mudskippers adventures

Photos: Day 5 - Paradise Springs Wildlife Park

mudskipper — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:17:00 GMT

Day 5 - Paradise Valley Wildlife Park

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 21:58:00 GMT

Day 5 - Rotorua

After the luge and having a bite to eat at Burger Fuel in town, we then headed off to Paradise Valley Wildlife park, mainly to see the young lion cubs.

Its not everyday when one can pat a lion club, and the bonus was this was all included in the entry fee. The cubs were just heorgous! Their suede pads under their already quite large paws.

Day 5 - Skyline Rotorua

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 21:42:00 GMT

Day 5 - Wednesday 03rd November, 2011

Today was the day to explore the Rotorua area.

I was here 20 years ago, remember the strong smell of suphur throughout this town and certainly did not want to stick around for too long. To our surprise however, the town did not smell as bad, I believe it has to do with teh growth of teh region and tapping into the resources which has kind of reduced the smell. This said however, I am told there are days when it can still be pretty thick. Today, it was not.

Our first stop off was Skyline wher ethe luge and Skyswing resides.

We took the package that included the gondola ride, a couple of runs with the Luge and then the skyswing. The boys loved the luge, and on their second run they had opted for the expert run I was too nervous and stuck with the intermediate for my second run.. That was fast enough!!

The skyswing was another matter that I did have the nerves to go for..unlike my hubby who had absolutely no idea as to what he was in for, and was also not too keen on heights. A warnign in advance if you want to watch the video, there is a couple of explanitives presented during the video. But the faces of hubby and son are priceless!!

More info on Skyline can be found here - http://www.skyline.co.nz/

After this we headed to Paradise Springs Wildlife Park.

Photos: Day 4 - Wairakei Terraces Maori Village Experience

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 21:35:00 GMT

Day 4 - Wairakei Terraces - Taupo Region

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 21:13:00 GMT

Day 4 - Wednesday 2nd November, 2011

After exploring the Turangi area we headed back to the van for a small rest and for preparation to be picked up at 5pm at the Holiday Park by the free bus service provided by Wairakei Terraces.

Wairakei Terraces is a maori village which is working hard to regain the natural silica pools that had been destroyed by the implementation of thermal hydro stations in the area some 30 years ago. Wairakei Terraces offers a health spa experience and also an cultural maori show that includes an traditional maroi greeting, a tour of the silica pools and a slice of maroi viallge life. As the sun sets, you are then lead to a small hall where you dine on a maori hangi dinner and then further entertain with maori dance and songs. please do not think you will be involved in the Hangi, this is done in the background. The food however is most succulent.

The video is a small taste of the show towards the end of the experience, I do have video of the greeting which is very special, and for that reason alone, I decided not to upload onto youtube as I think that part should be saved for those who wish to visit Wairakei Terraces for themselves.

To learn more about Wairakei Terraces - visit the link here - http://www.wairakeiterraces.co.nz/

Day 4 - Turangi - Tongariro National Trout Centre

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 19:18:00 GMT

Wednesday 2nd November, 2011

The weather did its worst overnight and even though the clouds lingered, the day remained dry. Today we headed over to Turangi to visit the Tongariro National Trout Centre.

Situated beside the famous Tongariro River, you can see and feed wild Trout in their natural environment. One cannot purchase trout fillets in the region, nor at this Centre. You have to purchase a fishing licence and catch one to eat. The general public can also access Tongariro River (via the National Trout Centre) to try their hand at fishing for wild trout brown or rainbow trout.

For any avid fly fisherman, they will be totally enthralled coming to this centre as their museum holds an amazing history of trout fishing gear. This region has had the presence of royalty such as the the Duke and Duchess of York in 1927 who did a 10 day fishing trip, and in 1926 when the famous author Zane Grey also fished in this region.

If you want to learn more about the National Trout Centre, then see this link- http://www.troutcentre.com/?id=1

Photos: Day 3 - Tongariro Quad Biking at Tongariro NP

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 18:36:00 GMT

Day 3 - Tongariro Quad Biking and onwards to Lake Taupo

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 17:24:00 GMT

Tuesday 1st November, 2011

It was an overcast cold day with plenty of rain looming, but this didnt put us off from exploring the outdoors in this rugged region.

Nope, today we were joining Malcolm from Tongariro Quad bikes to spend half of the day exploring the national park.

We ride motobikes and trials bikes back home, but couldn't claim much experience with quads so this was going to be a whole new treat for us!

We geared up in ull wet weather gear and gum boots and Malcom give us a full induction with the bikes. We then had a small test run so Malcolm to see how we would go in a few sections of terrain, and then it was off into the wild wonders of Tongariro National Park.

