Rotorua

Another popular place to visit in New Zealand is Rotorua. Cody had been on a day trip with a friend spending his time on the mountain bike trails. And we had visited a place nearby, Taupo. But we had not gone as a family and it was on our bucket list. We decided tomake this a birthday weekend and make memories instead of buying lots of presents for all of our birthdays. 

Cody's Aunt Jo and her husband were visiting New Zealand for the month and we aligned our schedules to meet up in Rotorua. We took the kids out of school on Friday and got an early start to beat the traffic. As we got into town, we went right to our first desination…a Maori Village. We definitely wanted to participate in a Maori cultural experience while in Rotorua but after looking into the different options, everything was so expensive! ($150 for adults, $75 for kids) and with a family of 6, that adds up fast! So we looked into less expensive options and found a great one! We visited a Living Maori Village where there is a group of 70 Maori family members living together in this geothermic wonder. Their village is surrounded by hot spots where they have underground ovens to cook their daily food and hot springs to bathe in. They have a few shops and homes sprinkled throughout their village. We took a guided tour and we all loved learning how they live and about their culture and history. The tour ended with a small performance. They shared some pretty songs, cool dances, and stick moves. We loved it! 

After our tour and performance, we were able to browse at our leisure. So we took a track around the village and toured the awesome boiling mud pools. There was a boardwalk weaving over the steam and hot water. It was so surreal! It is very much like Yellowstone but right in the middle of their village. 

We were pretty hungry and decided to try out their hangi pies (food cooked in their geothermic ovens) and steam pudding. It was all delicious! Cody had given me a certificate to pick out a greenstone necklace for my birthday so we browsed their shop in the village. The ladies working  there were able to give me some great tips and information on greenstone and I picked a small infinity necklace representing eternal relationships. I chose to buy a greenstone there because the stone comes from the South Island and is hand carved by a man in their village. I knew exactly where it came from and by whom it was  made. It made the necklace that more special. The ladies said that my children and husband were to touch my greenstone before I wore it so that I will always have them with me. I love it! 

After we left the village, we decided to ride the luge! There was a major mountain biking competition taking place near the gondola that takes you to the luge called Crank Works. So Cody was pretty stoked to be able to take a peek at some of those awesome things going on as we rode the gondola up. The luge overlooks the gorgeous town of Rotorua. I stayed at the top enjoying the view while the kids took turns riding down the mountain and they all loved it! Instead of taking the gondola back down, we walked down a track hoping to spy some mountain biking events taking place. We weren't able to see any action, but we did see some pretty awesome and crazy looking jumps and tracks. We headed back into town to grab dinner to go and ate at a nearby park. The park was surrounded by hot springs and steam rising, right in the middle of the town. It was so cool! Right near our picnic bench there was a little pavilion with a shallow pool with warm water from the springs flowing in. So we sat and soaked our feet in the warm water. It was a great relaxing end to the fun filled day! We stayed in a nice Air BnB for the night waiting for another fun day. 

We woke and packed up for the day and headed to meet Cody's parents and Aunt and her husband at the park. Lois was kind to offer to watch Trevor and Reese while the rest of us were going ziplining! They stayed at the park and explored the market while we went on a fun adventure! We took a tour that led us into a thick forest and ziplined off of 6 different canopies. We had a blast! I was so proud of how brave Ethan and Gavin were. A few of the courses were short and easy. But there were a few that were so long and extremely high and it was amazing! It was so fun to be with our family and experience this fun memory together. Our guides were so friendly and cool. They taught us all about the wildlife and Ethan and Gavin even got to hand feed a wild robin. The whole thing was just magical. 

We met up with Lois and the younger kids and had a Turkish lunch. We browsed a souvenir shop and then topped off our fun day with gelato. We were sad to say our goodbyes but we were so happy to have been able to spend the day with them!

On our way home, Cody stopped a few times to get some good drone footage. We were very near a cool place so we took a detour and explored one last stop…the Blue Spring. This spring is protected and no swimmers are allowed. It is filled with green mosh and ferns and crystal clear. At one point, there is an amazing spot that is bright blue. We couldn't see it very well from our position, but with Cody's drone he was able to fly right above it and get some breathtaking shots. It was a very serene and peaceful place and a great way to end our fun weekend! The kids all claimed that this was the best weekend we've had since living in New Zealand….score!