Back To The Start Of The Year - JANUARY 2011

In January we started off the year with a family camping trip - our last camping experience as a family of 5.

Being 6 months pregnant, I tried to keep it to myself that I was secretely dreading our little summer holiday. When other expectant mothers realized that I was going to sleep in a tent in my pregnant state, their only comment was 'goodluck to that!'
But Tony had gone to a lot of effort to plan the trip before we knew that I was expecting, and it was important to me that the boys had a fun and memorable summer break.

Camping 'Tony style' isn't easy, pregnant or not! Tony needed a constant reminder that me and the kids were not a bunch of 18 year old boy scouts! Fortunately, Tony was good enough to alternate our trip between tent and holiday park cabins, so that made it easier.

Despite the fact that during the day I got swollen feet from being on them too much, and that I complained a fair bit about having to stumble to dirty, smelly toilets by flashlight at all hours of the morning, I had a great time. We all had a great time, just as I suspected we would.

One of the real bonus' to camping in NZ is that anywhere you plan to go is guaranteed to be beautiful. Every where you travel there are amazing beaches, bush walks, mountains, hills, country roads to discover etc.

We took a lot of photos, but here are just a few of my favourites:

Our trip begins. All 3 boys sit together in the middle of the car and the boot is packed to the ceiling;

Noah nearly 4 yrs, Hayden 8 1/2 yrs and Ashton 6 yrs;



One of Tony's favourite parts of the trip was having some fun in the ocean. It was a stunning day and the sea was beautiful. Tony had so much fun in the waves that I had to holler to him several times when it was time to go;






The best place in all of NZ to eat fish n chips; Doubtless Bay, Manganoui

Enjoying the feast. Everyday there is at least 2 choices of fresh fish. I can't remember what type we ate, but it was soooo yummy. Hayden panics about trying new foods, particularly fish, which he usually doesn't like, but this time he was begging for more.


Before we got our fish n chips we wandered along the wharf nearby and watched all the fishermen. A kind man named Sidney asked the boys if they wanted a turn at holding his rod. They were so excited when they each got to reel in a fish. This kind man, a complete stranger, gave up so much of his fishing time for us that Tony bought him fish n chips for lunch.







My favourite shot of Tony as he watches the boys;


Some of our favourite scenic shots this trip;







The highlight for the boys was going to the Giant Te Paki Sand dunes just south of Cape Reinga. There was a truck on site where you could rent bodyboards to slide down the sand dunes and anyone could wander afar to the highest and steppest sand dune. The boys, however, were content by the stream and smaller dunes. This was a lot of fun for all of us;











The highlight of the trip for me was going to Cape Reinga (pronounced re-ang-a). Cape Reinga is at the northern tip of New Zealand, known as the end of the world, where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. Once again, it was another beautiful day. As we approached the lighthouse the views were absolutely beautiful. It was very hot and the pathway was steep, so it felt like quite a trek for me and the boys. Everyone was dying of thirst because we forgot to take water with us. It took a lot of coaxing to get the boys there and back, but it was well worth it in the end.






We stayed in a few different camping grounds as we made our way up to the top of the North Island. When we got close to Cape Reinga we found a campsite where we could set up tent right on the beach next to the sand. In the evening it was so nice walking on the beach until the sun set and then getting into our tents and listening to the sound of the waves as we fell asleep. We didn't camp longer than two nights there since the grounds had no showers, no hot water to wash dinner dishes and no facilities other than 2 flushable toilets (thank goodness for those!) I can rough it for a maxium of two nights and then I am longing for a proper bathroom. When you have children one has to be completely organized once the sun starts setting because it's very difficult trying to do anything in complete darkness or by moonlight. The beauty of this campsite though was truly experiencing being back to nature since it was located quite a distance from any shops or civilisation.

We didn't realize that camping on this particular beach meant we were going to be infested with mosquitos come night time. The outside of our tent was covered in hundreds of them (no exaggeration - I'm getting itchy just recalling the experience)! I got out of the tent twice one night to use the toilets. Had I known that the toilets were swarming with them, I would have braved going in the grass. When I sat down on the toilet they were up my nose, in my ears and everywhere else. I then got back in my sleeping bag and must of had mosquitos in my clothes. When I woke up my face, ears, head and whole body, especially my legs, were covered in bites. Let's just say it was AWFUL. I looked like I had 5 cases of chicken pox at once. I was so embarrassed at how I looked that I didn't even want strangers to see me. Fortunately, the boys and Tony only had a few bites since they didn't use the toilet in the night. The bites on my legs then turned into welts and it took 3 months for all the spots to completely disappear.

We camped late in the summer holidays so by late January there weren't many families camping other than overseas tourists travelling from the top of NZ to the bottom;


Below; this was another camping ground we stayed at, this time with the luxury of bunk beds. The boys thought this place was really cool, but the bunks were so narrow that Tony and I hardly slept all night for fear that we were going to fall off them. We also discovered in the morning that the pillows provided (we had our own sleeping bags) were horribly moldy!! Oh well, it was one more experience that gave us another story to tell - I was simply grateful for the nice hot shower I was able to take in the evening - and for the fact that there was laundry facilities (you truly know you're a mum when it makes you happy to see a laundry tub so you can wash out poopy underpants!)




To end our camping trip we spent 2 luxurious nights at a place called Pagoda lodge. We stayed in a private fully contained villa that had 2 bedrooms. The grounds were stunning and tranquil surrounded by huge trees, a stream for kayaking, wandering geese and a nearby hiking path. We loved it so much we are dying for the opportunity to go back. We were meant to be tent camping the last 2 nights, but a big storm came in and it rained extremely heavy for a solid 36 hours (we're talking a Noah's Arc downfall that caused some major flooding all over the North Island). We stumbled across the lodge by accident as we were desperately trying to find a place to stay dry. Several holiday parks we tried to stay at were full, but we wouldn't have found the lodge otherwise. Our favourite part of the whole trip was being stuck inside the villa spending time as a family playing games, drawing pictures, reading books and watching TV while the rain poured outside. There's something about being forced to 'stay put' somewhere that makes everyone feel close.

Pagoda Lodge, Keri Keri - the grounds also allowed for tenters & campervans, and it had some cute little gypsy carriages for single travellers to stay in.


Noah crashes on the couch one afternoon;


Ashton and Noah loved this little bathtub/shower in the villa. Ashton contently played in it for a very long time;





The view from our bedroom window;

Tony and Hayden kayaking in the stream;