It’s all Picnics and Rainbows!

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Sunday was our last full day up north so over breakfast we got out the map and planned a rout that would encompass as many highlights as possible. We hit up the Kauri Tree Shop and admired the craft and artistry of all the hopelessly expensive carvings and then drove to Kerikeri to see The Stone Store which is the oldest stone building in New Zealand. It really shows what a young country this is when you realize that the oldest building was built between 1832 and 1836. I had neighbors growing up who lived in houses older than that!

Kerikeri was a beautiful old historic town with a river running right through the center. Across from The Stone Store kids were leaping of the wharf into the water, families were picnicking under shady trees, and the river was chock-full of sunbathers hobbling over slippery rocks. Fern and I had our own picnic up the hill from the river by a little old chapel. We still had leftover road trip snacks in the car so we ate the last of the good bread with peanut butter before it all went moldy. From the bottom of the hill I could hear people singing happy birthday. It seemed like such a perfect place for family parties and gatherings that I wished I could surround myself with my own. hmmm…

Our final destination of the day was to The Rainbow Falls Reserve. I specifically wanted to go here because it was a “camp name in the wild”! (anytime we come across a name of a street, shop, ect that is also a camp name we like to call it a “camp name in the wild” and if at all possible take a picture of it). So if you’re reading this Roy (aka Rainbow), this was in honor of you!

Rainbow falls was as beautiful as is sounds and Fern and I were determined to go for a swim! Not having brought my swimsuit on today’s excursion I was back in the familiar predicament of having to modestly plunk n’ dunk in my underwear. There weren’t too many other people around though and they all seemed to be in similar situations anyway so it was okay. The water at the bottom of the waterfall was deep enough to jump into and you could spelunk into the cave-like area behind it. I tried to swim right under it too but the water was falling with quite a lot of pressure and I decided breathing sounded more appealing.

We headed home relatively early wrapped in our sopping wet towels to pack and get a good night’s sleep before our bright and early drive home the next morning.

-the next morning-

The drive home was made up of many less stops than the ride there. We did stop at a wool store though but just because the sheep out front were painted pink. We also stopped for ice cream. We really are ice cream junkies, aren’t we?

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