Hilltop views....

My Dad and his wife G are extremely lucky to live in a wonderfully rural and quiet valley...... that is actually only 10 minutes from suburbia on the other side of the hill. After all the full-on effort and excitement of Christmas Day, Grandma G was in need of a little quiet snoooooze time.......sooooo Dad and I took the Angels on a little tramp.......as it's called in NZ.....hike to the Brits......up through the native bush of the hill at the back of Dad's.........

it has a real jurassic, prehistoric feel about it......

to admire the 360 view of both valleys.....the rural, farming valley on Dad's side.......

and the suburban Upper and Lower Hutt valleys on the other.......

It's such a superb place to live.....the best of both worlds......peaceful countryside.......with the creature comforts and necessities of town only 10 minutes away.

-xx-

Santa has been......

Christmas Day....oh joy.....oh happiness......presents......it's true then, Santa can and does find you, if you're not at home. A few days earlier though, the Angels went out on the farm on a very special mission with Grandpa, Grandma G, K & D....a search party even.....to find THE most perfect Christmas tree.....they looked at this one, wondered about that one, checked all around this one, measured that one.....until it was declared THIS ONE was THE P E R F E C T one......it was cut it down......transported ever so carefully on the tractor and trailer back to the house.....they checked it's size again....not too tall, not too short......just PERFECT......wedged it securely in a bucket of water laced with a special tonic concoction of aspirin and sugar......to keep it healthy don't you know......and finally, with Grandma G overseeing proceedings, the Angels decorated their P E R F E C T Christmas tree.....their very special mission was complete.......and now Santa had been and left the finishing touches......

Radiata Pine - Traditional NZ Christmas Tree

And here is T H E man himself......Santa......

Santa

looking rather slim on it, it has to be said......must be that long and very tiring journey all the way from the North Pole! Notice the dubious looking refreshment in his hand......looks can be deceiving though.....it is actually a Simpsons can filled with sweeties......hehehe.

Stockings were opened.....the gazebo and sun umbrellas were set out.......dinner was prepared and set to cook............at last, it was time for a glass or two of bubbles, and some serious present opening......it was a big affair compared to what we usually have......there were many of us......Big Lad, Little Lad, Big Miss, Little Miss, Grandpa and Grandma G, and two of my sisters.....K and her husband D, and B, her husband J, and their children H & C, and of course, Me....wow that tots up to 13.....that makes for manic present opening all at once!!!....and there were presents galore.....and lots and lots of sweeties.....some very spoilt people if the truth be told!

Getting hungry by now you say.....absolutely......dinner was ready to be devoured......it was a full on cooked Christmas roast with trimmings......followed by Christmas pudding, trifle and the obligatory NZ pavlova with lashings of cream, fresh fruit salad, and ice cream.....all enjoyed outside under the welcome shade of the gazebo and sun umbrellas.....it was 28C after all......

Christmas Day Dinner Gazebo

Yep, the weather really got it right for the day......in fact, it was the best Christmas day weather for 37 years! Usually there is rain hanging around, and New Zealanders long for a sunny Christmas day like we here in Britain long for a white Christmas.


Absolutely glorious it was.......but I have to say......very, very different to how a winter Christmas feels.....in fact, it felt quite odd without the gorgeous, gentle, glow of candles and fairy lights, without a roaring fire to warm your cockles (not that we are lucky enough to have a real fire in the UK), without the aromas of orange, cinnamon, and clove, without warm mince pies and mulled wine, without that feeling you get of being all cosy and rosy inside, while it's cold and hopefully snowy, outside......don't get me wrong......it was splendid to enjoy again after so many years, and for the Angels to experience for the first time.......but there is just something sooooo right about a winter Christmas.......and if we are ever lucky enough to return to NZ to live, I would most definitely have to have an additional mini Christmas celebration on winter solstice day, just to enjoy those magical feelings of a winter Christmas.


A  H U G E  thank you to everyone for making our summer Christmas celebration so wonderfully different!

-xx-

Birthday, Biting & Bike Ride......

One special Lad was very lucky to celebrate his birthday while we were in New Zealand....for someone who usually has his birthday in the depths of winter, it was a real treat to enjoy a summer birthday....and the weather was on the improve with a more summery temperature of 24C. The other Angels did a wee bit of birthday shopping in the morning and managed to purchase some of the most wanted items on Little Lad's list.....and then a spot of souvenir shopping for some NZ mementos with money the Angels were given by our most wonderful friend M. A BBQ tea was had.....as was to be expected for a summer birthday celebration.....and then cake.....but the cake was scoffed so quickly, it was gone before you could say "snap a photo".....so I've no cake photos to share.


