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

beach

Things we’re loving…

February 13, 2011February 13, 2011 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Loving & Not Loving, Sophie

It’s been a busy week getting used to school being back, Alice walking and enjoying the last week of Chinese Grandma & Granddad being with us (they fly home on Valentine’s Day). Thankfully Charlotte & Sophie have LOVED school this week (makes for a very happy Mama!) and we celebrated the end of the week […]

Continue reading


Things we are loving…

February 5, 2011February 5, 2011 BritMumInNZ 17 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

This week has been one of immense change. On Thursday the long, summer holidays came to an end. Charlotte and Sophie walked up to school (for Sophie the first day of her school life!) with school bags in hand. They were both full of first day excitement and both happy to be there. Sophie was […]

Continue reading


Four Seasons – Summer

February 1, 2011February 1, 2011 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments School hols

I’m linking up with Lou of Seaside Siblings for ‘Four Seasons‘ this week, as in the past few weeks we’ve really been having a blast in the season of ‘Summer’. The school holidays come to an end on Thursday, when the school bell will call us to attention for a 9am start every day (for […]

Continue reading


Our baby turtle & a shark sighting

January 5, 2011January 5, 2011 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Life in action - Videos, Sophie

It was a surreal day at Lyall Bay. The fog rolling in banked up on the horizon and engulfed the hills around the bay. News of a shark sighting only hours before added to the erie feeling. A fin had been spotted for a few seconds. The beach was closed for swimming, as a precaution, […]

Continue reading


Water babes are LOVING having their Daddy home :)

January 4, 2011January 7, 2011 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments School hols

There’s barely been a day in the past week when our girls haven’t been playing in water (thankfully out of choice, not due to flooding – poor Queensland, Australia is in awful strife). We’ve been keeping out of the midday sun and heading to the local swimming pool – or Dan’s taken the girls further […]

Continue reading


Christmas in the garden & at the beach

December 3, 2010December 3, 2010 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Garden, Sophie

National Jandal Day couldn’t have asked for better weather. Wellington was bathed in sunshine with collectors reaping the rewards for Surf Life Saving NZ. Charlotte spent most of the day with her entire school at the fabulous Wainui Summer Pools, whilst Sophie, Alice and I had a quiet morning at home and in the garden. […]

Continue reading


I Am: ‘Sleep is for the Weak’ Writing Workshop

November 25, 2010November 26, 2010 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Sarah, Sophie, Writing

I Am Alive in the moment. Engaged in the now. A body of excitement, Bathed in the sun’s glow. Traces of the sea, stay to play. As my skin drips, with jewels of spray. The taste on my tongue is salty sweet, Whilst waves of foam crash at my feet. I giggle as the surf […]

Continue reading


After school Monday at the beach

November 15, 2010 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sarah, Sophie

Summer is rolling towards us like a beach ball and today we enjoyed one (of hopefully many) impromptu after school trips to the beach. The back of the car is being transformed into a shrine of beach worship with all the essential ingredients for impromptu after school visits. Buckets, spades, towels, changes of clothing, hats, […]

Continue reading


Getting hip with ‘Hipstamatic’

September 4, 2010September 4, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Random Musings, Technology

Peace brothers and sisters, last night’s howling southerlies gave way to the most splendid sunshine in Wellington this Saturday morning. Surfers were out in force in Lyall Bay and I bolted out of the door for a morning jog at a little past 7am (determined that last Saturday’s ‘I am a gazelle‘ triumph wasn’t to […]

Continue reading


Wardrobe Wednesday: First day of Spring

September 1, 2010September 1, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Random Musings

The first day of Spring was glorious and I spent the whole day far away from the house & the chores. The morning was spent walking up and down the beach with Alice sleeping for most of it. I was browsing blogs on my phone, whilst taking photographs of the beautiful waves and decided to […]

Continue reading


Wild beauty & time well spent

June 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

Rock pooling, rock climbing and tossing the largest rocks we could carry into the sea was a great way to spend an hour of our time this afternoon. Wellington’s south coast is wild, rugged and forever changing with the tide, weather and shadows of light from sunrise to sunset. I don’t think we’ll ever tire […]

Continue reading


Because

June 14, 2010September 8, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Alice, Random Musings, Sophie, Writing

She left the breakfast dishes with guilty abandonement. She knew she had an hour, if she was lucky. She wasn’t really dressed warm enough, but baby Alice was already strapped to her chest, so she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it snug around them both. ‘Exercise and fresh air; both high on the list of […]

Continue reading


Sophie’s Super Energy Charged Car Cookies

April 29, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Baking, Charlotte, Sophie

She loves to bake does our Sophie (as much as she likes to eat!). On Sunday she whipped up some ANZAC biscuits and today, after only 8 hour’s sleep (see below!), she made these car cookies… So, little Miss Sophie, despite not being ‘A1’ was up chattering till 9pm last night and was awake before […]

Continue reading


School’s out and everyone’s at the beach!

March 6, 2010March 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte

Charli’s entire school, of 180 pupils, walked down to the beach on Friday morning. Sophie and I picked her up just after lunch, as we knew she’d be pretty tired. She had a great time; though found the walk there quite tiring – carrying her heavy back-pack (bless, she is only a pint size lass […]

Continue reading


Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Archives

Recent Posts

  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024! February 20, 2025
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well. February 6, 2025
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024 January 6, 2025
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024 January 2, 2025
  • Race Tekapo 50km September 29, 2024
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon May 30, 2024
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra! May 21, 2024
  • Six month catch up! March 9, 2024
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. August 8, 2023
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration August 7, 2023
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon! May 10, 2023
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles! April 4, 2023

Things I Write About

Art (100) autumn (42) Baking (37) beach (67) Birthday (51) birthday party (31) breastfeeding (29) cafes (46) christmas (71) Country Kids (59) family (117) family time (57) featured (34) friends (38) Garden (43) holiday (36) Holidays (133) Lyall Bay (47) Lyrical Sunday (68) milestones (62) motherhood (37) New Zealand (38) parenting (36) photography (39) poem (69) poetry (92) running (62) Santa Barbara (32) school (75) school holidays (50) seasons (45) Silent Sunday (51) sisters (29) sleep (35) spring (38) summer (60) swimming (28) the gallery (62) Things I'm Loving (118) UK (33) Walks (47) weather (34) Wellington (137) winter (42) writing (50)
dazzling Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress