Things to do and see in the Bay of Plenty

Sapphire Springs

Sapphire springs is a holiday park with awesome thermal pools. We go there every year and stay for the whole week, soaking and playing in the pools. There are two large spa pools under a wooden roof, a small shallow warm pool for toddlers, a warm medium sized pool that’s not to hot and not to cold, and a massive cooler pool with a metal slide and a jumping platform. This is your perfect summer vacation spot!

There’s even a shop at the main desk that sells ice blocks. So you can grab an ice block on your way to the pools, soak and play for a while then on your way back you can jump on the trampoline or play mini golf (for free). At the pools there’s a sheltered area with barbecues and tables, were you can cook dinner while the kids play on the small playground or in the pools. I definitely suggest visiting Sapphire springs.

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Tongaporutu/The Three Sisters

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The Three Sisters!

At the Tongaporutu reserve are stunning rock formations called the ‘Three Sisters’ and rightly so. The Three Sisters stand strong and tall looking out to sea, their green bushy hair rustling in the wind. This is another one of our yearly places to stay and play for the week. Dad always goes fishing here but somehow never ever catches anything😂.


Karangahake Windows Walk

Karangahake Gorge Windows Walk is in the heart of the old historic gold mining area in Waihi. An easy 2k round walk through exciting tunnels, and the amazing Karangahake Gorge. I would suggest bringing a torch with you to explore some of the darker tunnels. We went there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, then came back this year equipped with torch’s and explored those darker tunnels, we had lots of fun😊. It’s great walk to do with the family!

These are some of my favorite places in the North Island! I hope you found this helpful😁.

Love Dylan Daisy❤.

Things to do and see around Whitianga

At the moment we are in Whitianga, having a holiday with our auntie and uncle and their kids, the lovely Samantha (5) and Dominic (8). It has been pretty crazy as my bro’s get along very well with Dominic, I shall be deaf by the time we leave! Enjoy the new post❤.

Whitianga bike park

The Whitianga bike park is a great place to visit, if your into biking or not. It has many things to do, other than biking such as, Frisbee, hopscotch, volley ball, pétanque, walking tracks, and more. It’s a bit run down but still enjoyable!

Mum Woo-ta-whooping in the background😂.

Whitianga beach

Yellow sand⛱, clear blue ocean🌊, a light breeze = Summer☀. This is your perfect summer vacation spot! Whitianga is a town on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand. Whitianga was a timber port. Ships from Europe sailed in to Whitianga’s deep-water harbor to load up with valuable kauri. Today, the town depends on fishing, farming and tourism for its prosperity.

there’s that awful noise!😬😂

The Harbor House Cafe

If your looking for a quaint waterside cafe in Whitianga, The Harbor House Cafe is your place! With raw slices, large portions and friendly staff, it is a lovely cafe to visit for breakfast, lunch or brunch.

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I hope you found this new blog helpful, even though its a bit late😁.

Love Dylan Daisy❤.

Things to do and see around Auckland

At the moment we are in the Auckland area, so here are some cool things to do and see!

The popup globe theater

The beautiful set!🎭

We went to see Romeo and Juliet at the the pop up globe, it was incredible! I had never been to a Shakespeare play before, lots of people say Shakespeare is boring, this was anything but. the acting was amazing and inspiring and the set as you can see was breath taking. The only thing you want to avoid is being a groundling, they are at the very front but they are standing so unless you want to stand through two hours of Shakespeare then I suggest you pay the tiny bit more for a seat. The price ranges from $10 for groundlings to $500 for the fancy box’s at the top. This is definitely a must see! https://popupglobe.co.nz/

Rainbows End

The gateway to Rainbows End🌈!

Going to Rainbows End was super fun, as I had never been to a theme park before. We went on all the rides from the bumper cars/boats to the massive corkscrew roller coaster🎢! This is a place I would definitely not go to on the school holidays, as there would be massive queues. we had lots of fun, and I reckon its a must do!

Goat Island

Public holiday!

That in the above picture is goat island on Waitangi day. We just happened to accidentally end up there on a public holiday! We still went snorkeling in the beautiful water, and saw some gorgeous fish, but I’m sure that its a lot nicer when there isn’t tons of other people there😁. You can hire scuba gear there if you want to, and there is also glass bottom boat tours. Goat island/ Te Hāwere-a-Maki is a stunning Marine reserve in the Auckland region.

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A stunning picture of Te Hāwere-a-Maki

I hope you find my new post helpful!

Love Dylan Daisy❤

Stuff to do and see around Whananaki and Pihia

OK, as I said I’m changing up the blog a bit, so enjoy!

Whananaki

So recently we spent the week in Whananaki North Island, a really small cute town. Over the holidays the school turns into a campground, its a handy place to park when your exploring the Whananaki.

The longest foot bridge in NZ

 The unique structure of wooden piles was built in 1947 in order to enable children to travel to the local school. The bridge has an estimated length of 395m. You can cross the bridge than walk over to a beautiful golden sandy beach!

