New Zealand Northern Island

March 20, 2025

Greetings Friends, Family, and Fellow Travelers,

We are putting the finishing touches on this blog from intermittently rainy Port Douglas, Australia, which constitutes continent #5 for the Schmidt family! But first, we’ll wrap up our final two weeks in New Zealand, which we spent exploring the top half of the Northern Island (Rotorua, Tongariro, and Auckland).

We left Christchurch on March 2nd. Our trip from there to Auckland - while brief - was somehow filled with a series of misadventures. We arrived at our gate characteristically early, so I exited to pick up some lunch outside security as there were minimal options otherwise. As I was paying for our salads, Justin called me to inform me that our flight was canceled and I needed to get to counter 1 ASAP. Abandoning the salads, I raced downstairs and was first in line, where after some back and forth with the agent, discovered that our 12pm flight was not canceled but rather, it was the 11am flight that was canceled. Justin swore up and down the gate agent told him 12pm. I just nodded politely, grateful that we actually had a flight. Back upstairs we went, where I picked up my salads and went through security again. Hiccups ensued when I was told I could not bring the salad dressing we’d procured not 2 minutes earlier through security, a battle in which we eventually triumphed. (Security agent: “You need to drink it now.” Me: “But it’s…. salad dressing.”) Shortly thereafter, Calla – after plowing through her teriyaki chicken roll - announced that she was hungry. Back through the gates I went for yet another teriyaki chicken roll. On my third time going through security, I was flagged for additional screening. At that point, it was just me, my credit card, and a lone teriyaki chicken roll, so it was unclear what sort of nefarious thing they thought I was attempting to sneak through security, but I imagine that with laws of probability, I was bound to be flagged for random screening eventually. Fortunately it was smooth sailing from there.

March 2^nd – March 7^th: Rotorua

We arrived in Auckland and drove straight to Rotorua with a pit stop in Hamilton for ice cream at Duck Island. Just as we were finishing up, their power went out and they had to stop scooping cones, so we really got lucky on timing; I’m not sure how well any of us would have tolerated ice cream-related disappointment in that very moment. Also lucky was that our plane took off as planned, particularly since I’d booked the Redwoods Nightlights Treewalk for later that evening (see below).

Rotorua is renowned for its Māori cultural experiences, geothermal wonderlands, spas, and adventure activities. Since we had several days to explore, I figured with a carefully executed itinerary, we could enjoy it all. The town also smells like sulphur due to all the geothermal activity in the area, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d anticipated. Some of our highlights:

March 3^rd: Redwoods Treewalk

Amidst 75ft tall 120-year-old redwoods are 28 suspension bridges and 27 platforms that comprise the Redwoods Treewalk. Situated in the Whakarewarewa Forest, the nightwalk features 34 breathtaking lanterns by David Trubridge. I completely underestimated what this experience would be like. I was picturing kitschy Christmas-style lights, not a full-blown art installation. It was so, so beautiful, and the perfect way to begin our trip to the Northern Island.

March 4^th: Polynesian Spa

I was on the fence about the Polynesian Spa – a premiere geothermal experience - since we’d just gone to the Tekapo Hot Pools a week earlier, but with nothing else planned we decided to go. Our plan was to tag team watching the kids in the family pool area while we each got a spa treatment. The spa had a very strict “arm’s reach” rule for children under 8, which meant that for nearly two hours, I followed Calla around while she rapidly flitted from the cooler pool to the hotter pool to the still hotter pool crying, “Mom, I’m totally fine.” To be clear, I did not do this because I am an ardent rule follower. I did this because the on duty attendant would quickly redirect me if Calla escaped my grasp. Did I mention the pools were more or less waist deep? I am wholly in support of safety guidelines, particularly for overly confident children in the water. At the same time, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to not be sitting on the side of the pool with my Kindle in hand. On the plus side, I had a delightfully relaxing mud massage later in the afternoon, followed by an hour of quiet time sitting by the side of the pool trying to livestream the Oscars while Justin took the kids to the market.

