Sunshine!

This is her favourite place all Summer.  Now that it is Autumn, not much has changed!

Playing Tourist

 

Sam was visiting from England, so I grabbed the opportunity to play tourist for the afternoon.

Smokey and Total enjoyed Sam's company

I figured Sam could get to see at least 5 different lakes in a short time, see some carvings, and experience the smell.  On the drive out to Lake Tarawera, we stopped off to see Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotokakahi.

Lake Rotokakahi (Green Lake)

Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake)

Mt Tarawera, the Buried Village, and Lake Tarawera were next.  Plenty of carvings and fantastic views, then back to Rotorua, via Lake Okereka.

 

We waded in Lake Okereka for a while, but it was just nippy enough not to swim.   The urchins wanted Sam to experience the smell, so Sulphur Point was next.

Boiling mud

There was plenty of smell, and even I wrinkled my nose a litte.  Just because I live here, doesn't mean I am used to the delicate sulphur fragrance!

more boiling mud

While out at Sulphur point, I saw Ohinemutu, and realised I should show Sam some of the exquisite carvings at Tamatekapua.  There was plenty of steam as well.  It was a pity St Faith's was shut, but we can visit the Church next time Sam visits.

Steam at Ohinemutu

 It's been a while since I visited.  It was nice seeing the intricate carvings again.

Front door

More steam and hot water

 I found some yellow hiding next to a steam vent.  Love the texture.

 Can't wait to show Sam around again, perhaps do some mountain biking in the forest...

Trip to Napier

Erik and Anneke went to Napier for the weekend for a special dad-and-daughter trip away.

We both had a great time, leaving after school on Friday and returning home on Saturday evening.  Anneke had selected the motel on the Internet — she wanted a room that overlooked the ocean and had a big Jacuzzi, and that's exactly what she got:

We had bought supplies at the supermarket before we left Rotorua, so of course Anneke ate far too many crackers and drank too much apple juice on the way over.  We arrived in Napier and checked in at around 7:30, before wandering down Marine Parade in search of dinner.  Once again, Anneke chose the restaurant, the local Cobb & Co:

Anneke ordered a meal off the adult menu, and then complained that the meal was far too big— of course she couldn't finish it all.

We waddled back to the apartment and tried out the spa bath before falling asleep.  Well, at least Anneke fell asleep.  We shared the "firm" queen size bed, and of course Anneke wanted all of it, so Dad didn't get much sleep at all.

In the morning Anneke watched TV for a while, until it was time to check out of the motel and head off into town for breakfast.  We ordered at a café, and once again Anneke ordered off the adult menu and wondered why the servings were so large.  She also got really excited when she saw this sign on 

the side of the coffee machine:

She just had to test it, so she made me hide outside.  She came back disappointed — apparently they'd run out of kittens so they gave her marshmallows instead.

We then explored downtown Napier, which Anneke declared was much nicer than Rotorua.  She even found some beanbags to lounge around in:

We had a great time wandering around.  Of course, Dad spoiled her rotten, buying her toys, clothes, treats, and trinkets.  She loved it.

One of the clothing shops had a most unusual mirror:

 

We found the famous "Pania of the Reef" statue:

and we explored the city's interesting architecture and sculptures:

We discovered the local Farmer's Market, where we bought a cup of freshly-made juice made of apple and strawberries, and wandered into the local park to drink our juice.  Right beside the park bench was a building with a plaque on it — and I noticed that the plaque included Ruth's favourite motto:

Ruth is an expert reposer.

From there, we found more crafty shops, where Anneke got to touch a real zebra skin (only $3,500 -- I had to insist that we couldn't take it home), before we headed off to St. Beads, where Anneke made her own charm bracelet:

  

After being thoroughly shopped out, we bought ice-creams for lunch, and then decided it was time to head off to the National Aquarium, where Anneke really wanted to see the penguin and the reef fish feeding.  We saw giant freshwater crayfish:

piranhas:

a "yellow tang" tropical fish:

penguins:

and a giant sea turtle:

We then went to the Oceanarium, where we saw the divers feed the sharks, sting rays and other large fish:

We also saw a giant moray eel hiding among the rocks:

Anneke wanted a memento from her trip to the National Aquarium, so I bought her a soft-toy turtle which she decided should be named Deco.  Very appropriate for a toy bought in Napier.

Before we left, we stopped in at one last shop: Opossum World.  This is a weird place that sells products made from opossum skin, but also includes various quirky displays showing the impact that possums have on the natural environment.  The attractions include a possum quintet singing from the roof of a mini:

a violin-playing possum on the roof of a shed:

and some possums dressed up as rather disturbing-looking dolls:

I wanted to thoroughly spoil Anneke, so I bought her some possum-skin slippers.  She's hardly taken them off since.

It was then time to head back to Rotorua.  We stopped off to buy some apples for the journey home, and had a great time driving together into the sunset.  We decided to have dinner in Taupo, but we were still far too full from the huge breakfast so we wandered down to the lakefront, and then just bought drinks to keep us going on the drive home.  We arrived shortly after dark, both of us tired but thoroughly happy.  What a great mini-holiday!