For a while now I've been looking for good Social Studies videos for us to watch together as a family. The idea is that we watch 15 minutes or so every day (typically while eating lunch), stopping and starting the videos and chatting together about the topics raised.
But the problem is that either they are "talking head" style, more suitable for teens/adults, or they try to be too "cool", with speedy graphics, silly jokes and fast talkers. We want something somewhere in between, and that's not easy to find.
A year or so ago we got into Geography Now, which has a country-by-country approach where each 10-ish minute video looks at the main features of a single country (physical environment, people, flag, politics, history, etc). And while it was both informative and fun (and Mulan and Miya enjoyed watching it), it was still a little too "cool/fast", meaning that I felt that a bit too much of it went over the heads of the kids. So, I made an executive decision and looked elsewhere (for now).
Next we tried Khan Academy's history series, again watching it daily for several weeks. We watched the ancient history stuff, and all learnt a lot from it. But unfortunately, this was too much the other way -- too talking head-ish, and the kids grew to not like it so much. This time it was Mulan and Miya who informed us that we should try something else.
Our latest find is Crash Course, which so far seems to be just right (though maybe slightly towards the "too fast" side). Yesterday, we completed watching their World Mythology series, which we all greatly enjoyed and learnt a lot from. (We chose this topic by a family vote, and we all think we chose well!)
We have also just started Crash Course's Games series (voted for by Mulan and Miya), and while interesting, it doesn't seem quite so good as the Mythology series. Mostly, we are disappointed at the narrowness of topic. One with a broad sense of history might expect it to be an examination of games in different societies throughout history, with maybe one or two videos on modern video/computer games. But actually it is the other way around -- that is, it's mostly about modern video gaming, with just a few videos on the broader history. Oh well, we are still continuing to watch it (I'm having fun reminiscing about the old games/machines, with plenty of stories of when Daddy was a little boy!).
Tuesday 30 January 2018
Saturday 20 January 2018
Coromandel holiday
We've just got back from a six-day car trip to and around the Coromandel/Rotorua area.
Our car was fully loaded with seven people, as joining the four of us on the trip were Sanmei (Mama's cousin), her hubby and two-year-old son. (Sanmei and family were here in New Zealand for a quick nine-day holiday.)
Day 1:
We left home on the morning of Friday the 12th of January, heading south. Exiting the motorway at Takanini, we followed the coast road around the Firth of Thames, before stopping for lunch at Thames.
While at Thames, we had a quick look at the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum, though we didn't pay for the tour. The gift shop had an interesting collection of rocks and fossils, which Mulan, Miya and I wandered through.
The coastal road from Thames to Coromandel town had been battered by the recent storm, and parts had either been washed away or covered with debris, meaning a slower than usual journey. But at least the road was open by the time we went through, even if we did have to occasionally do stop-start convoys on single-lane stretches of road. And while we didn't see any dead fish, some areas we passed through were strongly fishy smelly.
Our accommodation for the night was cabins at Oamaru Bay Tourist Park, and we arrived there just in time to check in and dump our bags before heading out again.
We were in a rush as we had booked tickets on the Driving Creek Railway, riding up the hill to the "Eyefull Tower" lookout for dinner. The train journey and the sunset dinner were totally amazing, and very much worth it.
On the train ride down we even saw a few glowworms, though unfortunately just as we were travelling through the glowworm section Mulan discovered a giant stick insect in her hair and I was gently finding it in the dark without squashing it.
(There must be lots of big stick insects in the area as Mama also got one in her hair at the Tower, which we successfully repatriated to a nearby tree.)
We arrived back at our cabin to discover it like a furnace inside -- not pleasant to try to sleep in, and no fans supplied to cool things down. But other than that the cabin was good.
Day 2:
Next morning after breakfast, Mulan, Miya and I walked several metres from our cabin to the beach for a quick swim before departing.
Our destination for the day was Whitianga, and we took the scenic (unsealed) 309 Road through the forest. We had a couple of planned stops along the way, first at the Waiau Falls and then at the Waiau Kauri Grove, where we had lunch. Both places were pleasant short walks. We also had an unplanned stop at a wild pig herd, which the local farmers apparently feed.