March 5^th: Wai-O-Tapu & Te Pa Tu

Wai-O-Tapu means “Sacred Waters” in Māori, and is a colorful geothermal park and wonderland  with a Champagne Pool, mud pits, steaming grounds, and volcanic craters. If you were unaware that you were visiting a geothermal site, you would be very concerned about potential toxicity of the Rotorua waters because I have never in my life seen colors like this in nature before. The colors are formed by various minerals, including green (sulfur), purple (manganese,) reddish brown (iron), and black (carbon/sulfur).

We started our day by visiting the Lady Knox geyser. This is a bit of a tourist draw, as the geyser erupts (with some help) daily at 10:15am following a brief presentation. We took our seats, and as we waited Calla cried, “I wish I didn’t have to have a nose!” Anyways... did I mention it smells like sulphur here? Prior to the eruption, we were told a story about how the geyser got its name, and after we watched it bubble over and walked back towards our car, Jonah - on cue - remarked, “I wonder who Lady Knox is.”

We drove to the main park and took the self-directed trails to explore. My favorite spots were the Artist’s Palette, which was formed when earthquakes caused tilted part of the Champagne Pool, resulting in shades of color resembling – an artist’s palate, and the Devil’s Bath, a neon green pool with a yellow border that Calla said looked like a crocodile because of the scales on the rocks.

In the early evening, we took part in the Te Pa Tu Māori Tū Te Rā (summer harvest) Cultural Experience. Our experience took place in three parts. First, we visited four separate stations, each one with its own “kai horotai” (morsels) and demonstration. In one, the boys learned the haka (ceremonial dance) while in another, several participants played a game with sticks. Next, we went to the amphitheater, where we were treated to a song and dance performance. Finally, we sat down to a multi-course dinner of Māori fusion food. I’d chosen Te Pa Tū because of its emphasis on knowledge transfer and genuine cultural experience, with storytellers with several different tribal affiliations. We really didn’t want something similar to a Hawaiian luau, and this wasn’t. Groups were small, and there was a lot of interaction between the guests and the performers. Personally, while the experience was still geared towards tourists, I felt like I walked away with a deeper understanding of Māori tradition.

March 6^th: River Rats on the Kaituna & Zorbing

I opted to go rafting with River Rats on the Kaituna River solo this morning since all of my kids were too young (Class 5 rapids are for ages 13+) and Justin wasn’t particularly interested. The Kaituna River is home to several waterfalls, including the Tutea Falls which – at 7 meters – is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. After putting on wetsuits, booties, and fuzzy sweaters, we boarded the bus while our senior guide, Cam, provided a safety briefing that went into the many different permutations of ways things could go awry. Reassured and not at all anxious, my group and I dragged our raft into the water and practiced paddling forward and backwards, as well as how to “hold on” and “get down.” The ride started out with a few exhilarating rapids before soon coming to Tutea Falls. According to the company, only 1 in 10 boats capsize when going through Tutea Falls. Based on my personal experience (n = 2; our group was split across two boats) the actual figure is 100% of boats capsize when going through Tutea Falls. I guess that number just doesn’t sound as appealing in promotional materials.

My very first thought when I noticed I was falling into the water was, “I hope I’m not the only one to fall out of the boat.” It would be incredibly embarrassing if everyone else was still on the raft while I was doggy paddling aimlessly to find them. My second thought was, “Jonah’s going to be so excited.” Friends, he was just itching for me to fall in the water. I showed him pictures of the waterfall and he said - straight faced - “I hope you fall in.” Kids are great. Truly. I highly recommend having three. Once I emerged from the water and saw that everyone else was bobbing along – boat upside down – I was strangely relieved. This was now all of our problem and we could solve it together!

At another point in the ride, we were offered the chance to swim the rapids, which I did. I floated down “superman style,” getting more water up my nose than I ever thought possible. It was a blast. All in all, an excellent morning, and I was very excited to head back to the motel to show my family all the photos of us capsizing. Justin kept remarking, “How did somebody not die?”

