Our First Kiwi Christmas

We had such a wonderful Christmas...I don't even know where to begin! Tyler's family arrived on December 20th and it was a very eventful two weeks. The weather was amazing. 25 degrees and blue skies almost every day. We saw too many beaches to count, climbed mountains, saw waterfalls, walked through Hobbiton, went on bike rides, saw a Maori cultural show, went fishing, walked through forests, went bodysurfing and saw endless cows and sheep...just to name a few things! I think we tired everyone out with all the activities but who knows if they will ever be back - YOLO!

The first week they were here we stayed in New Plymouth and showed them around town and all the things we like to do around here for fun. The second week we rented a beach house in the Coromandel, which is on the East side of the North island and a popular Christmas vacation spot. The Coromandel was beautiful and the beaches were stunning! We will definitely plan to go there again before we leave NZ.

Here are some of our adventures...

Made it to the top of Paritutu Rock!

The climb down...nice view but a little steep. Good thing for the chain to hold onto!

Fun times at the beach :) (that's the rock we climbed!)

Tyler surprised the boys with a half day fishing trip on the ocean. I think it was the highlight of the trip for them. Even though one of the three amigos lost his cookies over the side of the boat...more than once! They caught a few dozen different types of fish, an octopus, a barracuda and saw a shark and sea lions. Fishing trip success! 

Dave pretty pleased with his catch!

Not bad boys!

Mount Damper Falls. Just one of many waterfalls we saw on the trip.

Family photo in front of Elephant Rock!

Beach stroll. Love the black sand beaches.

Just chillin'

Another family photo in front of Dawson Falls.

Dawson Falls.

Christmas makes siblings do crazy things...

Scary geothermal activity in Taupo.

One night we went to a Maori cultural dinner show in Rotorua. Leah being the loving sister she is, nominated Tyler to be the "Chief." Tyler was not amused but played along like a champ anyways (and I think he secretly enjoyed the attention). As part of his chief duties, he had to greet the actual Maori Chief of the village, other pretend chiefs who were nominated and the bus driver (pictured below). The Maori greeting consists of shaking hands while touching each other's noses twice. Although it was awkward and embarrassing for Tyler is was quite hilarious to all of us! The bus driver warned him not to go in for a kiss...poor Tyler! 

Aww!

Maori's doing their traditional war cry or dance, the Haka.

Tyler in the Maori village learning the Haka. Who knew he was so uncoordinated?!

We also visited Hobbiton in our travels, where the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were filmed. It was on Leah's bucket list and a non-negotiable stop on the trip! The scenery and attention to detail were amazing and the hobbit holes were oh-so-cute!

For the last five days of our trip we were in the Coromandel and basically were beach bums the whole  time, with a few walks thrown in for good measure. It was awesome. Our rental house was amazing and had a panoramic view to die for! We stayed in a tiny little town called Kuaotunu away from the crowds and most days only shared the beach with a few other people. It was definitely a great way to end the Christmas vacation.

The view from our rental house.

Tyler and his boogey board that he was obsessed with. He would ride it almost every day for hours!

The boys getting their boogey on.

Cathedral Cove beach.

One of the beautiful bays at Cathedral Cove.

One of our favourites - New Chums beach. Only accessible by walking in (30 mins each way) it was gorgeous.

And that wraps up our first Kiwi Christmas! I think we did an excellent job of making it a memorable one for everyone :) We loved having family come to visit and showing them around this beautiful country. Only two more weeks until our best friends arrive for more fun and adventure!