Two Cooks, Six Hales, One Big Adventure

For Christmas vacation, we got to spend two weeks with Rex, Kari, Tanner, Andrea, Rachel, and Megan. We had Wonderful adventures traveling from one end of New Zealand to the other. You would have loved it.

Road trip to Paihia!!

Travel snacks: Check.

The view from Waipoua Forest 

 Make sure your feet are clean!

This is Tāne Mahuta,  a giant kauri tree  in the Waipoua Forest. 
(It is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old. It is the largest kauri known to stand today. )

Pohutukawa (New Zealand's Christmas tree)

 The Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa : )

This is part of the beach house we got to stay at in Paihia.

R. Tucker Thompson and the Bay of Islands.

Everyone gathered to the front of the ship to see dolphins!!

We got to stop off at an island just before lunch.

Lunch on the boat : ) 

Rainbow falls in Kerikeri

If you look close, you can see Andrea and Rachel, they wanted to climb behind the waterfall. 

Seeing those chickens made me think of my Momma. They made my day : )

This is my new favorite flower : ) 

The drive back to Auckland

We arrived back in Auckland, had lunch and then jumped on the plane to Queenstown.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! : )

Queenstown!!

Our temporary home for the time we were in Queenstown was at the Turret bed and breakfast.

On one afternoon in Queenstown, Kasia and I were given the option of zip-lining or boating. Kasia stated that she and I would go boating, so I smiled and went along with her. As I asked her more about the boat we were going to be on, she made it sound like we would be going on a normal water boat down a really beautiful part of the River. I didn't think much of it.
A while later I found myself watching a boat full of people shoot down the river and go around in circles. I thought to myself, who would pay money to do something like that?
And then I realized... that was what we were going to be doing.
I was terrified. I started praying, asking the Lord for peace.
Through shaking hands and a thumping heart, I made it onto the boat and through the safety instructions. When we started to move, my heart skipped a beat and I thought I was going to die. And just then the thought was put into my mind that I had no need to fear. Our driver was well trained and knew exactly what he needed to do in order to keep us safe.
That ride turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life. It was so much fun!!

This is just another example of coming completely out of my comfort zone, where I have the most joyful, memorable and amazing experiences.

Queenstowns Gelato: Amazing!

The Rose Garden

L and P, world famous in New Zealand since ages ago : ) 

Zorbing!

(This is our version of Zorbing) : )

 The Luge

Hobbiton!

 Hamilton!

And to finish up our great adventure we stopped to get ice cream at Pokanos. So good!