Back to reality......

 My time away last week ended up being a lovely break from reality with no cellphone coverage, no TV or radio, no newspapers and of course no internet. I love being completely away from what's going on in the world and just enjoying the moment. The Blue Mountain Adventure Centre is located in the tiny settlement of Raurimu with no shops, just a few houses and an abandoned and sadly desolate primary school. (Seeing empty abandoned schools always makes me feel sad)

We stayed in their new lodge seen on the left-hand side of the above photo. Their 3 acre property is nestled in a lovely tree lined setting and backs onto a normally tranquil river. It rained quite a bit of the time we were there so the tranquil river was changed to a brown raging torrent of water that would have been dangerous to do any activities like rafting on. Because I had been before to this camp with our eldest daughter Amelia 3 years ago I opted out of the activities this time around which meant I was able to take photos of Caitlin and her classmates pushing themsleves out of their comfort zones.

 I think Caitlin's biggest fear (like myself) was heights but she did really well and enjoyed the abseiling and the high-ropes where they get flung into the air on a harness. This activity was aptly named "The Flying Kiwi".

 Another Mother and I did a couple of nearby bush walks while the kids were off doing caving and canoeing. It was lightly raining on both of these walks which made everything seem clean and fresh and the bush lush with lots of ferns and moss growing everywhere.

 Mosses and lichens covered the trees....

 Being so close to the mountains the alpine plants are quite different to what we are used to on the Coromandel. The waters in the streams are beautifully crystal clear coming straight off the snow topped mountains of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu.

 The walk to this waterfall starts just up from the Chateau Toingariro in the Whakapapa Village and was an  easy undulating walk through beautiful bush and alpine plants. We were told by one of the guides at the camp that they often abseil just to one side of this waterfall.

 Near the end of the walk the low clouds cleared a little giving us this hazy view of Mt Ngauruhoe to our right. We were walking along for some time chatting away before we realised it was there for us to see. There are numerous walks and tramps in this area which I would love to come back someday and do. The Blue Mountain Adventure Centre also does 'Women's only' weekends that the 3 other Mothers and I are plotting to do someday :-)