The Best Playground in the World!

While we have not actually been to every playground in the world, or even all of the really good ones we have been to an awful lot of them, and the Adventure Park of Levin, New Zealand must rank in the top ten, at the very least.  It is a large park with several different areas of play equipment, all in excellent condition.  There is a separate fenced-off area for toddlers, and the grass is green in between all of the other sections.  There are swings, slides, monkey bars, a zip line, obstacle courses, and all sorts of other fun things, and even an exercise area for adults.  The bathrooms were indoors, and the sinks even had hot water.  And all for free, in a public park, on the main road through town.

Our journeys generally involve tours of playgrounds, bakeries, and ice cream stores, with a few museums and other major attractions thrown in for good measure. Our "official" best playground list includes only free public parks, and does not include places like Playmobiland, as much as we have loved them. Germany is full of great parks, and we love Toronto for all of its fantastic playgrounds as well. The playground near the zoo in Madison, Wisconsin is very good, and Portland, Oregon has some nice parks, too.   Our previous award for best playground had gone to the big city center park in Brussels, which I still remember fondly.  We were last there in, I believe, 2007, and I hope it has aged well.  As for now, congratulations to the good citizens of Levin, you've earned our award!

Taupo, New Zealand

I've been enjoying this New Zealand winter!  We've been wearing our light coats in the mornings and evenings, and the world has been sparkling when we get up, but the car's de-froster has been able to clear off the windows without any difficulty.  After leaving Rotorua, we drove south to Taupo, a crystal clear lake near beautiful green mountains and in a cute town (with one of the best bakeries ever!).  We had a strenuous hike through a forest up to the top of a mountain for some gorgeous views, and a surprisingly quick hike (or run, in the kids' case) back down, handily beating sunset.  And the sunset was spectacular!  It will be forever be remembered as absolutely perfect about one minute before we took the photo.

We also discovered that Taupo is the home of Ironman New Zealand, which we had already been vaguely talking about as we made our way through this beautiful place.  After hiking the area and standing on the gorgeous mixed black and white sand beach, we were sold.  Not next year, although the registration is still open, but I'm ready for Ironman New Zealand in March of 2019.  If it begins with the haka I'm sure I'll take at least 30 minutes off my best time!

Rotorua and Maori Culture

Our next destination was Rotorua, a small town famous for its hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud baths.  We visited Whakarewarewa, still a living village of the Tuhourangi / Ngati Wahiao peoples, and a place used by their tribes as a tourist attraction for many generations.  Among other famous visitors, Eleanor Roosevelt, as first lady, created a stir by touching noses with a Maori woman in the traditional greeting.  As our guide pointed out, they had in-home heating and hot running water as well as thermal steam ovens and hot water cookers centuries before it was the norm.  We enjoyed a traditionally cooked (steamed and boiled) dinner, walked around their geothermal landscape, and had a fantastic time watching the show of traditional Maori singing and dancing.  Watching the Haka, the traditional dance and chant using the whole body, mind, and spirit, it is easy to see why New Zealand's sports teams are winners!

We haven't been lucky enough to see a kiwi (bird) in the wild, but did manage to see three of them in a sanctuary.  We went into the enclosure at night and basically waited silently until they woke up and hoped they would walk toward us.  Not quite as magical as the penguins in the wild, but still pretty fun. We ended our stay in Rotorua with a trip to Hell's Gate, a geothermal area with bubbling mud pots, a gorgeous hot water waterfall, and a mud bath.  We also got to try our hands at some traditional wood carvings, and now have some authentically "Made in New Zealand" magnets depicting Maori symbols for our refrigerator.  According to the guides, with our dip in the mud bath, we will look a good ten years younger... The soft, silicone-filled water feels so nice and leaves regular bubble baths jealous.  Take me away!

Middle Earth: Arachnocampa Luminosa and Hobbits

On Saturday morning we boarded an Airbus 380 flown by Emirates Airlines (a terrific airline and a great jet as well) and added a new country to our list:  New Zealand!  Just entering the country is a pretty unique experience as we got off a fancy jet, full of people, came through strict security making sure we weren't harboring any invasive species or germs, and then exited to an airport roughly the same size of Madison, WI, or Boise, ID, if not smaller.  We rented a car but didn't see much of Auckland besides the airport.  We've learned through experience that while we do visit cities (we weren't about to skip Sydney, and obviously Paris, Manhattan, and Washington, DC, shouldn't be missed), we much prefer to spend the majority of our time further afield.

