Fabulous February

My mom and sister arrived on a beautiful sunny Wellington day, and today, three weeks later, they had another beautiful day for traveling back to Canada. The day after they arrived, however, they got to see a true Southerly sweep in with cold temperatures and gusty wind and rain. I think they will believe me now when I say how cold it can be here, even in the summer months. After a few days of exploring around Wellington, the three of us took off for a week of driving around the middle/bottom of the North Island. We drove up to the Art Deco-filled city of Napier first, and took many breaks in the shade of beautiful big trees.

Then we drove to Taupo, where we stayed two nights. We explored the geothermal hotspots, hiked to a waterfall, swam and read by Lake Taupo, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

After Taupo, we visited Lake Rotopounamu (Roto = Lake, pounamu = green stone or jade) and also made a quick visit to the top of Mt Ruapehu. It is one of the active volcanoes in NZ, and in the winter months it is the North Island's busiest ski hill. The next day we took the "Forgotten Highway" - a beautiful drive on winding roads through green hills and farmland. We continued along the "Surf Highway" where Mt Taranaki (site of my disastrous boot explosion last year) sits on one side of the road and the ocean sits on the other. We stopped at various beaches to explore and snap pictures.
After our North Island trip, Mom and K spent a week on the South Island. They explored some of our favourite places, and found some neat spots that we have yet to visit. They came back in time for my birthday, which made it perhaps my most memorable birthday ever. I got to spend the day with my loved ones, who know me so well, and that is something I don't take for granted anymore!