Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

  • Home
  • About
  • Blasts from the past
  • Country Kids
  • Motherhood
  • Poetry
    • 2011 Poetry
    • 2012 Poetry
    • 2013 Poetry
    • 2014 Poetry
    • 2015 Poetry
    • 2016 Poetry
    • 2017-2018 Poetry
  • Travel
    • Auckland
    • Fiordland
    • Kapiti Coast
    • Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough & Canterbury
    • Otago, Queenstown, Wanaka & Southern Lakes
    • Taupo, Rotorua & Tongariro National Park
    • Wairarapa
    • Byron Bay and the Gold Coast (2005 and 2016)
    • Californian Adventures, 2013-14
    • Canada, Dec. 2018
    • Cook Islands
    • Copenhagen, July & August 2014
    • Japan
    • Singapore
    • Sydney
    • UK Visits from 2014 to 2022
    • England via Santa Barbara & San Francisco, 2012
    • England via San Francisco – July 2007
    • NZ to UK, with our 9 month old, 2004
  • Running
  • Special Days

Author: Dan

Cellphone Cameras Rock!

September 7, 2006September 7, 2006 Dan Dan, Technology

Cellphone cameras rock. Pictures anytime, anywhere. Here are six.

Continue reading


Fathers’ Day

September 3, 2006November 28, 2009 Dan 1 Comment Dan, Special Days

Fathers’ Day started with a rude 5.00am awakening courtesy of Charli, who happened to be out on the tiles the previous night till a near-record 10pm! I should have sensed the omens were going to be good though

Continue reading


The Lion King

August 29, 2006December 7, 2009 Dan Our pets

Our cat Simba simply loves his brand new house. Look how happy he is.

Continue reading


Learning to Bake. At 33!

August 18, 2006May 27, 2010 Dan 1 Comment Baking, Dan

Yes, it’s true. I am finally learning to bake at the ripe old age of 33. If a 3 year old can do it then so can I. Maybe.

Continue reading


Meeting My Girls For Lunch

August 16, 2006December 7, 2009 Dan 1 Comment Dan

What a hard life it is sometimes. One of the perks of Wellington, being that it is such a small city, is that quite often I can meet “my girls” for lunch.

Continue reading


Moving On

June 10, 2006December 7, 2009 Dan Sarah

We’re selling up and moving on, the Beanie Gals are hard at work. We had our first ‘Open Home’ on Sunday and myself and the girls are hard at work keeping the house ‘sparkly’ for prospective buyers.

Continue reading


Play Dough and The Italian Job

May 30, 2006July 28, 2010 Dan Charlotte

Daddy and Charli made Play Dough at the weekend and Charli did a road test with her new Mini.

Continue reading


We have a new house!!

May 5, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Dan

We now have the house of all family houses. Excitement or what? Buying a house here in New Zealand is soooo easy.

Continue reading


Lake Taupo. Simply Stunning.

April 12, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Dan, Holidays

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

Continue reading


The Harsh Reality of IT

March 23, 2006September 5, 2006 Dan Dan, Technology

A colleague left us today, we ordered in some pizza and we all had a good time. “So where’s this heading?”, you ask.

Continue reading


Winter’s Coming

March 18, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Dan

Today was the last day before the clocks go back, and winter well and truly sets in. You’d never know it though.

Continue reading


The Bus of Death

March 16, 2006September 5, 2006 Dan Dan

Why is it that commuting is such a souless affair? Everyone sits in silence. No one smiles. Why or why oh why?

Continue reading


Charlie the Builder

March 15, 2006November 27, 2009 Dan Dan

It’s amazing when you leave your little children what they come up with. Where do they learn it from?

Continue reading


Technobabble

March 14, 2006September 7, 2006 Dan Dan, Technology

Playing the PSP game Liberty Cities, it suddenly dawned upon me how “rock solid” these software programs are – something the business world can certainly learn from.