With the weather steadily improving, it gave us the opportunity to have another try at bagging an eel......and this time they were biting.....Big Lad got bite, after bite, after bite.....but each time, the eel was clever enough not to take a big gulp around the hook......escaping back to his black hole until the line was lowered for him again. Big Miss, on the other hand had a little more success.....a rather large eel hooked.....but with a little too much fight for her to handle.....luckily, Grandpa was on hand to reel it safely in......

Big Miss's Eel

Of course, once we had taken photos of the proud moment, including Big Miss holding the slippery, slimy creature with her bare hands......yuk, yuk, yuk.......it was released safely back into the creek to live another day.

Christmas Eve dawned a gorgeous day......just perfect for a short bike riding excursion.....we had planned to do a couple of long bike rides, but before we could ride off into the sunset, we needed to know everyone would be comfortable on their bikes, and could handle the distance..... so we took a little ride down to my sister K's place.....her and her husband D have a lovely house with a few acres, and a few sheep. When we arrived, K had lovely cool refreshing drinks and freshly baked muesli-type bars.....yum.......ready and waiting for us. The Angels decided they'd like to explore, so took a walk up the hill to get a better view.....they walked to where the grass (light green) meets the tree-line.....

K & D's Hill

While the Angels were admiring the view, I was enjoying the most delicious frappuccino I've ever tasted.....and I mean ever!.......which K whipped up with her whizz bang frothy coffee machine........yum, yum, yum.....thanks K.....

K & D's House from their Hill

All refreshed and recovered from our little bike jaunt down the road, we saddled up and headed for home......everyone had happily adjusted to their bikes, having found just the right riding position, were competent with their gears and brakes, and were now ready for a bigger, longer, more gruelling biking challenge.

-xx-

Scorching Bay.....

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again.....it was so great to spend time with family......seeing my cousins again though was also a rather odd experience.....the last time I saw my cousins, they were single or just newly married......now they were mothers and fathers with children ranging from 6-14 years.....no different from myself really ......except that I had missed the in-between years when they were pregnant, with newborns, and then toddlers.....so there's been this big leap, and now I was seeing them as fully-fledged, totally comfortable with their role, parents of young people.....do you get my drift....sorry, I probably haven't explained this too well....but this weird feeling is sooo hard to explain.....perhaps my cousins felt the same about me too?


Anyway, we were lucky enough to spend an afternoon with me ol' cousie SL, his lovely wife W, and their two great kids T and M.....we took a short drive from their house to a wonderful little bay.....Scorching Bay.....usually on a brilliant sunny day, this bay definitely lives up to it's name, but unfortunately, the weather was not at it's best, with a brisk southerly wind coming straight up from the Antarctic, through Cook Strait, and directly into the bay...but the sun was shining and we were all desperate to get some beach time in......

The Lads

At each end of the bay there are little rock outcrops, perfect for a little rock pooling....

Starfish found by the Misses 

Baby Anemone 

The view of the harbour is superb from the surrounding hills, and plenty of people are lucky enough to live there, some seemingly right on the edge of the beach.....just cross the road, and the beach is on your doorstep, quite literally.....

Scorching Bay, Wellington 

Phew....I've just been trying to figure out what my children are to my cousin's children .....second cousins, once removed.....I think.....anyway, friends were firmly made.....

M and Little Miss

The Angels didn't know it at the time, but a few days later they were to be riding their bikes along the gravel coast road, across the water and directly opposite Scorching Bay ....if Little Miss turned around, she would see where she was going to be riding....all the way along to the point.....Pencarrow Head.....through the little gap between the hills is the harbour exit/entrance, towards the South Island.......

Little Miss

And this is looking back into Scorching Bay from out on the water......taken on a different day.....on a different excursion.....more about that later......

Scorching Bay, Wellington

After a most delightful BBQ dinner back at the cousies' house, we drove into the city centre...... 

Wellington Harbour & City Centre at Dusk

to oooh and ahhh over the giant Telecom Christmas tree made entirely of lights....

The light sequences continually change, with background music to keep you bopping, jiving, or just humming along......

There are loads of beanbags strewn all around the base of the tree for you to pull up a pew, settle yourself down, make yourself comfortable, lie back.......and enjoy the light show.....

