A couple of weekends ago we ventured out for a two night holiday with just the five of us to a place on the North Island called the Coromandel. We weren’t able to leave till after dinner which meant we were driving in the dark for a few hours to reach our destination. The two lane road was continuously tortuous and soon my youngest was complaining of feeling hot followed by a panicked “mom, I think I’m going to be sick.” We pulled off for several minutes, lucky to escape a messy episode. Soon after, Charles had to use the toilet. Just pull off at a gas station you might say, except that’s not really as much of a thing here probably because so many places are remote. Fortune found us as we saw a sign for toilets up ahead and there on the side of the road by itself was one 24-hour toilet. Didn’t know that was a thing here but glad it is. We reached our destination tired but without having to eye any stomach contents. I decided for this trip to try out a budget stay in a Top10 Holiday park. These holiday parks are all around NZ and seem to be part of many a Kiwi family’s holiday experience so I thought we would give it a go. Our room was just big enough for the 5 of us to sleep in- a double bed and 3 bunks and we supplied our own bedding. The shared communal toilets and showers were on the other side of the facility a short walk away and there was also a shared kitchen and dining area.

Some poor planning on my part meant that there wasn’t much to see the next day near where we were staying. So at the last minute we booked a glass bottom boat tour on the other side of the peninsula at Whitianga, an hour away. This meant traversing many more winding roads where it was hard to go much faster than 50km/hr yet the speed limit signs still read 100. I really enjoyed the boat tour and Cathedral cove- pics and highlights below. The area is a long-standing marine sanctuary so there were lots of fish to view through the glass bottom of our boat. So cool! Not far from the boat tour, I had read about a place called Hot Water Beach- where the geothermal heat lies just beneath the shore so people can dig in the sand creating their own self-made hot tubs. This can only be done two hours each side of low tide and unfortunately for us, the low tide was set to occur at 9pm. This meant another late night. We would be driving back over an hour to our place on the winding roads in the dark again. I was pretty anxious- would this turn out to be a flop? Would even be able to find the beach and figure out what to do? Would it be too cold at 50 degrees F? etc. But at least three of us were excited (majority rules) so we decided to hang around till after dinner. At 7pm, in the winter darkness, we followed our GPS and later some inconspicuous signs to Hot Water Beach where we found an unpretentious area with a nearly empty parking lot and a building of toilets and changing rooms. We put on our togs (aka bathing suits) and then without a soul in sight and only the light of one phone to light the way, we carried our shovel and towels down to the beach. One website mentioned we were supposed to dig near some large rocks but we couldn’t see anything in the dark, could only hear the ocean some ways ahead of us. Luckily there were some lights from people about 100 yards to the left of us so we headed in that direction hoping for the best. There, to my relief, we stumbled upon a few other people with the same intentions as us, including a couple relaxing in their shallow sandy hot tub. They reassured us of our plan. We could feel the hot spots in the sand beneath our feet and had a sense of where the heat was coming from. We picked a spot a few feet away and started digging, well Danny started digging with us intently watching and holding the phone so he could see. The kids were eager to get warm and so jumped in once it was a few inches deep. After 10-15min more of digging, we were all laying down, side by side, half submerged. The water was nice and warm and treasured with the cool air around us. With eyes on the blanket of stars above us, listening to the gentle rhythm of waves against the shore, we all marveled at the absurdity of the experience and soaked it in for an hour or so. While we were there, a few others with shovels in hand came, digging a spot of their own, although the darkness obscured our vision and it was easy to forget that we weren’t alone out there. 

The next day, we checked out Driving Creek Railway and a trail to see Kauri trees. Driving Creek Railway is “New Zealand’s only mountain railway” but didn’t begin as a tourism venture. It was born from one man’s interest in pottery, railways, and conservationism. Barry Brickell was a potter who bought the property in 1961 and originally constructed the railway to transport clay and wood to fire his kiln. His enthusiasm led him to make the railway longer and longer, using rail switchbacks to climb elevations, and constructing tunnels and bridges until he was essentially broke. He then opened up his hobby to tourists as a means of being able to continue his passions. Also, with the help of others, he planted thousands and thousands of native trees on his property. So the attraction is now an hour and 15min ride on the railway surrounded by regenerated native forests, passing unique artistic displays (retaining walls made of glass bottles) and pottery, to the “Eyeful Tower” platform with a beautiful view of the Coromandel. After this, the kids weren’t really interested in more sightseeing but begrudgingly accompanied me on a short walk to see some ancient native Kauri trees. These trees are some of the oldest and largest in the world and unfortunately were nearly cleared away entirely when they were discovered by the settlers to be an excellent source of lumbar and money. At one point in New Zealand history, they were the backbone of its economy. The ones we saw were fully grown and approximately 600 years old. I love ancient giant trees. 

