As we had the house all sorted, and were spending a bit more time at home, I took Luca to the SPCA. He was determined to find a kitten. There were a lot to choose from, so so adorable! We checked out all the cages and in the adult cage this happened…. Luca fell in …

We pass the above billboard each time we drive into town and laugh every time. It pretty much sums up things here. Four Square for those of you who are not familiar, is like a Seven Eleven. They have been around for years and years and in every town, the four square guy is a …

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!! Our last days in Christchurch were fun, we had made our decision, so could relax and enjoy. We really loved our last Airbnb and got on so well with the family, we are keeping in touch and I am sure we will meet up again. The weather really is summer now, …

The Geraldine area was lovely, made even more special by our hosts. Such a lovely family, warm and welcoming. Hamish was constructing a flying fox in their back yard for their kids while we were there and got it finished, the kids spent hours on that thing! Luca and Rich making plans for one of …

This came up on my FB feed recently. It resonates so much with me and what we are trying to achieve on a day to day basis. It is so easy to get caught up in the negativity of the current state of the world. We know things are not great, but by having a …

We made it to Mackenzie country, this place about 1/2 an hour from Timaru.  One of Luca’s chores there was feeding the orphaned lambs, he was pretty happy about it!  🙂 The property amazing, very Kiwi, even the beds made up in the traditional Kiwi way ,(lots of wool blankets an flannel sheets), made me …

We drove to Reefton via lots of little communities that we wanted to check out like Murchison, Inglewood etc.  Rich biked a lot of this back in 2002, he reminisced, pointing out backpackers he camped at, hills he struggled up and all the pies he had eaten along the way  🙂 Reefton is a town …

We spent the last day  in the Waiarapa  up in the Eketahuna area, in the Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre.  The highlight of there being the Kaka birds, who although wild, are super friendly, these ones easily within arms length! Luca was up the next morning at 5am for his birthday!  All his presents …

Mount Taraniki is an incredible sight as you drive anywhere around New Plymouth. Some days you can see the top, some days you cannot… We went on hikes right up to the base. Rich really wants to climb to the peak if we end up staying in NZ. This was Dawson Falls: The hike through …

It is 3 weeks since arriving in NZ. It is still a little surreal for me that I am back home. I am seeing NZ in a whole different light. Such a different perspective on things after having been away for so many years and coming back with my family. The parks we have encountered …