Ani developed a fever at somepoint during the night. Luckily Miles slept through the many wake ups and requests to nurse.

We rolled out of camp around 8:30am and drove to another part of the Hanmer forest. This walk was full of fairy houses posted on trees and stumps. It was fun to watch the excitement on the kids faces when opening the small doors of the fairy houses.

Just before 10 am we headed over to Hanmer Thermal Pools. We spent the next 90 minutes soaking in various pools and Laurie and Andy took turns going on water slides.

Around 11:30, as the clouds were breaking and the sun was coming out, we were fully pruney, Laurie was getting hot and the kids were ready to leave.

We showered, changed and left. Laurie read about a Saturday market adjacent to the resort that we wanted to check out.

Ani was still pretty sick and feeling tired so she asked to be carried. Miles, who copies Ani regularly also asked to be carried. We tried to explain that he is older and not sick and therefore should walk.

Before we could even finish he was having a meltdown. Fairness is a big deal for Miles and regardless of how we try to explain their differing needs, how he’s well and she’s sick, how he’s 5 and she’s 2, how he’s much older and heavier, he wilts if he doesn’t get the same treatment.

We understand his desire for fairness but melting down every time gets old real quick.

So, Laurie and the kids went to the van and Andy went to check out the market by himself. It was mostly art and jewelry vendors at the market so Andy found a small market and bakery, bought a few fruits, veggies and treats and headed back.

Laurie made lunch for everyone and around 230pm we were finally on the road.

The countryside is beautiful and incredibly scenic here. We drove past gazing sheep and lush green hills, then climbed and skirted past wide rocky river beds that reminded us of Alaska and Nepal.

In town close to our planned camping area we filled up on diesel and decided to stretch our legs before getting to camp since we weren’t sure if there would be any place for the kiddos to run around.

The kids had been watching cartoons on this leg of the drive and when we parked at the trailhead Miles once again protested quite loudly and emphatically, letting us know his displeasure at the thought of turning off the screen and going outside.

After some convincing, we got him out of the car. This place was marked as a walk through a grove on Google maps.

After a short walk to the trailhead we came across an easy access point to a beautiful river. The kids were excited to play in the water, so that’s what we did. Ani got her feet wet first and dug to her heart’s content while Miles took orders and made pizzas and other foods out of the wet sand.

It was getting late and we needed to get going as we had another 20 minutes to drive before making camp.

Predictably, Miles protested because he was having so much fun. Eventually we convinced him it was time to go after making the largest mud calzone anyone has ever seen. We cleaned feet, put on shoes and walked back to blue wave – if we haven’t mentioned it before, that’s what the kids are calling the camper van.

After driving through more stunningly beautiful countryside and over wide, scenic rivers we pulled off at a roadside picnic area.

We are learning that in New Zealand permission to camp somewhere doesn’t come from the absence of a ‘no camping’ sign but from the presence of a sign allowing it.

Andy scouted the side road of the picnic area downhill in hopes of finding a spot by the river. The road didn’t go down to the water but there were dispersed camping options.

Andy drove the narrow road down a 100ft or so, hoping to not scratch the paint of blue wave on the overgrown vegetation.

The spot we chose was open and treeless but secluded from the road and the picnic area.

As soon as we parked the sand flies surrounded us and tried to get in from the only source of fresh air we have, the roof vent.

There are no fans or screens to put on open windows so it gets hot quickly in the van when the engine is not running and the AC is off.

We became hot and uncomfortable in a matter of minutes. To add insult to injury the sand flies were coming in through the mesh of the roof vent.

Andy was on double duty, trying to cook dinner and kill the pesky sand flies. He has dubbed them New Zealand’s mosquitoes (little did we know that the mozzies would find us soon).

Cooking made the camper even hotter inside. We were all sweating and uncomfortable. Andy would open the sliding door of the van periodically for no more than 10 seconds to bring in some cool, fresh air and let some of the hot air out, but sadly he would spend the next minute or two killing the few dozen sand flies that flew into the van.

After dinner we went for a short walk before heading into the van for the night. We ran to avoid being eaten alive by the sand flies but there was nowhere to hide.

It feels like we are back home and in the mountains in late May or early June when the mosquitoes tend to be really bad.

We retreated to the van, ran around it a few times in hopes of tricking the sand flies and ran into the van as quickly as we could. Of course a few dozen flies followed us in.

It was around 830pm and we had lots of dishes to do and the kids were still wide awake. So they watched a cartoon while Laurie washed the dishes and Andy dried them.

