In the last school holidays we took the kids on a mini getaway. We caught the car ferry early in the morning and headed straight for Waitomo Caves (link) before heading to Taupo for 3 nights. One of the major drawcards for our kids was knowing they could spend a day at De Bretts Waterpark…
Over the summer holidays we completed our first overnight hike as a whole family. My husband and I have done a lot of multi-day hikes over the years using tents and a year ago he took our eldest daughter and her friend on a multi-day hike staying in huts but having all three girls on…
We have reached a new milestone as a family – we are preparing to embark on our first overnight hike as a whole family. I am very excited about this – we are going to do the Pinnacles Walk and spend the night in the hut. At the time of writing our children are 11,…
Last weekend I took my almost 9 year old daughter to Wellington. I had made a promise to take her away somewhere this year, just the two of us. She is my middle child and I don’t get a lot of time alone with her so this was pretty special. Neither of us have spent…
Hard to believe we have been home from our big hiking trip for 2 weeks and I have only just found the space to sit and write about it! My husband turned 50 earlier this year and as part of his “year of 50” he wanted to walk one on the New Zealand Great Walks….
These school holidays we headed away for a few days to spend some time by some stunning beaches. Everyone we met said to us “You live on Waiheke Island, why on earth would you leave and come here for your holiday?” It is true, we live on an island with…
I had a totally amazing time in Fiji last week taking part in the inaugural Ocean Swim Fiji event. I haven’t had time to write up any deep and meaningful reflection in the few days since returning home but wanted to be able to share some photos with you. Enjoy! Day 1 – arriving…
The Melbourne Star is the Southern Hemisphere’s only Giant Observation wheel. I have heard great things about the London Eye so I thought this would be a cool thing to take my 9 year old on while we were in Melbourne. I was wrong … This was a seriously boring experience for her, for me…
As part of our long weekend in Melbourne I took my 9 year old to ArtVo. ArtVo is described as a ‘trick art’ or immersive gallery. Themed rooms have artwork painted on the walls and floors and if you follow the instructions on where to stand and how to hold the camera you can…
Disneyland. A place I NEVER had a desire to visit, even as a child, and I never wanted to take my kids there. Too much hype, too many people, just … too much! Then a few months ago I had an unexpected opportunity to take my girls to LA to visit my brother and his…