Left Auckland on our way to Coromandel Pennisula

that's welcome in Maori


On the warf in Coromandel! this dryes at low tide. can only get here during high tide with dingy!We left on Wed Jan 5 and headed out to the islands . sure good to be back on the water and away from the dock! The kids met up with their new "Local "friends - JOsh, Daniel and Anderson and went to a movie over in Auckland City. they took the ferry together and got home after 11pm! It was a nice way to say goodbye.
Our first stop was Motuihe Island, very close to Auckland , we could still see the Skytower from here. It was nice to be on a beach again. and boy are the trees big!

We are now in the Coromandel area, Te Koura was our first anchorage, and it sure did rain!! So much like BC! We went ashore and had a walk around. Emma and Kyle were looking for fossils! Had a good time doing this they did. We met some locals from Auckland out on their summer holidays. We have lots of boat around us , but they are all locals, - Oh where , oh where are the Cruisers? Funny not to see anyone we know.
We are currently anchored in Coromadel Harbour , very beautiful and so much like Desolation Sound without all the trees - lots of land and hillside, mountainous but very little trees. The sheep and cows have taken over! But its still green!!

around the Warf area in Coromandel. these are everywherewe found another use for a skateboard park! wore the kids out, and they had a blast!
yep that's our boat through the branches!
Kyle and Emma looking for fossils! Emma found a shell in a rock and was excited!
The Tremblay kids on land!! beautiful around here
This is the fish!!Kyle caught 3 STeve 2 and boy they taste.
Emma's first ever fish she caught! very happy girl
Big trees and I love my trees!!
Big trees here!! Steve looks small
this was on the otherside of the island ( not a big island) look just past the sign and you will see the bird. very orange beak and so cool to see it nesting!
our first beach landing since Tonga - Motuihe Island!
the last farwell with the new buddies. Anderson, Mia, Maya, Emma ,Lucas and Kyle ( Josh and Daniel just missed the photo) sitting in the marina lounge - kids spent a lot of time up here, tv, and computers. There are 5 so everyone could go on at once! Kyle really utilized this!

Rotorua continues some more

Kyle and Emilie , "last night together" they are a good match. Here are a few more photos, got these from Nathalie - the kids lucked out in the house - it had 7 beds in one room, so they had a camp like sleep over. Kyle, Maya and Emma got the bunkbeds and loved it.this is by the lake where we stayed , just thought it was so pretty!

Once we got back to the marina , our kids went and found their new friends - the ones 2 posts ago...... they hung out playing all kinds of games on the grass field and were outside until 10:30 pm! The next day ( yesterday) the kids came down again and off they all went to have some fun. There is even a little girl named Mia ( she's 6) who Emma played barbies with all afternoon.

Later on we left to go to New Paiges for dinner and the kids played with Paige. we had a fantastic dinner there and left at 11:30pm!! that was a late night for us! today have been updating everything - as we leave tomorrow off the dock and head to anchor in the Coromandel area. hoping to have internet but not sure. I have been lucky so far and trust I will find internet again.Maya on her bed! she even went and picked flowers to have beside her on the end table- she is reading the 2nd book of the Twilight Series " New Moon" she desperately wants the next ones. she loves the series even more than Tamora Pierce ones. She went to see the movie "Twilight" with Paige just after Christmas

Oh our Emma, she is such a ham. She got the top bunk! Nathalie was so good at getting these photos. See the room layout. such a treat to have all the beds in the same room- Kyle and Emilie are on the top bunk , Alex in the far back , Jocelyn in front of him and Jenny in the very front. Emilie had the bottom bunk under Kyle.
and the other side. Maya and Emma in the bunks. The basement sure had a musty damp smell, we never have that on our boat. Their was even a kitchenette for the kids just around the corner. they made and drank lots of tea and even took their meals down there - just like camp!Aren't they a cute couple! First love is always remembered. Emilie is sweet heart!
We saw 2 of these black swans , I just love them
the cool 4 some! These guys get along so well! this was at the sheep show just before it started
one of the many types of sheep in New Zealand. funny looking , eh?!and here is the sheep shearer, boy was he fast!



such a farmer am I ., had a good time feeding the animals.this is the wool machine , making it all together. reminds me of a spider web

Well that's the end of a chapter. we leave tomorrow for the Coromandell - all by ourselves, such a change. we will meet up with Dorothy Marie in the near future. and who knows what lies ahead .................................. I am filled with emotion as I look at the pictures of the last couple of days, Change is eminent . This goodbye was as big as the goodbyes on our dock in Spruce Harbour. An inspiration to head to Florida one day once we are back. They are good people.
so strange to have all the cruisers spread out. Most of them are in Whangerai. we should meet up with some of them again. Others have gone home for 6 months - lots of goodbyes.

More Rotorua

here are the continuation of the road trip to Rotorua. Here's more of the Geothermal Park. We stopped in the town center before heading back to the house at a bar - Pig and Whistle. Steve's friend Neall knows the owner but unfortuneatly he was not in that day. Cool bar though.
the last group photo!! right out front of the bar Natali has the one with me in it.