Whananaki cemetery

Imagine this; your walking across the misty estuary, the tide is out so the water only comes up to your ankles, you get to the other side of the estuary and there’s a sign pointing into the pine trees, ‘Cemetery’ it says. You look around for the path, Ah ha! you found it! It leads you through the forest, through the long grass, then just when you think it can’t be found, you push through that long cutty grass and before you lies a small 100 year old Cemetery.

Rainbow falls

Kerikeri Rainbow falls is one of our favorite summer spots, whether you want to hang out for the day, or stay the night, this is the place for you! You can also walk down to the stone store, the oldest store in New Zealand still running.

Beautiful pools and stunning falls!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new style of blog.

Lots of Love Dylan Daisy ❤

A change of focus

Hi! Dylan here, long time no see(or hear?).

As you will have noticed I have stopped writing my blog, I am sorry to say I have lost my passion for writing about my self and have decided to change the focus to ‘A New Zealand travel blog; Quirky cool To-dos, Must sees and People around NZ’.

I hope you enjoy this new Blog. I still have my old posts, so feel free to look back on them. From now on I will be posting once a week to keep you all satisfied😊.

Love Dylan❤

Winter in Motueka

After an awesome 7 month season on the road we spent a couple of weeks slowing down and getting back into school. We kissed goodbye to our 2018 shows by tossing the remains of our end of season flowers into the resurgence and remembering. We were already planing new shows for the coming season.

Then it was time to plan my birthday party. We hired the hall at riverside for a sleep over and silent disco. My whole class was invited. It was fabulously full of crazy games and yummy food!

 We quickly got into a settled routine of school, making up new Magic and Circus shows and training for them. Weekends were more training , bike rides and trips to the beach etc. Mum and Dad were busy preparing for the next season. Dad fixed my room which had been leaking, our rooms were re-floored, the inside of the truck painted and lots of other maintenance done.

A week in Golden bay during school holidays.

 

My class on talking statues night. I was Kathrine Hepburn.

Singing Mama Mia with my B.S.F (Best sister forever) Jasmine.

We moved into our friend Chrissy,s house for a couple of months which was fun as I got to share a room with my B.S.F Jasmine. Dallas and Jaz joined me at Steiner school for the 3rd term and loved it. This would be my last year at Steiner school. Our school play was fabulous as was our ski trip.

My class play “The ice throne” Big thanks to my wonderful teacher Margot!

Skiing at Rainbow with Zuva and Magot. I love skiing!

After a few months in one place we were all excited to get back on the road again. Mum and Dad had everything ready just in time. We had yet to do a full dress rehearsal of our Circus show but time was up.  Season 5 of the Extravaganza here we come!

 

Napier/ End of season party/Havelock North

The fair in Napier was cranking busy! We had our Traditional extravaganza Easter egg hunt. Big thanks to Yani and Terene who played Bunny!

For our end of season party we had a couple of dance instructors come and teach us to Salsa. It was very rowdy and chaotic but loads of fun.

The following week we chilled out at Hamoana beach, schooling and playing while Dad went hunting and got a couple of Stags including an 8 point Sika.

The Havelock north fair was also a good one and our last for the season. Excited to be heading to Motueka to Steiner school again❤ but sad to be leaving our Extravaganza family (love you all!) for the winter 😥.  Mum and Dad “surprised” us with flowers and trophy’s for performing a seasons worth of shows which for me totals up to over 160 shows not including our daily fire show! Thanks Mum and Dad I love performing with you guys, it means so much to me. Well done Dallas and Jaz, you boys did so well this season. I am looking forwards to performing next season with my family in a whole new show!

Next week we cross the ferry to set up in Motueka for 5 months of Winter/ off season! Bye!

Taupo to Napier

Apple caramel slice “mmmmm!” it even sounds delicious! Unfortunately Tiwi and Lettie were away for Taupo weekend so I was on my own for Gypsy bakers. It turns out apple caramel slice is a gypsy fav!

Apple caramel slice selling out fast!

As I worked in the cafe I could really feel autumns chill setting in, just in time for… Spa road hot pools! A small natural hot stream flowing into a massive cold river. Plus its all free! We soaked both Friday night after setup and Sunday night after pack down. Bliss! Before hot pooling on Sunday night we gave our Chihuahua’s  to Yanni and Terene, a couple of awesome gypsies, to be looked after because we were going on an adventure!

Monday without the puppies we left Taupo and traveled all the way to Napier, Hawkes bay. As usual we arrived late and went straight to bed , gathering strength for tomorrow

Tuesday we left the truck at the N.Z.M.C.A park we had stayed at and took an hour and a half drive into the Kaweka’s. The windy gravel road had Dallas vomiting which got Mum vomiting. But as we started the 4 hour walk up the Mohaka river to the Mangatanoka hot springs we knew it was worth the drive. The crude hot pools were heaven after arriving in the dark and setting up our tents. That night we toasted marshmallows on the fire I had lit, then cosyed up in our sleeping bags for a good nights sleep. On the walk back Dad roared up a Sika stag! We could hear it up a ridge bellowing/squealing at us so naturally we replied roar for roar untill it came down the ridge, but sadly the wind changed direction. It smelt us and ran away before we got to see it. We did see another stag across the river on the walk out though. We reached the car park mid afternoon and joyfully scoffed a bag of BBQ chips.

