Final Boarding Call

Well, pretty soon we will hear "this is the final boarding call for flight NZ84 to Vancouver" and we will have to leave here but Jana and I are already decided to come back again. Now we know where to go and what to do.

We got to the airport early as we had to return the motor home by 3 pm and the return depot is just five minutes form the airport. Got through security quickly and now we are waiting for boarding. This time we are smart and are charging all our gadgets. On the way here we were expecting to have power on the plane and used up a lot of battery before we boarded. For some that was quite a tragedy. Now we know better. We brought a power bar from Canada so that we can use one adaptor and then plug all our stuff in to he power bar. Here we even have stuff plugged in to he laptops to make sure all is 100%

Charging everything

Now we are at Gate 7 and waiting for the call.

This morning we got up a bit earlier than usual to get everything ready. We emptied the waste and moved out of the camp to the parking lot close by and packed all the stuff. Then we fueled up the motorhome, filled up the propane bottle and headed to the Wilderness Motorhome depot to return the motorhome. I really made sure I returned the camper as we got it. I am pleased to let you know that I even returned the cow pie. The day before yesterday as I was going to empty the gray water I noticed a familiar odor around the camper. The the cap for the drain was covered with cow dung and even the wheel well on Jana's side was covered in this beautiful stuff. I could not recall running over anything like this. I went out of my way to even avoid New Zealand's little speed bumps - possums, all I can think off is that at one point the night before I drove very close to the ditch as I was moving out of the way so that the cars behind me could pass. I went all the way on to the grass and I guess that is where I picked up some of the stuff. So we returned the camper in the same condition as we got it.

The smelly stuff

Well it is time to board so I will post this and will write the final New Zealand post on the plane. In the mean time here is a few pictures from some of our adventures.

Visit to Hobbitton

 

Michael and Phillip in Zorbs

 

Michael's OGO face plant

 

 

Poor Hobbit

 

 

Here is the video we will watch in a few minutes - enjoy. Best safety video, you can actually enjoy watching it. http://youtu.be/XCbPFHu3OOc

See you in Canada.

Last Night in New Zealand

Well, all things must come to an end, and so it goes for our trip. Tonight is our last night in New Zealand.

We spent the day exploring downtown Auckland today and celebrated our trip by having lunch at the revolving restaurant at the top of Auckland Sky Tower. While we ate our tasty lunch we enjoyed the view of Auckland. So, in and hour or so, we saw all of Auckland. It was great and enjoyed by all.

We only saw a little here in Auckland so I can't really say much about it other then it is a big city. We left the camper van in the camp and bought a family bus pass for a day for $26 and used the busses to got to town and back. I must say that they have a great mobile online page that has a "Journey Planner" that allows you to easily select where you are, where you want to go and it will tell you exactly where to get on and what bus to use to get to your desired destination. It was very easy to use with timetables and everything. When we got back to the camp Jana and I went for a last walk, by the shore, while enjoying a beautiful colorful sunset.

One of you followers asked if we are ready to go home and there are several answers. Phillip said yes, Jana and Michael said no and I am both sad to leave but at the same time looking forward to going home and also looking forward to getting back to work.

Tomorrow we have to pack up, clean the camper, empty everything, fuel up and refill the propane tanks. The place where we will return our camper is close to the airport so it should be easy. Once we will get to our gate at the airport I should have some time to write up some more about our trip and also paste some more pictures here. If not then, I will have a lot of time on the airplane. So this is all for tonight.

Do you know where this picture was taken?

Good night.

 

Morning Post

I wasn't sure what to name today's post and since this is the first blog post I am writing in the morning I titled it "Morning Post."

It is 10 am and it is 22 degrees Celsius in the shade. I am sitting in the shade of the camper and shortly I will have to move because the shadows is getting smaller. The sky is blue with just light cloud here and there and I have a view of the Pacific Ocean with little islands popping out of it. I can hear a nice blend of birds, some kind of a cricket and waves crashing. I have a nice coffee right beside me and Michael is next to me doing his manicure while sharing his wisdom with me. Jana and Phillip just joined. Phillip is wearing his swim shorts sunglasses and tuque while eating his colorful Fruit Loops - what a combo.

We are camped at Hahei Holiday Resort. See if this link works. It is close to where we are. http://maps.apple.com/?lsp=9902&sll=-36.840711,175.809786&q=33%E2%80%9339%20Harsant%20Avenue,%203591,%20New%20Zealand

This is our second night in the area but the night before we stayed in a different campground just 10 minutes down the road - Hot Water Holiday Park. We will stay here another night as it is a beautiful place with great beaches and a hot water beach as well. The first time we went to the hot water beach we thought that a cruise ship sank and all the people ended up on the beach. There was so many people there it was unreal. People standing around a bunch of dug out holes on the beach with people sitting in them. There is a hot spring coming out on the beach - just hot sulfur smelling water bubbling out of the sand and if you find the right spot you can dig a hole with the right temperature and have your own personal spa right on the beach. If you go too close to the source it can get very hot. At the source it is so hot you can get burned. It is quite fun to watch. Because of the Easter holiday there was a lot of people there, last night it was better and we will go there again tonight to see how it is. The only time you can enjoy your own hot pool is two hours before low tide until two hours past the lowest tide, otherwise it is under water. I will take some pictures tonight and post them later.

Hot Water Beach

The other nice thing right by the hot water beach was the nice surf there. Michael, Phillip and I spent a couple of hours there just fooling around in the waves. The camp we are at now is right on the beach. Last night we had late supper, spent too long on the beach. After supper we took our chairs to the beach and watched the stars. Jana and I started out just sitting by the camper watching the stars but to our surprise the boys came out and joined us so we headed down to the beach. We sat there for about an hour. Phillip was explaining physics to Jana. It started out with how long the light travels from some of the stars and the fact that some stars could be gone and we still see the light. Jana asked something about that and Phillip took over and gave Jana a physics lesson. Then it went on to explaining of lunar and solar eclipse and so on. In the mean time, Michael was explaining to me how he doesn't know what he wants to be and also shared with some of his inventions and what he likes and doesn't like to do. So I had a stereo chatter from both sides struggling to follow both conversations in case I need to respond to one or the other. It was a good time.

Not all the time it is a good time though - having two teenagers around is a challenge sometimes. But I again reminded myself of some basics. Do not talk to, respond to or ask teenagers anything before they are fully awake, fed and showered. No matter how hard you try to avoid arguments they will always occur because they like to argue and can't live without them - the trick is to not take them personally I guess and stay in control if your own emotions at all times. Teenagers can go from viscous animal like being to a sweet and kind person in a second. I am slowly starting to discover some of the triggers that can change them from one state to the other but 90 % of the time it is still hit and miss. It is also interesting how each one is so different. I hope that it will not be long before these years will pass and that I will survive these years without going crazy. For those who had teenagers - you know what I mean, for those who will have teenagers - get ready and enjoy your children now.

Well back to our New Zealand Experience. We are planning to head out to Cathedral Cove in a little while so I will have to finish this up now and continue later. I do have some pictures and experiences to share from some of the places we visited last couple of days but I will write about them later. Off to the Beach, will have to remember to apply some some sun screen today.