Catching the Magic

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

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taupo

The magic moments that make a holiday – snippets from Taupo

October 12, 2015February 29, 2016 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Header, Life in action - Videos

As a family, on holiday, we tend to have a day of all action, thrills and spills, followed by a quieter day of simple fun. Whenever I look back on holidays those simple activities, and smaller side-trips, are often what stay in the mind more than the action packed days. As a Mum it’s seeing […]

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A ride on the wild side of the Waikato River, Taupo, New Zealand

October 2, 2015October 10, 2015 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Adventures, Country Kids, Holidays, Life in action - Videos

Strictly speaking, we simply did the riding – not the driving – but I can assure you – it was WILD (erm, thanks – *I think* – to Jeremy, our guide). I didn’t really comprehend the adrenalin rush that the Huka Falls Jet Boat would give me, until I tried to stand up straight – […]

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Magic Moment – reunited with the man of the house & prawn fishing!

September 29, 2015October 2, 2015 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Adventures, Country Kids, Dan, Holidays, Life in action - Videos

After eight sleeps away on business, the man of the house is back! He was away in the UK and flew the long haul to LA, and on to Auckland, before the ‘hop’ down to Taupo to meet up with us on Sunday. Taupo Airport is a gorgeous place to hang out, especially in the […]

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A week on the road – Part two

October 10, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Holidays

We arrived in Taupo on day three of our holiday, after an energetic morning on the ski slopes, and as we drove up to the Anchorage we were filled with memories of our amazing January holiday with ‘Chicken’ Grandma and Grandad. They were in our thoughts every day and the wonderful memories made us feel […]

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Off we go!

September 28, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Holidays

We’re off on Monday for seven night’s driving round the middle of the North Island. First stop is the carrot capital of New Zealand,Ohakune, where we’ll spend two night’s just outside the town. The weather forecast for Mt Ruapehu isn’t looking wonderful for Tuesday, but there’s sun forecast for Wednesday. With a bit of luck […]

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All in a morning at Taupo…

February 11, 2008November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Holidays

From experiencing a simulation of the Edgecumbe Earthquake at the Volcanic Activity Centre … and watching the awesome power of water flooding through the Aratiatia Rapids… to learning how honey is made at ‘The Honey Hive’ and sampling locally farmed prawns at the Huka Prawn Park for lunch. Our holiday in Taupo was over a […]

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Sailing on Lake Taupo

February 11, 2008March 21, 2011 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Holidays

There are numerous ways to enjoy Lake Taupo. When the girls are older we’ll look forward to taking our own vessel out on the water; but in the meantime we enjoyed a sail on a yacht named ‘Barbary‘, once owned by Errol Flynn. It was an extremely peaceful way to enjoy the lake. The girls […]

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A Wild Way to Get a Fix!

February 6, 2008November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Holidays, Life in action - Videos

After an afternoon’s walk around ‘Crater’s of the Moon‘ we thought we’d fit in a visit to Huka Falls. The gates to the carpark close at 6pm and with 10-minutes to spare we raced to the viewpoint. On our way we spotted some adrenaline pumped kayakers and couldn’t believe our luck! Dan and Grandad promptly […]

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A Special First in Taupo

February 6, 2008November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Holidays

Our first day in Taupo was pretty special. The girls were so excited to see their Grandma and Grandad and gave beautiful, heart-warming, unprompted hugs. We spent a lovely morning at the delightfully quaint Lilliput Fun and Animal Park. It was here that Grandma and Grandad enjoyed a rare treat to experience a first for […]

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Nine Months and Crawling… (time to hide your toys Charli!)

October 12, 2006May 27, 2010 Sophie Leave a comment Holidays, Sophie

On the first night of my Taupo holiday I finally learnt how to roll onto my tummy. Daddy had taken Charli down to the bar, whilst Mummy tried to get me to sleep (but that was the furthest thing from my mind!).

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Blowing off some steam in Taupo

September 27, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Leave a comment Dan, Holidays

I recently had to travel to Taupo for a work charity golf classic (yes, I know it’s a hard life). So I thought it would be a good idea to take a last break before the Christmas silly season and pile up of work swing into full gear.

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First Holiday

April 20, 2006July 28, 2010 Sophie Leave a comment Holidays, Sophie

What a great first holiday!

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Geysers, Alarms and Signs

April 20, 2006May 27, 2010 Charlotte Leave a comment Charlotte, Holidays

I went on holiday to learn about geysers and spent lots of time bouncing on the trampoline at our holiday home, walking through smoking fumaroles, past mud pools and exploring thermal wonders. I swam every day and loved the hot pools.

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Lake Taupo. Simply Stunning.

April 12, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Leave a comment Dan, Holidays

We spent 7 days in Taupo for a pre-Easter break. What a top notch time. Charli saw her first geyser!

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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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