Plenty of mud and puddles, climbs, creek crossings and beautiful views to be experienced during the day. It was great fun, Malcolm was most friendly and supportive and the bikes were well setup and maintained.

To learn more about Tongariro Quads - visit this link http://www.tongariroquads.com/

Afterwards we headed into a very wet Lake Taupo (pronounced toe-paw by the maori's) region to seek out our next holiday park which would be our base for the next few nights. Lake Taupo is right in the heart of the North Island with access to Turangi and Rotorua and there was plenty to do in the Taupo region itself.

Our stay (Lake Taupo Holiday Park) was less than 3 minutes drive from Taupo township and can I say, wow, what a fancy park. You do pay top dollar for the site, but geeze, the park is fresh and new, with great secuity and it has power, water tap, grey water drain etc at each site. The service by staff was wonderful, the reception was very modern with plenty of information avialable to help you plan your day.

A tip for Australian who might be Big4 Holiday Parks members...take ur card with you and you will get a 10% discount at any Top10 Holiday Parks in NZ.

To learn more about Lake Taupo Holiday Resort - go visit their site here - http://www.taupotop10.co.nz/

Photos: Day 2 - Waitomo Caves & Tongariro National Park

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 16:34:00 GMT

Day 2 - Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and Tongariro National Park

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 15:47:00 GMT

Day 2 - Monday 31st October, 2011

15 minutes drive south from Otorohanga is Waitomo Village.

We stocked up on food at the Countdown (Woolworths) store at Otorohanga before meeting our 10am tour at Waitomo. There are approx 400 cave in the Waitomo region, not all are accessable to the public, but there are plenty of tours on offer. I chose a smaller operator "Spellbound Tours" which took us to 2 caves via a mini van. The cave are about 45 minutes drive from the Spellbound's reception where you drive through private farm lands consisting of green rolling hills scattered with sheep and cattle.

The first cave was the glowworm cave where you kitted up wearing helmets with small headlamps. You weave through the cave and down to and area where you board a small raft and get pulled further into the cavern where the glowworms like to reside. After visiting the small underworld, it was time to resurface and have some morning tea and toilet stop at a small restplace in the fields. The second cave was larger and contained a skeleton of a Moa bird.

The tour took 3.5 hours and was well worth the money, we felt.

To learn more about Spellbound Tours - Click here to visit their website - http://www.glowworm.co.nz/

It was then back to the van for a spot of lunch before we proceed 170kms (2.2 hours drive) southeast toward Tongariro National Park. Note that there is plenty of winding roads in this country, so sometime help to a little extra time when driving in the more regional areas.

We did our first fuel-up at Taumarunui which was half way to Tongariro. The drive in this country side is georgous! Winding rolling hills of green pastures with pleanty of dairy and sheep farms to be seen. The roads are in beautiful condition, but can be narrow in some sections. We never had a worry with our motorhome...It just cruised along so sweetly with not a worry with any hill climbs!

The last half an hour the whole country side changed completely and instead of tight hills, the scenery opened up into a wide expansive landscape -the climate also got a little cooler (17 degrees celcius) and then looming up infront of us was snow capped volcanic mountains namely Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe! Ruapehu had the honour of playing Mordor and the Emyn Muil in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

We couldnt believe it was almost November, and we were still sighting snow... It was georgous!

Our stop for the night was at the base of one of these mountains, at Tongariro Holiday Park. The park is older style and beside the main road and consists of both cabins and powered sites. We were a little worried about our powered site being so close to the road, hwoever the traffic is very sparse on this road and we were not at all inconveninced by any road noise. The amenties are tidy and again, plenty of hot water at the showers. There is also a small private jacuzzi that you can hire to wash aware any aches or pains. We however had no aches and pains, as our motorhome was just so plush and comfy to ride in..We had plenty of room to strech our legs and of course we could pull over the side of the road at any time to make a cuppa or grab a cold drink from the fridge. We just loved the convenience of having our own home on wheels with us all the time!

There is a cafe as part of the park complex, and they make some nice homemade pizza's if you dont feel like cooking! We didnt partake as I cooked up a nice lamb stew for dinner, but we met a german couple in another Apollo motorhome which was at our campsite who ordered and ate pizza in our van. We all had a lovely evening sharing travelling stories and drinking plenty of red wine to keep the cockles warm. It was amazing to belive we were now sitting at the base of snow capped volcanoes! It was wonderful!

To learn more about Tongariro Holday Park click here - http://www.thp.co.nz/

Photos: Day 1 - Rally Drive NZ & Otorohanga Kiwi House

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 15:25:00 GMT

Day 1 - Otorohanga Kiwi House Private Evening Tour

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 14:44:00 GMT

9 hours into landing onto NZ soil, 2.5 hours after our hot-seat rally car ride ride with Mark Tapper, and almost 300kms travelled in our first day, we stop off to our first night's rest at Otorohanga Camp Kiwi. Camp Kiwi which is a small open plan park which presents a dozen odd powered sites for campers. It has a small toilet and shower block and laundry. Although dated, the facilities are very tidy and with plenty of hot water. Camp Kiwi is managed by the Kiwi House, so payments are made at the Kiwi house reception. I would strongly advise that you call the Kiwi house and book your campsite in advance with some indication of when you will be arriving.

