Native Garden

Our back garden may not yet be quite as I want it, but I do love our front garden. It's packed full of pretty much all native plants and now we've reached the summer it's blooming full of colour - just beautiful!

This yellow flax is so pretty and attracts plenty of Tuis to the garden.

Our Crimson Bottlebrush tree also attracts the Tuis - and plenty of bees too, which isn't always such a good thing as I managed to tread on one last week and ended up having an ambulance ride due to a dodgy reaction (all ok now, but will be ALWAYS wearing shoes outside from now on).

In fact our Bottlebrush tree, and the Red Robin bush next to it, standing side by side are looking quite stunning at the moment...

We've got some cute native grasses out the front as well, I think they're miniature Toi Toi...

And I know Agapanthas are considered to be a weed by many, but to me they're a classic symbol of a New Zealand summer, and I won't be pulling ours out!

But the centrepiece of our front garden this summer is without a doubt our lovely Pohutakawa Tree...it's been in full bloom since Christmas and is looking absolutely stunning. LOVING my garden!

Family Day at Wellington Racing Club

One of my clients is a horse racing track in Australia,
and I've spent the last few years working with them to promote specific annual events like the annual Cup Carnival, Ladies Day, and family race days.

Earlier this week we went to the Family Race Day at Wellington Racing Club - and it was really nice to be on the other side of the coin for a change!


The event has got to be one of the BEST value days out in Wellington. For $20 the whole family gets a long day out with so many activities. The kids started off with a colouring in competition, then they watched the Mad Hatter's Show (a children's singer/entertainer on stage), followed by lunch, a second colouring in competition and then to the bouncy castle area.

This part was truly amazing - SIX of the best bouncy castles I've ever seen! It kept both kids occupied for ages.

We'd now been at the race track for a good 2-3 hours and there was so much to do, we hadn't even seen a horse yet, let a lone a race!

Next came the fashion show! Alfie went first - anyone under 5 had to dress as a superhero, parade along the stage and receive a medal at the end, and a bag of fruit sticks, Alfie's favourite. He now can't wait for next year's parade.

Molly's category was far more serious, and was run as a proper contest - each entrant had a number and came onto the stage alone while the MC announced their name and a bit about their outfit - "Number 24 is Molly from Wellington. Her dress came all the way from England and she likes it because she loves all the colours..." . Molly did a little twirl on stage and then exited to the left (very quickly).

Finally after 3 or 4 hours, we got to watch a bit of horse racing! Don't you just love that sound of hoofs approaching...?

After a couple of races, the kids got to go on the race track for a Tug of War competition - boys against girls. While they were out on the track, I heard what sounded like a gazillion horse hoofs thundering underneath me and then I felt the railings I was leaning on begin to wobble and then shake hard....next people started shouting "Earthquake!" and everyone behind us rushed out of the stands and onto the field....all the while, the railings and the ground still shaking hard. Magnitude 6.3 - yikes.

But the Tug of War competition went on regardless...and the boys won. Which was lucky because Alfie doesn't take losing well (whereas Molly doesn't care).

When the kids came off the track after the competition, the whole race track was buzzing and talking about the earthquake. Alfie did his best impression of what Mum's worried face looked like after the quake...

(Note the empty stands in the back of the picture)

Afterwards it was time for a bit more fun, to take our minds off the quake so it was back to the bouncy castle area and time for a bit of face painting. Here is a very proud and happy White Jaguar and a Ninja...

The Riversdale Kids Triathlon

Molly and Alfie took part in their first triathlon last weekend!

As you can imagine, Jake was practically bursting with excitement just at the thought of it. (And luckily the kids were fairly excited too. No pushy parenting here!)

We have some good friends who have a family bach over at Riversdale Beach in the Wairarapa. They tend to spend around 5 weeks there every summer (we often look after their cat while they're away), and we went to stay with them for a couple of nights last week.

