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Breakfast Elves!
Wake up call early to eggs & crumpets! The weather was wet and wild last night! The water collection system was well feed through the early hours of the night. After the rain let up, the wind came in and tested the resolve of the house's shutters. The scampering of feet echoed through the house under the cover of pre-dawn darkness. After it persisted, I decided to go downstairs and assess the damage. The kitchen presented a surprising scene - all three kids preparing a breakfast of eggs, toast and crumpets! I was outright shocked to see Ivy in the fray. This pleasant sight was followed by another. Upon heading outside to check out the view and undo the shutters, the wind had subsided and the stormy weather had given way to relatively calm skies. I hope it holds out!
Thanks to the breakfast elves, we got an early start and walked down to Russell to catch the ferry to Paihia. This was a nice 15 minute ride over a calm channel that is dotted with small lush islands. We had the ferry to ourselves and got over to Paihia and assessed some of the boat tour options. Having done a fair amount of sitting yesterday, we decided
Russell
This is on the quaint shoreline of Russell on the way to the passenger ferry. that something more active was probably a better option so we hit a grocery store for provisions and set out to hike to Haruru Falls. We walked about 2.5 kilometers along the shoreline to the falls trailhead which started adjacent to a golf course.
After traversing the golf course we got to a fenced in area with a turnstile entrance which Geddy immediately declared as the entrance to Jurassic Park. The area was cordoned off for the protection of the highly endangered Northern Brown Island Kiwi (there are actually four different species of these shy nocturnal flightless birds). As we embarked on the 5 kilometer tramp to the falls, we were immediately engulfed in the lush forest of giant ferns and pine trees. Theo was dragging a bit at the onset from the walk to the trail head so we told him that he and Geddy could go ahead on their own adventure. This immediately energized him and we told them to stop at any fork or bridge. And then they were gone. The hike was magical despite the threatening skies. Shortly after the boys left, we heard the sounds of what sounded like the chanting of a tribal
Ivy on the Ferry
We took the passenger ferry from Russell to Paihia before embarking on our hike. ceremony. The sound was guttural and exciting as it reverberated through the forest. I broke into a jog hoping to see what it was and where it was coming from...also hoping not to find Theo in the middle of it! The boys were already set up videotaping at an overlook. The sounds were coming from the below where a group of locals were paddling a canoe through the water, rowing in unison and chanting a beautiful yet threatening ballad.
The boys jetted off again. At the midway point we met up with them as there was a long boardwalk through the mangrove section of the trail. Here Ivy joined them and the three of them set off on a new adventure. We told them to stop at the 4 kilometer sign so we could check in. When we met them again, Geddy had a long stick with a flowing piece of dried moss. They were running through the thick forest trail on a Jurassic adventure.
When we made it to the falls we ran into another person. This is a major upside of travelling off-season. Yesterday we got a private boat tour around Goat Island, today the ferry
ride was just us and now we have a huge chunk of forest all to ourselves! We broke out our light lunch of cheese & crackers, dried fruits and nuts.
After lunch we presented the options to the kids of either hiking back down the 5 kilometer trail with another 2 kilos to walk back to the ferry, take a road down to the ferry which would only be a total of 5 kilometers or go to a nearby resort and see if we could catch a cab down to the ferry. Ivy summed it up best, "We are in New Zealand, I don't want to walk on a road. Let's take the trail back down!" And so it was. On the way down, Geddy & Ivy set off ahead. Theo was a trooper and made it down with minimal complaints. After taking the ferry back and walking up to the house, we figured we had walked about 10 miles. Kudos to all!
After dinner we were all pretty burned out. Ivy and I showed off a few "rain forest survival" videos that we made and Geddy showed us his Jurassic Park footage. We played a few games
Ivy hiking
On our way to Haruru Falls. and shut it down early. We'll see if the elves are out again in the morning or if they are sufficiently worn out to sleep in.
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Sarah
non-member comment
Wow! It looks really pretty and fun out there! I hope you all are having fun and you enjoy the rest of your trip!