After stopping in Matamata for dinner, we made it to the Mount Tutu Eco-Sanctuary Eco-lodge (http://www.mount-tutu.co.nz/).  The selection of this hotel truly made our adventure in New Zealand.  It is a small guest house, privately run, situated on a breathtakingly beautiful property.  After getting settled in, we were all lent rain boots and head lamps, and we set off into the night.  Tim and Debbie, the proprietors, led us on a hike, showing us some of the native plants like the silver back fern, pointing out some bird calls, and culminating in one of their creeks.  There we waded in and turned off our head-lamps, and stood with our mouths open.  Along the banks of the creek were hundreds of tiny lights, shining like stars: Arachnocampa luminosa -- glowworms!  Unfortunately we can't show you how wonderful it is to be in a bubbling creek on a mountain in the night and see these points of light.  The three brownish pictures on the left side of the collage show you what they look like under a light, and Google brings up a bunch of great photos.  We took a lot of "memory pictures"!  Imagine a yard full of lightning bugs, but staying in place.  Or even simply looking up into the night sky.  In fact, once we came out of the forest and back to the house we did look up at the night sky -- it was a cloudy night, but we still could see the Milky Way.  (The pictures below are a collage of our time at Mount Tutu and then Sunday afternoon at Hobbiton.)

After serving us a nice breakfast the next morning, Tim took us for another hike around their property, pointing out the unique flora and fauna.  They raise chickens and sheep, and we fed treats to both, and we looked at the kakarikis (native parakeets) they breed.  The woods was full of birdsong in the morning, and the air was so fresh and clear.  The water in the inn is from their own creeks, filtered, but also testing pure just naturally.  It was really a shame to have to leave so soon, but unfortunately we only have so much time to spend in New Zealand.  Miriam has been agitating for a move here.  Anybody hiring?

From Mount Tutu, we continued our drive through Middle Earth, and out to the enchanted land of Hobbiton, the ranch where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were filmed.  A working sheep ranch, after the first movies were filmed, they originally erased the set from the farm and returned it all to as it had been.  As pilgrims made their way to the former set, the rancher realized that he had a special place on his hands, and when the filmmaker returned to make the next movies, they decided to keep the area as it was.  Today, it's on it's way to being more of a village than just a movie set -- the pub is in operation and the staff keeps the gardens looking good.  It's pretty funny, really -- neither of the kids have seen any of the movies, although Miriam has read and enjoyed J.R.R. Toliken's stories (we laugh about the fact that not many people have read The Fellowship of the Ring all in one sitting as she did), and Jake and I last watched the first trilogy in 2002, and possibly didn't realize that a second one was made.  So I was pretty hesitant about booking this part of our trip.  But still, it was a great side trip!  Even full of tourists and in the rain, it's such a pretty village that it truly was a joy to visit.  There really is no place like Middle Earth.

A Day in Sydney (or, "The Climb of Our Lives")

We returned to civilization via VirginAustralia arriving on Thursday evening in beautiful Sydney.  With the train line running through the airport, the trip to our hotel was a breeze -- train downtown to harbor, and then a ferry across the water and a short walk up the hill, all with views.  Friday morning we got even better views.  After walking across the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge, we climbed to the top of it!  For the bridge climb, we donned coveralls with little leashes to keep our sunglasses, gloves, hats, and handkerchiefs attached, stashed everything in lockers, and strapped on harnesses.  The Sydney Harbor Bridge is the biggest single-span steel arch bridge in the world (still the widest and heaviest, although no longer the longest), and the summit is more than 440 feet above the water.  We weren't allowed to take our own camera, and we didn't purchase any of the pictures they took of us, but we took pictures of other climbers later to share the general idea of what we did.  In the picture on the bottom left, which shows the summit of the bridge, between the two flags, you can see a group of people.  The tour does include a short video clip, though, which I've included here. We climbed 1332 steps and covered almost a mile as we learned about bridge architecture (one of Miriam's current interests) and the history and some trivia about the building of the bridge.  The picture in the middle, with the sunset, shows a person climbing down one of the sets of ladders we used to get to the top.  In the afternoon we admired the Opera House and wandered through the botanical gardens before ending our exciting day with some gelato and a walk back across the bridge and home to the hotel.