You could hang out on the beanbags for as long as you liked......and then just give them up for whoever else wanted to lie back and marvel at this somewhat unusual spectacle .......you could even stand in a queue at several specially placed telephone boxes and call the B I G man himself......SANTA......to tell him if you'd been naughty or nice......of course, we'd all been very nice.....well, we were in New Zealand weren't we, so we must've been very, very nice...and delightfully, it was all FREE!

Another fab day had by all......thanks cousies!!!

-xx-

Native flora and fauna....

We were given a most useful and interesting Christmas present.....a family entry ticket to Zealandia.....a very special nature sanctuary right in the centre of Wellington..... there are only a few creatures kept in cages.....just these few Green Gekos, and a small clutch of baby tuataras to prevent them being eaten by the bigger ones.....instead, there is a very special predator perimeter fence to keep out the unwanted.....primarily rats, cats and stoats.....while inside all manner of native birds, insects, and animals roam totally free. There are even kiwis roaming free, but as these are nocturnal birds, you need to go on a special night time excursion, so alas, we missed out on seeing these little treasures running live. But we saw plenty of other native creatures.....

The Wellington Green Gecko which only lives in the southern half of the North Island, and is distinguished from the Auckland Green Gecko by it's yellow soled feet.....

Wellington Green Geko

Tuatara reptiles......known as living fossils.....they can live over 100 years.....they were around with the dinosaurs.....they haven't changed in 225 million years......and they are only found in NZ....can you see the little fellow there....camouflaged right in the middle of the picture?

Baby Tuatara

They are mostly nocturnal reptiles, and cold blooded, but they sometimes like to bask in the sun to warm up.....just like this one here......

Medium Tuatara

The Kaka.....one of NZ's three native parrots.....lives in native forests......

NZ Kaka

And the Tui.....a native bird belonging to the honeyeater family....they feed mainly on nectar from native flowers.....and live in native bush.....

NZ Tui

It may not be native, but Little Miss was chuffed when I found this little green walking stick and placed it on her hand.....

These are just some of the diverse and exotic creatures that can be found in NZ.....the plants and scenery can be pretty impressive too.....

Unfurling frond of the Tree Fern

Tree Fern

Little Miss

Zealandia is situated in a valley that comprises the original concrete water reservoirs for the Wellington region .....now decommissioned due to earthquake risk. This is the little inspection tower which is reached via a small bridge, and has been renovated using the original colours.....

Inspection Tower

Here's the inspection tower and little bridge.....notice just how close suburbia is.....

It is hoped that this area, which is now fully enclosed, will be restored to something of it's former state over a 500 year timeframe.....the time it will take for the forest to regain its former diversity and structure.....WOW, that's a long time.....

View from the lookout platform of one of the two dams and lakes.....

It was such an amazing place, and an ideal introduction for the Angels to some of New Zealand's native flora and fauna.....with a picnic lunch and the sun shining again, it was an interesting, educational and fun day. Thanks A.....it was awesome!

-xx-

Flying, exploring, learning, meeting.....

So, my Angels had never flown before, and their first experience was to be a long haul flight.....well 3 actually....in the new A380 double decker airbus......and boy were they long.....13 hours to Singapore.....just a half hour while they cleaned the plane .....then a further 10 hours to Melbourne......1 hour to freshen up......then a final 4 hours to Wellington.....phew, 28½ hours of travel.....were we exhausted or what? But the excitement of landing at our final destination soon revived us. I have to say, I was a little concerned with the prospect of travelling such a long way, for such a long time, cooped up in such small spaces with all 4 Angels together....with long queues, and lots of security checks thrown in for good measure.......quite possibly a disastrous mix ......but they were absolutely brilliant......took it all in their strides.....helping each other and me, when necessary......I needn't have worried....they all made me very proud!

After a good long sleep in comfy beds, we were rearing to go and ready to explore.....so first off was a tour of Grandpa's farm on his tractor and trailer.....the Angels' first encounter with sheep and cows....and a walk along the river bank looking for wild flowers and love ❤ stones....

Little Miss

Later we did a spot of eeling in Black Creek, but we didn't even get a single bite! Bummer.....we were assured there were loads of them.....and big ones too! But it was not to be.....not this time at least!

Weta Studios in Miramar was really interesting....a teeny tiny museum of sorts..... showcasing the special effects, props, armour, and weapons invented, made, and used for the Lord of the Rings, Narnia Prince Caspian, King Kong, Avatar, Tintin, and most recently The Hobbit films, to name just a few.....it was well worth a visit.....and it was free!