Continue reading


Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts
  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!February 20, 2025
    In November 2024 I took on the epic endurance event of the 50km WAI2K Ultra, from Woodside Train Station in Greytown, through the hills of the Wairarapa and Kaitoke Regional Park, to Tunnel Gully Upper Picnic Area in Upper Hutt. This mixed terrain course involves around 2,500m of elevation gain through dense scrub, beautiful native… Read more: WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.February 6, 2025
    Life is never all sunshine and roses. When we have had the good fortunate of having people in our lives that we’ve loved deeply, and have felt their love in return, it is painful to see that person suffering. Life is all about beginnings and endings, hellos and goodbyes, first moments and celebrations, and also… Read more: Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024January 6, 2025
    At the end of May 2024 my husband and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and took the opportunity to grab a fix of winter sunshine, over the ‘King’s Birthday’ weekend public holiday (beginning of June), with a trip to the Gold Coast – on Australia’s East Coast. We were joined by our children, Sophie… Read more: Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024January 2, 2025
    After over twenty five years of living thousands of miles away from my birth country, and many flights back and forth, I am still in awe of the fact I can be on the other side of the world in 24 hours. I remind myself that jet passenger services didn’t start until the late 1950s… Read more: ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024
  • Race Tekapo 50kmSeptember 29, 2024
    Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch. Our flight… Read more: Race Tekapo 50km
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail MarathonMay 30, 2024
    This was one of the most beautiful trail marathons I’ve ran and was a great way to celebrate a summer of running and see in the beginning of autumn (though the weather was still very much throwing the heat of summer on event day – which fell on the first Saturday in March). The 42km… Read more: Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!May 21, 2024
    I’ve been on a good running streak for over a year now (meaning no injuries, illness or troublesome hormones to slow me down – thanks to a mix of strength work, good luck and hormone replacement therapy!). When I saw that a new event was going to be held in the city where I live… Read more: 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!
  • Six month catch up!March 9, 2024
    Time is literally flying away on me and blog writing is very neglected these days, but we are all well here and can’t believe our lovely Christmas and New Year festivities were three months ago! Spring and summer has raced by and now we are on the cusp of autumn here in New Zealand. Since… Read more: Six month catch up!
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.August 8, 2023
    With the days dark and short here in New Zealand we jetted off for some warmth and sunshine in the Cook Islands, just a three to four hour flight from Auckland. We have never visited any of the Pacific Islands and it was with great delight that we touched down on the runway in Rarotonga,… Read more: Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday CelebrationAugust 7, 2023
    Turning 50 is definitely a milestone birthday, but hubby Dan didn’t want a party so in February we decided to head away for the weekend to celebrate at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. Dan’s Birthday fell on the same weekend as the festival, in the sunshine summer month of February here in New Zealand,… Read more: Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!May 10, 2023
    Round the Bays Wellington, held in February every year, is always an iconic event, generally bestowed with sunshine and an amazing turn out of people of all ages. The atmosphere for this event is like a festival, with entertainment lining the route of the first 6km, between Waitangi Park and Kilbirnie Park (where all the… Read more: A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!April 4, 2023
    On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before… Read more: Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!March 30, 2023
    Our youngest turned 13 in February, joining her older two siblings in ‘teen hood’ (though our oldest will turn 20 in June this year!). Having started high school a couple of weeks before her birthday there was, certainly for me, a moment of nostalgia as I reflected on how grown up my ‘baby’ has become… Read more: Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & TaupoMarch 29, 2023
    The last week of January, before the start of a new school year, we drove up from Wellington to the central region of the North Island for a week’s holiday. We’ve holidayed in this area many times over the years and never tire of the endless outdoor activities on offer in the most beautiful natural… Read more: Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo
  • Christmas and a Birthday in WellingtonJanuary 12, 2023
    Sunshine was gifted to us on Christmas Day this year in Wellington and we had the most wonderfully relaxed day together (well, almost all together, as our oldest currently lives in Melbourne and so we video chatted and were delighted to see them having an awesome time with a friend and their friend’s family). We… Read more: Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington

Art autumn Baking beach Birthday birthday party breastfeeding cafes christmas Country Kids family family time featured friends Garden holiday Holidays Lyall Bay Lyrical Sunday milestones motherhood New Zealand parenting photography poem poetry running Santa Barbara school school holidays seasons Silent Sunday sisters sleep spring summer swimming the gallery Things I'm Loving UK Walks weather Wellington winter writing

© Sarah A. Lee and Catching the Magic, 2003 to 2026 inclusive. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sarah A. Lee and Catching the Magic with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress