An exhilarating off-road quad bike expedition over one of New Zealand’s most rugged coastal environments.

 Best Excursion Ever

  This truly was a highlight of our many adventures in traveling the world. We had the opportunity to go on a six hour quad ride that started at the top of  a mountain which was about 3,000 ft. high and then we rode all the way down to sea level and then back to the top.  We rode along narrow tracks that lead us up to the peaks, we forded rivers, streams, and through a lush native forest. There had been some serious rains a few days before we got there, and parts of the trails had been washed out. In one such area, the rain had washed away the trail exposing a ravine strewn with boulders that we had to slowly drive the front of the quad down onto. then pop a wheelie and gun it and try to get back up to the trail. The company we went with was so good. They had one of the guides stand by this washed-out hole and had each of us, one at a time, cross the area with him instructing us at each step of the way. There was one hill that was steep and covered in loose rocks so a guide would have us go up this hill one quad at a time. Some of the cliff sides had really soft shoulders. We almost lost our daughter over one such cliff, I was behind her so when I realized she was going over the edge, so I ran my quad's front wheel in behind her front wheel and gunned it trying to stop her from going down the mountain. Two of the guides who saw what was happening jumped off their quads and ran to help. I cannot emphasize enough how professional these guides were. 

Our whole experience was both exhilarating and undeniably fun, yet brimming with a few dangerous moments making it a journey not for the faint of heart. But this company actually had a 4-wheel drive Jeep that was available for anyone who did want to continue on the quads. This was a thrilling quad adventure that tested both my skill and nerves.  When we finished the ride we all went into the office and they gave us the local beer to end our journey. I wish I had been able to take pictures of some of these thrilling moments, but the ride demanded all my concentration. I think this is also why our daughter didn't realize she had lost one of her lenses from her glasses. Of course no one got hurt on this trip. Fun  note here: we had a doctor and his wife who was a nurse in our group, which I think gave everyone peace of mind. It literally was the best! I would 100% suggest this expedition to anyone and we actually want to go back and do it again.

 

I just kept thinking through this forest, "I'm in New Zealand riding a quad in this amazing country!" It just seemed so unreal.

 

This is us with two of the best guides! Loved them, they were so professional, and helpful.

Our Daughter said that people kept saying “Like your glasses!” and she didn’t even notice that one of her lenses had fallen out on the rough trail. We all got a good laugh out of it.

This picture doesn't do justice to how steep it was coming off this peak.  We actually had someone just stop and got off their quad because they were too nervous to go down any  further. The company had a guide that came in a jeep and picked them up.

 

MAIDEN VOGAGE OF OUR NEW TRAVEL TRAILER ABOUT KILLED US

   We recently bought a new travel trailer and having owned two other trailers before, we never imagined what a learning curve we were about to have. Both of our previous trailers had been purchased while living in Washington State, so now living in the Southwest we had an unfortunate major lesson. Being the maiden voyage on a new trailer, we wanted to stay within three hours of where we purchased the trailer in case we needed to get back  if things went wrong. 

  Hoping to escape the 118° weather we were having, we headed North to a higher elevation only to experience a 105° heat wave in Cottonwood, AZ, where we booked our camp site. We arrived at the check-in time of 1:00PM, and while pulling into the campground, realized there were very few trees to shade our site. This, of course, meant we had to set up the the unit in the heat. My first priority (I thought)  was to get the refrigerator and the AC going  asap to cool things down. I turned on the AC unit, nothing. I tried again, nothing. I checked the circuit breaker box, went outside and checked the electrical cord connection, nothing. Inside the trailer, it must have been about 130° or more at this point. Darren and I had to keep getting into the cab of the truck to run the air conditioner on us. We spent over two hours in the heat trying to set up the trailer. Our hearts sank. We thought we were going to have to pack it all back up which would take another hour to do and come home. By this time, we had started to experience heat exhaustion and both of us were feeling nauseous. My face was magenta red and were were both extremely weak, and had to keep sitting down. My husband decided since we just bought the trailer, we should call the service department and ask for help. The service guy started through the check list of possible answers and it was everything I had already checked. Then he asked, "Did you flip the power switch at the box?" I walked over and NOPE, it had not been flipped on. Now remember, we have had TWO other trailers before this! Really!! We have never forgotten this once. 

   Another crazy thing that happened was that the motorhome next to us couldn't get their electric to work either so they too were suffering with the heat. It turned out the electrical box they plugged into was actually broken and a maintenance worker had to come and replace the box. The park people asked them if they wanted to move sites, but they declined, because they had done all the leveling and hook-ups and were suffering with heat exhaustion too.   

   The lesson we, and I'm sure the couple in the motorhome learned, is that as soon as you pull into a camping site, don't unhitch the trailer or perform any of the set up until you plug into the electrical box and turn on the water make sure everything works. Then once you know all is working, finish setting up your trailer.  

   

Unfortunately, once you have heat exhaustion, you don't just perk back up. We spent hours putting ice on our heads, faces and chests and drank tons more water, all while taking it very easy.

DINNER AND A GAME OF DND

Want to take your DND to the next level?

   My family is kind of a nerdy bunch, which includes a love for Dungeons and Dragons. But I have one daughter that absolutely goes over the top with her group. People would pay to get into her events. It's like being in an escape room or attending a mystery dinner. She just finished a two year campaign as the DM (Dungeon Master). Now, not all campaigns take this long, but her group didn't want it to end. Now that it is summer, maybe it would be a fun time to try out just a summer campaign using some of these ideas.

   For each game she decorates the play area with thematic decorations, as well as goody bags that have munchies, often including individual sized liquors. She uses a lap top that has computerized photos and sounds of scenes they were involved in, and to top it off, when  the lap top is not being used, she has back ground music playing to enhance the game.  Holiday's like Easter and Christmas are even designed and placed into the quest. She even enlisted her dad to record campaign summaries before each new adventure. In one event there was a mass combat scenario where we printed out, and cut over 120 images of magic casters, monsters, cavalry and foot soldiers. Then she wrote the stat of the military unit on the back of EACH ONE OF THEM. She purchased little individual  plastic stands from Amazon to stand each one up. The whole process was  a bit time consuming, but this is what makes the games more fun.

   Last week her group started a new campaign with one of the other players wanting to give it a try and DM. In order to help him out, she is going to provide dinner before the games which means new dishes and silverware  that  look and feel like the time period.  The menu for these nights will always be in character with the game. For example, for her first meal, she served a hearty stew with home made bread. 

 So how does one keep the same group for two years and always have them show up excited and ready to play? By taking it to the next level.