On the journey from Rotorua to Lake Taupo we decided to stop for a spot of wild swimming.

KEROSENE CREEK

Kerosene Creek is a hot spring that flows through the natural bush just south of Rotorua. The water is lovely and warm, but as it was only about 8 degrees outside it was a bit chilly getting in and out!

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Once we’d dried off (in the rain!!) and wiggled back into our clothes, we got back into the car and headed to Huka Falls near Lake Taupo.

HUKA FALLS

The Huka Falls (“Huka” is the Māori word for foam) are one of the most visited natural attractions in New Zealand, and the largest falls on the Waikato river. This river flows into Lake Taupo, the largest freshwater lake in Australasia.

220,000 litres of water fall per second, making it one of the highest flowing waterfalls in the world. One of the reasons for this is that the river, which is normally 100m wide, is forced through a 15m gorge and over a cliff.

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Late afternoon we arrived at the backpackers where we are staying for the next 2 nights and had some chill out time (read: kids got some screen time while we researched and booked hotels after our Airbnb got cancelled!).

ARATIATIA RAPIDS

The luxury of having a kitchen space to properly prepare breakfast (no cereal in mugs for us!) meant we had a slightly later start, but we still made it to the Aratiatia dam release in good time.

People have been enjoying the Aratiatia rapids for a long time; the first recordings of tourists were in 1877 when members of the local Opunga tribe would take visitors on canoe rides up the river to see the rapids.

More recently the scene from “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” where Bilbo and the dwarves escape in barrels was filmed here. The film crew dropped 20-25 barrels into the river every time the dam released for two days. The shots were then taken to the Weta studios in Wellington where the actors were inserted using special effects.

After the dam release we took to the road, unexpectedly finding a honey shop/cafe and a pretty picnic spot.

LAKE TAUPO

With lunch finished and only crumbs left on the table, we headed to the lake for a wander around before our cruise at 2pm.

Lake Taupo (Taupō-nui-a-Tia in Maori) is a large crater lake in the middle of New Zealand’s north island. It was formed 25,000 years ago from a super volcanic eruption ejecting roughly 1,100 cubic km of material, causing several hundred square km of surrounding land to collapse, creating the caldera. It has a roughly 120 mile perimeter, making it bigger than Singapore!

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Our boat trip started out chilled, with free tea and biscuits on board and a very chatty skipper. We rounded the bay, enjoying the sunshine and the bobbing of the boat. Our destination was the famous Maori rock carvings, situated in Mine Bay and only accessible by boat.

The giant carving has been hailed as one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary contemporary Maori artworks. Carved by traditional marae-taught artist Matahi Brightwell between 1976 and 1980, the image of Ngatoroirangi towers 14-metres above the deep water of the lake.

Thank goodness none of us get seasick, as the trip took a hairy turn near the carving as the water was so choppy. We were bounced up and down and side to side as the captain manoeuvred his way back round the bay. Luckily for us, there was a new skipper on board for the return journey…

A pootle about the shops and a play in the park later, and we were done for the day. Back to the hostel for some supper and bag packing before our long journey to Wellington tomorrow.

We spent three days in Rotorua – well-known for its fascinating geothermal activity, Māori culture, hot springs and mud pools.

HELL’S GATE

Hell’s Gate geothermal reserve was formed approximately 10,000 years ago when an ancient lake, which covered the whole area to a depth of 30m, drained to the sea over a six-month period creating the two lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti.

Subsequently, a series of hydrothermal eruptions occurred creating the pools and other geothermal features seen today. This particular reserve was given its English name by the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw in the early 1900s. The phrase he used when he visited was “this must be the gateway to hell” – the local Māori were so taken with him during his visit that they allowed the English name to stick.

We were taken on a tour by a local Māori guide, firstly around the geothermal pools and then into the forest. We learned so many interesting facts and heard many Māori stories. The men of our group even joined in with a “whetero” (pronounce wh as f) – this is the tongue-sticking-out-action and cry typically done in the haka and other forms of Māori performing art.

