Catching the Magic

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

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Singapore

A wonderful visit to Singapore Zoo

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Holidays

Whilst on a sunshine holiday, in the midst of New Zealand’s winter, we enjoyed a fantastic day-trip to Singapore Zoo, along with Chinese Grandma and Granddad, who flew in from the UK to meet us for a holiday. The Zoo is set in a rainforest (so take an umbrella!), though there are a vast array […]

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Wishing for heat

August 10, 2015 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Holidays

Three weeks back in New Zealand and I am already lusting after the heat of our Singapore holiday. It seems so much longer since I was stood by the side of the Singapore river, holding an umbrella for shade from the sun, feeling the thirst for water as my body responded to the constant heat […]

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My Sunday Photos | Gardens By The Bay, Singapore

August 2, 2015February 29, 2016 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Holidays

Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore, opened to the public in 2011. It is an amazing development, which brings to life a vision of creating a City in a Garden, as described in detail on the Gardens by the Bay website. Towering over the gardens is the ‘Supertree Grove‘, which made me think of the […]

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Water play & keeping cool with children in Singapore

July 31, 2015February 29, 2016 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Country Kids, Header, Holidays

Coming from a New Zealand winter the heat and humidity of Singapore was both welcoming and – at times – exhausting. However, plentiful air conditioned spaces and a great apartment to sleep in meant we were given respite from the heat – failing that we simply sought out water; by way of drinking it, playing […]

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Magic moments on holiday with Grandparents in Singapore

July 30, 2015February 29, 2016 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Header, Holidays, Life in action - Videos

Singapore, halfway between the UK and NZ, or thereabouts. A guaranteed warm destination to break up our NZ winter. A couple of weeks by the pool with plenty of entertainment to please everyone in our group – from the children (aged 5, 9 and 12) to the parents (myself and hubby) and the grandparents (who […]

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Singapore calling!

July 3, 2015July 10, 2018 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Adventures, Blasts from the past, Holidays

It’s been over ten years since I last visited Singapore, in 2005. That visit was accompanying my hubby on business, with our first born daughter (at 19 months of age). I’d also travelled before children, back in 2002 (which was an entirely different experience!). On Sunday night I will be flying to Singapore again, with hubby […]

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Hot, tropical days in Singapore

January 17, 2005July 28, 2010 Charlotte Leave a comment Charlotte, Holidays

Daddy took his girls with him on a work trip to Singapore and we all had lots of fun in the sun!

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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

  • Walking the Paekākāriki Escarpment Track February 1, 2021
  • Patuna Chasm | A river walk like no other! January 24, 2021
  • 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

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Sarah Lee's books

The Toll
it was amazing
The Toll
by Neal Shusterman
Dear Evan Hansen
really liked it
Dear Evan Hansen
by Val Emmich
A Map of Days
really liked it
A Map of Days
by Ransom Riggs
The Absolute Book
it was amazing
The Absolute Book
by Elizabeth Knox
The Furthest Station
really liked it
The Furthest Station
by Ben Aaronovitch

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