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 […]
This is the first year we’ve entered the ‘XRACE‘ and really enjoyed the experience. My hubby teamed up with our youngest, 8 year old Alice, whilst I teamed up with our 12 year old, Sophie. All we knew about the race was that we’d be covering nearly 4km of ground with 10 challenges to complete […]
The past week and a half we’ve seen spring drift into autumn, with the weather pendulum swinging more erratically. Hot days, reminiscent of the record summer that we’ve had still linger, as the nights draw in, interspersed with sudden plunges in temperature and days of rain and wind. Our learning days are changing along with the season, as indoor […]
We followed the riddles all across Wellington, from sea level in Kilbirnie and Central Park in Brooklyn to a couple of hidden gardens in Wellington city and Mount Victoria. We visited the Botanical Gardens and the dizzy heights of Te Ahumairangi Hill, on a mission of discovery. The apprentice gardeners of Wellington City Council have been busy […]
The drive from Wanaka to the Blue Pools Track, in Mount Aspiring National Park, is stunning. There are so many perfect photo stop opportunities. We just had a day to explore and that teaser made me want to revisit for a lot longer, to enjoy the many walking opportunities. To get to Blue Pools, we took State Highway […]
We’ve all enjoyed some amazing learning experiences this week (as well as watching the last week of the Winter Olympics!). Here’s some snapshots from our two home educated learners and our school going daughter… Science I enjoyed an amazing experience at Victoria University’s science labs this week, with my 12 year old daughter. We went to […]
What a great week! We’ve celebrated hubby’s 45th Birthday, our youngest daughter’s 8th Birthday and felt the love on Valentine’s Day, appreciating the amazing community of friends and neighbours that we and our children are blessed to have in our lives. Valentine’s Day fell on a Wednesday this year, which is my favourite day of […]
Our summer holiday with my parents continued on from Lake Tekapo to Wanaka (the journey starts here), driving via the Lindis Pass. It was a murky day, not the best for stopping and taking photographs, but nevertheless the Lindis Pass had a hauntingly desolate beauty about it. The Lindis Pass links the Mackenzie Basin with […]