Life Begins at 40!

I turned 40 on Saturday...holy hell, where does the time go?!  Seems like yesterday I was helping Mum organise my 21st!  Then came my 30th, and we'd only just moved back to New Zealand after living in Scotland for several years, so the party was just family and quite small - we were still waiting for our new sofas to be delivered, if memory serves...and the house we were renting was just big enough for the three of us (Cammie wasn't born till two years later).

I vowed that I was going to hit "mid life" with a bang!

So I had a chat with Willie, and we decided to go away for the weekend - actually, make that a LONG weekend - I took the Friday and Monday off work.  We decided to head down to Ohakune, where we'd been 3 years before for our 10th wedding anniversary, and see what fun we could have in the snow.  Yay!  A couple of phone calls later, we'd booked a chalet that slept 8, my Mum, Dad, favourite cousin, sister and her 3 kids were all in on it.  Then we started planning what to take/buy.  The kids had never seen snow before (oh the fun!) so needed pretty much everything: waterproof leggings, gloves, hat, scarf, boots...the list seemed endless, but eventually we got there.  Keep in mind, this was all decided 3 weeks beforehand, so no time to lose!

We stayed in a chalet in Turoa Village, in Ohakune.  Just an hour's drive to Whakapapa and about half an hour's drive to Turoa.  What a fantastic time we had!  We planned a rendezvous in Taupo with my cousin and my folks, and then headed down through National Park to Ohakune, where we met up with my sister and her kids (who were staying at a lodge in town).

We had soooo much fun!  I can honestly say, it was the best birthday ever!  Ohakune is a fantastic place to stay, the snow was plentiful even though the skies were sunny and clear (yay!) and the mountain...oh, that mountain.  It pretty much captured my heart, I couldn't get enough of it.  So beautiful.  It was an almost spiritual experience for me, the most amazing place.

All the kids - big and little - had a blast, and it was pretty much unanimous that we would go back next year and possibly every year from now on!  

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so darn unforgettable - love you guys!

 This is the view from our chalet - the first thing we saw when we opened our eyes in the morning, and the reason I left the drapes open at night, so we could watch the mountain, bathed in moonlight, till we went to sleep.  Pure magic.  Mt Ruapehu by moonlight is something else...
 

 

The Chateau Tongariro, with snow-covered Mt Ruapehu in the background.

Mt Ngaruhoe - aka "Mt Doom" in the Lord of the Rings movies

The first view the kids get of snow - close-up...and Mum starts the first Snowball Fight.  Epic!

Cousins Rhianna and Georgia on the tennis courts at the Chateau :-)

Cousins Ruben and Cammie :-)

The carrot cake (with cream cheese icing - mmmmm!) that Mum smuggled all the way from Opotiki with her!  THANKS MUM!!! xxx

Georgia and Cammie head up the mountain (Whakapapa side) for some sledding fun on Sunday...

...and come back down again!  Love the look on their faces!

Cammie...the face says it all, really :-)

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!

Doesn't this just look postcard-perfect??  "Mt Doom" (aka Ngaruhoe) glistening in the sunshine

Me and the kids with The Big Carrot at Ohakune.  Well, you just gotta, don't ya??

Mt Ruapehu from Ohakune township.  Glorious colours just before sunset.

My nephew Tairua...look at the glee in that face!

More Snowball Fight fun...this time Willie lobs a few at Georgia (I seriously think us big kids had almost more fun than the little kids!)

We wind our way up to the Top of the Bruce at Whakapapa (photo taken by Mum, who was following us)

Birthday Girl!!  I'd just come hooning down the side of the hill on this inflatable death trap...LMAO!

Willie tried the Inflatable Death Trap...and Dad thought it was kinda funny

My sis and I on the Inflatable Death Trap...!  One word: FUN!!

Georgia and I at Turoa on Sunday - less sun, more wind than Whakapapa (translation: it was FREEZING!!!)

Cammie and his Red Sled.  No further caption required!

The Birthday Weekend Gang (minus my cousin, who took the photo).

Thanks for an amazing birthday guys - I'll never forget it :)

~A