Northland: Part 3 - Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands was our next stop.  We explored the bay on a little boat and were able to go through the Hole in the Rock.  It was exciting because for the past couple of days the weather had made that impossible.  We also saw a dolphin and seals. 

 

We stayed at a hotel on the river, from our balcony we could see Haruru Falls.  There was a campground attached to the hotel and it had a great playground and some beautiful flowers.

The next morning we did a few more things in the area before driving back to the airport.  

Hundertwasser Public Toilets

 Kawiti Glow Worm Caves

We were able to see some great formations and some beautiful glowing bugs.  The bugs aren't pretty but the effect they produce is.

Carlucci Land

Carlucci Land is a place with strange sculptures made out of scrap metal.  It also has a miniature golf course.  The golf course has a lot of holes that have metal tracks that entertained us.  After our game, the boys and I wandered along a path of sculptures.  Fun times!

Gymnastics

This term we tried something new, gymnastics.  Sabrina had a toddler day class.  Hyrum and Wendy were in gymnastics.  Eric and Zachary participated in a free running class, sort of like parkour.  They all seemed to enjoy it and even wanted to continue this term.

 The younger kids earn badges for what they learn.  All three got Badges 1 and 2 for this term.

 

Term 3: School Events

Noho Marae

Eric, Wendy and Hyrum had the opportunity to attend a Noho Marae or an overnight trip to a Maori sight to learn about Maori culture.  It was a great experience.  Sabrina and I were lucky enough to attend as helpers both days, although we did not spend the night.

The Marae.  It was beautifully carved. 

Mealtimes were hectic, but fun.

We had a few mini classes.  The kids are demonstrating their skills with a poi.

Here the kids are coloring a picture of a Taniwha, or sea monster.  They also learned how to draw one and acted out a legend about how Wellington Harbor was made, it involved two Taniwha.

Learning Expo

At the end of each term the kids have a learning expo where we can see what they have been doing.  This term Eric and Wendy made games.  Eric's was a battleship type game dealing with pollution.  Wendy's was a game encouraging us not to smoke.  Hyrum's hub did projects based on friendship.  He built a friendship train that had papers for people to write nice things about others.

Birthday Party

Zachary had a great birthday party.  He invited Lukas and Lachlan (on the left) from school, Josh, Sam and Ethan (in the center) from church, and Eric from family.  They tried their hand at go cart racing.  They all had a few crashes into the tires, but it was successful.  They then did laser tag which was also a hit.  Happy Birthday again Zachary!!

 

Titahi Bay and Sabrina

Sabrina and I used a beautiful afternoon to visit the beach.  She had a great time gathering and organizing rocks.  It was an afternoon well spent.

Happy Birthday, Zachary!!

This Young Man turned 12.  That means he truly is in YM's which is a bit hard for me to grasp.  Zachary had a low key birthday, but has plans to race Go-Karts with some of his friends to celebrate in the next week.  

Zachary received the priesthood on his birthday which fell on a Sunday.  It was wonderful to see him prepare himself for such a big thing.  

We love having Zachary in our family.  He loves his siblings and has a huge heart.  He desires to choose the right.  We have had some deep conversations and it is a joy to discuss what he is reading, most of the time multiple books at the same time.