NZ part 5 - Tongariro

Ephraim set an alarm (second time this year) to get up early for his grand Tongariro Crossing Hike (including Mt.Ngauruhoe aka Mt. Doom). We dropped him off at 8:15 at the trailhead. Heaps of hikers and shuttle vans. It was a beautiful day for it. We gave him about 6 hours to cross over the saddle between peaks and pass sulfur pools, emerald lakes, cabins, ash, and blue skies.

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In the meantime we discovered the NZ Playcentre (in Kiwi-talk pronounced ply-seenta) -- a community run house of toys and playthings, like an indoor park co-op. If you have something like that in your town, good on you! It was fabulous! This whole little house was converted to childhood development, like a preschool, with costumes, blocks, books, puzzles, a mini-trampoline, couches, a crib, a kitchen full of art supplies, and a backyard with sandbox, play structure, garden, and picnic area. The only thing I couldn't find was the darned switch for the heater, so we played chilly.

We were all entertained. The kids played. Owen napped in the "cot" (crib). And I read up on NZ playcentres, homeschool, child behavior, and some more Lynley Dodd books I hadn't seen before.

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Later... we picked up Ephraim from the trail end. He had pictures, stories, and sore muscles. It's hard to narrow them down (the pictures) to share but here are some favorites. (Forgive us for the onslaught of photos. Maybe someday we'll learn how to make a collage.)
















Soon we were on the road again to Wellington. Funny that we went from volcanic Mt. Doom to happy hillsides in an hour or so.

Owen's preferred travel pose.