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After our tour, we headed to the hot pools and the mud baths!

REDWOODS TREE WALK

After Hell’s Gate, we had a (very) late lunch and then headed to the Redwoods Tree Walk for a high rise adventure! We arrived at dusk, so caught the sunset and then carried on into the darkness.

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WHAKAREWAREWA

Next on our list of things to do here was to visit a Māori village – we chose Whakarewarewa, still home to the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao people, where the ancient traditions of their ancestors are maintained today.

Our guide took us on a fascinating trail around the village and explained the various traditions still used today, including “hangi” (steam cooking food), communal bathing and laundry and boiling vegetables.

We learned how they regulate the heat of their baths (the community still bathe together early in the morning or in the evening) by opening or closing carved channels with cloth, carrying the hot geothermal water leading to their baths. There are then 6 or 7 baths of different temperature for you to chose depending on your preference.

The concentration of natural minerals leaves a smooth, silky feeling on your skin. This also means there’s no need to use soap or shampoo in the bath.

We then headed round the outskirts of the village to see the geyser in action…

… then we were treated to a Māori singing and dancing performance…

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And a special treat for everyone was Martin joining in with the Haka!!

After that we enjoyed a walk around the incredible geothermal pools. Kate and Sylvie were also interviewed by a Vietnamese TV production team – a slightly quirky point in the day!

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Back to the hotel we went and, after a 2 hour swim for the children, we headed out again in search of waterfalls and trout.

OKERE FALLS WALK

The Okere Falls Walk is an easy and well signposted bushwalk with scenic lookouts over the Okere river and it’s spectacular waterfalls. We started out in the early evening and ended up trekking back to the car in darkness!

One bit of the path led us down many steps through the rock face to the Tutea Caves right on the waters edge. Little is known about the history of the caves but they are associated with Tutea, a local chief. Some sources suggest women and children hid in these caves during times of war, but the only things found there these days are the occasional glowworm!

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Supper tonight was courtesy of a little Tunisian restaurant we found in Rotorua, serving the most delicious kascrute and Berber rice (a step up from the peanut butter sandwiches we had for lunch!).

So that’s our time in Rotorua up… and off we head towards Lake Taupo, where we are for the next couple of nights.

Hi guys, here are some videos that my mum took of me . Hope you like them! We are leaving Rotorua today and going to Taupo.

What a day! Two incredibly different experiences but both wonderful and ones we’ll remember for a long time.

First up was Waitomo: a 2.5hr journey south of Auckland, and home to hundreds of limestone caves. Waitomo comes from the Māori words “wai” (water) and “tomo” (hole/shaft). The caves were first explored in 1887 by local Māori Tane Tinorau and Englishman Fred Mace – they surveyed the caves by candlelight on a flax raft going into the caves by a stream that goes underground.

We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside the caves as this would disturb the glowworms but it was a truly magical experience. First, we were taken on a guided walking tour through some of the caves – limestone formations of all different shapes and sizes surrounding us. Then, we hopped into a boat that was manoeuvred by our guide simply by using ropes attached to the walls of the caves around us. We were told not to make a sound as he navigated his way through the caves in the darkness. The reward for our silence was thousands of glowworms lighting up the caves like a constellation of stars. Simply breathtaking.

Next up – the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata. This was an absolute dream come true for Kate, who first read J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings when she was 11 years old (and many more times since!) and has been dreaming of visiting since watching the films with her dad in the early 2000s.

The whole set is beautifully thought-out right down to the smallest detail. We certainly fancied living in a few of the hobbit houses!

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After many hobbit hole viewings, we reached Bag End (Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ home) and from there continued our journey to The Green Dragon (one of the many inns in the Shire) for a drink.

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Following these two adventures, we headed towards our next destination and home for the next 3 nights – Rotorua. A quick dip in the hotel pool and hot tub and we were ready for bed!