We brushed our teeth and changed into our pjs, hoping the cooler weather minimized the onslaught.

Laurie woke Andy a little after midnight complaining of being bitten. After a few minutes of trying, Andy finally opened his eyes, grabbed a phone, turned on the flashlight and looked for sand flies.

To his surprise he saw two mosquitoes instead. His first attempt to kill them in his half sleepy state was, as you can imagine, unsuccessful.

So he sat up, shook off the sleep and went after them with laser focus. Two slaps, two kills. Laurie thanked him and quickly went back to sleep.

Sleep doesn’t come easy for Andy once he’s awake so he looked at pictures and edited blog posts for about an hour.

He figured he’d check once more for silent (yes 3 out of the 4 mosquitoes here have not buzzed), unwanted flying expletives before going back to sleep and saw another mosquito!

After killing it he went to investigate where they may have been coming in. The netting of one of the windows had come loose and was partly open to the outside world. Andy shut the window, checked one more time for these biting pests and went back to bed.

Around 3am we were up again because Ani was snotty, coughing and uncomfortable. She felt a bit warm too.

She wanted dada to lay beside her so Laurie and Andy switched. But Ani didn’t settle much and eventually asked to nurse, so we switched back.

We rubbed a kid’s petroleum free vaporrub-like product on Ani’s chest, gave her some nighttime children’s medicine we brought from home and she nursed back to sleep.

Andy was editing posts again while Ani was nursing and just as he was about to turn off the phone, a mosquito buzzed in front of the lit screen. Andy swatted at it and the noise startled Laurie.

Andy had missed. He turned on the flashlight yet again and smacked the mosquito dead. Andy’s hand has never been more bloody after killing a mosquito.

It was now almost 430am and the van was finally quiet again. We are grateful Miles slept through all of this.

Andy and Laurie woke up around 8am because they were getting hot. Ani and Miles were still asleep. The medal for best-sleeper-when-he-finally-does-fall-asleep goes to Miles! He slept for 12 hours, finally waking up around 945am.

We headed out around 10:30 towards the town of Takaka. Our first stop was the dump to discard 3 days worth of trash.

We offered Miles the special treat of sitting in the front with Andy. He took his job of looking for cars around the blind turns very seriously as we climbed up and out of the secluded beach and camp of Tōtaranui.

Unfortunately the dump it was closed but right next to the closed gate was a sign for a labrynthe walk. We spent the following 45 minutes wandering through the narrow aisles formed by rocks and dense and lush forest.

It was hot and the kids were losing interest, so we skipped some of the labyrinth and got back on the road. We drove past fields of varying swaths of green filled with young calves and sheep on our way to Te Waikoropupu Spring.

Here, it was a short walk to a crystal clear spring. Unfortunately the light breeze caused ripples in the water but it was almost like you could peer into another world. This spring is culturally significant to the local Maori people and they ask you not to touch the water. Too bad since it would be like snorkeling in fresh water!

We drove up and over Takaka Hill going the other way. Andy looked it up and it has 257 curves. While not as many as the 2,000 claimed by a local a few days prior, it’s quite a lovely road with great views.

Ani dozed while Miles played a game of building and racing cars on the iPad. We try to avoid the use of screens at home but on trips like this – all bets are off. We do what we have to do to keep everyone going. If there was a third seat in the car Laurie could do more crafts with them but alas, here we are.

We passed our intended stop to hit up a local ice cream spot. Unfortunately the taste and ingredients were a bit disappointing but the experience and excitement on the kids faces was priceless.

From there we drove to Riuwaka Resurgence. It was a pretty and short walk to a clear, deep and COLD pool. Each of the kids dipped their feet in the water and Laurie gradually built up the courage to take a dip.

Andy kindly reminded her “you never regret going for a swim!” He was right. The water was so cold it hurt but the tingles and refreshment was well worth it.

By now it was 330pm.We looked at camping nearby but we didn’t like the camp and we had trash to throw out (which is harder to do than you might think in this country), we were running low on potable water and our toilet was getting full and stinky.

We decided to push on to town of Motueka. There we went to the hardware store for more bug screen and masking tape, then to the grocery store which was next door.

It was now 6pm and we were off to the dump. Andy is getting faster already but the water fill is on the opposite side of the grey water dump and cassette toilet. And filling the water is extremely slow.

