Pictures From Home

Rob and Robyn were kind enough to send us photos taken from our house. One or both of them is quite remarkable with the camera.

Seamus, the tree climbing canine

Last week the boys came screaming into the house, "dad, you gotta see Seamus, he climbs trees!" Yeah, right... He really does. Accordingly, the command seems to be, "Seamus, climb the tree". This dog is quite remarkable. I'm wondering if he'll respond to "Seamus, load the dishwasher." That would be helpful. We tried to download a digital video of the amazing Saemus climbing a tree but the footage

kept freezing the computer. We will download the video at another date. In the meantime, we are working on "Seamus, put the kettle on for tea."

Whakatane Fish Festival

Not to be outdone by Denmark, Whakatane has its own rotten smell. Just kidding. We passed ont the fish catching contests (sorry, van) but made it for the music. Here Penny enjoys a glass bottled diet coke while listening to some musician do a cover of Stink's "Every Breath You Take". Yes, the spelling was deliberate. Alden is happy being with mom. Drake bought his first CD.

Playground Photos

On our return ride home from Thermal viewing, the boys spotted a playground with unique tyre (hey, that's how they spell tire here!) swings and other structured fun. The spinning wheel toppled as it spun 'round and round. Notice officer safety standing to the right of the tyre swing. What a putz. I mentioned in an earlier blog, the playground structures we've seen thus far are catered more to the age rather than potential law suits.

Striking the Pose

What are you going to do? "Look honey, there's a waterfalls, let's take a family picture". Emotionally overwhelmed by the buried village, we accepted the guide maps suggestion for the fifteen minute hike to see the falls. We were not disappointed.

If We Dig It They Will Come

Billed as the Pompei of New Zealand, we visited the Buried Village, a remote place that served travelers on their way to the Pink and White Terraces (a wonder of the modern world), a series of step pools now covered by the volcanic erruption. Pictured here are Alden and Drake pumping the water pump in area created to give viewers an idea of what life was like. Hmn. We have to admit some disappointment with the village. Not sure what I was anticipating but...who can forget National Geographic's pictural depiction of Pompeii? Tough to follow up.

Dining Gluten Free

The family stopped in Rotorua at a kid friendly restaurant entitled "Capers". It was by far one of the best family dining experiences we've had since the Gluten diagnosis. Said Penny, "I'd eat here every meal if we lived closer." Great atmosphere. Friendly wait staff. Unique serving style. A "plethora" of menu choices. Good stuff. Pictured above is a delighted Marc about to embark on a delectable lunch.

The "Geezer"!

I know, I know, it's spelled Geyser but it's more fun and tormenting for me to call it The Geezer! Driving on the left side of the road is still anomaly for us so it was with genuine concern that I yelled at an elderly man attempting to cross in front of our van, "watch out you old geezer". Naturally, during our 90 minute drive to Wai-o-Tapu's Geyser, I couldn't help but emit every every few minutes..."x minutes until we see the Geezer". To which one of the boys would respond with growing irritation, "daaaaad, it's pronounced geyser". Drake had the quote of the day, and it was early. Just after the Geezer exploded, Drake turned to me and said, "okay, I saw it, can we go now"?

On the Boardwalk...

Here Penny and boys enjoy the view of the "Oyster Pool". A nice timber boardwalk allows hikers to walk along an unstable volcanic area.

Happy Campers

Ahh...thermal activity viewing on a sweltering summer day. Here the boys express their enthusiasm for the "Devil's Bath". A very cool pool of green water mixed with aromatic sulphur and solts. Reflective light and cloud cover change the pool's color from green to yellow!

Thermal Wonderlands

We visited Wai-O-Tapu which means sacred waters. Wai-O-Tapu is the largest area of surface thermal activity on the northern island. Here the boys and Penny look into the "Devil's Home", a collapsed crater. Apparently underground acid action creates the craters. We did wish that our visit was accompanied by at least one member of PA's fine Science Department to guide our tour. Most of the craters emitted fine rotten egg vapors!

Ishmael and company go spelunking

Here's a quick shot of the group as we begin our tour of the glow worms! No flashes were allowed in the caves so we were unable to capture the moment.

American Gothic Down Under

We a made family outing to the Waitomo Caves for glow-worm viewing. A nice thing about caves in NZ is that tennis rackets are not necessary. They don't have bats so we did not have to worry about rusty back hand maneuvers. Deep into the cave we climbed into a raft for a little jaunt through the cave. All around us were these tiny bright lights, sort of like the night skies on a clear night. Penny found the whole viewing rather romantic, admitting that she could see marriage proposals happening on such rides. We learned that worms were actually the larvae stage of a fly, i.e., MAGGOTS! Worse yet, when the worms, um maggots feed, they burn up the rest of what's not nutritional, thus creating a glow. So...as we looked up at night skies...or envisioned marriage proposals...glowing around us was perhaps maggot poop. Yipes. Regardless, the caving or spelunking was great fun!

Medieval Times minus the Moat

When were not riding the Zorb or watching sheep get sheared, we tend to just lay low and build sand castles on the beach. Why not? It's summer vacation here in Whakatane. School starts next month. Missing here is Penny. She was off finding the shells that decorate the finished design. Notice Alden and how proud he stands. No Rodin here.

Drake is a high Flyer!

No trip to Rotorua can be complete without a visit at the FreeFall Xtreme Body Flying. Alden, Drake and Marc took turns hovering above a rather large and powerful fan. Drake was able to do a few flips and turns. Alden flew briefly while Marc had his ups and downs. Penny lost the coin flip but photographed the event. Pictured here is Drake flying high!

ATTACK OF THE KILLER ZORB

New Zealand is big on X-game types of outdoor fun. You can see it on the playgrounds for early middle level aged kids. They have playground structures that include climbing walls, balancing wires and other components all designed around dexterity and agility. So it's no small wonder that one big amusement draw is The Zorb. It's this big ball with a smaller one inside. The smaller vessel has water. Zorbers are transported by van up a rather large hill to a platform from which the Zorb is launched. Zorbers jump inside the smaller ball (wearing bathing suits) and given the signal, push to the front, whereby the Zorb begins its descent. It's quite a rollicking ride. Not for the faint of heart. Just when you start to get the "spins", the ride thankfully ends! Marc, Drake and Alden Zorbed while Penny photographed. Pictured here are our victorious Zorbers as well as their run down the hill.

Sheepish Grins

Tuesday the family took a winding route 30 to the tourist town of Rotorua, that's an 80+KL drive for us, our longest car trip thus far. Key destinations included the Agrodome! That's right. Agriculture. Sheep. Sheep and Sheep dogs. A big highlight of the day was a staged demonstration of the worlds finest sheep. Before our very eyes, a dozen good looking sheep were paraded on stage for our perusal and awe. We watched one lucky lamb get taken to the sheers, quite a sight. Alden brought home some refuge. Drake opted for a toy sheep at the gift shop. The Sheep dogs were a real hit with the boys. Responding to specific calls by their trainer, they herded and raced over the top of their livestock. Quite something. Marc talked one of the stars into posing with him and Alden. Lucky mates aye?

Cricket Anyone?

Aye? I sent that would be bowler packing, I did. He tried to bounce a throw past me to the wickets, mind you, I took issue with that mate. The sport is big down here, really big. Sports pages are dominated by pictures and various disputes. I have not been to a Cricket match yet but I am much more interested in checking one out, particulary one that has a limit for turns atbat. Drake has played the sport before, it seems our Elementary PE program in Morrisville, Vt offers a unit on Cricket. Imagine my surprise when he started to explain the rules.

Family Photo

Friends from Hawke's Bay, NZ came to visit for five days. They are Emily and Andrew with their two boys Finn and Rowan. Emily is a professional colleague and friend of Penny, by week's end we were all good friends as evidenced by Andrew's calm response when I accidently reformated his MP-3 player thereby erasing everything he had on it, the boys were "thick as theives" running around like little Tom Sawyers and returning home full of mud and grins. Andrew and Emily were great companions, helping us with Kiwi customs and mores. I particulary enjoyed "smoko" (tea time break) and getting the difference between "Tea and dinner", there isn't one.

Pohutukawa Tree People

Pohutukawas Trees are native to this land and actually serve as Christmas Trees. The ones pictured here are past bloom and might too sized for your living room! Though the picture below does not quite capture their massive stature and plethora of branches for tree climbing, you can see from the proud faces of the Ducharme boys that they are quite pleased to be in the tree. On the top is Drake with Finn (friend visiting from Hawke's Bay-more on him later) showing some of the tree's girth and size.

Penny Runs the Table

What started out as a fun game of pool ended in humiliation as "hustler" Penster ran the table sending her opponents to bed for some broken slumber.

Snappy Girl

Penny went fishing off Whale Island here in Whakatane. Among the many fish caught by the master angler was this fine looking Snapper that later looked even better at the Tea Table (supper)

The Roundabout

Pictured here is a "roundabout". They don't have intersections here. It's really cool, you can completely reverse your direction without waiting through lights etc. The only tricky part for us to remember is that we have to "give way" to the person on our right before entering the roundabout.

Swimming along Ohope Beaches

There are no private beaches in Whakatane, not sure about all of NZ. Temperature of the water does not make your ankles ache like the Atlantic though not as spa like the St Pete people enjoy via the gulf.

Pakeha?

No these white boys are not native Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent) but they certainly provided a glow on the beach-their dad leading the way in the water. All of the beaches here are open to the public and given that there's a plethera to choose from, there's no such thing as a crowded beach. The boys inherited this hole and continued digging and fortifying until one got sand in his eyes and the other...you get the picture.

A Boy and His Dog

Drake is sitting with Shamus. He's a sparkplug of an Irish Terrier with many tricks up his sleeves. He'll fetch a cricket ball until your arms falls off, he walks on two legs for "treats", talks for more of the same, does the "roll over and play dead thing" but most of all runs around all day. Best of all, though he soaks up human attention, he prefers the outdoors where he saunters around like he owns the place! Shamus is staying with us while we are in Whakatane. He belongs to the Rutherfords (currently staying in Morrisville) and is well cared for.

Life Imitates Art

There's this great moment in Charlie Chaplin's film, Modern Times where The Tramp in a fantasy dream sequence reaches his hand out his kitchen window and plucks a ripe orange for breakfast. Here I am reaching for an orange on our property. There's also grapefruit trees and herb gardens. Obviously a different growing season than Vermont.