Hosting the family

So Mum Dad and Ben have left NZ this week after a stay of about 10 days with us here in Ohakune. On leaving Taupo they flew to Melbourne to catch up with some old friends, then I collected them from Wellington, had a night there where we visited Te Papa the national museum among other things, and drove back up to Ohakune.
Over their first weekend here we had a pretty nice mutton roast with locally sourced veggies, and the three of them tucked into their big sheep dinner with surprise at how tender it was.
The first part of their stay here was dominated by a once-in-50-years storm which left about 30cm of snow in our yard over two nights. Luckily during the day it was pretty sunny so we got out and about for a few walks, and had a drive round to Whakapapa village and did a nice walk to a waterfall.
Ben and Dad got up the mountain on the Friday for a half day of skiing, although the weather wasn't too flash. Neither of them has skied in a few years so they were both pretty chuffed to come back down the mountain having not fallen over too much.
On their second weekend here we took a trip to a friend's farm and had a ride out on the bike up to the top of the hills for some lovely views of the central north island and Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom from LOTR). Dad had a shoot at a few goats, Mum looked down the barrel and Ben shot a huge hole in a tree, so good first experiences with a real gun really.
Luckily the weather was a cracker on the Monday and we all made it up the mountain when Robyn finished work. Ben and Dad showed us their moves on skied and Robyn and I replied with our slick snowboarding skills.
On Tuesday they had a bus booked back up to Auckland, and flew out to Hong Kong on Wednesday. Aparantly HK is very hot, loud and full of people, everything that a NZ winter isn't, especially in our little mountain town.

Taupo and Robyn's Birthday

So at the end of the school hols Mum and Dad Travis and Ben arrived in Ohakune on the train, and after a quick cuppa we drove to Taupo for a break. During the week it was Robyn's birthday and we did quite a few things during out little vacation.
We took a walk along the Waikato river, the longest in NZ, ending at Huka Falls. We've been a few times now, on our own and with both sets of parents/siblings. They were all pleasantly surprised with the weather, so much so that we all had an ice cream. On the way back we popped over to watch someone do a bungy, don't think anyone in the visiting party will be doing one.
We had a drive north to Rotorua, home of lots of geothermal activity and bubbling mud. Everyone enjoyed the little walk-tour to see the mud and steam appearing from the ground, and same as Huka Falls, Robyn and I have seen it all three times now.
On Robyn's birthday we started the day with breakfast out at a schmancy cafe in Taupo, then it was on to Rapids Jet for a jetboat ride up and down the Waikato River, stopping to see Aratiatia Rapids. The ride was fantastic and we all had a great time. After that it was on to prawn fishing. We had a quick lunch and a little tour of the facility, then it was down to the serious business of prawn fishing, although there was only me caught anything.....
The rest of the week was taken up with a trip to Napier where Mum and Dad had a fancy-pants wine tasting adventure while the rest of us mooched around town, and just hanging out in Taupo.
Those three have flown to Melbourne to see some friends and Robyn and I are back in Ohakune. I made it up the mountain today while there is nobody in town and the weather is good, so good you could see all the way to Mt Taranaki, and Robyn is off doing her weekly volunteering at school.
On Friday I'm off down to Wellington to meet the rest of the Travis', and on Saturday we'll all be back here in Ohakune.