Escape to Aroha Island

Holidays are not really our specialty.  I mean that's not to say that we don't like them, we love them... in theory!  It's just that we somehow either get rained out, or we end up in some pokey little beach town in the middle of winter where we're bored to tears and decide to come home after the first night.  We're action kind of people.  We don't like hanging around in resorts sipping fruity cocktails.  We like to throw on our trusty sneakers, grab a camera and go exploring until our feet hurt.  That's of course a little more tricky with a toddler in tow.  So we spent an evening online and found ourselves drawn to Aroha Island, a little kiwi and wildlife reserve up north near Kerikeri.  As we wove our way through the seemingly never ending country roads we glanced at each other.  Where the hell are we??  Where are the miles long white sand beaches?  Where are the rickety little beach side baches? And then suddenly there we are on this beautiful little island with the water lapping up against our grassy campsite.  Within moments our welcoming party arrives in the form of a gang of teenage ducklings. Hi, hi, what are you doing? Where are you from? What kind of food have you got there?  Need any help eating it?  Ayana was in heaven!  When they greeted us every morning by coming into our tent while we were still in bed it all felt a little close though.  The next few days were spent by the water, figuring out how to bbq pancakes for breakfast, exploring Kerikeri, and finally finding our white sand beach!  It was a great little trial for our first trip away as a family.  The minute we got home we started planning our next trip... further afield this time.  Europe? Thailand? Samoa?  Who knows but it's going to happen soon!
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