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On 19th July, we finally got out of the airports and airplanes and arrived in New Zealand. Thankfully our luggage made it too, despite all the hiccups we’d had. A quick trip to pick up our hire car and off we went to our friends Vicky and Russ, where we were staying for the next 5 days.

Kate first met Vicky at Rhodes University in South Africa in 2000. She and her family live in a lovely suburb called Milford, near the beach.

Rangitoto island is the youngest and largest of Auckland’s 48 dormant volcanoes.

Another university friend, Tam, also lives in Auckland with her family and she popped over straight away to join in the reunion.

Over the next few days, we spent time catching up, doing some sightseeing and attempting to get over the jet lag. Still haven’t quite managed the latter but we’ve had an amazing time here in Auckland.

On Saturday Tam came with us to the zero-waste farmers market at Matakana village. We enjoyed a lovely morning mooching about the stalls by the river side and the kids enjoyed spotting eels in the river!

Sylvie loved the fact that they provided a very reasonably priced dog sitting service…

In the afternoon, Vicky and her family joined us at the Sculptureum Experience. This is made up of three sculpture gardens and six art galleries – it’s a private collection of over 800 works of art.

On our last day in Auckland we headed to Browns Bay for a stroll along the beach and a spot of shopping. The kids enjoyed the park too! Then we headed to Tam’s house for a braai (bbq) and a catch up with her family.

Now it’s time to pack up our (many) bags and head to bed before continuing our journey south tomorrow morning.

After several days in transit limbo and more queues than we care to remember, we finally boarded a plane to Singapore! We flew via Munich, but thankfully at least made it with enough time to catch our next flight to Auckland. We had thought to grab a taxi and head into the city for a few hours but the idea of missing another flight kept us in the airport instead.

One of the best bits about Singapore airport are the little touches… butterfly garden, koi ponds, sculptures and others.

Our new flight to Munich wasn’t until the evening so instead of spending another day hanging around the airport, we decided to pop into the city for a few hours of fresh air and some touristy hotspots.

First stop: Römerberg – a historic square in the middle of the medieval old town of Frankfurt. Here we also visited the Alte Nikolaikirche (Old St. Nicholas Church), a medieval Lutheran church first built in the mid-12th century.

Most of this area got destroyed during the war and it wasn’t until the 1980s that the city decided to reconstruct the half-timbered houses.

From here we walked to the Eiserner Steg (iron footbridge), famous for it’s skyline and plethora of locks. This bridge was originally built in 1868, rebuilt in 1911 and then rebuilt again after being blown up in the final days of WWII.

Next stop… ice cream (gobbled too quickly for a photo!) and some quaint little shops full of pretty things.

And that was our unexpected whistle-stop tour of Frankfurt on Monday 17th July! We are now back in our “travel clothes”, and looking forward to our flight to Singapore via Munich. Hopefully with no more hiccups!

We are still stuck in Frankfurt airport . Our flight from Bristol to Frankfurt was delayed so we missed Singapore and now we are trying to get food because I’m hungry. We got some vouchers from Lufthansa for our food but they didn’t work at first, so dad had to go and get them sorted. I wanted a pretzel for breakfast but it is now nearly lunchtime so I’m having bratwurst (sausage) and chips.

Frankfurt: where we planned to spend a couple of hours on Saturday night strolling from one plane to another, heading to Singapore and our fancy hotel.

Frankfurt: where we’ll be until the evening of Monday night (in 2 different, not-so-fancy hotels) when we finally catch a plane out of here.

Not the plane we were meant to be on. Not even to a destination we are meant to go to. A ‘no-other-option-lucky-you-got-this’ flight to Munich… to then get a different flight to Singapore… to 🤞 catch our flight to Auckland on 18th July.

So tomorrow we will attempt a Frankfurt adventure, instead of a Singaporean one! Let’s hope the breakfast buffet is a good’un.

We’ve probably forgotten our knickers but we’re finally at the airport and ready for the off!

Thanks to all our family and friends for words of support, offers of help, last minute cake/sandwiches and outpourings of love… we couldn’t have got here without you! ❤️