Bright green lakes and boiling puddles
Our trip to New Zealand with kids continues… We have arrived in Rotorua, staying on a stunning campground at Blue Lake. Our drive to Rotorua was very rainy, nothing new though. In Rotorua a gondola takes us up on the mountain. When we arrive we watch a spectacular movie of the Southern Island. Our trip down hill, with a “luge” was really cool, a combination of a kart and a sled. The kids absolutely loved it. Our campground, again a Top 10, is perfect! They have a huge shared kitchen, with enough tables and chairs to enjoy your diner as a family. Check out a lot of fun things to do in Rotorua.
Today we visited Wai o Tapu, a beautiful volcanic area with bright green lakes and boiling puddles. Absolutely stunning to see. Tomorrow we will be visiting Lake Taupo. The weather forecast shows us two more days of rain, followed by lots of sun the days after. This morning we enjoyed a little sun as well. New Zealand is beautiful and even more so with some sun. Hidde doesn’t need his afternoon naps anymore. The kids go to bed around 09:00PM and sleep till 09:00AM.
So tomorrow we will be visiting Lake Taupo, the day after tomorrow we will drive to Napier for two nights, Wellington after that to take the ferry to the Southern island.
Beautiful bird!
Rain keeps pouring from the sky so bad, we decide to skip Lake Taupo and drive to Napier straight away. Napier is close to Hamkes Bay, which is known for its coastline and for … wine! Again we stay on a Top 10 campground.
We get up early the next day to make a walk at the pier. Napier is a lovely town. We have a cup of coffee at Starbucks and visit the local tourism board to book our trip to the “Jan van Genten”, the birds. The tour starts at 04:00PM, giving us some time to visit the local wineries. They serve picnics, have tours and of course lots of wine to taste and drink. The wine isn’t very cheap, selling at 25 New Zealand Dollar a bottle.
The Jan van Genten tour starts from Cape Kidnappers, we “board” a tractor with two “cars” behind it. We drive on the beach . The guide knows an awful lot about the cleavages and the porous composition of the mountains. The view of the mountains and the coastline is magnificent. We came to visit the Jan van Genten, beautiful birds, and are totally surprised by the exciting trip which let us to the birds. The kids absolutely loved the drive with the tractor. When we arrive close to the bird colony we start a mountain hike. Wow! The view is unbelievable… The hike was a little too much for the kids. We came half way. Marcel finished the hike by himself. He saw thousands and thousands Jan van Genten, a very spectacular view.
We will be leaving early on Monday to drive to Wellington. The weather forecast is good and we need to drive for 5 hours at least. When we get up the weather is bad again. As the boys made a Dutch friend, Joost, we decide to let them play together en a leave a little later. Good to see more parents feel New Zealand with kids is a wonderful idea.
Our campground in Wellington is located next to a industrial area. As the name of the campground is “Seaview” it’s not really what we expected. Our spot for the first night was quite bad. The day after we moved to a spot next to the playground. As our campground is out of town we took the bus to visit the city. Wellington is a friendly and welcoming city. We got the tip to visit the playground at the beach, wow!! It is beautiful, a blue sea surrounded by mountains. After the play break we visit the free Té Papa Museum. An absolute must do with the kids! They can experience a kinds of cool stuff; feel the aftershocks of an earthquake and see a giant 3D octopus.After this cultural experience it’s time to go back to our campground with bus 83. Thije and Hidde run into Joost again. Joost, his parents and his grandma leave for the Southern Island tomorrow as well. Our first stop is Nelson de Marlborough Sounds. This should be stunning. Our ferry departs at 10:30AM. Today was very sunny, I love the good weather. Even the weather forecast is sunny. I love it our trip to New Zealand with kids!
Tips & Tricks for New Zealand with kids
Check out all these fun things to do in Rotorua with older kids
Top 10 campings are kid friendly
The Jan van Galen tour at Cape Kidnappers is a must do
Visit the Té Papa Museum in Wellington
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This guest blog is written by Lonneke, she is living in the Netherlands with her husband Marcel and two sons Thije and Hidde . Lonneke tells us about the amazing trip she made with her family to New Zealand when the boys were 2,5 and 4 years old.
