Our house

Ivy asked for some pictures of the house so here they are! This it what the place looked like at 12 noon on Sunday 1st September which is Father's Day here in New Zealand.

Adventure Saturdays

As we get more organised it is getting easier to set aside a day to explore, so Friday night is into Rotorua for food shopping and a take away and Saturday we explore. Today we chose Rainbow Springs to see kiwis, trout, and a bird display. Geoff and Maddy also enjoyed the water ride (3 times). The ticket made it possible to leave the park and then go back in later in the day. We decided to go out for lunch on the Lakeside Queen, a paddle boat on Lake Rotorua.

Rain

It rained, hailed and thundered this afternoon during the last lesson (2:10-3-10). A deluge. I put the picture on Facebook because its easier.
Came home and baked cake, not really giving Maddison a chance to get in and make yet more muffins. It is almost time she moved onto cake :) or even savouries.

Paradise Valley Lions and Trout

Saturday today and we did the food shopping last night. So after a little extra time in bed we set off for the i centre in Rotorua to get some tourist events to see. I was hoping for the farmers market and a craft fayre but we didn't manage either. Instead we drove down to the Lake, git lunch at Burger King and then went to see the fish at Paradise Valley, just outside Rotorua. Maddy said the road there reminded her of St. Helena. Geoff fed the fish and Maddy feed, goats, sheep and deer, great fun. We took our passports and letter of residence and got in as locals, saving a third , always good news.
Photos on google  but here's a couple.

Huka Falls

The sight-seeing has started! Last Sunday I got back from church and, despite the drizzle, decided we should get out and see something. It was that or watch the Big Bang Theory! So we drove south to Taupo to find Huka Falls and the Craters of the Moon.
The craters weren't as moon looking as we expected just a geothermal happening down the road from the falls. It is very strange to see steam rising from the ground like that and hear it hissing. The mud pool seemed to look set but we could hear the water gurgling underneath. Rain, and the prospect of roast lamb meant we stopped at 3:30 and headed back down highway 5 for home. It was only a half hour drive but we have started to look around.