There is also another set of hot pools at the car park, perfect for our sore muscles, so after another soak we had a smooth drive back to Napier with no vomits this time. We found out we could get onto the grounds that night and it was dark by the time we got parked. We were reunited with our sweet little fur babies who had had fun staying with their Chihuahua friend Luna. Thanks Yani and Terene.

What an awesome week and a short one! I definitely suggest doing this amazing walk. Tomorrow  setup on a Thursday for a four day Easter weekend in Napier. Bye!

Palmerston North to Taupo via Desert road

Inevitably I didn’t work that weekend. Being as sick as I was, I spent the weekend in bed, Netflix and chill. I managed to haul myself out of bed to halfheartedly perform our magic show then snuggled back down. Saturday night sick or not I would go bowling and that’s exactly what I did. Sore throat n’all I bowled through two rounds with my awesome team; Yani. Terene, Kio, Jason and Cody. That night I consumed a lot of ginger beer to sooth my throat and keep me going, but I did it! I went bowling with the Gypsy’s.

Monday Dad took all the Gypsy kids to the Te Manawa museum. It’s one of my favorite museum’s in New Zealand, mainly because of the awesome kids area and all of the interactive games and exhibit’s. We spent a couple of hours there, then Simone took Lettie and I to the massive op shop across the road. Heaven on earth!

We parted ways with the Gypsy’s and made for Rangipo dam off the Desert road, literally in the middle of nowhere. Tuesday we schooled, trained our show and explored the dam. The sound of a colossal jet of water piped down from another dam miles away accompanied our stay there.

Training at Rangipo dam. See the water blaster behind us!

In the afternoon we sped to the hot pools at Tokaanu, only to find them closed due to a pump being fixed. Luckily our savior came in the form of the Oasis camp ground just down the road where they have hot pools and a ping pong table.

The next day we soaked as long as we could then moved along to the lake Taupo waterfront park up spot. After schooling I spent the afternoon baking apple pies and meringues for desert that night. We spent the rest of the night happily watching Harry potter one.

Thursday more schooling then we biked into the wind the whole way to a really cute waterside cafe/restaurant for some lunch in the form of Pizza!

We biked home (tail wind), then hopped excitedly into the car and headed for De Brett’s the biggest and fanciest pool complex in Taupo. We spent five joyful hours soaking in the hot pools and racing down the awesome hydro slides. Stumbling out of the pools late at night we drove home to bed and a good nights sleep.

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I love hot pool weeks. This one was especially lovely! Tomorrow setup, this weekend Taupo. Bye!

Petone

I just couldn’t get used to the fact that Cupa Dupa had been canceled. However me being me I made the best of it.

Lettie and I did the Gypsy bakers as usual, concocting a delish cherry cake.

It was blissful being a kid again and not having to work the weekend. All I did was perform my shows and play with the other Gypsy kids.

Saturday night the Extravagangsters took the stage into Cuba street to take back the streets. My family and I got dressed up and partied the night away (or partied until 9pm, same diff). So I guess we did get some Cupa Dupa action after all, better than nothing!

                      Party team ready to hit Cupa St.

Monday morning dawned grey and rainy, a bit like our Monday morning mood. We drove all the way to the Pinnacle rocks reserve in Palliser bay, a place we’ve never been before! That night we tramped down to the beach and lit an excellent fire for us to toast the damper I made on. We stuffed the hot tubes of bread with M&M chocolate and let it melt, mmmmm! Such gooey goodness!

                       Cooking Damper/stick bread!

Tuesday after a super cool walk to the pinnacles, we drove just around the corner to Ngawi and Cape Palliser.

Over the week I had developed a rather nasty cold, now it hit me full force with hideous sore throats and horrible headaches. Even so, I still had to go see the incredibly large seal colony. Seals are the funniest, cutest creatures I have ever seen, and the baby seals, O.M.G don’t get me started on the baby seals!

After that adorable experience we climbed the 250 stairs up to the Cape Palliser light house. So far in our 4 seasons we’ve been to all of the farthest points of the North island; north, south, east, west.

Thursday after schooling we lunched at the Lake Ferry hotel, a welcome treat. Once again we stopped at Nana and Pa’s in Masterton for a cup of tea and family times on our way to Palmerston North for the Extravaganza.

Well that was a really nice week! I hope I start to get better because by the way its looking now I definitely won’t be working this weekend, let alone competing in the annual Gypsy bowling competition. I spend the whole season looking forward to it!  Oh well as our family motto says”Make the best of it!” Tomorrow set up. This weekend Palmerston North. Bye!

A New Zealand travel blog By Dylan Daisy