Just to add, I’m not an adrenaline junkie by nature. I am, however, someone who is coming to New Zealand - adventure capital of the world - at exactly the right point in this trip. After so many months on the road, I find myself generally less flustered, and much more acclimated to a mobile lifestyle. Somehow, that translates to feeling like nothing is likely to be a catastrophe, including falling out of a boat descending waterfall. On average, things will eventually be okay, even if they don’t work out as planned. When I initially thought our flight to Auckland was canceled, it was like, ok… so we reschedule the tree walk. No big deal. When we thought we might not get our Australian visas in time? Okay, bigger deal, because changing flights is an expensive pain in the butt, but we’d get there eventually. We move tours. We figure it out. I’m hoping my kids can keep internalizing this more moderated approach to tolerating disappointment and change. It’s a hard thing. I’m still learning it in my 40’s.

Back to our adventure activities —

Zorbing was invented here in Rotorua and involves rolling down a hill in a giant ball filled with a low level of warm water. I thought this would be a family hit. We were driven to the top of the hill, and got ready to …board our balls? It is at that point that Calla freaked out and proclaimed she didn’t want to go. Eventually, we convinced her to try one run and if she hated it, there was no need to do any more. Jonah, Calla, and I piled in, where we were propelled down a hill while we sloshed around in the giant ball. Calla was miserable. Jonah was miserable. I was meh. As we recovered in the hot tubs, Justin and Simon finished up their run, which Simon proclaimed to be “awesome!” And then there were three.

Next up: The Sidewinder course, which involved the Zorb going down the hill in a zig zag pattern. At this point, my motion sickness kicked in, and I was out. Justin and Simon rode the Pipeline Track. Honestly, Simon probably could have stayed all day, but we thought three seemed like a reasonable place to stop.

March 7^th: Sky Swing & Crankworx

Simon has gone from being cautiously afraid of heights to our biggest daredevil. I thought Calla would jump at a chance to do the Sky Swing, a three person swing which hoists you 50 meters above Lake Rotorua, but after saying yes, then no, then yes again (at which point I bought tickets), and then no again (at which point I had her ticket refunded), Simon and Justin went on together. Simon loved it so much that he asked to do again, which meant it was my turn. It looked much scarier on the ground than it was in reality.

We also took in some of Crankworx, a mountain bike competition that was taking place right by our motel along the gondola path. The riders were very impressive as they shot down the hills and seamlessly navigated the jumps.

March 7^th: Rotorua —> Hobbiton —> Tongariro

Hobbiton:

I have seen the first half of the first Lord of the Rings movie, which clearly makes me a superfan expert and the intended audience for this experience. Okay, not so much, but despite my limited knowledge of LOTR cannon, our trip to Hobbiton was delightful. Jonah was ready to move in, as he is an aspiring hobbit. Calla, as always, decided our tour guide Alex was her new bestie and proceeded to hold her hand throughout the tour. We got to visit a replica of a hobbit house.

I loved the way the Hobbiton experience was presented. On the bus over, we watched a video that explained the history of the Hobbiton. The land was initially scouted long before the first movie was filmed. Afterwords, the set was taken down, but prior to the filming of the second movie, the owner of the land “saw an opportunity” to make the set a permanent fixture so that fans could visit. The framing made it sound like it was such a cool thing to do for LOTR legacy, with no mention of the millions in revenue this move was likely to generate. No matter – I think it was an excellent decision. I’d signed us up for the Second Breakfast tour, which meant that we were the first tour out of the day. As we were finishing breakfast, we were all grateful to have been able to tour so early even if it meant a 6:45am check out from our Rotorua motel. Without crowds, we were able to really take in the vastness of Hobbiton and explore the area. I did know what Second Breakfast was since Justin ensured I watched the one scene where the concept was explained. For the uninitiated, hobbits eat a lot of meals, including second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, and midnight snack. Or maybe these are just the meals that Jonah has come up with to be funny. Either way, it was fun. The kids loved it. It was very different from the Harry Potter experience that Jonah and I had in London, which was less of a visit to a set and more of a giant museum with props, costumes, etc. that showed visitors the behind the scenes of how much of the movie magic was made. Hobbiton was a bit more of an immersive experience, showing you the specific places where several scenes were filmed, peppering in some behind the scenes facts along the way. While I have zero interest in expanding my fandom beyond the first half of movie one, I do understand more of the LOTR appeal.

