New Zealand has ZERO active cases of Covid-19! Yesterday New Zealand received the news it has been waiting for and life has pretty much returned to normal, but with strict border measures for everyone entering New Zealand. Way to go New Zealand! Life for our immediate family is back to normal. We have made the most of […]
Wanaka is great in all seasons and after our wonderful winter holiday in 2017 we decided to revisit Wanaka – but in the summer time with my folks, visiting all the way from the UK! We had a week’s stay in Wanaka and needed activities to keep a mix of ages, abilities and personalities happy […]
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 […]
A short drive north of Masterton, is the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre. I visited with my folks, from the UK, and my youngest daughter, age five, over the Christmas/New Year hols. It was a gorgeous day when we visited and after a cuppa on the deck of the cafe – with a surprise […]
Oh my, what a day of weather! In Wellington, today, it was almost possible to forget it was winter altogether. The sun shone gloriously and the calm air let the warmth shine through, without the usual wind chill factor bringing it down. The tide was super high and the waves rolling in, from far out […]
The seagulls flock together at dusk, thankful for a calm evening, after a torrid week of storms. On the high hills, of the greater Wellington region, the wind catches on the cliff edge, strong enough to lean into and imagine one could fly. In the Botanical Garden of the capital city the deciduous trees beckon […]
Where do I start?! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of saying goodbye to our life in Santa Barbara, enjoying a last few days in Disneyland California, and then finally boarding an Air New Zealand flight for that final flight home! It’s been weeks since I have written anything on this blog. I’ve […]
We touched down at London Heathrow early afternoon on Saturday. Our flight from Los Angeles went smoothly enough – after a delay boarding the plane due to a fatality on the incoming plane from New Zealand. Thankfully, we had access to the Air New Zealand lounge, which was so much more pleasant and peaceful than […]
Our oldest daughter has just turned 11 and she celebrated in sunny California (her first ‘summer’ Birthday – as she was born in the middle of New Zealand’s winter – on a particularly wild day in Wellington!). She has grown tall enough to have her first proper bike, with gears and all that jazz, for […]
It’s normally at this time of year, in New Zealand, that I’m rugged up with a Pinot Noir, glaring at a flickering candle and wishing I was somewhere warmer. There’s a certain romanticism of tucking up and hunkering down for winter – but it wears off pretty quickly (unless of course there’s a ton of […]
It’s International Sauvignon Blanc Day in New Zealand – 16 May – and whilst I sit here sipping a local Napa Valley, Californian white, I came across this beautiful little video about the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines (a fav spot of the hubbie and I – and the sweet spot where he proposed to me […]
This Easter we are far away from our home (though home, for my husband and I, is forever split between the UK and New Zealand). By home, I mean our literal home, the property we own and have lived in for eight years. Our little patch of New Zealand, on Wellington’s south coast. The place […]
Less than fifteen minutes walk from our home in Wellington, New Zealand, lies the stunning South Coast, encompassing Lyall Bay, Princess Bay, Houghton Bay, Island Bay and Owhiro Bay. The bays are met by the shoreline, which gradually rises up into the hills of Wellington. The hills are dotted with houses, balanced out with lush […]
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 […]