Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
With the global pandemic of Covid-19 raging on and New Zealand’s borders still shut the hashtag #DoSomethingNEWNewZealand is being banded about on social media. New Zealanders are exploring their own country more than ever before. As a family we’ve holidayed in the South Island of New Zealand on multiple occasions, particularly around Wanaka and Queenstown,…
It’s been a whirlwind month and we are getting back into the home education groove with our two natural learners, Alice, aged 6, and Sophie, aged 10, whilst our oldest daughter, Charlotte, aged 13, is thriving at a lovely girl’s school in Wellington, which suits her brilliantly. She sings in two school choirs, has performed…
It’s officially spring here in New Zealand (meaning lots of gorgeous flowers and lambs, trees in bud and time to get busy in the garden!). Our last few weeks of winter weather in Wellington were actually really kind to us. We have had mostly mild weather, not much rain and the wind hasn’t been so…
As a family, on holiday, we tend to have a day of all action, thrills and spills, followed by a quieter day of simple fun. Whenever I look back on holidays those simple activities, and smaller side-trips, are often what stay in the mind more than the action packed days. As a Mum it’s seeing…
On a glorious spring day in the school hols we spent a day of thrills in Rotorua, just under a one hour drive from where we were staying in Taupo. Rotorua is well known for its smoking fumaroles, geysers, natural mineral spa and mud pools, all of which we’ve visited on previous trips to this…
For the third week, in a row, I’ve had at least one of my three daughters home poorly from school. They have been hit hard by some flu type virus, that is doing the rounds across the country this winter. They are all slowly on the mend, though still not at full energy. In the…
This is my first experience of spring in Southern California. I’ve spent the past decade or so seeing in spring in New Zealand, whilst the northern hemisphere starts getting their autumn / winter fashions out and decking the halls with holly. This will be the first time in several years that I’ll see Easter in…
Had a beautiful week with my daughters and escaping out for runs. The clocks have swung into spring time in the northern hemisphere and having an extra hour of daylight in the evening makes a huge difference to our available ‘play time’. Sharing here a few loves from my week… ⤠Hanging out in the…
I can’t say enough how much better I feel when my body is exposed to longer hours of daylight. I don’t need hot temperatures and scorching sunshine, just more hours of daylight to make my whole being glide smoothly over life’s little hurdles (instead of crashing at every one). I feel more energized and positive….
It’s nearly Spring Festival time in Wellington’s Botanical Garden and the tulips are as glorious as ever. It’s impossible not to smile when faced with all this joyful colour – from bright sunshine gold… To carpets of pinks… They always surprise me with their resilience against the seasonal spring battering of Wellington wind and intermittent heavy…
For this week’s ‘The Photo Gallery’ theme of ‘Beauty’ I stepped out in the sunshine before the storm with my daughters. I love to watch the weather change and Wellington has plenty of great vantage points (and rapidly changing weather!). Below is a storm cloud, sitting over the north of the South Island – before…
Yesterday, as I drove home from a little outing with my three daughters, I had that ‘rainbow’ feeling. The sun was glaringly bright behind me, but dark clouds were set strong in the sky before me, with rain showers in between. I drove the long way home and pulled in when this scene of natural…
It’s getting closer. Our nights are drawing in. I feel the equilibrium. As does the nature in my garden. The leaves have started turning, as your leaves are just budding. You’ve noticed the days beginning to linger on – haven’t you? Snowdrops in your garden, daffodils too? My strawberries are still hanging on – but the…
We went to the Strawberry Fair, where red balloons floated in the air. We feasted on strawberries red, drizzled with cream. And watched the QM College girls sing like a dream. Alice danced, and clapped, along to the songs – dressed in a vision of strawberry red, with a Christmas tree, towering, over her head….