January 20, 2015

Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand (January, 2015)

We took a 2 week vacation on the North Island of New Zealand.  We were able to redeem 20,000 American Airlines Miles + $125.80 tax each x 6 people = 120,000 American Airlines + $754.80 tax for roundtrip flights between Perth, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.  We rented motorhomes and were able to travel around the North Island, staying in caravan parks and taking in the sights for 14 days.  We decided to head north of Auckland and do a loop before hitting some of the more popular destinations south of Auckland.  Our first stop was Whangarei (pronounced "Fangarei").  We were able to do a small hike to the Whangarei Falls, which were beautiful.

A view of the Whangarei Falls from the top.

The kids below the Whangarei Falls.

Sawyer, demonstrating her photography skills, taking a picture of mom and dad below the falls.

Sawyer and Zander, relaxing after a bit of a hike.

We woke up the next day and headed out to do a ropes course with the kids (Adventure Forest).  This was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip.  Everything was completely safe.  They had a pretty innovative system where the kids could do everything on their own and even though they were clipping in and out and connecting and disconnecting to different ropes, there was always a safety line that couldn't come off.  They were also able to learn some good skills and became quite adept at maneuvering the courses.  There were about 10 different courses and depending on the kids' height, they could go on different ones.  Zander was able to do about 3 of the 10, which was sufficient.  The 3rd course was challenging and a bit scary for him, so that's just about as far as he wanted to go.  We spent a good 5 hours at the course, climbing, zip lining, and enjoying ourselves.  We were definitely exhausted, but it was a very fulfilling day.

Nash, navigating his way across the rope web.

Zander, conquering the hanging rope bridge.

Zander on the rope web.

Ryder and Nash, best buds.

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