Easter Holidays

Well, it may not seem like we needed another holiday, but 3 months of work was just about enough for us! Luckily, the school system gives a 2-week break after each 10-week term and this time it coincided with some long weekends for Mike. So, he cashed in a couple vacation days and we were free to head North to the Coromandel Penninsula.




Our first night, we parked ol' Storm at the trailhead of the Tongariro Crossing, one of the most popular day hikes in New Zealand. It was a chilly sleep (even with our NZ wool duvet plus an extra blanket) but well worth it for an early start on the trail through volcanic craters and mountain ridges.



That evening we headed to some hot springs to sooth our tired legs and then camped on the side of the scenic Lake Taupo. Taupo is a major tourist town with lots of little perks for budget travellers like ourselves – such as full rent-a-bathroom facilities. We woke up almost every morning with the sounds of waves out the window and beautiful ocean views, but rarely was there a clean toilet and hot shower nearby.




Further north up the Penninsula, we settled for a night at beautiful Stoney Beach where Mike cooked a fabulous salmon dinner over the camp stove as I played with our campfire and watched the stars. We’ve both got big goofy grins in this picture because he proposed that night (and of course I said yes!). It couldn’t have been more perfect. Not to worry, the wedding won’t happen until we’re back in Canada… likely the fall of 2007.



In the days that followed, we did 2 beautiful scuba dives- saw some amazing stingrays and indulged in fresh lobster that the divemaster caught for us. We had an afternoon of surfing after an early morning of digging for thermal hot waters at “Hot Water Beach”, and we stopped for lots of beautiful hikes whenever we could.











Unfortunately, Storm had to go in for a “Warrant of Fitness” just a couple days after the trip ended. She failed quite miserably so we had to let her go… we’ve upgraded to a swanky station wagon which is much better on gas, has a CD player, and actually gets over 80 km/hour without rattling at all! Aah, but we’ll miss the freedom of just pulling over and relaxing whenever the moment strikes. It’ll have to be back to tenting for us.