Kia ora from New Zealand!
Our first week in New Zealand has been a busy one: reunions with friends from home, outdoors activities and celebrations! It was in good company that we celebrated Gary’s 44th birthday. We are currently staying in Rotorua, central North Island, where we met up with my brother Sebastien and his friend Myrian, who where here for work. We were able to spend a few (too few!) days together here. Following shortly after, our friends arrived: Lucie, Phillipe, Matthieu, Manon, Julie and Yan. It was strange to be back among friends after so long by ourselves… We spent the last few days exploring wonderful New Zealand together. The landscape is magical and the people are warm and friendly, and to top it off the weather has up until today been very cooperative, despite being well into the fall here…
Our rented house is located near the shore of Lake Rotorua. The sunsets are wonderful, and the kids love going down to the lake to feed the dozens of black swans that hang out on the water there.
We were obliged to visit Hobbiton by our two Tolkien fans (Gregory & Sebastien). We were taken on a guided tour around the film set, before going for a drink in the Green Dragon!
Rotorua is located on a tectonic plate boundary and the Earth’s crust is very thin here. Thermal hot springs are found all over town, and you can walk among the various hot and smelly pools in the wonderful Kuirau Park. But what is most fascinating is to see hot steam bubbling out of holes in the pavement, or in the middle of someone’s lawn!
The Redwood Forest is composed of huge and majestic Giant Sequoias from California. It’s very pleasant to go walking through the trees here and for Gary’s birthday we rented mountain bikes to explore the maze of trails through the forest. Very impressive!
We went for a long hike up one of New Zealand’s active volcanoes: Mount Tongariro, otherwise known as Mount Doom!
Finally, Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s most inportant Maori cultural centers. We can see Maori art and cultural influences everywhere around town. We still have a lot to learn about the Maoris, with their strong mythology, but the kids have already adopted the traditional warrior grimaces!
Best of all, we still have three weeks to discover more of this beautiful place!
A Light Year Family 