Ruapehu

With everybody going back to school and work normal life is resuming but the blog needs to catch up on the rest of our long NZ sojourn.
We overnighted in Wellington which provided an opportunity to catch up with pianist, Judith Clark, for lunch.

Our flight to Auckland the next day gave Sophie and Rosie a chance to hand out the Air NZ lollies - the first time this has ever happened which is odd, given how much flying they've done.

We picked up a rental car at Auckland airport, met Kasi and Aunty Tina (both cousin's of Mum's) there - they were travelling with us in Kasi's car - and headed for Mt Maunganui where we spent the evening with Aunty Jane (Dad's sister).

On our way south the next morning we stopped off in Rotorua where we ascended the mountain by gondola and Peter and the girls rode on the luge and chairlift. This was a highlight for Rosie in particular who had been talking it up for ages.

Just north of Taupo our Avis rental 4WD Pajero had a flat tyre which Peter valiantly attempted to change and nearly got squashed in the process. The tyre was very badly worn as it turned out (a side issue) and the jack could only be utilised by getting under the vehicle which Peter did. Luckily, the spare was sitting under the car ready to be hoisted into place when the car slipped off the jack with Peter still under it. Having ascertained that he was OK we decided to call Avis and AA to finish the job. AA got there first. The girls and Peter waited with the unloaded luggage on the verge while Kasi, Aunty Tina and I went to Taupo to do the supermarket shopping so we could get going to our next rendezvous when the car was fixed. We were all very thankful that we still had Peter in one piece.

Eventually we were on our way to our destination again which was the Liley family farm near Retaruke (I might have that name all wrong). The reason for our weekend with the Lileys was the accident of Rosie's birth. Helen Liley was a flatmate of mine in Boston while she was doing her paediatric residency at Children's Hospital there and long before that she was at Epsom Girls' Grammar with me. Even further back, her brother, Bill, was in my Form 2 class at Auckland Normal Intermediate. I knew her other siblings, especially Ben and Janet too because we all used to attend Epsom Methodist Church at one point. Anyway, Helen's mum, Lady Margaret Liley (widow of the late Sir William Liley (world-renowned paediatrician) and eminent doctor in her own right) was turning 80 on January 6th. Her son, Ben, was turning 50 on the same day and Helen's daughter, Akina, was turning 13 on that day too. Imagine Helen's surprise when she informed me of Akina's birth 13 years ago on a remarkable day for her family only to be told that our Rosie had been born on that day too. Because of that coincidence, we were invited to join in their family's celebration of the multiple birthdays with a BBQ at her mother's farm on Saturday 5th and lunch the following day at the Chateau Tongariro. Bill took our girls, Akina and friend and another niece to a far-flung part of the farm on the back of a truck while Aunty Tina and Margaret talked about the issues facing them at 80+ (Aunty Tina is 85) and Helen and her hubby, Masato, hung about with us and some other rellies.

Later that night after a substantial drive on a dusty gravel road, we arrived back at the Chateau Tongariro, our home for two nights. It was a beautiful sight by night in isolated splendour.

January 6th was a beautiful day which started with breakfast for the Rosie clan. At the birthday lunch we were one of two groups of non-Lileys. The other was a close-knit group of neighbouring farmers. Bill gave a great slide presentation of Margaret's life which illustrated just what an extraordinary contribution she and her husband made. After lunch the various group shots were taken with a beautiful mountain backdrop.

Back in her room Rosie opened her presents then we set off on a short walk to a beautiful waterfall not far from the hotel. Jessye was the ringleader yet again for some icy-cold river exploits and Sophie finally lost a wiggly tooth. The next installment will get us back to Melbourne.