Catching the Magic

Two Brits in Aotearoa bringing up three little 'Kiwis'. Our children: Our future. Haere Mai!

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  • Travel
    • Auckland in 7 days – June 2010
    • Byron Bay and the Gold Coast (2005 and 2016)
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    • Long haul travel, New Zealand to England, with our 9 month old
    • England via San Francisco – July 2007
    • England via Santa Barbara & San Francisco, 2012
    • UK (2014, Sept 2016, April 2017, April 2018, Dec. & Jan. 2018/19)
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Photo Gallery

My Sunday Photo – from Ambleside YHA, in the Lake District, England

September 26, 2016 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Header, Holidays, Photo Gallery, Sarah

This time last week we arrived in the Lake District and settled into the YHA in Ambleside for three nights. We enjoyed a wonderful few days in the Lake District, as well as enjoying the most beautiful scenery from our accommodation, located right on the shore of Lake Windermere. This was the view from our […]

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An afternoon in Windsor

September 18, 2016September 20, 2016 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Header, Holidays, Photo Gallery, Sarah

Windsor is a short drive from my folks home, in North Hampshire, and a few days after landing in the UK they took us to see Windsor Castle. We didn’t have time to look around the inside of the castle, but young Alice, aged 6, was more than content. She was delighted to have a […]

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Walking the headland reserve of Te Raikaihau Point

September 4, 2016September 4, 2016 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Header, Photo Gallery, Trails, Walks

This beautiful reserve is such a special place and we feel very fortunate to live close by. As we climb up to the incredible viewpoint, over the Cook Strait, Wellington’s harbour entrance, Lyall Bay, and beyond to the South Island of New Zealand, we always feel like we are miles away from civilisation (when in […]

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Sunday Photos from Carlucciland

April 3, 2016April 4, 2016 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Alice, Country Kids, Header, Photo Gallery

Carlucciland never loses its appeal. We drive past it every day on the way to school and my six year old, in particular, always asks when we can fit in a game. Well, today, with hubby keeping our ten year old and her friend amused (with a lovely trip over the hill to Martinborough for […]

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A favourite place – Martinborough | The Photo Gallery

June 4, 2015 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Martinborough, Photo Gallery, Seasons

Last weekend we spent in one of my favourite places, Martinborough in the Wairarapa. It’s a favourite because of its accessibility from Wellington. Only an hour or so to get there (give and take the traffic and driving conditions on the Rimutaka Hill). It’s a place where I feel light and free to unwind, with […]

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Landscapes of autumn from Wellington

May 19, 2015May 20, 2015 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Photo Gallery, Seasons

The seagulls flock together at dusk, thankful for a calm evening, after a torrid week of storms. On the high hills, of the greater Wellington region, the wind catches on the cliff edge, strong enough to lean into and imagine one could fly. In the Botanical Garden of the capital city the deciduous trees beckon […]

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The Photo Gallery | One Day in May

May 9, 2015May 9, 2015 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Learning & growing, Photo Gallery, Running

May in New Zealand is a month of shorter days and candle-lit nights, a month of celebrating mothers on Mother’s Day and cross-country running. It’s a month when the colours of a summer well spent are trying desperately to cling on – but fading with every short day of light and howling storm. I love […]

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The Photo Gallery | My Back Garden

April 30, 2015 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Garden, Martinborough, Photo Gallery

This is the garden of our home in Martinborough, where we escape to as often as time allows. It’s our weekend retreat in the countryside, where the climate is frequently several degrees warmer than our place in Wellington – on the beautiful, but often wild and rugged south coast of the North Island of New […]

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The Photo Gallery | Colour – on my Birthday

April 22, 2015 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Photo Gallery, Sarah, Special Days

There has been colour from afar, by way of gifts and cards, and colour near to me, by way of nature, food and art. There has been colour in my children’s creations and in the candles, lit to warm the dark. I have been spoiled with loving gifts and thoughts this week, in celebrating my […]

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Three daughters, all at school! A VERY new chapter!

March 27, 2015April 1, 2015 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments New beginnings, Photo Gallery, Relationships, Sarah

After twelve years of being a very full-time stay at home Mummy (including three and a half years homeschooling my middle daughter, whilst caring for my third born from home all her first five years, and fifteen months living in the USA, where all three daughters were homeschooled) I am now the very proud (and […]

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Poignant moments from my week in Black and White: The Photo Gallery

March 5, 2015 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Our pets, Photo Gallery

Black and white is the theme this week on ‘The Photo Gallery’ and it is especially poignant as I struggle to let my youngest child ‘go’, and settle her into school. I feel like my wild butterfly is being closed up in a box, of sorts, and having her wings clipped. The vibrant colours of […]

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Life is a changing!

February 26, 2015 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Learning & growing, New beginnings, Our pets, Photo Gallery, Running

There have been so many momentous changes in our family life this year so far. This week, by far, has been the biggest. I have experienced, for the first time in nearly twelve years, having all three of my daughters AT SCHOOL! I have soooo many feelings about this. My emotions are on a non-stop […]

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The Photo Gallery | Colour

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Photo Gallery

It’s been a wonderful past week of celebrations. February is such a busy month for Birthdays (not just in our family, but so many friends too!)… May must be the month for ‘lurve’ is all I can say! Here’s a gem of a photo from our youngest daughter’s 5th Birthday party (still coming to terms […]

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Playing in the Wellington heat wave

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Photo Gallery, School hols, Seasons

It’s been scorching in Wellington this past week (and after acclimatising to warmer temperatures in our year and a bit living in southern California) hubby and I have been LOVING it! This was my view the other day (from the shelter of a beach tent – weighted down with driftwood) of my hubby and youngest […]

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Welcome to the ramblings & photographs of a British expat Mum living mostly in Wellington (aka *coffee capital of the world*), New Zealand, since 1997.

This blog is a way to preserve sanity whilst raising children, capture the magic in the chaos, and share tales with family, friends, fellow parents and expats.

Along with my British born husband we have been bringing up our three Kiwi born daughters in the land of sheep, kiwi fruit and fine wine, since 2003 (with a brief 16 months living in Santa Barbara, California - where we home educated our daughters). We both first landed on New Zealand soil in 1996 (hubby) and 1997 (myself) - as fresh graduates from the UK wanting to live and work overseas... our 'OE' turned into something a lot longer and more life changing than we could ever have first anticipated!

Thank you for stopping by (if you would like to know more visit the 'About' page!).
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Recent Posts

  • One week into 2021 January 10, 2021
  • Festive greetings from Aotearoa! December 23, 2020
  • Term 4 and winding down to the last days of school for 2020 December 1, 2020
  • ‘HELLO’ November 24, 2020
  • A spring holiday in Wanaka and Queenstown’s outdoor playgrounds! November 1, 2020
  • End of Term 3! October 2, 2020
  • Before the pandemic! ‘Six’ the musical in Sydney September 26, 2020
  • I miss her, Mum, even though she’s not gone. July 23, 2020
  • Our ‘bubble’ of 5 million has done it! June 9, 2020
  • Reflections on coming out of seven weeks of lockdown in New Zealand May 13, 2020
  • Reminiscing on the second half of 2019 and our summer highlights April 19, 2020
  • Visits to my folks in England, Sept. 2019 & March 2020 – with plentiful National Trust visits! April 15, 2020

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Sarah Lee's books

The Toll
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The Toll
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Dear Evan Hansen
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Dear Evan Hansen
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