On the Sunday we all went up Mt Ngongotaha via the gondola to "Luge"! and boy was that fun!! we need one of those at home. This one was the first built in the world - its a gravity ride on a 3 wheel cart using a unique breaking and steering system. (pull back the handle bars to stop! - ) We all had blast and will do this thing again! Gorgeous view of Lake Rotorua from the top also.
After that it was our final lunch together, lots of tears and hugs - especially for Emilie ( Kyle just goes very quiet), Nathalie, Maya, and me. then we were off ...... hope to see O'Vive again some day. It was a great way to end our cruising time together. I miss them already
the tremblay family "LUGERS"

go Maya go! she had a blast and is a good Luger
Steve and I took turn with Emma with us then she went on her own, ever rode the chairlift up by herself! Kyle was the racing King although I almost passed him once. I surprised Dave with the speed I would go! Would have won, but didn't want to bump into Jocelyn. Steve, Dave, Jay, Kyle and myself were all racing! too fun!!!Jay's mom gave all the kids the " official Luger Certificate -"SPEED DEMON" they all had a great time.
by by boys!

Orca III stopped at a Kiwi Encounter and really enjoyed learning all about the kiwi, and seeing them live in their own habitat. The kiwi encounter is a rehabilitation and rescue place. The kiwi is struggling out there as introduced animals like the stout and possum are destroying the eggs and babies. by the way did you know the kiwi is from the same family as the ostrich and emu? wow , eh! also that the kiwi lays the largest egg in porportion to its body. almost the size of an ostrich egg. half the size of its own body!! very amazing!

At the end of the thermal walk - it takes about 2 hrs to walk the whole park!
this is called Oyster Pool - a natural sulphurous pool! looks like and oyster,hence the name
Devils Bath! a large ruggedly edged crater. its natural water colour is the result of excess water from the Champagne pool mixing with sulphur and ferrus salts. its changes colour through green to yellow with the amout of reflected light and cloud cover.
this is the edge of the Champagne pool (see picuters in previous posting) which is the largest spring in the district. the bubbles are due to carbon dioxide. The pool was formed 700 years ago by a hydorthermal eruption. minerals contained in the water are gold, silver, mercury , suphur ,arsenic ( tried to get some but no go - haha) thallium, antimony.
the boiling mud! this is really cool, actually its hot, just ask Kyle cause he had some of the mud shoot up and land on his leg! its boiling all over the place......... making new little mud islands everywhere. we really liked this part the best!

this one got Kyle!
this is the house we shared for the 3 days. very big and lots of room. they even had 2 peacocks in a pen. Emma loved to go out there to see them. she has a few feathers also. that is Emma and Nathalie with Jay's mom ( Laura by the car) getting ready to go to the luge!

Road trip to Rotorua , Agredome and the Waip -O-Tapu geothermal park!

here is a start to our trip, I have a lot of pictures to load and the internet is being slow, we had a fun 3 last days with O'Vive and Malachi. O'vive will be going back to Florida end of January. and they are off touring the rest of New Zealand until then, so we won't be seen them again. Very sad especially for Kyle and Emilie....... Malachi, we may see again here, and back in Canada.
We shared a house for 3 days, and had a good time!! boy we did a lot of stuff.

Enjoy these photos of our road trip - to be continued ..................

in front of " Champange Pool" very stinky and warm here! smells like sulphur, cause it's everywhere!
this is algae on the trees, only its brown from all the thermal activity
Champange pool from a distance, look at all that steam!! this is a don't touch spot!


lots of craters everywhere! here she is the Lady Knox gyser and she shoots about 20 meters! this was way cool, the parks people help it go off at a regular time ( 10:15 am) by adding plain old soap - this was discovered by some prisoners who had planted all the trees here. they new the water was warm and decided to wash their clothes with soap and bomb she exploded !! the surface water is cold and the bottom water is hot, the soap helps to displace the water so it can release. the gyser goes off naturally every 12-36 hrs , thats why the parks people help it along , so we can see it. otherwise,its a hit and miss thing. very cool!
the next day , we tremblays set off to the geothermal area- here the kids are in front of the Lady Knox Gyser..... it goes off soon!
the sheep show! they showed us all these different types of sheep and even sheared one for us ! we were amazed at how many different sheep there are !! some of them have the longest hair. after they brought out the sheep dogs and did a show with them hearding ducks!! very well done. the dogs can even jump on the backs of the sheep and sit there. ( my picture didn't turn out but will find one to put in here) we loved this show!
steve and the baby lambs! they were so very cute!! I think they like him!
nice one of me, eh!? we had fun on the farm tour after we went to a sheep show!
this one is for you mom, The Ram! lots of animals here and the kids had a blast feeding them all
Emma feeding all the animals at the Agredome..
Maya is picking a kiwi off of the vine.... cool never new they grew this way, thought it was a tree
our chariot for touring the farm. getting close to the last day for the kids to hang out.
in the wool shop, there was a wool machine over 100 years old! and they still use it! they ran it to show us how it makes the wool stretched and thinned. really cool.