The last leg of our six week trip away from New Zealand was spent in Japan. None of us, in our family of five, had ever been to Japan before, and we were so excited to get our first taste of the place (food being a much anticipated delight, as well as the culture, historical […]
After our epic holiday in Canada, enjoying plenty of snow action, we were definitely acclimatised to northern hemisphere temperatures by the time we landed in England on the 18th December. It was the first time – in nearly twenty years – that we’d be in England for Christmas and the first time, ever, for our […]
We landed back in New Zealand on the 16th January, after an incredible six weeks of travel. The first part of our adventures started in snowy Canada, which were simply magical and so much fun. We landed in Vancouver, on 7 December, and drove north-east, straight to Sun Peaks, some 407km / 235 miles. It […]
The suitcases are packed, filled for six weeks of travel in the northern hemisphere. We are forgoing a chunk of our southern hemisphere summer to journey north for a festive winter and time will be spent with family and friends. It’s the first time our three daughters will have experienced Christmas in England, like the […]
My youngest daughter and I flew down to Queenstown, in September 2018, to visit a friend and support her with an art exhibition. It was a wonderfully long weekend of fun in the snow, sight-seeing, great food, wine, company and art! A few days before our visit my hubby had flown down with our oldest […]
The higher altitude suits my mood at least for a day or two I’m not missing the ocean or the salty sea breeze there is a clarity to the air here I feel high on its vibe gliding down the snow cloaked slopes riding the volcano with a smile from my heart I feel so […]
Autumn is rolling into winter fast here in New Zealand, with snow falling heavily on the mountains of the north and south island. Whilst the deciduous trees have lost most of their leaves, the wide selection of native evergreens keep the land looking green (check out the New Zealand native plants guide on the Department […]
Ever since my Mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease I’ve felt the impact of living on the other side of the world from her in a deeper magnitude than any time in the past twenty years. Seeing my folks visit us in New Zealand this recent Christmas and New Year was absolutely amazing, but also […]
This gorgeous fantail found its way through my kitchen door, up the stairs and into my daughter’s bedroom. She loves nature and was enchanted by our little visitor. We often have birds coming into our home, living surrounded by trees and native bush, but they usually stay in the living room and don’t venture as […]
Easter weekend coincided with the first days of April and our clocks winding back an hour in New Zealand. Thankfully the warm weather, that has been blessing our days all spring and summer, is continuing on into early autumn. (I just need to adjust to wearing my head torch for night runs!). Temperatures are in […]
A 10km walk through vineyards, raising funds for a local school (Martinborough School), with a lovely group of ladies and drink stations serving wine along the way… yes please! On 17 March I headed over the hill from Wellington, with a couple of friends, and spent the night prior to the ‘Martinborough Round the Vines‘ […]
Last week was one of those weeks when I was surprised from Monday through to Friday with the ideas and creations presented to me by my children. Alice woke up on Monday morning telling me how to make a lava lamp in a glass (she’d discovered this on YouTube) and wanted to know if I […]
I signed up for the Xterra West Wind 18km trail run on a post period high whim (hormones making me feel invincible and able to do anything!). I’d not ran much more than 10km in a while and my hill training consisted of walks on the trails around my home, along with my four legged […]
Wanaka is great in all seasons and after our wonderful winter holiday in 2017 we decided to revisit Wanaka – but in the summer time with my folks, visiting all the way from the UK! We had a week’s stay in Wanaka and needed activities to keep a mix of ages, abilities and personalities happy […]