March 8^th – March 10^th: Tongariro

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

I was adamant that I did not want to visit New Zealand without being able to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is considered one of the world’s best day hikes. You cross through two active volcano sites, as well as traverse out of this world scenery with views of crater lakes and ancient lava flows. I was worried about how I’d manage this while traveling with three children, but fortunately, Jonah has proven himself to be quite the stellar hiker, and after much cajoling, I convinced him to accompany me.

While the trek isn’t particularly technical, the rapidly changing weather can make the hike challenging. There are many days the shuttles won’t run and the hike is inaccessible due to high wind currents. We’d planned for two full days in the Tongariro area so that we’d have flexibility in case one day presented us with poor weather. Fortunately, we were able to complete the crossing on the day we’d planned. The track is unique, with six separate stages. We started from the car park, walking to Soda Springs on a fairly flat track around the edge of an old lava flow. Then we saw this sign:

Alrighty then! Next, we climbed the “Devil’s Staircase,” ascending 1600 meters above sea level until we reached the South Crater. The trail flattened out before quickly heading up again while we were treated to intense wind and low visibility. While I had stripped down to my tank top a couple hours earlier, Jonah and I both scrambled to put back on all our layers; for me, a long-sleeved shirt, fleece, gloves, and balaclava (but a cute one; not a “rob the bank” one). I hear the views from the Red Crater are magical, but I couldn’t tell you personally. After we headed down, suddenly the clouds gave way and we were treated to incredible views of the Emerald Lakes. I thought this was the trickiest part of the hike, however. The area under our feet was loose scoria (volcanic rock) and I slipped and fell twice trying to walk down it. We took a break to take in the scenery.

We continued to descend, moving from the Blue Lakes to the Old Ketetahi Shelter Site. We zigzagged to the edge of the North Crater, where we had views over Mount Pihanga and Lake Rotoaira. Finally, we headed past Ketetehi Springs, into the forest before reaching the Ketetahi Car park. Jonah – who had confused the word “Alpine” for the concept of “pine,” kept remarking, “This is what I thought the whole hike would be like!”

While the trail was busy, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I’d feared it would be, having previously read accounts of lines to climb Devil’s Staircase. When we reached the end, my watch clocked us as walking 13.36 miles in 7 hours, 7 minutes, including stops to eat, use the restroom, and make countless wardrobe changes.

While Jonah struggled in the beginning and the end of the hike, he persevered. I was really proud of him for taking on such a challenge, and even though he swears he will never do something like this again, I’m convinced he secretly enjoys hiking. Also, gold stars for the owner of our motel who made us the best egg salad sandwiches we’d ever eaten to take on the trail.

With a bonus day in Tongariro, we did very little there other than rest. I went for a massage (because what else do you do after a 13-mile hike?!) while Justin took the kids to a small dinosaur museum.

March 10^th: Tongariro —> Otorohanga —> Waitomo —> Hamilton —> Auckland

Well, as you can see, this was quite the day. The only time I was able to book the Spellbound Glow Worm Cave tour was 3:30pm, which meant that we needed to find something to do between checking out of our motel by Tongariro and arriving in Waitomo. That something was Otorohanga, where we took the kids to a bookstore, lunch, and playground. The visit to Spellbound included two caves and a small boat ride. After doing that very uncomfortable hike back in Hokitika to see maybe four glow worms, this was quite the relaxed treat. The glow worms lit up the ceiling and reminded me of the firefly cruise we went on in Malaysia. In the second cave, there were fewer glow worms but more remains (i.e., bones). The boys were thrilled. I averted my gaze. In an ideal world, I’d have loved to go black water rafting (where you can also see glow worms), but the kids are too young for it, so it didn’t seem worth pursuing.

