see the mountain in the back?

Mt Ruapehu, already a blur. I liked this photo for the house in the foreground!

Intrepid trampers off on a hike in the cool mtn air.

Rewarded with great views.

On and on it goes.

Some scrambling and giggling required to complete the hike.

Kate is part Mountain goat and part monkey.

Horseshoe-shaped Hapuawhenua Viaduct on the Old Coach Road trail.

Hikers.

Careful.

We stopped en route to Wellington in Bull, NZ. This wee town used its creativity and ingenuity to create a tourist pull. Every shop has used Bull in its name somehow. Check out the signs.

Bull, NZ.

With rain pelting down, we cruised past Wellington and caught the early morning ferry for the South Island. We expected high seas but luck was with us and the sailing was unremarkable except for the spectacular views.

When internet will allow, I will post another blog soon. Ta Ta for now. s

Good-bye Cambridge

Hi all, Sorry about the delay on the blog additions - internet has been sketchy at best - in fact this is my second kick at this can as I just lost the blog when I lost internet... so I may be fast...

We had to finally say goodbye to Cambridge. We left on Saturday, at noon - beginning of our famous 'alpine starts' after a fun filled brunch at Krista and Rays...

We had a great time in Cambridge and will miss it - the girls had a really tough time saying good bye..

Here they are with all their neighbourhood friends saying their goodbyes...

Paul out for a last right on the great roads of the Waikato.

Mira posing in the garden at Bracken Street.

Bye to our wee cottage on Bracken Street.

Kate in the garden.

Leaving for a day? weekend? month? when camping you have to bring it all... ugh. Kids actually do fit in their!

Kate takes a photo in the yard.

Bye bye for now. cheers mate.