In fact, we weren't the only ones there - another family had also come to stay with them at the same time, so with 8 kids and 6 adults in a 3 bedroom/1 bathroom bach, things were rather noisy and chaotic!

Thank goodness for a kids triathlon at the local beach to burn up some of their energy!

Well done Molly & Alfie - AMAZING effort!

Tora Beach

There aren't many places left in the world like Tora Beach...(Falkland Islands beaches excepted).

Tora Beach is in a very remote place. To get there you drive for about an hour out of one of the Wairarapa's main wine towns, Martinborough, until the road turns to gravel and there are no more houses or shops - or signposts (yes we got lost!)

Tora itself is an isolated stretch of coastline with the odd farm dotted here and there, and lots of sheep. There's no real town or village, and certainly no shops, cafes or other facilities. Nor did we have cell phone coverage or internet access. So - there was nothing to do except switch-off and relax...lovely!

We truly appreciated where we were. It was stunning. Wild and beautiful and full of the forces of nature.

Tora's probably best described as more of a fishing coastline than a classic "beach" destination - the fishermen we saw were getting incredible catches which kept Alfie enthralled, but it's a bit too rocky and windswept and wild for sunbathing or watersports. Never-the-less we still paddled and splashed around a lot, and even managed a bit of swimming on one of the calmer days!

We spent most of last week at Tora and while we were there we developed a very clever family holiday system where we took it in turns to choose what to do each day. Everyone got a go at choosing, and everyone had to join in.

Alfie always chose either a family game of soccer (Molly was not impressed) or to go to the beach.... he loves the beach so much and spent ages every day just lying in the surf singing to himself, very cute!

When it was Molly's turn, she usually chose colouring-in sessions on the lawn (I found it so relaxing, but Jake was not impressed!) ...

And sometimes she chose to go to the beach for big, lengthy sand castle building sessions. I can see her working on a construction site when she grows up - she took a real project management approach every time, and was very clearly in charge of all the excavations!

When it was my turn, I chose quiet reading! (This time it was Alfie's turn not to be impressed!). You can't beat a coffee/beer/wine (depending on the time of day) and a good book on holiday - and I finished a whole book in the first three days!

Even Jake enjoyed this part...

For Jake's turn, he chose...you guessed it - running! Unfortunately rules are rules and we all had to be involved in this - my turn not to be impressed! 

But even with a bit of full-on training, this has got to be one of the most relaxing holidays we've ever had. Thanks Tora - we had a blast! 

Matiu Somes Island

Matiu Somes Island is a small island in the middle of Wellington Harbour. Wherever you are in Wellington and no matter which angle you are looking at the harbour from, you're pretty much guaranteed to see Matiu Somes somewhere in your view.

The island used to be used as a quarantine station for people arriving by ship with smallpox, TB and other infectious diseases, and in more recent years was used as an animal quarantine station. These days it's a scientific reserve managed by the Department of Conservation, who do an excellent job of keeping out the pests and looking after the native flora & fauna.

Jake has been fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time on the island - for "work" reasons - and Molly's been on a couple of visits as well, but we've been trying for ages to go as a family and spend the night there. (DOC have a couple of houses which you can rent for the night - they're basic but very comfortable and well equipped).

Our last planned trip to Matiu Somes Island was cancelled on the day, due to a big storm which meant the ferries couldn't get across.

This trip almost went the same way! The night before we were due to sail, a huge storm whipped up with gale force winds, and the first ferry of the morning was cancelled.

When the ferry company decided to go ahead with the 12 noon sailing, I wasn't quite sure how I felt. The winds were strong and the water was very choppy, and the trip there was consequently kind of reminiscent of a roller-coaster ride...

But we made it there safely, and wow am I glad we did - it's so beautiful! 

When you first get off the ferry you have to go into the Whare Kiore (quarantine building) for a briefing from the DOC rangers, while you get your bags inspected and clean your shoes. Everything has to be thoroughly checked to make sure you're not bringing in any rats, cats, bugs or other pests with you. 

