Rainy days

After a brief hiatus, hello again. We have had two weekends in a row of rainy days. We've compiled a short list of things to do on rainy weekends:

1. Buy those bikes we've been meaning to buy and ride them around Lake Taupo. In Aidan's case, he rode and rode and I wasn't really sure I'd see him again (he was on a bike; I was on foot.) It was just drizzling a bit and, aside from the talking to Aidan received when I finally DID catch up with him, I think it's safe to say a great time was had by all members of the family.

2. Go to the public library. This is Jasper posing as a speed demon in front of the Taupo library. We are at this library or its Turangi branch about twice a week. Our library cards cost $1.50 NZ each and some items (popular books, CD's, and movies) cost money to borrow.

3. Have some playdates. Aidan's new friend, Sam, has a younger brother one year older than Jasper. They live just down the street from us. We had a little chat with their mom, had lunch together, and went to a nearby park. To be fair, it wasn't actually raining for much of the time we were outside, but it was definitely damp and grey.

 4. Play lots of computer games. You don't need a photo of that. It looks pretty much the same in the US as it does in NZ.

5. Run errands. We did pick up speakers for our computer -- now we can have dance parties at home - as we finally own that sub-woofer we've (read: Tom has) been craving.

We are looking for another house, and trying to buy a car to replace the rental that we need to return in about a month. So we've made some progress on all those fronts. These items are too boring to merit photos.


6. Visit the Saturday markets. We did go back to our Saturday market in Taupo - we got watercress this time, not puha. We got more crazy colored carrots, and the following Saturday we visited the Rotorua market. Again, lots of Chinese vendors and customers. The bok choi was wrapped in Chinese newspaper :)


7. Try a tourist venue that might not be too weather dependent. We visited the village of Whakarewarewa. It's a Maori village set in the amazing geothermal area of Rotorua. People who live there use the heat from geothermal activity to cook their food and to bathe.

There's a view of a couple geysers from the village.

This is the whare, or meeting house, in the village.

Me, trying to do a poi ball dance

It's still pretty amazing scenery, even on a grey day

And yes, it's springtime already. Spring flowers make Aidan grumpy.

Lots of lakes and ponds had interesting colors from the minerals

This one was my favorite - crystal clear and deep blue

We all shared a disgusting fascination with the burbling mud pools. Tom did capture on video one that sounds like it's farting. We watched excitedly to see whether that aural experience had been accurately captured on video. Not so much. You'll have to come visit to experience it.

Maybe it's even more beautiful on a grey day.

Of course, The entire city of Rotorua still smells like rotten eggs. I was the proud parent of the children who complained much of the time we were in this amazing place, holding their noses, occasionally making gagging noises, and reporting on more than one occasion that they might really vomit.