Camping in Taupo / Bike Riding and Bee Sting

Last weekend we did some Bike Riding training with Theo.  He's so scared to ride his bike with the training wheels off, so we though to meet up with Grandma at Anderson Park and she could ride her new e-bike around next to Beth on her bike.  Sarah and I spent an hour with Theo encouraging him to ride without his training wheels.  He was very scared and nervous at first, but with some encouragement and flat out bribery (you ride back and forth 5 times and you can get a treat from The Warehouse) and he did a really good job!  Right at the very end, on his last ride, he stopped and tipped over on the grass.  Which would have been perfectly fine except the poor tacker put his hand onto a flower that had a bee on it, which promptly stung him.  SCREAMING and tears, the poor fella.  He was fine, but it really put a dampener on the progress that he'd made.

The next day though, after a visit to the Farmer's Market, we went to The Warehouse and he got his treat (a Paw Patrol toy)

This week, we're back from 3 nights (should have been 4) camping in Taupo.  On the 5th I drove Biscuit back up to his home away from home, then headed back home and put all our gear into the car.  It only just managed to fit in, we had a tent, a day room (like a tent), 2 airbeds, 2 kids airbeds, 2 camp stretchers, 2 kids chairs, 2 adult chairs, a table, a doona and a couple of tubs with plates, bowls etc etc.  Plus our bags with clothes etc. Somehow we managed to get it all into the car, but seesh it was touch and go.

Once all jammed in we headed off about 12pm, we couldn't check in until 1 so it was pretty good timing.  We got to the campground and found our site, just as the sun came out from behind the trees and beat down upon us with its heat.  That made setting up the tent fun, I was just dripping with sweat while I was setting it up!  Still it wasn't hard to set up, tents these days are nice and easy.

While I was doing that, Sarah took the kids up to the pools because that's all they said 32 times per second "When can we go to the pools, can we got to the pools now" over and over.  So while Sarah took them up there for their first dip of about 16 the whole time there, I setup the Day Room Tent that we borrowed from Holly and Adrian.  It was a great addition to the camp, giving us a room to hang out in to keep the sun off without having to sit around in someone's tent.

As I was just finishing setting it up and about to head up to the pools to jump in, Ben, Di, Abbey and Jacob arrived.  Jacob had just had the cast off his arm that morning, so he was a bit sore and tender still.  I left them to setup their tent, pretty much the same as ours just a little smaller, and went up for a swim with the kids.

After a nice swim, the girls went into town to buy some groceries for the camp, and we had roast chicken in baps for dinner.  Yum.

Next day we just spent at the pools, we didn't do anything else.  Just in and out of the pools, at once stage I think the kids were in for 4 hours straight.  They loved it though, just loved it.  Bugged us constantly to go into The Cave which is 4 metres deep.  Theo was fearless, happily swimming every and anywhere.

Dinner was Fish and Chips, took ages from when I ordered it to when I got it, then I dropped my burger on the floor in the corner store.  Having waited for 45 minutes for it, I just scrapped it up off the floor and put it back in the box.  It was a bit crunchy when I ate it...

Day 3 was River Cruise day.  We went and saw the water get let out through the flood gates (here's someone else's video) and then we hopped on a River Cruise boat and slowly putted up the river to the Huka Falls.  It was pretty cool how they drive the boat into the flow, and then the waterfall pushes you back, then they drive the boat into the falls again.  It was great fun.   On the way there and back the Huka Jets kept flying past us, doing their fancy spins and wizzes.  While we putted along.  Still we'd discussed and it agreed that the kids wouldn't have enjoyed it, too scary.

After the boat ride (sourly only slightly by Beth "adopting" a spider on the way back, then it falling into the water, and her being mortified the SPIDER WAS DEAD) we went to the famous mosaic cafe in Taupo.  Which WAS pretty cool to be fair to it.

Dinner was Cobb and Co, which was fine except that I felt really horrid and didn't eat any dinner.  Except 30 minutes after everyone had ordered and the food came out I felt frikkin' fine, so I got Hell Pizza for dinner on the way home.

That night it was quite wet and rainy, I think it's quite nice sleeping when there's rain on the tent.  I was a bit worried that rain might come in and wet us, but it didn't.

The next morning we saw the weather report and decided to pack up, instead of stay another night which was supposed to be Thunder and Lightning.  So we spent the morning packing up (already in drizzle) and then went into town for some lunch, before coming back for an evening in the pools.  We had some dinner, and then just as the huge black clouds came over and the thunder and lightning started to boom, we left.  The people at the front desk told us a number of people due to check out the next day had also checked out that night!

The drive home was fine, just a lot of rain.  Both kids fell asleep with 30 minutes to go, they were both knackered.

Overall, it was a good camping trip.  I do look forward to though when the kids can have some fun without having to pester an adult every 32 seconds with a question or a grizzle about how someone else has a drink and they don't, etc etc.

Here's photos from the weekend.

Tim