New Zealand Day 1&2

After a fun week in Australia, the girls and I met James at the Sydney airport and then flew to New Zealand together. The flight was easy since the girls were so happy to be with their daddy again. We landed in Auckland and soon found out that James' baggage was lost, and we received a $400 fine from the NZ airport customs because I forgot about a jar of honey left in my suitcase! So a bit of a rough start, but we finally left the airport, picked up our moter-home, and headed to Piha beach to spend the night. It was only an hour drive from the Airport, but it was already dark when we arrived. The girls were so wound up from  the excitement of sleeping in a motor home, but luckily they were also exhausted and fell asleep quickly. The next morning we woke up to gorgeous Piha beach, and spent the day exploring! 

Adelaide LOVED playing in the little river that led to the ocean.

We said goodbye to Piha and headed back to Auckland airport to see if James' suitcase  arrived yet.They told us that they still hadn't sent an email to the Sydney airport, making it unlikely that his bag would arrive that day, so we changed our plans and drove north. Our first stop was Snells Beach, which was covered in seashells! The girls weren't even interested in collecting them because there were so many. It was a lovely beach and we could have stayed there all evening!

We had dinner in a cute little town called Matakana. We wanted to find a place to stop for the night soon, but since we didn't plan on going North of Auckland we weren't sure where to go.  I asked a friendly local for a few suggestions. (If you look closely you can see him sitting at table next to James and Torah) He recommend the Tawharanui Penninsula which was only 8 kilometers away.  I'm so glad I asked him because it was one of my favorite camping locations. So beautiful!

Coco Grove

A couple weeks ago our wonderful friend Meredith and her daughter Eve came to visit. We became friends while we were living in Australia and we hadn't seen them in over two years.  The moment Eve arrived Addy was obsessed with her! They hit it off so well instantly and then spent the next two weeks happily playing nonstop. They were such close friends that I think poor little Torah felt a little left out and needed some extra attention. In the middle of their two week visit we took them to Coco Grove. We love this place! Anyone who comes to visit us, we promise to take you here! We only stayed two nights and we got to the resort several hours later than planned due to a problem with the ferry to the Island,  so it was short trip, but still so worth it!

Waiting in Dumaugete for the boat to Coco Grove. 

It usually takes just 30 minutes to get from Dumaguete to Siquijor, but we had to take the Resort's dive boat and with the choppy water it took two hours. At least it was a fun adventure for the girls, and we all slept most of the boat ride.

Finally at the beach! So happy to play in the sand!

A delicious sand flavored ice-cream cone!

We almost gave up on finding a chocolate chip starfish, we even went snorkeling to look for one. Right before we left we were so happy to find one near the shore. It was the first time Eve had ever held a starfish and she was very excited about it!

Addy is always so proud to show her daddy her swimming skills!

The mango smoothies are amazing!

Addy couldn't find her sunglasses so I let her wear mine. They are so big on her, but she still looks so cute!

Goodbye Siquijor! On our way back to back to Manila.