Our accommodation for the night was On the Beach Backpackers Lodge, and it was probably the least good place we stayed at. Sanmei's family stayed in a private room, but our family stayed in a four-bed dorm room, which, while livable, was uncomfortably small.
That afternoon we had our second swim of the day, at the beach across the road from the Lodge.
Day 3:
This was the busiest day for our family.
We (us four) had booked a dawn guided kayak tour to Cathedral Cove, but unfortunately they phoned us the day before to say it was cancelled due to strong winds. Instead, they suggested a later time and alternate course closer into the bay, where it would be more sheltered. Same price, and not nearly as scenic, nonetheless, with mixed feelings, we agreed to it.
At 8:30 am, we met our guide at the far end of Cooks Beach, where, after some initial instruction we were soon away into the water. We had two double sea kayaks (plus our guide in a single kayak) -- Miya was with me and Mulan was with Mama.
From Cooks Beach we paddled towards Lonely Bay. It started to rain a little as we got to the other end of Cooks Beach, but not too much and it soon cleared up again. Just before Lonely Bay, we took a small detour into a blowhole in the cliffs.
Stopping at Lonely Bay for about 30 min, our guide prepared us hot drinks while the girls had a swim in the sea. Then it was back in the kayaks for the final leg of our paddle, around the cliffs and into Flaxmill Cove. From there, we jumped into the waiting ute where they drove us back to our car at Cooks Beach, arriving just before midday. All in all a pleasant little paddle, and a nice intro to sea kayaking for the girls, but quite overpriced for what it was in the end.
Once back at our car, we immediately drove to the Ferry Landing, where we picked up Sanmei and family, who had caught the ferry across from Whitianga. And then it was quickly on to Hot Water Beach to catch the hot water before the tide came in.
Sanmei and family decided that the Hot Water Beach was too hot (sunny), staying instead in the car while us four ate lunch at the beach and had a swim.
At 2:30 pm we had to move on, as Sanmei's family had booked a boat tour to Cathedral Cove, which departed from Cooks Beach.
Then, while Sanmei's family were boating to Cathedral Cove, we drove to Hahei Village where we picked up a shuttle bus to the start of the Cathedral Cove walk. While it was a pleasant walk, we (and especially Mulan) were beginning to feel it was all a bit rushed. We also felt that the track and beach were too crowded, making it overall, on balance, not quite as good as many other, less popular, bush/beach walks in New Zealand.
Then it was back to Cooks Beach to pick up Sanmei's family, before finally driving to our accommodation at Waihi, which we got to about 8 pm. (Our accommodation for the night was an Airbnb four-bedroom house.)
Day 4:
From Waihi we drove via Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, where we had lunch in Mount Drury Reserve. The kids had a pleasant play at the excellent playground, before having a quick look at the beach.
Driving via Papamoa, we headed towards Rotorua, for the final part of our holiday.
Our accommodation for the final two nights was at Jack and Di's Lodge, right on Lake Rotorua in Ngongotaha. (This place was very close to where we stayed during our campervan trip during the winter of 2015.) The owners of the Lodge were very friendly, and their little boy quickly made friends with Mulan and Miya.
That evening, Sanmei's family did the Maori Experience and dinner.
Day 5:
First up, in the morning we visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Mama had visited this in 2004, when she first holidayed in New Zealand. But I had never been there (usually we go to Whakarewarewa).
At Wai-O-Tapu, they induce the Lady Knox geyser to erupt every morning at 10:15 am, by dropping some chemicals down the hole. And while it was good to see, somehow it loses something by not being quite so "natural".
After the geyser show we walked around the geothermal park, doing the "red" and "orange" walks, but not the "yellow" one as we had to leave at 12:30 pm. The weather wasn't great during the walk, with it drizzly-raining most of the time.
I still feel that I prefer Whakarewarewa over Wai-O-Tapu, though Mama disagrees with me. I think the difference is that Mama likes the wider, flat, open geothermal areas with the different colours, whereas I liked that Whakarewarewa is also a living village.
After Wai-O-Tapu, us four has the afternoon to rest around the Lodge, while Sanmei's family went to a Farm Show. They were also going to go up the Rotorua Skyline and have dinner at the top, though changed their minds when Sanmei's jandals were rejected by the strict dress code at the restaurant.
Day 6:
Leaving Rotorua just before 9 am, we arrived in Matamata in time for the 10 am Hobbiton tour, which Sanmei's family had booked.
Upon arrival, we discovered that Miya would be free and Mulan would be $39.50, so the girls went on the tour as well. And that meant that Mama and I got a few hours of couple-time together, walking in a park and up the main street, before they arrived back from Hobbiton.
Our final stop before Auckland and home was a property inspection at our Huntly investment property (which was all good).
---
In all, the costs for the seven of us were:
Accommodation:
Coromandel: $310
Whitianga: $300
Waihi: $237.90
Rotorua (2 nights): $623.30
Driving Creek Rail: $213
Kayak (4 people): $340
Boat Trip (3 people): $190
Cathedral Cove bus (4 people): $10
Maori Experience (3 people): $234
Wai-O-Tapu: $150
Farm Show (3 people): $57.60
Hobbiton (5 people): $197.50
Petrol: $150 (approx)
TOTAL: $3013.30
Our car was fully loaded with seven people, as joining the four of us on the trip were Sanmei (Mama's cousin), her hubby and two-year-old son. (Sanmei and family were here in New Zealand for a quick nine-day holiday.)
Day 1:
We left home on the morning of Friday the 12th of January, heading south. Exiting the motorway at Takanini, we followed the coast road around the Firth of Thames, before stopping for lunch at Thames.
While at Thames, we had a quick look at the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum, though we didn't pay for the tour. The gift shop had an interesting collection of rocks and fossils, which Mulan, Miya and I wandered through.
The coastal road from Thames to Coromandel town had been battered by the recent storm, and parts had either been washed away or covered with debris, meaning a slower than usual journey. But at least the road was open by the time we went through, even if we did have to occasionally do stop-start convoys on single-lane stretches of road. And while we didn't see any dead fish, some areas we passed through were strongly fishy smelly.
Our accommodation for the night was cabins at Oamaru Bay Tourist Park, and we arrived there just in time to check in and dump our bags before heading out again.
We were in a rush as we had booked tickets on the Driving Creek Railway, riding up the hill to the "Eyefull Tower" lookout for dinner. The train journey and the sunset dinner were totally amazing, and very much worth it.
On the train ride down we even saw a few glowworms, though unfortunately just as we were travelling through the glowworm section Mulan discovered a giant stick insect in her hair and I was gently finding it in the dark without squashing it.
(There must be lots of big stick insects in the area as Mama also got one in her hair at the Tower, which we successfully repatriated to a nearby tree.)
We arrived back at our cabin to discover it like a furnace inside -- not pleasant to try to sleep in, and no fans supplied to cool things down. But other than that the cabin was good.
Day 2:
Next morning after breakfast, Mulan, Miya and I walked several metres from our cabin to the beach for a quick swim before departing.
Our destination for the day was Whitianga, and we took the scenic (unsealed) 309 Road through the forest. We had a couple of planned stops along the way, first at the Waiau Falls and then at the Waiau Kauri Grove, where we had lunch. Both places were pleasant short walks. We also had an unplanned stop at a wild pig herd, which the local farmers apparently feed.
Our accommodation for the night was On the Beach Backpackers Lodge, and it was probably the least good place we stayed at. Sanmei's family stayed in a private room, but our family stayed in a four-bed dorm room, which, while livable, was uncomfortably small.
That afternoon we had our second swim of the day, at the beach across the road from the Lodge.
Day 3:
This was the busiest day for our family.
We (us four) had booked a dawn guided kayak tour to Cathedral Cove, but unfortunately they phoned us the day before to say it was cancelled due to strong winds. Instead, they suggested a later time and alternate course closer into the bay, where it would be more sheltered. Same price, and not nearly as scenic, nonetheless, with mixed feelings, we agreed to it.
At 8:30 am, we met our guide at the far end of Cooks Beach, where, after some initial instruction we were soon away into the water. We had two double sea kayaks (plus our guide in a single kayak) -- Miya was with me and Mulan was with Mama.
From Cooks Beach we paddled towards Lonely Bay. It started to rain a little as we got to the other end of Cooks Beach, but not too much and it soon cleared up again. Just before Lonely Bay, we took a small detour into a blowhole in the cliffs.
Stopping at Lonely Bay for about 30 min, our guide prepared us hot drinks while the girls had a swim in the sea. Then it was back in the kayaks for the final leg of our paddle, around the cliffs and into Flaxmill Cove. From there, we jumped into the waiting ute where they drove us back to our car at Cooks Beach, arriving just before midday. All in all a pleasant little paddle, and a nice intro to sea kayaking for the girls, but quite overpriced for what it was in the end.
Once back at our car, we immediately drove to the Ferry Landing, where we picked up Sanmei and family, who had caught the ferry across from Whitianga. And then it was quickly on to Hot Water Beach to catch the hot water before the tide came in.
Sanmei and family decided that the Hot Water Beach was too hot (sunny), staying instead in the car while us four ate lunch at the beach and had a swim.
At 2:30 pm we had to move on, as Sanmei's family had booked a boat tour to Cathedral Cove, which departed from Cooks Beach.
Then, while Sanmei's family were boating to Cathedral Cove, we drove to Hahei Village where we picked up a shuttle bus to the start of the Cathedral Cove walk. While it was a pleasant walk, we (and especially Mulan) were beginning to feel it was all a bit rushed. We also felt that the track and beach were too crowded, making it overall, on balance, not quite as good as many other, less popular, bush/beach walks in New Zealand.
Then it was back to Cooks Beach to pick up Sanmei's family, before finally driving to our accommodation at Waihi, which we got to about 8 pm. (Our accommodation for the night was an Airbnb four-bedroom house.)
Day 4:
From Waihi we drove via Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, where we had lunch in Mount Drury Reserve. The kids had a pleasant play at the excellent playground, before having a quick look at the beach.
Driving via Papamoa, we headed towards Rotorua, for the final part of our holiday.
Our accommodation for the final two nights was at Jack and Di's Lodge, right on Lake Rotorua in Ngongotaha. (This place was very close to where we stayed during our campervan trip during the winter of 2015.) The owners of the Lodge were very friendly, and their little boy quickly made friends with Mulan and Miya.
That evening, Sanmei's family did the Maori Experience and dinner.
Day 5:
First up, in the morning we visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Mama had visited this in 2004, when she first holidayed in New Zealand. But I had never been there (usually we go to Whakarewarewa).
At Wai-O-Tapu, they induce the Lady Knox geyser to erupt every morning at 10:15 am, by dropping some chemicals down the hole. And while it was good to see, somehow it loses something by not being quite so "natural".
After the geyser show we walked around the geothermal park, doing the "red" and "orange" walks, but not the "yellow" one as we had to leave at 12:30 pm. The weather wasn't great during the walk, with it drizzly-raining most of the time.
I still feel that I prefer Whakarewarewa over Wai-O-Tapu, though Mama disagrees with me. I think the difference is that Mama likes the wider, flat, open geothermal areas with the different colours, whereas I liked that Whakarewarewa is also a living village.
After Wai-O-Tapu, us four has the afternoon to rest around the Lodge, while Sanmei's family went to a Farm Show. They were also going to go up the Rotorua Skyline and have dinner at the top, though changed their minds when Sanmei's jandals were rejected by the strict dress code at the restaurant.
Day 6:
Leaving Rotorua just before 9 am, we arrived in Matamata in time for the 10 am Hobbiton tour, which Sanmei's family had booked.
Upon arrival, we discovered that Miya would be free and Mulan would be $39.50, so the girls went on the tour as well. And that meant that Mama and I got a few hours of couple-time together, walking in a park and up the main street, before they arrived back from Hobbiton.
Our final stop before Auckland and home was a property inspection at our Huntly investment property (which was all good).
---
In all, the costs for the seven of us were:
Accommodation:
Coromandel: $310
Whitianga: $300
Waihi: $237.90
Rotorua (2 nights): $623.30
Driving Creek Rail: $213
Kayak (4 people): $340
Boat Trip (3 people): $190
Cathedral Cove bus (4 people): $10
Maori Experience (3 people): $234
Wai-O-Tapu: $150
Farm Show (3 people): $57.60
Hobbiton (5 people): $197.50
Petrol: $150 (approx)
TOTAL: $3013.30
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