Kata Tjuta -- Uluru's Quieter Sister

I had never heard of Kata Tjuta before we flew over it on Tuesday morning, but it is another huge rock, about 25 miles away from Uluru, and sharing its national park.  The shape is different from Uluru, and the rock itself is different which means there were many exciting disoveries to be made and pictures to be taken.  On Wednesday morning we were up well before dawn so that we could be at the park gate when it opened in order to make it to Kata Tjuta before sunrise.  We were 4th in line at the gate, and the first car to reach the Kata Tjuta parking lot, and we set out on the trail as dawn was breaking over the horizon.  

The Valley of the Winds trail winds around and through Kata Tjuta on a 5 mile hike through some of the prettiest rock and countryside you've ever seen.  As the sun began to rise, the rock began to glow.  Every minute brought changes to the light, and with it, changes to the colors and even the atmosphere of the place, and as we hiked we moved from barren rock to tree-filled plain.  The sky slowly changed from star-spangeled black to gray to white to azure, almost but not quite rivalling the perfect cobalt of the previous day.

We had the trail to ourselves for almost 2 hours, until we were almost back to the parking lot. So many people don't go much further than the closest lookout point.  Those who wander aren't necessarily lost, but those who don't wander definitely lose out.

My collage-making software still isn't cooperating, but I've posted some of our favorite pictures below.

The Sacred Rock -- Uluru

On Tuesday morning, we left Cairns and the tropics for the Big Red Center of Australia and flew to Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock.  The pictures are ubiquitous, but really do not do it justice.  It is just immense, and sitting in the middle of the scrubby desert as it is makes it even more amazing.  We arrived in mid-morning (gaining 30 minutes with the time change), and after sorting out our hostel room (2 bunk beds, a window, and an A/C & heating unit) and rental car, as well as buying some groceries, we set out on our pilgrimage to the rock.

Following a stop in the visitors' center and a picnic lunch, we hiked all the way around the rock, a distance of not quite 7 miles, and took in the views from all sides. The weather was beautiful and the temperature comfortable, but the flies were annoying.  They didn't really bite, or seem all that interested in our food, but they swarm!  Jake had about 30 of them just sitting on his hat, and I used my scarf to cover my face.  Stopping to take pictures -- and having to uncover for that -- meant that they were all over you in a second.  There's a reason the gift shops all had fly nets for sale (but as a tip, they cost $7 less if you buy them at the supermarket!)!

We had strategically planned (I wish I could take the credit!), so we didn't have too long to wait to watch the sunset, the magical moment when the light seems to make the rock glow.  While we were watching and waiting, Hans kept busy by drawing a lizard in the sand, doing his best version of the Aboriginal art we had been looking at.  

Uluru is considered a sacred place for the Aboriginal people, and it is explained that they read the rock as we read Scriptures: apparently the law is clear by looking at the marks in the rock if you understand what to look for.  It's also explained quite clearly that the the rock is not really for climbing.  Climbing is only a special piligrimage for some initiated Aboriginal elders, and climbing never been the point of going to the rock.  However, since they understand that outsiders will climb it, despite their pleas, there are actual open hours for climbing, and a designated place to do so in an effort to avoid accidents.  For most of the time we were there, the climbing path was closed, but it did open for awhile late in the afternoon.  We were disgusted to watch so many people crawling over Uluru, so many of them joking and messing around.  We decided that we should feel sorry for them, perhaps they don't hold anything sacred enough to understand what it means to desecrate something that others care deeply about.

In between our philosophical discussions and our hiking, we did take plenty of time to enjoy the sheer beauty of the place.  We had planned our stay to give us two sunsets and two sunrises, and we didn't miss any of them.  We also enjoyed the solitude of being in the middle of nowhere.  The main parking lots and viewing platforms did fill up pretty well, even now during the off season, but once we hiked a mile, we had the place to ourselves.  We also went out in the dark to admire the stars -- not only the Southern Cross and alot of other constellations we aren't familiar with, but the millions of stars in the sky!  It's been awhile since we've seen the Milky Way shine so brightly, and I'm not sure it's ever been as clear as it glows over the Outback.  

We had alot of fun taking pictures, and while they may speak a thousand words, they can't do the place justice.  While I still try to "save film" by chosing the perfect photo, Jake and Hans both took scores of  shots.  They didn't seem to be deterred when I pointed out that out of the few hundred pictures they took I was only going to be able to share about a dozen of them, and we'd probably only print 2 of them.  My collage-making software is not cooperating, so I'm going to post them separately.  Here are a few of our favorites: