Day 16: Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika: A Beachy Christmas

Merry Christmas! We started the morning with our Santa stockings, then ate a muffin and yogurt breakfast before getting all packed up for the next adventure.

We made a stop at the Otira Viaduct Lookout to check out the other side of the mountain before we drove down it today. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any of Kea (the world’s only alpine parrot), but I think we’ll have another chance at a later stop.

The drive was a quick one today at just 1.5 hours. It was a windy drive, but no crazy rain or other challenges. In case you are curious, we have been keeping the troops entertained through the podcasts Million Bazillion, Smash Boom Best, Brains On, and Forever Ago. We’ve been spicing it up with some music, too.

Hoping this isn’t my usual driving look, but so glad it was captured 😉

A sunny beach greeted us in Hokitika. What an amazing way to spend Christmas! We filled our bellies with a cheese, meat, and cracker picnic lunch, followed by nearly four hours of playing in the sand. It was the perfect day.

The “Pinterest vision” I had of our whole family jumping behind “Merry Christmas” in the sand didn’t quite come together.

Nicholas was able to successfully complete the mission

Parts of all 4 members, but missing Nicholas’ body

A nice stranger captured us all at the “pooping” stage before jumping in front of “y Christma”

We later showered and headed out to what may be one of the boys’ first fancy buffet dinners. They were overwhelmed by the table filled with desserts, but managed to eat some real food before hitting up that table. We also did our first Christmas crackers (where you pull on the firework type wrapping to reveal a tissue crown and ornament).

A nice, long, family walk through town and out to Sunset Point wrapped up our 2022 Christmas evening.

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