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Christmas break, central & east North Island
Summer time visiting friends, family, travelling the beautiful BOP and central North Island.
This is our main holiday for the year and normally we'd have planned things with some detail of where we are heading. This trip had next to no planning apart from Christmas day and that we would attempt to meet some friends somewhere between Rotorua and Tauranga.
My brother joined us for the first part of the trip from Wellington to the Chateau Tongariro Hotel. He's cycling NZ so the bike went on the back of the bus for this leg of the trip. The first night was spent in Paraparaumu, then Mangaweka Camping Grounds.
Christmas smorgasbord lunch at the Chateau with family, then on to Taupo for 3 days with a quick stop on the way for a swim at the Lake.
We stayed at the Motorhome Association camp in Taupo but spent the days with family
On to Rotorua where we visited the Redwood Forests and did a tree top walk (swing bridges and platforms). Stayed the night at Okareka Lake which had a playground right in front of where we parked so kids could play while we could watch from the bus hammock (happy days).
We visited the Blue and Green lake, before heading to NZMCA park in Rotorua.
Then on to Tauranga where we visited an old daycare friend of Isaac and had a beach walk and picnic with them. We then headed towards Whakatane, Ohope, Opotiki, Gisborne, Havlock North, and Napier.
The bus went for it COF while in Napier, while we stayed at Kim's sister's house.
