Once again it is time to say goodbye to another amazing country. We underestimated how attached we would get to each place and how hard it would be to leave. Here is a quote that speaks to this it says, “What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two: melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land.” – Che Guevara. We knew coming in that New Zealand was going to be a beautiful country, but that doesn’t seem to do it justice. We loved everything about it, from the ocean, beaches and rolling green hills of the north to the lakes, snow capped mountains and fjords of the south. The people were incredibly nice and welcoming. Here are some of our favorite things we did on our final days and some things we really liked about New Zealand in general.

When we asked the boys their favorite thing in New Zealand, they didn’t pick some iconic landmark or spectacular scenery. They picked the trampoline at our Airbnb! They spent hours upon hours jumping on it. It was really great for Cooper’s endurance and coordination.

One thing we noticed in New Zealand is that lots of people go barefoot. From kids at the park to grown ups shopping at the grocery store. We are not sure of the exact reason why. We have heard it is to feel connected to their Maori ancestors and mother earth. Or just a feeling of freedom that comes by not wearing shoes. Whatever the reason it was interesting to see and we thought it was cool. Our kids even wanted to join in and go barefoot as much as possible.

Even though they lost to England in the Semi finals, it was awesome to watch the All blacks play in the Rugby World Cup. We tried as best we could to learn some of the rules and to follow along. Rugby is the number one sport in New Zealand. They sure do love their All Blacks. It was fun to see the pride the country had in their team.

We touched on the regional parks in another post, but we spent more time in our last 10 days at Shakespeare Regional Park as well as Wenderholm Regional Park. At Wenderholm, we went on a long hike up a giant hill through the woods. We were rewarded with a stunning view looking out over the ocean after climbing up hundreds of stairs. The parks are all free and are huge. You can camp at each one for a minimal fee. Next time we would love to rent an RV and drive around the county staying in the parks. We made a promise with our kids to come back in 10 years. The pact was mainly because Mason wants to drive a luge car by himself when he is older.

Of course we had to spend some more time at all the beaches in the area. Some of our favorites were Big Manly, Little Manly, Orewa, Stanmore Bay and Wenderholm.

We went to the Stanmore Bay pool several more times. On our last full day the kids got to plan out the day. Their first pick for the day was to go to the pool. They had a inflatable obstacle course in the water that day for the kids to play with. It was such a wonderful place for kids to go and swim for free.

Another thing we thought was really cool about New Zealand was the infusion of Maori culture. Maori people are the Eastern Polynesian people that are native to New Zealand. Although the language was almost completely extinct, new revitalization programs have increased the popularity of the language. We noticed much of the signage around the country is in both languages and the national anthem now includes both languages. There are many children’s books in the Maori language. Many people also refer to the country of New Zealand as Aotearoa and you can see many tee shirts and merchandise with “Aotearoa” on them .

We enjoyed a day at the Museum of Transportation and Technology (MOTAT). It was an huge museum with different buildings housing different displays. Our favorite was the airplane hanger. It was full of all types of really cool airplanes. They had world war planes, biplanes and even giant seaplanes. We took a trolley ride from the airplane exhibit to see the rest of the buildings. There we saw different types of trolleys; classic cars and old technology like rotary phones, VHS, and old video games. It is a very unique place and worth it the time if your in Auckland.

We absolutely loved our Airbnb and our hosts. It was so fun getting to know the family and their animals during our month stay in their guest house. Thanks again for everything!

Good bye for now New Zealand, or as the Maori say “Hei konā rā”.