It’s been a fortnight since school started back for my three daughters and that’s freed up some running time for me! I’ve had some beautiful runs on Wellington’s south coast, even a half marathon out to see the winter colony of New Zealand fur seals at Red Rocks, beyond Owhiro Bay, along the Pariwhero Track. […]
The past couple of weekends have given us some calm, sunshine weather to get out and enjoy the outdoors, despite it being the onset of winter here in New Zealand. We live near the south coast of Wellington and since getting our puppy, in October last year, we have good reason to get out for […]
Rivendell, the place where hobbits and dwarfs meet with men, wizards and elves. Our youngest explorer was delighted to be hobbit sized, whilst my friend, Nicola, and I were wizards. Sophie, aged 9, wasn’t so sure about being dwarf sized, but she’d have a lot of growing to do to be on a par with […]
Running and walking the gorgeous trails of the Wellington town belt (with a touch of housework, school drop-offs, pick-ups, and other organising in between) has quickly become my term time ‘go to’ whilst all the girls are at school. The autumnal weather has been beautiful and mild. Having a gorgeous puppy to share my time with […]
The Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton is a delight in early autumn. The park has plenty of deciduous trees to set the tone for autumn, with a mix of yellows, reds, browns and oranges. There’s even a Horse Chestnut tree, near the children’s play area, offering up seeds for conker games. I felt a strong […]
I’ve not blogged for more than a fortnight and one of the delightful reasons is having a couple of new pets in the home! The less than delightful reason; all our container load of belongings finally arrived from our year and a bit living in the USA. So, in between unpacking well over one hundred […]
Along a pathway lined with driftwood and shells, is a walkway on Wellington’s south coast. There are hundreds of beautiful walks around the city and in the bush reserves, but this is the walk that’s close to home. It’s my little place of escape, where I go to exercise, to free my mind, to listen […]
Our gateway to the outdoors is guarded these days, By children who test us in various ways. We start with encouragement and gentle persuasion – Trying to resist bribery and coercion. We are often surprised by who resists – And struggle to find the solution to enlist. Eventually, after tears and raised voices, We all […]
Everyone should be a tourist in their own town from time to time. We don’t live on one of the high hilly ridges that make Wellington’s topography so famous – though we used to. When we first arrived in Wellington we rented a place in Haitaitai, on Mt Victoria, overlooking Evan’s Bay. We’d watch the […]
The swell of the incoming tide sprayed on the rocks by the shore. The sun beat down and the pull of the water, after a bike ride on the south coast, was too tempting to resist. Granddad hung up his bike tour guide hat and exchanged it for his emergency life-guard cap. The water wasn’t […]
The wind ruffled our feathers wildly, whilst the sun teased us with blue sky, oyster clouds and dashing streaks of white. A sky that if painted wouldn’t look real. A day that held promise but so easily could have been spent hidden, sheltering from the gale force winds. Not a day for being whipped by […]
It was perfect walking weather – mild, a slight refreshing breeze, a touch of rain and plenty of cloud cover to shelter from the strong sun. And with a tired family (Charlotte was performing in a dance show the night before) and a bit too much morning television on waking up, we were getting that […]
♥ LOVING the feel of summer, with reflections of sunshine, blue sky and time on the beach with my youngest daughter. This makes the sleep deprivation worth it! ♥ LOVING a visit to the rose gardens at Wellington’s Botanic Garden after school to smell the scent of summer, feed the ducks and have our fingers […]
The theme for Lyrical Sunday (running all this week till 14 August) is ‘Adventure‘ and Grandma sent through a beautiful poem about the time she walked ‘The Tongariro Crossing‘ in New Zealand with Granddad… (Happy 41st Wedding Anniversary to them too!). x The Tongariro Crossing One day in the year 2008 An 8-hour walk. We […]