“Snow” much fun!

**Warning – lots of photos!**

Well, we’re back from our trip to the snow!! And it was definitely worth waiting for. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, and Tyler was feeling much better by the time we left.

We decided to leave home at 4.30am. The boys didn’t go back to sleep (too excited!), so they got pretty tired later in the day. However, it meant we arrived down there at 9.30am and didn’t waste any of the good weather being stuck in the car. The boys were absolutely fascinated when the mountains came into view on our drive down. Tyler was especially awestruck! The skies were so blue, which made for some really pretty scenery:

We headed straight up Mt Ruapehu (Whakapapa) and the conditions were perfect. Blue sky, sunshine, and not a breath of wind. It was SO HOT on the slopes that we didn’t even need our hats or gloves. And most of the time, Rob and I didn’t even wear our jackets!

Here are a few photos from our first day on the slopes:

Snowball fights:

Sliding fun:

We wanted to make a snowman, but the snow was a bit hard and we hadn’t brought a shovel. So we found one that had been prepared earlier. Since we had brought a carrot for our own snowman, we decided to make an “addition” to the one we found:

You’ll notice the carrot is considerably smaller now. That’s because Tyler is eating it.

Making snow angels (again, the snow was a bit crunchy, but it was fun to pretend):

Time for a rest/snack:

We made an interesting discovery about Tyler – he looks set to become a full-on mountaineer! Anytime we turned our backs, he was off climbing up the nearest cliff face. Seriously, this one was really STEEP. And he is FAST!

After Rob and Ethan chased Tyler to the top of the cliff, they got this amazing view of Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe (photo taken by Ethan):

By about 3pm, Tyler was getting tired (read: grumpy) so we decided to leave the mountain and check into our accommodation (National Park Backpackers). This was the view from our room:

They have a huge indoor climbing wall, so the boys both had a go.
Tyler found it a bit difficult, which surprised us in light of the previously described mountain-climbing abilities … but to be honest, I think the harness and ropes put him off; we had trouble getting him to stop climbing up without the gear!
Ethan really enjoyed rock climbing. He’s always been a great little climber, so this was a perfect activity for him.

The next day, it was a bit overcast. We decided to head up to Turoa on the other side of the mountain, as the weather was supposed to be better there. Sure enough, it was a fantastic blue sky day.

We played on the slopes for a few hours, and then it was time to start our journey home. But we had to stop first for a photo with the Ohakune carrot, LOL. Tyler LOVES carrots, so he was pretty impressed with it!

On the way home, we stopped in Taupo for a late lunch, and visited Craters of the Moon, a geothermal walk. The weather had started to close in a bit by that stage, which made the whole place look even more eeire:

We finally got home at 8.30pm, with a couple of VERY tired & happy boys. The trip was a great success, and both boys had heaps of fun. Although Tyler said the best part about it was the toy he got from McDonalds!