Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
Autumn is fully upon us here in New Zealand. The temperatures are still warm and the days mostly sunny, just noticeably shorter. Like most of the world our country is currently ‘in lockdown’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our surf boards and other wet play gear is all laying redundant in the garage,…
It was my Mum’s 73rd Birthday recently, but she wasn’t aware – and hasn’t been for a few years now. Alzheimer’s disease has robbed her of knowing there are different days in a week, let alone knowing what day her Birthday is. Nevertheless my dear Dad had a cake ready for her, cards from family…
Queenstown Marathon had been on my ‘wish list’ for a while. I’m a sucker for a scenically beautiful running event and when it’s also located in a beautiful tourist town, that has heaps of other wonderful activities, I’m sold! I signed up for the Queenstown Marathon early in 2019, giving myself plenty of time to…
One night in early 2019, in a haze of (a few too many wines) optimism, I decided to sign up for the Tarawera Ultramarathon – held in February each year. I also signed up for the Queenstown Marathon, which was held in November 2019), but that’s another blog post and was a great ‘warm up’…
We are half-way through 2019 already and so much has happened, but I’ve been too busy, living and loving it, (and side-tracked by Instagram and Netflix, ahem!) to write about it – so, before this year runs away on me all together I’m going to have to write this catch-up post. I continue to be…
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…