Andy and Laurie were up until 230am hunting down a mosquito. They were unsuccessful and gave up the hunt with hopes it was a male mosquito and would not bite them.

We are very much over the biting pests. Andy always looks for a silver lining in every situation and is grateful the kids have been bitten considerably less than us. He is also grateful for our camper at home – for its ventilation and many screens that keep the bugs out.

We were all awake around 915am, some of us feeling more groggy than others. Our routine lately has been Andy getting out of bed first, usually because he’s too warm in the top bed. Then the kids push the button to send the bed up to daytime mode and sit more comfortably on the bottom bed and draw, read or make foil art.

We left camp around 11am and drove toward Whataroa River with a campsite along its shores.

It was only 40 minutes from our camp the night before so we didn’t need a spot to land that early, but Andy was intrigued by the location and it wasn’t too far out of the way.

It reminded him of dispersed camping back home – no toilets, no facilities of any kind. Just a spot by the river on public land. It seemed idyllic on paper.

This little excursion was a win-win-win. Andy enjoyed driving down side roads that turned to dirt and became more rural, the kids loved climbing on sand and rock piles where we parked and Laurie was just happy that everyone was enjoying themselves and not wanting much from her for a little while.

We ate a late breakfast and went down to the water. The kids dug along the shores of the river while Andy submerged his body on three different occasions and Laurie just once. The water was very refreshing under the intense sun so the numbness from the cold didn’t last long.

All was well and we were enjoying the moment until Ani ignored Miles’ multiple requests to dig somewhere else and leave his space.

Unfortunately Miles hit Ani’s shovel full of sand with his, sending all of the sand from her shovel flying into her face. The laughter and lightness quickly turned into yelling and crying. It was a sour ending to a fun few hours by the river.

Once everyone was calm and we were all in a better place, we buckled up and hit the road once more.

Andy has been doing research each night using Google Maps. We’ve had reception a lot of the time at camp but even when we didn’t, he’s been able to map out the following day using points of interest he sees on the offline maps.

The next stop today was Thomson Homekill. We think and hope this is a butcher, but only time will tell. Google maps had no pictures, description or website, but there were enough positive reviews to be compelling.

We enjoyed the pretty drive with snow on distant mountain tops. The road then twisted through rainforest and many scenic reserves.

Once out of the rainforest, we crossed many bridges over beautiful rivers. Speaking of, the rivers in this area were stunning.

After driving past one in particular and commenting how pretty and blue the water was, we turned around and went back to take a closer look. Turns out this was the Whataroa River, the same water we dipped in earlier in the day, now at a different point in its journey. The incredible turquoise water with snow capped mountains in the distance was incredibly picturesque.

After soaking in the views of the river while Ani slept, we turned our barge around and headed north again.

Shortly after we arrived at Thompson Homekill, which turned out to be a butcher after all. People inside were purchasing a leg of lamb and other light, summery foods in preparation for Christmas.

Obviously this is a joke, but we still can’t get used to Christmas in the summertime. Andy bought 2 packages of minced bacon, the only non-frozen food in their fridge that didn’t have preservatives in it and we were back on the road.

As per usual on this trip, our slow mornings led to us arriving at destinations later than ideal so we skipped the planned treetop walk and went to the Hokitika Gorge instead.

The treetop walk looked interesting but we didn’t want to pay a lot of money for only 30 minutes there. The gorge however, required 30 more minutes of driving, but we wouldn’t be under a time crunch.

The trail through to the gorge was a wide, gentle path that led us through a beautiful tropical rainforest. It was a busy trail too, with good reason. This is a family friendly hike that almost everyone can do without much assistance.

At one point we spotted a rather large bird on a branch right over our heads but before we could attempt to identify it, it flew away. The kids ran on the path being controlled like remote controlled cars and powered by gummies and a Clif bar.

Laurie and Andy were annoyed with Miles for getting in Ani’s space and blocking the line like another kid does in his school. This irritated all of us, particularly Andy who was still harboring some resentment from the incident at the riverbed earlier in the day.

We did our best to breathe and calm ourselves all the while distracting Miles by commanding him to do various things as a remote controlled car.

It worked well and after about 20 minutes we arrived at a really cool and wobbly suspension bridge with amazing turquoise water flowing through the impressive rock-walled canyon below.

It was so pretty, we were glad we took the 30 minute detour.

On the hike back the kids continued to eat their respective snacks. Ani was willing and wanted to share her Clif bar (because she really wanted gummies) but Miles would not (because he didn’t want any of Ani’s Clif bar).

Once back at Blue Wave Andy looked at the map and saw a place called Sunset Point in Hokitika. Wanting a place to cook with potential for more wind, and for the camper to be cooler at camp, we headed there to cook dinner.

It was a great spot and we were not alone! Many people were walking toward the point to catch the sunset. There were also a few black bunnies. Of course the bunnies in New Zealand would be black 🙂

After dinner, we walked to the beach and caught the sunset with beautiful, snow capped mountains in the distance. Miles really wanted Andy to race so they raced twice on the way back to Blue Wave, Ani winning one of them thanks to her head start.

We drove to camp under a pink and orange sky, beating yesterday’s record for arriving to camp the latest yet – 925pm.

We really like doing things before we get to camp so that when we stop for the night we do not open windows or doors to minimize bugs coming in.

We drive with the screens taped to the outside windows to accomplish this, but tonight we didn’t even bother opening the windows. It was cool enough and we were tired enough to just want to go to bed. At least the adults were.

More on that in a bit, but first the drive into our camp at Lake Mahinapua was especially magical and noteworthy. We turned off of State Highway 6 into a pitch black forest. It was such a contrast to the fading light we left behind on the highway.

After 30 seconds or so, we emerged into the remaining light once again and the lake came into view. The camping area, which was a large open field that could easily be mistaken for a rugby or soccer field, was filled with vans of all shapes and sizes. We picked a level spot and called it home.

Laurie was ready for sleep but alas, fate had in store for us the familiar struggles with bedtime routines first. Miles and Ani were being rascals and Laurie was getting really annoyed.

They were climbing on her, bumping into her, laughing carelessly when she asked for space and also when she asked them to stop jumping on her.

Miles was the instigator and Ani followed everything he did. It takes a lot for Laurie to lose her cool but tonight she was beat and her reserves were running low.

After many threats they finally calmed down and layed in bed. Miles requested piano music. Two minutes later everyone was asleep around 11pm.

We’re hoping for a restful night with no interruptions or bites.