Homemade Sushi

Homemade Sushi

We went grocery shopping today and past by the oriental section and Emily and Lizzie decided that they wanted to make sushi for dinner. Ayano has spent many days teaching them back in Calgary over the years but this would be their first attempt outside the supervision of their master teacher. We decided to let them try. Here are a few pictures of what they accomplished.
Afterwards they all climbed in bed and watched movies on Emily’s laptop.

Tamaki village and an evening with the Mauori People

Tamaki village and an evening with the Mauori People

The Mauori people we originally from Polynesia and were the first to occupy New Zealand in 1200AD and they had practiced their traditional ways under Captain James Cook discovered New Zealand in the 1700’s. New Zealand did not have any large mammals on the island other than those brought from Polynesia and the islands were largely populated by birds and lizards. So the Mauori culture developed close to the sea and did not progress inland for centuries. After Captain Cook claimed the islands under the British, Europeans began to migrate there. War ensued and the Mauori’s were nearly wiped out.
The village we visited celebrates the Mauori culture and its restoration. The village was an actual reconstruction of a traditional village and the participants show the culture and ways of the past.
Anyway we had to take a bus to get to this place and the driver was clearly nuts. She was singing songs and going so fast around the roundabouts that we were literally on 3 wheels as she sang “Comin around the mountain when she comes” and proceeded to whip around the turn bucket 8-10 times in a row. Fun but nuts all the same.

Polynesian Spa

Polynesian Spa

The Rotorua area still has a lot of volcanic activity and there are thermal pools and spas everywhere. For those of you who are familiar with natural spas, while they are incredibly relaxing, they stink like rotten eggs. Nonetheless we had to experience it and decided to ignore the sulphur smell and jump in the water. While we were there, we met a couple of people from Auckland, a little girl named Laura and her father Robert with whom the kids made fast friends with and are now pen pals.

Rotorua and the Alpine Luge

Rotorua and the Alpine Luge

In a town about 60km away from Tauranga we learned that they had an Alpine Luge set up complete with gondolas and chairlifts. We had to go and check it out. The entire family spent the afternoon racing each other down the mountainside all the while enjoying the scenery of the Sulphur Lake and island.

Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua and the North Island of New Zealand Nov 6-14

Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua and the North Island of New Zealand Nov 6-14

We flew to Auckland today which is a 3.5 hour flight and we lost another 4 hours in time zone as we are now 20 hours ahead of Calgary. We rented a van from Omega instead of Avis and for about $500 NZ and headed to our Auckland Hotel. We are staying overnight in the City of Sails because it was too late to drive to Tauranga tonight which is about 4 hours away on the east coast New Zealand. The hotel is no great shakes but it is clean and on the way. We will have a pizza and movie night in the rooms and get a good start.
Its morning and we are on our way. If you have never been to New Zealand, you would find it to be one of the most green places on earth. Everything is so lush and fresh. The temperature here is about 12 degrees colder than Australia and is a cool 12-14 degrees Celsius. The kids are whining about it and then I reminded them how cold it was back in Calgary at the moment and silence befell them. On the way from Auckland to Tauranga, we past about 5 little towns each with about 5 bakery /eateries lining their main streets. We decided to stop at one and we were amazed at the baking and variety of food. We ordered a bunch of stuff and spent the next hour sampling and drinking coffee. The food in New Zealand is truly notable and amazing.
We arrived at Welcome Bay and were pleased to see that the home we rented was right on the seaside. It was low tide and the bay was beginning to empty. In front of our house were the mud flats where the kids decided to go clam digging.
Tracie found us this furnished home on the water in the City of Tauranga Welcome Bay. It has 3 large bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, large kitchen and a deck which surrounds the home and juts out into the bay. It has a hot tub on the back deck overlooking Welcome Bay and a carport. Perhaps the only disappointment is that there is no internet connection and we are going to have to find another NZ broadband. When we opened the home we found a welcome fruit basket complete with wine and sweets. Not a bad start to the New Zealand trek I would say.

Leaving Australia

Leaving Australia
I am somewhat sad to be leaving this marvellous country. We have had an amazing adventure here and would highly recommend this vast and divers country to anyone. I was asked if there was anything that was annoying or aggravating and although there were a few instances, they were certainly overshadowed by all the splendours, the water and sea life of the Great Barrier Reef, the wildlife, the people and the beauty of this land by a factor of 100 to 1. I would however give you a travel advisory on dealing with Avis rent a car. They will not honour a quote issued by their head office and our rental van ended up costing us double what it should. The van served us well and we logged 8500 kilometres on it over the past 2 months. The buggers charged us $5900 Canadian instead of the $3200 we were expecting. As Tracie says, if that is the worst that has happened we should consider ourselves lucky.

The Flowrider

The Flowrider
The latest ride sensation at the amusement parks is called the Flow rider which is a simulated surfing and body boarding ride. Masses of tons of water are shot up a rubberized hill and the kids have to jump on a body board and ride the current any way they can. Enjoy the Photos!

Pedicures and Amusement Parks

Pedicures and Amusement Parks

The kids have survived school hell and now get to be rewarded. They have caught up in all their studies and really put in a good effort. The marks are coming back and so far so good. Before we embarked on this journey we made sure the kids understood that in our scoring system an 80% is a pass and if you dip below that in any subject they would have to cut back on the activities we do everyday and spend more time on the books. So far they are all “Passing” and are ready to take on more of the adventure.
Here is a picture of Tracie and the girls enjoying a pedicure.
We have decided to reward the kids with a day at one of the many amusement parks in Brisbane. The one we went to is called Dreamworld. I scared the heck out of myself on the 500 foot drop of doom which was my last ride of the day. The kids went on to do some other scary ones like “wipeout” and the “Claw” as well as a bunch of other coasters.

Halloween in Brisbane.

Halloween in Brisbane.

The girls dressed up. Lizzie was a pirate and Emmie decided to dress up as me. I was sporting a beard from not shaving on the houseboat and looked a little rough around the edges. At 3:00 we shut down the schooling and started the Halloween games. We bobbed for apples, mummified the girls, had a puzzle contest, played charades and watched scary movies. Probably the best Halloween I ever experienced. The kids made caramel apples and cupcakes and ate the bags of chocolates that was intended for the trick or treaters that we anticipated at the door. We only had 2 groups of Halloween visitors.