Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
Summer arrived late to Wellington, with wind and rain dampening most of January and making planning outdoor activities an tedious job. Thankfully, some stunning days arrived in February, rolling into March. Early autumn has been beautiful. Sophie and Alice, our two home educated daughters love being outdoors and active, so they spent the early weeks…
In February I had the pleasure of taking a small ferry to Matiu/Somes Island, in the middle of Wellington’s harbour. Matiu/Somes Island is a predator-free scientific reserve. It is also a historic reserve with a rich multicultural history. I took my youngest daughter with me, and joined a group of Wellington Home Educators. It was a beautiful…
Alice had a hard job deciding on what theme she’d like for her 7th Birthday party. Pokemon featured high on her list, as did the amazing ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ story, from the recently released movie and the wonderful ‘Moana’ movie. In the end we went with Pokemon as there were so…
Nineteen years ago, on 14th February 1998, my then boyfriend proposed to me at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival in New Zealand. It wasn’t overly romantic to any onlookers – simply a guy on one knee, kneeling on a random piece of earth, asking a girl to marry him. What made it special was that…
This is the longest time I’ve gone without blogging and, to be honest, I haven’t missed it. I’ve only felt slightly remiss for not having ‘documented’ everything so that I can look back on it in later years. The last few weeks of November into December were so busy, with our oldest finishing school for…
The day before we left England, after three wonderful weeks touring through the countryside of England and Wales, with Grandma and Grandad, we visited the Warner Brothers Studio in London where the Harry Potter movies were made. The experience was well worth it and we left feeling in awe of the artistry, creativity and technological…
Ava from Micro Scooters has handpicked four of the best places in the capital to get scooting! From the serene beauty of the Botanic Gardens to the tranquil waterfront, these are kid-friendly scooting zones the whole family can enjoy. With the long summer holidays now upon us I love getting out with my three daughters…
The past couple of months have literally flown by and before this year comes to an end I really want to share a last few highlights from my special visit to the UK with my youngest daughter, Alice. I made a photograph book for my folks, which my Mum especially treasures, as sadly she has…
One day we are tucked up indoors playing LEGO, reading, baking and making toy boats to float on the bath tub, the next we are walking in the sunshine, picking sweat-peas, and paddling our toes in the sea. We are definitely ‘going with the flow’ this spring in Wellington (not to mention keeping sane with…
What a wild week we had in the shaky isles last week! Thankfully we’ve been okay in our home in the hills of Wellington, New Zealand, clear of any tsunami risk. However, so many people around the country, particularly in the north east of the South Island, have suffered with earthquake damage, homes destroyed, and…
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…
Staying on the shore of Lake Windermere, at the YHA Ambleside, we spent three nights, and a few wonderful days, soaking up the beautiful scenery. We enjoyed hiking the countryside, taking a boat across the lake and visiting Beatrix Potter‘s 17th-century farmhouse ‘Hill Top. Our hike took us about 6 miles, from Wray Castle to…
One of the many highlights of my recent trip to the UK was being there to celebrate my Dad’s 70th Birthday and my sister’s 40th Birthday. It was wonderful to not only share an incredible three week trip with my folks and their youngest granddaughter, my daughter Alice, aged 6, but to also celebrate two ‘milestone’ Birthdays! We…
It’s been a busy weekend here of ‘spring cleaning’ in Wellington, New Zealand. The children have been busy playing with their neighbourhood friends, leaving hubby and I with plenty of time to sort out, declutter, get the garden ready for summer and so on and so on… however, it hasn’t all been work and no…