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