Auckland Region - Botanic Garden, Beaches and Kauri Forest

March 4th to 7th: From our special accommodation in Albany, we take various day trips. Even though it's always difficult to get the kids away from the farm with the animals. The first trip takes us to the Auckland Botanic Garden, where we meet a German family with two kids who we randomly met on our hike a few days ago in Kerikeri. The four of them are living in New Zealand for 9 months and taking a break before their oldest daughter starts school. The kids get along right away and the adults also quickly realize that we get along well. In total, we meet up three times in New Zealand and do a lot together.

One day in the morning, we drive to the nearby Long Beach, where Ma gets to enjoy a bouncy castle and face painting. There was a company event taking place and we just joined in. Fa chose to stay voluntarily on the farm after realizing that this day isn't really her thing and she wants some peace and quiet away from us. We've been together constantly for almost two months now and the opportunities for privacy are limited for everyone. When we come back after two hours, she's sitting at the dining table eating lunch happily. I had prepared something for her to warm up in the microwave. She has already tidied up and written in her diary and also wants to fold laundry. Surprisingly for us, she made a long to-do list for the day, assuming that we would come back much later, and is now working through it point by point. We chuckle at our child and decide to leave her alone more often ;-) In the afternoon, we all go to Orewa Beach. There are also many good playgrounds there and we relax by the water. Bo plays tag with the kids on the beach and we watch two men riding sail quad bikes. Bo also gets to try out the exciting vehicle. Ma is very jealous. But back on the farm, the farm boy comes towards us on his quad bike and takes Ma with him. Bo also gets to race around the farm with the farm owner's quad bike. This makes both big and little boys happy, while Fa doesn't want to miss out on the fun and rides the kids' bike herself.

The third major trip takes us to the surrounding forests, where we can see large Kauri trees. We hike through these forests to a dam and to the Ferry Falls. The kids are in a good mood and we cover many kilometers in a tropical environment.