Kai Iwi Lakes Camping Trip

This past weekend was a long weekend because of Labour Day being on Monday. We took advantage of the extra day and headed to Kai Iwi Lakes with some friends for a camping adventure. This is our first camping experience since being in New Zealand. We used to love camping in the mountains of Arizona multiple times every summer so we've missed roughing it! We are also used to being able to pack a truck bed full of the camping essentials. Unfortunately, we only have a van now so we had to pack every inch of it full of what we needed! But, we made it work! We particularly loved camping out in the middle of nowhere with no sight of neighbors and having the whole forest to ourselves. Camping is a bit different here. "Freedom camping" isn't as popular and not allowed in most place. They are tons of campgrounds where you can pay to camp. Kai Iwi Lakes has a beautiful campsite right near the gorgeous turquoise water. There's a hill you can walk up to overlook the stunning lake. We prefer to freedom camp, but we couldn't complain about the views and the use of toilets and running water =)

With it being a holiday weekend, we weren't sure how crowded it would be. Lucky for us, it wasn't very crowded and it was a very pleasant experience! It is spring here right now and thankfully it didn't rain on us during our stay, but it was still pretty chilly. We're used to being cold when camping so we were prepared with great sleeping bags and lots of layers. But, what made it extra cold was the water sports. Being right on the lake, we had to participate in the water fun =) Our friends had a boat and jet skis so the kids took rides on the tubes (they call them biscuits) and Cody wakeboarded. We also brought our kayaks and paddled the lake one afternoon. It was too cold for me, but the kids loved splashing in the water in their wetsuits. 

On Sunday, we drove to the small town of Dargaville and attended church at a small branch there. Our family, along with a few others that we were camping with, doubled their church attendance =) We have loved visiting wards and branches throughout New Zealand and getting to see and know the humble people. It is so sweet to know that wherever we attend church, the Spirit will always be felt and the same things will be taught even though the people may be a little different in each place. I love seeing the testimonies of so many saints. After church, we took a drive to explore a few more places in the area. We checked out Pouto Beach where there were lots of people fishing and dirt bikers riding the sand dunes. We also visited Baylys Beach and were hoping to drive the beach at low tide but missed our opportunity. 

After we packed up our stuff, we headed out for a fun hike. We walked along gorgeous green pastures with cattle just feet away from us. We had to climb over many electric fences and tramp through mud in areas. Cody gave us a lesson of what happens when you touch the electric fence…yikes! He got stuck in some mud up to his ankles and lost his balance while he was too close to the fence. We all heard a loud "ZAP!" Poor guy. Only in New Zealand would it be legal to walk so near to cattle and climb over electric fences without worrying about lawsuits! Oh we sure do love it here. Once we walked through the pastures, we ended up at the beach and a pretty little waterfall. We loved it!

We had a great weekend being able to camp again and have an adventure since the weather hasn't allowed that for a while. The kids all got along so great with the other kids and we rarely saw them. The view was breathtaking, the company great, and the weather pleasant. We can't wait to go back once it's warmer =)

Here's a video we made of our fun weekend:
https://youtu.be/gt2ePF3jdPo