Okahune, Ruapehu and Steampunk!!

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of updates.  We have been spending our time at home as the early nightfall and daily rain has given us an excuse to stay indoors.  However we have done a wee bit of exploring since our last post.

Winter is wrapping up and September 1st (the first day of spring) is coming! Although it rains daily, the sun is always out.  This results in multiple daily rainbows.  We see more rainbows on the way to work every morning than we did in a year back home.  They add a beautiful touch to the continual dampness that has engulfed our house.

A few weeks ago we were invited with some work friends down to Okahune (a ski town to the south of Ruapehu) for a ski weekend.  Although neither of us has gone downhill skiing in years we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see some wonderful NZ countryside.  So off we went excited to see snow (it is winter after all) and maybe try out the bunny hill.  Not many people can say they have skied on an active volcano.  (Most volcanos in NZ are active, but I have recently looked into it and I feel there is nothing to worry about.)

When we arrived this was our view of the mountain:

Shame it was covered in clouds and we never got to see it. People keep telling me it is there (and we did drive up something big to get to the parking lot for the closed ski hill) so I guess I will have to keep trying.  The weather unfortunately took a turn for the worse and the snow melted, the ski hill closed due to the lack of visibility and horizontal ice/rain.  But what do you do when that happens? Start drinking at 10am and continue the rest of the day!

In a strange twist of fate it turns out the last time I was in Okahune (with my wonderful father ten years ago now) the weather was the same and we didn't see the mountain then either.  I got to go to the same restaurant, see the same clouds and feel the same rain.  Although I have gotten older, it is nice to know some things will never change. Crazy feeling of deja va all weekend!

Additional bright side to the terrible weather: I was Sober D for the group and got the chance to drive a Subaru Legacy with a twin turbo engine!!! No stalling!!! Chris was a jealous boy (or at least that is what I tell myself)!!!

On the way back north to Auckland we squeezed in some sight seeing.  Lake Taupo was beautiful.

Fun fact about Lake Taupo and the surrounding region: 

This used to be a massive volcano which erupted and collapsed into a caldera.  A caldera is a incredibly large crater formed by the collapse of the giant magma chamber.  This entire region is in fact a super volcano! The eruption which formed this caldera was the largest eruption in the Earth's past 70,000 years.

Check out the pumice (white floating volcanic rock) in the foreground!

As we left Taupo we stopped by Huka Falls:

This is a fast flowing river which goes through a little canyon before bursting out at the falls.  Due to the heavy rainfall over the weekend the torrent was fantastic. This is truly my favourite colour blue.

Heading back towards Auckland sent us through Rotorua.  This is a region full of geysers, steam vents and volcanic activity.  The smell as you drive in hits you like a wall of farts and the sight of the steam rising through the forest and fields was something else.  We would see farm fields nicely cut around a little clump of trees and steam rising from the middle.  It is as though this amazing natural formation is an annoyance to the farmer.  We stopped by a geyser area to check it out but refused to pay $33 each to see a natural phenomenon.  Therefore we checked out some vents beside the parking lot and hit the road again.  We will certainly be back and will be able to take more time to explore the area.  This is far too interesting a region to explore in 30 minutes.  This is definitely a future weekend getaway for us.

This is the best picture of the weekend in my opinion:

You can see the sulpher, the steam action and the raw beauty of nature.  Just perfect. (Plus I took it, so I am proud.)

Thus concluded our weekend away.  We had a great time making new friends and exploring a new part of New Zealand.  We saw wild horses, volcanic steam vents, beautiful forests and got to spend time with friends.  Although no skiing, a fantastic weekend none the less.

Before I leave you again I have decided to add some quick pictures from the Steampunk Ball hosted by our employer.  We decided to go full costume and we rocked the look!

Official photo from the ball

 We took the ferry into town (wickedly awesome) and only had a few people give us crazy looks...bonus!

We weren't able to get too many photos at the ball (and before hand was too crazy with the preparation) so we managed to get a decent one after getting home.  I have to say Chris was looking pretty smashing in his suit and hat, he was the best dressed at his table.

End of a lovely evening!

Picture taken before costume was 100% finished.  The coat took me 3 straight weeks but it was worth every minute when the CEO told me I could be up for best dressed! My table won best dressed team, he was right!

We are enjoying life on the other side of the world (and are certainly making the most of what this part of the world has to offer) but we definitely miss our family and friends at home.  We hope all of you are well and enjoying the tail end of the summer.  Please have a shot of real maple syrup for me.

Today I noticed Daffodils blooming and it made me think of home in the spring.  These backwards seasons are hard to wrap your head around.

Thank you for the birthday wishes! Chris took me out for fish and chips (we pretended we were at Mackies) followed by a surprise mystery location.  He took me to a wonderful magical chocolate place and treated me to the richest hot chocolate I have ever had.  It has hot chocolate made of melted chocolate inside what was likely chocolate pudding with what was likely chunks of chocolate.  I still can't figure out how it stayed liquid enough to drink.  Chris had a Mocha and we split the following dish:

We were both on such a chocolate high that we were shaking the whole drive home.  It was intense! Such a wonderful treat.  It even succeeded to put me off chocolate for a week and a half.  Not sure if Chris has eaten it since.

Remember to give us a shout as often has you can, and if you are ever in NZ you have a place to stay.

Love to all,
Chelsea
xoxo