Kiwi Ingenuity!

Today has been about family fun and marvelling at Kiwi ingenuity as well as admiring the amazing scenery! We didn't tell Ben where we were going first and the constant barrage of questions and guesses was worth it for the look on his face when he saw the signs for the miniature railway! And this was not just any old miniature railway. I'll leave you to read more about the history of Driving Creek Railway here, but to cut a long story short, it was built by just one man, Barry Brickell, originally to bring the clay he needed for his pottery from the mountains in the 1970s. It takes you up the mountain overlooking Coromandel Bay, through tunnels, over viaducts, round spirals, and it even reverses back and forth to zigzag part of the way up. And it was all built by one man! Ok, so it took him 30 years or so to complete it, but even so! It has now carried over 1 million passengers, and the views all along the route, and especially from the top are simply breath taking. And the artwork along the route was an added bonus!

 

We spent most of the afternoon back on the 309 road at The Waterworks, another example of Kiwi ingenuity! Ben says that this was his favourite of the trip so far, I think mainly because he got his Daddy so wet! Pumps and pipes and almost every type of recycled container that you can imagine have been used to create very wet fun and games around the gardens. Jamie loved this one too - he is turning into a cross between Peppa Pig's little brother George and Makka Pakka - he loves jumping in puddles and collecting stones at the moment!

 

Then it was time to travel again, this time to Rotorua. I think that the first part of our journey along the coastal road on the west side of the peninsula is my favourite part of our journey so far - every time we turned another bend in the road there was another beautiful bay. We're planning to spend most of the rest of our time with the motor home in and around Rotorua - a bit of culture, some more things for the boys, and more hurtling down the mountain on go karts! It is safe, honest Mum!