Playgrounds and Hot Tubs

This post covers the three weekends following break in late April/ early May. Raglan was the first trip. I once again saved the day with my ability to drive a manual car. Since I was driving the whole weekend, Cassie, Alyssa, and Emily started calling me "Papa Henry" and a new nickname was born. Known as the surfing capital of NZ, I think we spent more time on the playground than the beach. Some things you never grow out of.

Kevin enjoying the playground too much

On the way back, we made a short stop in Hamilton for lunch and to visit the gardens. The gardens are very elaborate, with several themed sections.

This one was Renaissance or Roman possibly?

The next weekend was my first in months without major traveling. I went to an afternoon rugby match on Saturday with Colleen (who also plays rugby at home), and Margaux. After the game it was more time on the swings. A little girl told me I was acting like a girl because I was on the swing. Very defined gender roles on the playground apparently.

Colleen scaring the children

But I couldn't stay in Auckland for two weekends in a row. It was time for another tramp, this one near Napier on the east coast. I use near in a very loose way. The beginning of the trail was nearly an hour drive from Napier down a winding country road. Eventually the road becomes gravel and we had to ford a creek in our rental car (don't tell the rental company).





The tramp was nice. Not as spectacular landscape as others, but the amenities made up for this somewhat. They have diverted the flow of a natural hot spring to create some wilderness hot tubs. It was perfect after a day of hiking and my legs felt very relaxed for a few minutes (then we started walking again). What look like small stones behind Joe in this picture, are actually many faces shaped into rock. I guess the minerals or something from the hot springs makes it very soft.
The second day of the tramp we tried taking a different way back. Near the summit of the mountain we were on, the land got bare and the weather got extremely windy. I would guess the winds gusted to 60MPH at least. The footing wasn't great and Andrea didn't even have hiking boots, so we decided it was best to turn back. We went to a nice restaurant in Napier after the tramp and proceeded to massacre many pizzas.