All this exploring coincided with the start of some stressful unfortunate events. My Dad, who had recently gone camping and gotten bitten by some ticks, became quite ill and was hospitalized for a few days. The tests have not been able to identify what tick borne illness he had but testing did show that he also contracted alpha gal syndrome. Alpha gal is something my family has joked about in the past. The idea of suddenly becoming allergic to meat (specifically mammalian meat products including dairy) from a tick bite seemed too far fetched to actually happen. My Dad is thankfully doing better now and we hope the allergy isn’t permanent. My advice to you Americans hiking or camping- invest in DEET.

Also, let me say, I HATE car trouble. I think it’s because I worry my ignorance about cars will cost us a lot of money (and maybe my pride). Right before we left the Coromandel to drive home, my car oil light indicated we were low on oil. This is the second time it has happened. A trip to the mechanic suggested a major engine problem. You may recall an early post where I worried we had bought a lemon. Well suddenly I saw my fears coming to fruition. On the flip side, I had the chance to test the consumer protection act and the promise made by “New Zealand Cheap Cars” that they would fix any major problems during our 6 month stay. I had to give myself a pep talk before calling them but when I called, I didn’t need to argue with anyone. I was relieved when I was quickly directed to a simple online claim form. I was told to bring my car to a different mechanic who noted damage to the oil reservoir and suggested I had hit something. I was worried the repair wouldn’t be covered. In the meantime, I had the humbling experience of driving a courtesy car. Again my preconceived American notions failed me when the mechanic shop gave me a 1997 Nissan Sedan to drive, complete with dilapidated paint, rust, and squeaky windshield wipers. Junk courtesy cars are a thing here. I oscillated between cringing and laughing at myself. I was so happy to get my car back after two days and the repair was done free of charge without any back and forth. Fingers crossed the problem is fixed.

While worried about my dad and my car, I had kids’ health problems arise. Maria had her fracture clinic appointment and got cleared to return to activity without the sling. Yay! Then Charles came home limping the following Friday afternoon with a red-hot swollen ankle without any known injury. He had some non-healing sores near the ankle that I surmised may have led to an infection but whether the infection was confined to his skin or had entered his joint was worrisome. I knew a joint infection meant a hospital stay and IV antibiotics. Getting an opinion/treatment from a doctor on a Friday afternoon seemed likely to mean a long wait at urgent care. I texted a friend down the road whose husband is a GP asking for advice and luckily her husband was able to see him right away and start oral antibiotics which has cleared the infection. A few days after this, in the early afternoon, I got a call from the school. Again, I missed the call and again, I worried one of my kids was sick or injured. Surely not injured, that would be too unlucky. But as fate would have it, Audrey had fallen off the monkey bars and hurt her wrist. I was reluctant to believe she could have broken a bone right after her sister and tried to reassure myself when she was still able to play piano. Also, there wasn’t much swelling or deformity. But Danny and I needed more reassurance, so after dinner we set out for urgent care. Unfortunately, they were at capacity and turned us away, so we made the trip again the next morning. I was not expecting the doctor to tell us that it was indeed fractured- distal radius. I nearly laughed out loud at the irony, the chances of two of my kids fracturing a bone nearly the same way weeks apart from each other. Charles, stay away from the monkey bars! The biggest potential consequence of this is that she may not be able to go on the ski trip we have planned next month. We have an appointment with the same fracture doctor Maria saw tomorrow. 

Those are just some of the things that have piled up causing stress for us these past two weeks. But we are all doing well. I am thankful that even though we are far from family and friends at home, we have had support from new friends here in New Zealand- from getting us into the clinic at closing, to listening to me complain, to praying for me. Now if I could only go back to snuggling down in the sand of a heated ocean bath, letting the earth warm me, and watching the heavens above.