Wet and windy in Whakapapa

Here we all are - me, Mum, Dad, R & E - in Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park. Thanks to E's diligent collection of vouchers on the back of supermarket receipts we got half-price bedrooms at the historic Chateau Tongariro, which is supposed to have a fantastic backdrop of Mount Ruapehu. Instead we have a fantastic backdrop of wind, rain, and sleet. We can't see a thing, it's cold and miserable, and our planned Tongariro Crossing has been rained off. We're hoping to go for a shorter walk this afternoon if it stops raining as it was supposed to be a bit clearer this afternoon. Lots of people who were going to do the Crossing now appear to be heading for waterfalls instead!

Nevertheless it's nice to be having our first family holiday in five years. Mum and Dad arrived on Monday, a bit jet-lagged from their long flight. I dragged them round the National Maritime Museum in Auckland during the afternoon, as I wanted to see it anyway. Boats! We ate at the revolving restaurant in the Sky Tower in the evening where the rain held off enough to get great views of Auckland-at-night, and our waitress managed to be utterly incompetent throughout the meal. And Mum left her umbrella by the window, only to discover later on that it had been on the part not moving and we had revolved past it four or five times in the course of the meal.

More will come later, once we've hit Wellington and I'm static for a bit looking for a flat and internet is cheaper!