Camping

We are back from our first camping experience in New Zealand. Of course Ben has camped before, but actually he's never camped at a camping site. His parents have friends who own part of a little island off the east coast where they really rough it, which is where they've always gone over the summer holidays (if possible). This time however, we headed off to Waiotahe to a little camping site right next to the beach. We were expecting to pitch our tents, but were pleasantly surprised by the (permanently parked) caravan and lean-to which accommodated an extra 4 people that had been booked for us. We had loads of space! Ben's parents and his sister were there too which was fabulous: each adult had a turn to relax as the others played with/amused/read to/swam with the children. The weather was superb and the down time great.

STOP PRESS. I ran. Along the beach.

Now, I just want you to know I've always maintained, and still do, that I am not designed for running. I have no issues with playing volleyball or netball because there are short bursts of running, not ridiculously long stints like in soccer or hockey. My stamina is shot, and I suppose i've always used my asthma as the excuse. But, the point is: I RAN! And walked. And ran again. Well, it's a start, and it made me feel good about myself. I tried a brisk walk with Ben's sister the next day which I felt was incredibly hard and which hurt much more. I am still complaining about my sore hip to Ben and I reckon it's the brisk walk that did it. I just couldn't get my legs to move as fast as Elise's! It was hard. In fact, I'd rather run/walk/run.

Living here in Rotorua wouldn't have been my first choice 3 years ago, but now that we have settled in, we are really starting to enjoy all that it has to offer. There is no traffic to speak of - everything is within 5-10 minutes away. There is a beautiful Redwood forest to go walking/mountain biking/running in and lovely lakes to walk around or swim in. Today we chose to go for a swim in the 'Blue Lake' which was superb and tranquil. We had it all to ourselves until the Rotorua Walking Group stopped for lunch on their walk around the lake. Nevermind, they were fine, and oh-so-quiet once they held their food in their hands! Mia and Josh happily played in the water (Mia the Mermaid and Josh the crocodile) (best friends).