Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
In the planning of our visit to the UK we’d set aside ‘Thursday 15th September’ for taking a walk on Snowdon – without setting any expectations about how far we’d walk (since our group of four included my 6 year old daughter, Alice, and we had no idea what the weather Gods would have in…
This time last week we arrived in the Lake District and settled into the YHA in Ambleside for three nights. We enjoyed a wonderful few days in the Lake District, as well as enjoying the most beautiful scenery from our accommodation, located right on the shore of Lake Windermere. This was the view from our…
Having arrived at my Aunty’s lovely, residential holiday caravan, in Rhyl, North Wales, the night before, we woke to a beautiful day and were amped up for a day of exploring. My Dad had a great day planned for us and before driving up to Great Orme we made an obligatory stop at Rhyl beach…
On our drive up to Ludlow, Shropshire, from Hampshire, we stopped in at Berrington Hall, a National Trust Property. My folks are members, of the National Trust UK, and if I lived in the UK I would definitely be joining up too (it would be a dream to work for them!). Growing up in England…
Driving up to Ludlow, from Hampshire, we made a stop at the spectacular Gloucester Cathedral. It is steeped in history, having been a place of worship, in some form or another, for close on 1,000 years! Gloucester’s great Cloister, over 650 years old, is famous for its breath-taking fan vaulting, the earliest of its kind…
Windsor is a short drive from my folks home, in North Hampshire, and a few days after landing in the UK they took us to see Windsor Castle. We didn’t have time to look around the inside of the castle, but young Alice, aged 6, was more than content. She was delighted to have a…
We landed in London on Thursday, after three flights from Wellington, New Zealand, taking some serious flying hours! It’s just Alice and I on this trip, whilst my older two daughters are at home with their Daddy. Alice is such a happy and positive travel companion. We managed to get a good stint of sleep…
It was such a mild Autumn that I wasn’t prepared for winter and its dark nights. I always struggle when there’s less hours of light in the day to play with. If I don’t get out for a day or two I feel like curling up in bed and not emerging till spring. It’s a…
Dear Imagination, I see you every day in my child’s eyes, in her creative play and questions, in the songs she sings and stories she tells, straight from the heart, with natural ease. Her mind has no limits, she can travel through changing dimensions, shape shifting her body through time and space. Today, on the…
Carlucciland never loses its appeal. We drive past it every day on the way to school and my six year old, in particular, always asks when we can fit in a game. Well, today, with hubby keeping our ten year old and her friend amused (with a lovely trip over the hill to Martinborough for…
Dear Alice, What a celebration you have had! You woke on the morning of your 6th Birthday, stretched up with your arms and said, ‘My, I have grown!’. And yes, you really have. This past year and a half, since arriving back from our amazing experience living in California (which you still talk about with…
The weather in Wellington this summer school holidays has so far been very kind to us and it’s been perfect for getting outdoors and exploring the copious number of regional parks, town belts walks and nature centres. Having my parents to visit, all the way from the UK, has been an extra motivator to get…
The new ‘Meet The Locals‘ area at Wellington Zoo is a lovely space for children and families. The natural landscape has been planted with lots of native tree saplings and vegetation, with the first ‘locals’ to meet being the little blue penguins that populate Wellington’s rocky shores. There is a slide to speed through, a…
When my youngest daughter, Alice, heard that Wellington Zoo had five new otters come to live there, she was so excited to go and visit them. As the zoo is only a short, five minute, drive from our home – and we have an annual pass – we had good reason to pop by the zoo…