In Hamilton, we stopped for the best fish and chips I’ve eaten this whole trip followed by more ice cream at Duck Island. We didn’t arrive in Auckland until 10:30pm. Jonah was half asleep, and I got him and all the luggage upstairs while Justin waited at the car. I came back downstairs, and I carried a sleeping Calla and Justin carried a sleeping Simon and put them right into their respective beds.

March 10^th – March 16^th: Auckland

There is a lot to do in Auckland, probably, but we didn’t do most of it. I’ve found giving ourselves extra time in cities to be extremely helpful, since we’re able to access amenities harder to find in smaller areas. We scheduled some much needed doctors’ appointments for the boys, and spent several hours just wandering the city.

Calla, Simon, and I enjoyed a visit to the Auckland Art Gallery, and all of us really liked the Auckland Museum, which houses an eclectic mix of exhibits on Māori culture, contemporary Auckland life, war history, and animals. Justin and Simon also took in the special exhibit, “Bloodsuckers: From Legends to Leeches.” One evening, I took Jonah for a delicious dinner at MASU, a Japanese restaurant, followed by a performance of Six. Six is one of my favorite shows, and thus it was fortuitous that it happened to be playing in New Zealand for the very first time during our visit to Auckland. We sat in the second row, and both of us had a blast. Another night, I took Simon for an early birthday dinner at Ahi. The food is hyper local and influenced by both Māori and Asian cuisines. I was interested in doing the tasting menu, provided the chef could accommodate our menu requests (octopus for Simon, banoffee tart for me). Our waiter was skeptical, sharing that he thought the tasting many would be too much food for Simon. I politely disagreed, and soon after our drinks arrived, we started getting course after course of spectacular food – oysters, bread, shrimp, octopus, deer, banoffee tart, and more. During the final course, the waiter brought out a small piece of cake with a candle. As anticipated, Simon ate all of his food, as did I. On our walk back to the hotel, Simon – who sometimes struggles with serious sincerity – looked at me and told me he had a really nice time, and thanked me. It made my heart swell.

In addition to my 1:1 dates with each of my sons, mostly, I was looking forward to seeing my DBT friends, Shelly and Tessa, again. On Friday afternoon, I took Calla over to Shelly’s house, where we had a delightful ladies’ evening with swimming, pizza, wine, and ice cream. That morning, Calla and I went shopping for snacks, where she was insistent on purchasing pickles, marshmallows, and gummy bears because girlfriend knows party food. Tessa and her daughter joined us, as well. As you will read in Calla’s blog, she was beyond thrilled to spend time with Abby (9) and Zoe (almost 5), as well as Abby’s plethora of toys. On Saturday, we celebrated Simon’s 9^th birthday. Shelly and Tessa graciously organized a small party at Gravity, a local trampoline park, where we were joined by another fabulous DBT friend, Kirsten, and her children. Afterwords, we went back to Shelly’s for lunch and cake. Simon was delighted by Basil the dog, as well as the opportunity to eat cake in a hot tub.

So…. Simon is 9! As I wrote about, Simon has become much more of an adrenaline junkie over the last several months. It’s been wonderful watching him conquer his fear of heights and embrace new challenges. I also love watching Simon when we go on tours because he’s engaged and interacts with the guides, always asking lots of questions and never missing a beat. He’s grown so much since we left Kirkland, and I know he’s looking forward to reconnecting with all of his friends when he returns.

Random stray NZ observations:

· I love the savory scone culture here. There are so many small cafes, and there is always a cheddar scone or a spinach cream cheese scone. I have eaten many of them.

· Also, props to the chain “Tank,” which sells smoothies, juices, and salads. It’s hard to balance eating when traveling so much, and we’ve managed to get lots of nutrients in frequenting locations of Tank across NZ.

· The supermarket, Woolworths, is currently offering Minecraft “Cubeez” for every $30 spent. Much of our time in NZ was spent trying to obtain all 40 Cubeez. We haven’t yet, but it remains a goal as Woolworths also exists in Australia.

· I’ve never had so many diametrically opposite customer service experiences. Our tour guides have been exuberant beyond belief and without exception, all have been excellent and accommodating with our kids. We’ve also had some wonderful wait staff and assistance at stores. At the same time, we’ve also had some customer service experiences that felt somewhat disorienting, where the person helping you is so disinterested and disengaged, it almost started to seem like there must be a language barrier. I imagine some of this may result from the lack of a tipping culture; I mention it because it felt noticeable from the moment we stepped on island. 

· But also….. Kiwis are incredibly friendly. We’ve met the loveliest people here.

On a totally different note, I am really struggling with the incessant news coming out of the United States. There are times it’s nice to feel like we can bury our heads in the sand and focus on our trip, and at the same time, there are real, tangible, devastating impacts of grossly <insert whatever prefix here>-phobic policies on millions of people right now. I look at an administration that both pathologizes disability and pretends it’s not there and wonder what will happen to my children, my clients. I could say so much more, but I imagine it’s nothing that so many of you haven’t already said to yourselves a million times over, probably in the wee hours in the evening when you’re trying to figure out how the hell to hold out a modicum of hope. It feels really, really bleak you guys. I add this here mostly so that we aren’t giving the impression that we are immune to the impact of what’s happening back home. I realize our world travels are already so disconnected from everyday life to begin with, but everything remains deeply connected and intertwined.

Sara’s Stats:

 Justin’s Soapbox

New Zealand has come and gone like a warm spring breeze, and we owe quite a lot to the hospitality of this beautiful country. It was hard to say goodbye since we’ve had such an incredible time here that was both relatively easy to get through (driving long stretches throughout the country is a treat in itself, with all the views it has to offer) and extremely rewarding in terms of the overall experience. 

In my last update, I alluded to the concern that we may not have been seeing the most authentic version of NZ, given how prim and picturesque so much of our experience was here. I don’t think I can conclude anything specific about authenticity per se, but I do have some observations. A big aspect of what I was referring to when I wrote this was the visibility (or lack thereof) of Māori culture in mainstream New Zealand society, or at least what we saw of it. We did enjoy some direct experience with Māori life and history at the Te Pa Tu experience (as Sara related), but this of course was a structured tourism-oriented presentation and not some embedded living experience. I later learned that part of the “visibility” component is that contemporary Māori communities are not as integrated as I had assumed, and that many still live in communities that have coalesced more independently from white NZ areas. 

Part of my interest in teasing this out is that there were some significant examples of institutional attention paid to Māori that was visible throughout our stay; for example, many signs and placards also featured Māori language translation. The local TV had a few Māori language news channels. And of course the prevalence of museums, monuments, and other civic acknowledgements of Māori culture. It’s also historically notable that, unlike with Native Americans in the U.S. or Aboriginal peoples in Australia, a formal treaty between the anglicized New Zealand settlers and Māori tribes legally enshrines certain standards for cultural protection and legal representation into the New Zealand constitution. All this adds up to a situation that was probably above my pay grade to fully understand to begin with, but its another example of a complex situation we’ve continually encountered on our trip, wherein we want to be able to try and peer deeper than surface-level touristic activities, and simultaneously don’t want to fall into the pretensions of being gawking tourists briefly hunting for tokens of authenticity that may give us an overinflated sense of whether we “get it” or not. There’s ultimately no right answer here, so I think the best we can do is keep this dichotomy in mind as we progress. New Zealand was certainly a very interesting place for us to challenge ourselves in this way.

We did challenge ourselves in more silly and fun ways as well, between the Sky Swings, Zorb balls, luge racing, and some major hiking. There’s a bit of a playground feel to some places here which are clearly set up with these activities in mind, but this has been nothing if not a work-hard, play-hard kind of trip. 

