For Christmas, we wanted to have a place for a few days and we chose Rotoruabecause of the shear number of activities available. On our way across , there was first the necessary stop at Hobbiton. It is the only permanent LOTR set and with the Hobbit coming out in December still in use.
Christmas eve dinner could not be turkey- we could not find one! So a roast chicken had to do, with the kids making strawberry shortcake for dessert. We tucked them in so that Santa could use reindeer GPS to find us. Using my compression socks and a tree out hosts set up we had a subdues Christmas morning with Cadbury chocolate, Kiwi card games and some New Zealand jewellery, but our main family gift was White water rafting.
As luck would have it, we were the only four on our excursion down the Rangatiki river, a level ¾ trip. Two guides and us had an amazing ride. Sunny and 22 degrees and the waters flowing more than normal. A couple of good drops, constant action and near the end river surfing- where they wedged our raft in a drop while water cascaded over us. Liam received the most of the roaring rapids in his lap. We warmed up in the afternoon with a trip to the Polynesian spa.
For Boxing Day, since the Hamilton ten-miler was a no go we drove to Mt. Maunganuifor the king and queen of the mountain run; and prince and princess run. Meaghan and Liam ran the junior race across the beach and halfway up the Mount and promptly warned me about my impending challenge. They did not exaggerate for at least a km of the uphill climb (273m in elevation) it was one foot in front of the other as I questioned my common sense. I did take time to take in the spectacular view from the summit across the Bay of Plenty. The downhill was mildly better and only took two-thirds of the time, but the last dash through soft sand was a final labour. Mission accomplished, but 10 miles in sub-zero conditions at home seems easier now.
We raced back to Rotorua for our dinner engagement. We took in a Maori show andHangi (ceremonial feast). Liam has become quite adept at performing a Haka (not just a pre-rugby chant) and he thoroughly enjoyed the village demonstrations and show. The dinner was cooked over steam vents and laid out in buffet style for the group. Our tour leader was quite entertaining as he explained the meaning ofKia Ora in 62 languages and taught the kids a new song- Here we go round the Maori bush.
The Christmas holiday in Rotorua was a complete change and absolutely incredible.
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