Miles was full of energy and was being a total rascal at the dump. He kept throwing things out of the back of the van which irritated Andy because he likes to keep things clean. Miles wanted attention and Ani was constantly asking to nurse because she didn’t feel well. It is moments like this that we ask “is this worth it?”

We feel really bad for both of them and ask ourselves if we’re doing too much. Would being in a hotel or Airbnb in town be any better?

Would staying at a campsite for 3 nights be better? Would they be more relaxed? Would their colds heal faster?

We don’t believe so, but we still ponder these questions many times.

Once full of potable water and free of waste, we drove to the Motueka salt baths which has a free carpark nearby. It is known to fill up quickly and sure enough it was full of campervans all parked like sardines.

Andy made it very well known that he didn’t even want to try to fit, not tonight- not ever! He likes space. He likes to look out and see trees, to hear birds, not people. And, he doesn’t like to impose on others with our noise. So we traveled on.

We drove to our plan B spot and arrived around 8pm. It cost $30 for two adults (kids 16 and under were free) but it was very much worth it. Way less people and right on the beach.

But we couldn’t hear the crashing waves over the meltdowns. Ani was beat and just wanted to be held and Miles was hungry and generally unsettled.

His cold doesn’t seem to be bothering him much but he’s mean to Ani, hits Laurie and intentionally pushes Andy’s buttons. He needs something. He’s seeking connection or comfort. Maybe both. But his actions drive us away and makes us frustrated and angry instead of compassionate and loving.

Add to all of this our discomfort from being bitten by sandflies and mosquitoes and the heat of the van and you have a recipe for disregulation, despair and doubt.

At 845pm we finally ate some dinner. Ani and Laurie took a little walk outside to catch the end of the beautiful sunset.

Andy and Miles stayed inside and had a moment of connection with Andy caressing Miles’ back while explaining to him that we all love him and that he is such a good kid and great older brother a lot of the time.

When Ani and Laurie returned, Ani still wanted mama but dada took her into his arms and she was asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Andy held Ani while Laurie brushed Miles’ teeth and got him ready for bed before reading a book with him.

After lights out Andy transferred Ani to Laurie in the lower bed. Thankfully Ani stayed asleep. Miles stayed relatively calm and fell asleep around 1030pm after a lot of coughing 😦

A long day indeed and one we’re glad to have in the rear view. Now all we have to do is get through the night without another infiltration of mozzies (thankfully they don’t have sand flies here) and kids waking up coughing and uncomfortable. Fingers crossed!

The kids and Laurie slept nearly 12 hours. Andy was awake at 5 am and mapped out a walking route for the day.

It got hot fast! By 11 am it felt like it was 80 degrees out! Which it was. The day prior and the following day were to be in the upper 60s, but today was 15 degrees warmer. And for us having come from late fall where it was in the 40s during the day and 20s at night, it felt like mid summer.

We planned to start our day by exploring the library but walking past Margaret Mahy playground we saw water. We spent about an hour running through the splash pad (Miles and Laurie) and stomping in the water.

After a snack we ventured to the library. The Duranga Library has a great kid floor with pits of legos and duploes. The air conditioning felt great and after a pretend meal of duplo “cupcakes” and driving around in a spacecraft, we walked a block to Mashawe Mediterranean BBQ for lunch.

Talk about a find! We LOVED the food and hope to return again before we leave New Zealand. While we feasted on shawarma, and wraps, the kids watched for the Tram which came every 10-15 minutes.

After lunch we had our first New Zealand ice cream which was also really good.

Our intention was to walk to a different grocery store but with the heat and time of day, both kids were tired and asking to be carried, so instead of waiting out another meltdown we went home to rest.

Unsurprisingly, when home the kids got a second wind and Laurie was the only one who took a nap.

Around 4 pm we took an Uber and spent 90 minutes walking through the aisles of Pak n Save (one of New Zealand’s largest grocery store chains) trying to figure out what we needed, not what the kids wanted.

As with all travel, it takes time to figure out the logistics – where to buy produce, do you weigh it and sticker the produce yourself, will we need salt and pepper? This all becomes even more of a challenge with kids constantly asking for candy and cookies and all other things that look sweet and they usually don’t see at home.

We made it out without too much frustration and returned home for the night.

The kids ate some mac n cheese and sausage while Andy and Laurie finished a chicken shawarma from lunch. Laurie played trains, cars and colored rocket ships with the kids while Andy tried over and over to set up the SIM card in Laurie’s phone.

We showered and went to sleep around 9, excited to see our campervan the next morning.