Happy Birthday to Simon, our amazing 9-year-old who is continually surprising us with his insight, humor, and boundless energy! A lot of the trip has been challenging for Simon, who craves interaction with kids his age and time to blow off steam, and I’m extremely proud of how he’s been handling the ups and downs of our time here as he works to become more independent. A morning at a trampoline park followed by a small get-together with cake is probably not going to stand out in the pantheon of birthdays when all is said and done, but the fact that Sara’s colleagues stepped up to help him feel special on this day was huge. I expect next year we’ll throw him a huge 1-0 shindig befitting his big personality!

One random observation that I have to get into here is a comparison between the cities of Auckland and Seattle. The moment we arrived in Auckland, I was struck by how much it visually resembled aspects of our home-hub city. The look and feel of the streets was very similar, including some rolling midtown hills, the general architectural look felt familiar as well, and Auckland even has its own Space Needle (the Sky Tower)! The population of Auckland is about twice that of Seattle (1.7M compared with ~800k), which becomes a curious statistic when you compare their skylines. Seattle nowadays is full of glass towers with more under construction, and while Auckland has its share off tall buildings, one would think those population numbers were reversed based on a quick glance at the city views. The crime rate in Auckland is also notably lower than in Seattle, and the streets are generally cleaner. This is unsurprising given New Zealand’s reputation as a relatively isolated Island population, but it does make one think about the importance of better urban development, which is of course a totally non-controversial topic that people are chill and normal about discussing nowadays… But if one is going to wade into those debates, an Auckland vs. Seattle comparison would certainly merit further study.

To end things on a more merry note, Hobbiton! Hobbiton was probably the most charming moment in a country that had already been, if anything, overly charming. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much Jonah enjoyed it (Jonah, our child who is most adept at rolling his eyes at anything deemed too cute or booooring). The little Hobbit home interior they designed for people to look around inside has given me a number of ideas for the house back home, chiefly, a writing desk nook with ink pen and a wooden barrel of ale with a spigot for the pantry. Hobbits are known for enjoying the comforts of home, and walking through the idyllic fantasy set did indeed start turning my thoughts towards our own home, waiting for us when we return this summer. It’s remarkable how quickly this trip is flying by, and perhaps fitting that I’m beginning to get a little homesick for my own old Hobbit-like haunts in the house. 

Jonah’s Musings

For the past month my family and I have been in New Zealand, an island country to the east of Australia. New Zealand has been one of the most scenic places we've been on this trip which makes every car ride a ride through beautiful rolling hills and lakes. We've done so many cool things in New Zealand, I will talk about one of my favorite experiences in New Zealand; the Māori experience.

The Māori are the native tribes of New Zealand for many years; they arrived in New Zealand between the years of 1250 and 1300 CE. The Māori were constantly at war with other tribes but they only fought using traditional methods and with combat sticks and other not-so-lethal weapons, because of this there were very few casualties during fights. Before a fight would break out between tribes the Māori used different methods of intimidation to try to, well, intimidate the enemy. The Māori would bulge their eyeballs, stick out their tongues and shout loudly. We went to see Māori tribes in Rotorua, they did the war display there and it was very intimidating.

Unfortunately when the Māori arrived in New Zealand they hunted the moa, a large flightless bird to extinction. The moa had 9 subspecies with some the size of a turkey while some species stood 12 feet high and weighed 510 pounds. Another species of bird was the haast eagle which hunted the moa and was bigger than a bald eagle. The reason this eagle went extinct was due to the fact that the moa was their main source of food and without it the eagles couldn't survive.

Another adventure that I had in New Zealand was the Tongariro Alpine Hike. It was the hardest hike I'd ever done and I seriously thought I couldn't do the hike. It was almost 13 miles and took me and my mom 7 hours and 7 minutes to finish it. The hike was over a volcano and mountains. It was very misty and windy making it hard to see and hear. Luckily we managed to make it through with high difficulty. The hike was very hard and I had a lot of leg pain and 2 blisters on my feet but in the end it was worth it and the scenery was beautiful.