Camp Kiwi is located right next to the Otorohanga Kiwi House & Native Bird Park which is owned and operated by the Otorohanga Zoological Society Inc. – a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of New Zealand's native wildlife through education, display and breeding programs.

Listening to the sounds of the birdlife right at our camp was wonderful.

At 6pm, we then had a private "Inside Story" evening tour with the Manager Paul. Paul introduced us to plenty of native reptiles and birds. The tour was really informative. Some of the highlights included witnessing a courtship dance by a couple of Kea birds,seeing the Kaka's and watching the funny Weka's running aroudn the park. We also loved the closeup encounter with the Tuatara reptiles and also meeting 'Tasman' the great spotted kiwi. This was such a lovely kickoff introduction to New Zealand!

If you want to learn more about Otorohanga Kiwi House or about Camp Kiwi - then go to this link-http://www.kiwihouse.org.nz/

The Kiwi House is only 15 minutes away from Waitomo Glow worm cave, which was our next port of call (Day 2)

Day 1 - Rally Drive NZ - Maramarua Forest

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 14:35:00 GMT

We had a 90km drive to Maramarua Forest to meet Dale Perry and his team at Rally Drive NZ. Every 6 weeks, Rally Drive NZ conducts a weekend rally driving school for people to experience the thrills of rallying in a hands on environment. The first day (Saturday) they spend in Hamilton doing theory, then Sunday, they drive an hour or so north to the forest where they do the practical driving. If you don’t want to do the workshop, you can actually jump in a rally car with a driving expert and do a hot-seat lap in the forest. This is what I had organised for the three of us.

When we arrived at the forest, the boys were tickled pink, commenting ‘Oh cool!…We were going to watch some rally action!” But then when Dale greeted us when we walked up toward his marquee, and said “hi there Iesha”, my two boys swung and looked at me with big questioning eye’s… How come this strange man knows me, how come he was expecting us?? Ha ha ha

After an intro with Dale, we were then suited up in racing overalls and shoes and each were taken on a lap through the pine forest being driven by no other than NZ rally champion Mark Tapper. Oh my gosh, the experience is not easy to explain. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. You see these cars on tv with sometime onboard video, but until you are actually sitting in one of the cars yourself you really have no appreciation of the speed and the skills involved.

As I was getting out of the car, I was shaking from the shock, but I was just SO excited and happy… It was amazing!! My boys each had a same experience – the smiles on their faces was priceless!

If you want to learn more about Rally Drive NZ – Visit their website here- http://www.rallydrivenz.co.nz/index.html

An hour or so afterwards, we were back on the road heading southwards to our next destination, Otorohanga, which was approx 170kms away.

Day 1 Arriving in Auckland and Collecting our Apollo Motorhome

mudskipper — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 11:43:00 GMT

Intro:

This blog summarises our NZ holiday.

We seem to only do an overseas trip once every 3 years, and what with our son now 15yo, I had wondered if this may be the last time he would want to travel overseas with us. Considering this, I wanted to make this family trip most memorable for our son, and hey, hubby and I shared the same interests as our son, so it was an all round family fun trip. I prefer to do all the research myself in regards to constructing an itinerary, and I spent over 4 months visiting all sorts of travel forums and NZ tourist sites to try and work in something which reflected us.

Outside of dates and knowing that we were travelling the North Island of NZ, both my boys, hubby (46) and son (15) had absolutely no idea as to what I had planned.

Sunday 30^th October, 2011

7:00am Landed in Auckland Airport from direct flight from Cairns (Queensland, Australia). A breeze going through customs & had breakfast at McDonalds and purchased a cheap mobile at the Telcom (Telstra equivelant) booth. Purchasing a Telcom simcard allowed us a much cheaper option for staying in contact with the NZ contacts we had for all the activities and accommodation etc we had booked.

8:15am Picked at Auckland International airport up by a friendly staff member of Apollo Motorhomes - Auckland depot.

9:30am After the paperwork, induction etc, we are now heading out of town in our 6 berth Euro Deluxe motorhome..yayyyy!!! It was virtually brand new, had only 9,000kms on the clock it. It was a VW, automatic and diesel powered (which we found was not only brilliant for fuel economy, but diesel was way cheaper than petrol in NZ).

To learn more about Apollo NZ campers - visit their website here - http://www.apollocamper.co.nz/