Skiing and Rotorua

This weekend we decided to head down to the mountain. The sun was shining and the forcast good. Gem, Mum, Dad and Si (bro) had been on the South Island for the past week and weren't landing till around 7pm, so James headed down to Hamilton after work, and after picking Si (bf) up from work at 9pm we headed down to National Park (ski village) we all arrived together late Fri eve. After a drink and a catch up we decided to head to bed ready to get up about 6 hours later to head to the mountain.

Saturday was a beautiful day with the sun beating down - true spring conditions. Unfortunately it seemed the whole of the North Island had the same idea to head down and catch the last of the snow and it was really busy. Still, a great day and nice to ski with my bro again and pick up a few technique tips. After skiing we headed to the pub where we stayed for most of the evening, after being suitably tanked we headed back to the bach for a few more drinks and some games before bed.

Sunday we decided to head to rotorua, as Si wanted to see a bit more of NZ with us. So we took him to Rotorua. 1st stop kerosene creek natural geothermal hot springs with a nice picnic. After that we headed to Te Puia, the see the famous geysers, bubbling mud pools and steaming vents. After Te Puia we headed to the Zorb center where they finally allowed 3 in a zorb again. I made the slightly regretted decision to get in with the 2 Si's. Dont think I came off worst though after seeing the cracking bruise on bro's chest. Next we headed to the agroadventure centre where we achieved our ultimate goal - getting mum do to the 49m swoop with the 2 boys! Not sure she really knew what she was getting herself into - you should have seen her face on the close ups - classic.

After the adventure thrill we headed back to Hamilton, stopping briefly in Tirau, the home of the corrugated iron (everything made out of corrugated iron, including a shops in the shape of a large shhep and a large dog - little bit nuts). Once back in Hamilton, we went for a quick walk around the lake before heading into town for an AMAZING meal at one of our favorite restaurants.

This morning I headed to work but Si, Si, Mum and Dad headed over to Raglan for the morning before they headed over to the East coast for some wine tasting.

Great weekend!