New Zealand has been a beautiful country to visit and I am disappointed we are leaving it soon and going to Australia, which I know will be amazing as well. But anyways stay tuned for the next blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Simon’s Reflection

In Rotorua, we went Zorbing! It’s like a ball filled with water and you roll down the hill in it. I really liked it because it was really bouncy. Also in Rotorua, I went on a giant sky swing with Mommy and Daddy. It was like a swing that went very high up and swung you 50 meters!

But I really want to talk about what we did today (March 15^th). I’m going to talk about me. Today is my birthday! I went to a giant trampoline park where everyone was jumping. It was so jumpy and bouncy, which I really liked. Then we went to Shelly’s house, and they had two cats and a dog named Basil. One of the cats was named Buzzy. We had cake there and there a hot tub and I had fun.

Calla’s Corner

Mommy: Alright, Calla, let’s talk about the North Island of New Zealand. Let’s start with Rotorua.

Calla: On our tree walk, we, um, on the Redwoods Treewalk we saw a ginormous lantern that we got to go in. In the hot tub place [Polynesian Spa], I went in very hot hot hot tubs. It was very fun.

Mommy: I think one of the things that you really seemed to love was Hobbiton.

Calla: Yes, it was. About Hobbiton, I discovered that all the Hobbit people didn’t wear shoes. [At Hobbiton], I got to eat second breakfast. I got to see a fun fun fun… fun fun FUN, the best fun house in there in the world. There was a [stuffed] lamb that I didn’t get to put in the high chair, but if I lived there, I could do whatever I want. So, the lamb in there slept in a little … not a hammock, but a cradle that was hanging on the roof. Then I cuddled the baby, and I got to pretend to sleep in the bunk beds. When I ate second breakfast, there was bread, butter, jam, and hot chocolate. It was a hilarious time! I also got to have some fruits and what I just liked about Hobbiton… because all the little houses I get to see. All the tiny circle doors because of the ring. They want to shape it as the ring, that’s why. Thank you everybody! I hope you enjoyed me talking about Hobbiton. I’m not done, but this is done with Hobbiton, okay? Thank you, Mom.

Mommy: Fabulous. What about visiting Auckland? That’s the city we are currently in.

I’ve been spending time with some new friends, Abby and Zoe. I’m sad because my oldest friend is a 9-year-old, Abby, and I was sad to say bye-bye to her. I also love all her toys and the little movies that she had and SuperKitties. Also, she had a playroom and lots of fun toys. I’m sad because I got to play with them and I’ll never get to see the toys again, so I’m very sad about that. I liked going to the trampoline park for Simon’s birthday! Abby was very nice, very, very giant nice. She was like as nice as big as a giant! She was just too kind that I just loved her so much! My friend was the best! She and Zoe bounced with me together. She even let us go in the baby place. I just can’t wait to say this last word. I want you to know that there was some Frozen and Wicked songs I knowed [sic] and a Lion King song [playing at the trampoline park]. The Frozen song was “Do You Want to Build A Snowman” and also “Show Yourself” and The Lion King song was, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King,” and the Wicked song was called, “Flying Gravity” [sic]. I bounced up and down to them. And I just like Zoe because she had lovely clothes. I didn’t like the socks [I had to wear bouncing]. I just liked the way they speak to me. Zoe was just super kind that I couldn’t stop playing with her. After the trampoline park we came back to Abby’s house to have some cake and food and then we came back to our hotel! And then we just did relaxing and my birthday boy did Roblox and we are doing the blog right now!

Mommy: Thank you so much, Calla, for telling us about New Zealand! Any final things you want to say about New Zealand?

Calla: Um, no. I liked it. But…no.

 See you in Australia, where we will begin our visit with The Great Barrier Reef!

xo,
Sara, Justin, Jonah, Simon, and Calla

Instagram: @formidablefiveworldwide