Holiday far away, to stay, on a holiday, far away. Let's go today (Weezer)

Huka Falls and boating on the river by Te Rangiita

Wie geht's?

Jacky and I have just returned from our brief trip away from Maple Grove (huge thanks to my school for shouting us a two night stay at the Millennium hotel in Lake Taupo). 

We returned to a few familiar Taupo haunts and recharged for a couple of days.

Taupo (pronounced Toe-paw) has been a holiday destination for me and my family, off and on, for many years. My earliest memories are of motel stays on the way to the Chateau Tongariro but then for 4 or 5 years dad took us to his work colleague's place in Te Rangiita - a little settlement on the way to Turangi.

My parents then bought a section and built 'The Taupo house' close to Rainbow point on the fringes of the Taupo township.

Our children know this place well - we had many holidays there as they were growing up.

Rituals like Rainbow Point Store ice creams, the Lions' Walk, trips to the video store in town, the swings and mini-golf, cricket in the front yard, and visits to Huka Falls and Craters Of The Moon were part of our holidays there. As Keegan said recently - Taupo: The Greatest Hits!

Each time I'm visiting Lake Taupo I get flashbacks to events of the past.

As we drove to Huka Falls I remembered as a very young boy causing dad some instant angst. I have always loved puns and word play, so as we drove past a sign for the Lake Taupo Lookout I said from the back seat - Lake Taupo LOOKOUT!!! (shouting this last bit).

Oh Boy, did I get a scalding for that one.

Te Rangiita era - GNP. Photo by me.

Funnily enough a lot of my memories are from the Te Rangiita stays at the Jackman's house from when I was about 10 to 15. A beautiful spot and carefree days spent fishing, reading, mucking around in boats.

Sounds like a retirement plan right there! 

Love and peace - Wozza

Gonna steal time from the faulty plan (Phish)

I like this idea of stealing time.

It's all about taking some time to actually appreciate something. In this case it's appreciating the surroundings.

Whanau member/cousin Christine has three children. One of them, Fran, is staying with us at present. She flew out from England last week to undertake a project at Hastings Hospital, as part of her process towards becoming a doctor.

I took her for a tiki tour around Taupo last weekend. The usual haunts: Huka Falls, The Craters Of The Moon thermal park, and The Lion Walk. The only things we missed were mini golf and an ice cream from Rainbow Point.

Fran is a good sight seer. She takes things in, doesn't look at things from a camera lens all the time, and didn't necessarily want to be documented as part of a photograph. She's still not a fan of photographs.

I managed to persuade her to pose a teensy weesy bit at each of the three locations though. Hence her being on the periphery of these photos.

Mr and Mrs Adam and Ashleigh Purdy have also been visitors to Red Phoenix Farm this week. Keen observers themselves - they're off to live in Australia for a while (Melbourne to be specific). 

Happy trails and safe travels to them.

Generation Y Purdys: Fanfa, Ashleigh, Adam

Love and peace - Wozza