Just read the weather forecast for the coming days: “Polar outbreak on Monday and Tuesday – A burst of cold air originating from the Antarctic ice sheet is expected to affect New Zealand on Monday and Tuesday. Unseasonably cold temperatures, strong winds and snow to low levels are expected over the South Island where this event is likely to have a high impact. The coldest air is expected to make its way north to the North Island on Tuesday bringing strong winds and unusually low temperatures”
So it seems that the Indian summer that we had for a long time now in New Zealand is now really over and winter is arriving. Luckily we are no longer camping, but we have a real house now, with a warm wood burning fireplace.About a week ago we arrived in Turangi for our house sit. We were greater very warmly by our host who had the fire burning and dinner ready for us. We also met Mac and Meg the two large but friendly dogs and we met the five chickens. We did not see the two cats Itti & Boris yet, as they are a bit shy and only come out late in the evening when the kids are a sleep. The next two days our host reached us all we needed to know to take care of the animals, the garden and the house. So that is most of what we have been doing this week. Taking the dogs for a walk in the morning, remove all the poop from the garden, play a little bit in the house or the garden, brushing the dogs, feed all the animals and make sure they go to bed. Apart from a half-day trip to Taupo for some shopping and sightseeing we have not done any touristy things anymore. We love being in one place and do the normal daily things.
In Auckland Taco visited one of his former bosses and he had a nice dinner in Takapuna beach, one of the popular places in North shore. We also visited Petra her colleague from our time in Gabon and we had a lovely day at their house in Titirangi, where the kids loved playing with their kids. It was interesting to get a glimpse of ‘real life’ living in New Zealand. To get more into the local life we also decided to visit the Easter Show at the ASB Showgrounds. This is New Zealand’s largest family festival with lots of entertainment, circus acts, rides, artists, animals and lots more. For people in Auckland it is a tradition to go here every year and we thought it would be interesting to do something totally different. We had a great day and the kids loved it.
On our way from Auckland to Turangi we decided to make another stop in Rotorua. We were so impressed by all the geothermal wonders, the amazing colours and the raw power of the earth the first time we visited it, so we wanted to try a different park as well. This time we went to Wai-O-Tapu, New Zealand’s most colourful volcanic area and accordion to Tripadvisor, one of the top20 most surreal places in the world. Lakes that bubble like champagne, free lakes, yellow lakes, steam vents, bubbling mud, red silica deposits, yellow sulphur caves – it is amazing to see and walk through this thermal park. Well worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood.
Until next time – and don’t forget to have a look at the new pictures.