Te Papa Museum in Wellington was also free.....amazing......with lots of interesting things to see and do.....the biggest giant squid ever found......the extinct giant flightless Moa bird.....

Moa

and the Angels experienced what it is like to be in an earthquake, in a specially built cottage inside the museum.....quite pertinent as Christchurch experienced another major earthquake just days before Christmas. 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any live kiwis, but we did see these in the museum....

NZ Kiwi

And as was to be expected, there was a large section devoted to Maori culture....

Maori War Canoe

Maori Store House

Detailed Carving of Maori Store House

We didn't manage to see all the museum.....in fact, we only touched the surface....and we hoped to go back to see the rest, but sadly, we just didn't get there....too many other interesting and exciting things to do!

Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the chilly, with temperatures roughly the same as here in England.....cold for a New Zealand summer.....warm for a British winter.....around 13C......so we had to find lots of warm clothes and coats for everyone, as we only took summer clothes.

Despite the grey weather, there were new skills to learn.....a tractor just begging to be driven.....

Big Lad learning to drive

and a flying fox (zip wire to the British) to be zipped along.....

We collected some pretty coloured eggs.....

cuddled some chickens......

and Little Lad found himself a lucky four-leafed clover to be preserved and treasured.....

at least he thinks it's a four-leafed clover.....I'm not entirely sure, and secretly think it's from an entirely different plant......a bit of a rogue.....but he was well chuffed with himself.

We also had a meet the POME's day, when friends and family came for a BBQ to say HELLO .....it was quite an overwhelming experience for me because I hadn't seen these people in many, many years, and it was just soooo good to catch up with them all......it was also quite overwhelming for the Angels too, and exciting, because they met Aunties, Uncles, and cousins of cousins for the very first time.....FAMILY......cousins their own ages who they could play with, and got on like a house on fire..... this feeling of belonging, being surrounded and embraced by family was simply quite wonderful for us all.......we've been so isolated here in England for the last 19 years, with no family except ourselves. I can't wait for the next time we can all be together again.

-xx-

We're back......

H a p p y   N e w   Y e a r !

Phew, it's been a while since I've posted here.....we've been soooo busy......half way round the world in fact.....to.....NEW ZEALAND.....for the most fabulous, wonderfullest Christmas and holiday with family and friends....remember that most fabulicious surprise I mentioned way back here? Well......this was it!

Silver Fern - Ponga

It was a H U G E surprise for my Angels who knew nothing about our trip until 2 nights before we travelled. It was full to the brim with new experiences....they had never even flown before. It was so full on, our feet never seemed to touch the ground......there was so much to see and do.....family to meet, driving to learn, cows and sheep to round up, eels to catch, quad bikes to ride, shooting to try, a tractor get to grips with, amazing and unique flora and fauna to marvel at, new friends to make, bikes, scooters and skateboards to ride, new pets to look after, graves to visit, long bike rides to tire, laughter, fun and excitement to be had, Christmas presents to be opened, new games to learn, seas to swim in, farms to explore, museums to see, flying foxes to zip on, boiling mud pools to wonder at, water slides to zoom down, BBQs to cook, earthquakes to feel, Christmas trees to find, cut and decorate, volcanic activity to learn about, donkeys to ride, birthdays to celebrate, sheep shearing to see, chickens to hold, old friends to catch up with, a ferry trip round the harbour to enjoy, an isolated island to explore, hot pools to relax in, Maori culture to experience at first hand, sheep shows to watch, lots and lots of yummy food to devour.......Wow, that was A LOT to pack into a few short weeks!

National Emblem - the Silver Fern

It's been a long, long time.....more than half my lifetime, in fact......since I have been surrounded by family.....and it felt sooooo good....like being wrapped up all comfy and cosy in the warm (maybe that was because it was summer, hehe) embrace of a cuddly blanket.....it was very, very hard, sad and bittersweet when it was time to say goodbye.

But while we were there, we had the most amazing time, with loads and loads of fabulous memories made, to treasure for the rest of our lives.

Home of the Rugby World Cup Holders

Our most heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to everyone who made our time in NZ so special and amazing, but especially to my Dad and his wife G.....

T H A N K   Y O U ! ! !

from the bottom of our hearts.

I was hoping to post little blog entries every few days while we were out there, but seriously.....there just wasn't the time.....we had to make the most of every available hour, minute even......so I hope to make a series of posts over the next few days with a small selection of the 1500 or so photos we took.....a "flavour' of our best holiday ......E V E R ! ! !

-xx-