At one point I feared we would be denied access, as Molly's "Fur Real" pink kitten had gone off in her bag and was making all sorts of jerky movements and squeaky noises. Luckily the ranger understood! 

We were finally given the all-clear and headed off to our DOC house for some lunch. Here's our first view, walking up to the house in the moody weather!

Luckily for us it wasn't long before the storm cleared and we got the chance to go out and explore. The scenery around the island was AMAZING!!

It doesn't take long to walk around the whole island as it's so small - and so pretty too!

But as much as I enjoyed the daytime exploring, what I really wanted to do was head out at night to see some of the island's nocturnal wildlife - little blue penguins, Wetas, Skinks and Tuatara. 

It doesn't get dark until around 10pm at the moment, which doesn't make dark night excursions easy with kids in tow. Luckily we had travelled in a reasonably large group which allowed for one person to stay in minding the children (we had four under 7's with us) while Jake and I headed out with our head torches on. 

OK, so here's my first confession......I am quite scared of the dark - and it's REALLY dark on Somes Island at night. 

Second confession.....I am also very scared of Wetas. 

So every time I heard a rustling in the bush or saw a shadow moving, I jumped and shrieked and gripped Jake's arm a bit tighter, which made Jake jump and shriek too. Apparently I was so bad that he's now declared that he will never be going out at night with me again..... :(

And after all that, all we saw was a very large snail!

In the morning the weather had fully cleared, so we went out exploring again before our ferry ride home. 

This time we saw several Skinks - yay! We also saw Kakariki (red-crowned parakeets). But no Tuatara, Wetas or Little Blue Penguins this time - which means we WILL be back...

Happy New Year everyone!

I never know what to call that period between Christmas and New Year, but it feels like it should have a name?!

It's that week when I always think time is going to stretch on forever and  we're going to enjoy lie-ins, leisurely mornings with coffee and the newspaper, the last of the present opening, day trips, endless hours at the beach, runs, swims and bush walks, playdates and barbeques, as well as productive times in the house and garden, time for completing that long "To Do" list that's been lying around all year.

The reality is always a little bit different. It's only 7 days after all!

But it's been a great week despite us not quite achieving all of the above! It's been a very sociable time and barely a day has gone past without us hosting or being hosted at a lunch and/or dinner. In fact, I can't actually remember the last time I cooked an ordinary dinner for just the 4 of us.

Jake even made a pavlova!

Although I hadn't expected this to actually happen, we also finally got a few DIY jobs completed around the house this week - although I have to say this was only because of the help of one very lovely friend who came round one day for a barbeque clutching his toolbox and got stuck into all the outstanding jobs for us - I think he knew that if he didn't do this, all our DIY jobs would probably still be there this time next year!

We've also had a couple of mammoth sessions on the garden - with our very willing little helpers joining in! We pruned, weeded, mowed, and cut down a massive Privet Tree out the front - firstly because it was starting to dominate the garden and also because it is classified as a pest/invasive species and causes bad hayfever as well, so we decided to just get rid of it.

Of course, no jobs are ever fully completed in our household, so although the tree is down, it is now laid across the front door and all visitors have to come in the back gate instead. Hopefully we will have disposed of it by next Christmas (!)

The weather's been a completely mixed bag lately, with some hot sunny days, some heavy humidity, and some cloud and rain. (Today is gorgeous, but we've been told to expect gale force winds tomorrow - no one can say the weather here is boring!).

So on the cooler days we've been exploring new walking tracks.

We found a new secret pathway up Mount Kau Kau one day, and another day we walked all around the coastline to Pencarrow Lighthouse - it was about a 15kms return trip so the kids slept well that night!

Here's one of the reasons I love New Zealand: we're in the nation's capital city and we can walk around a coastline like this, sharing the beach with a few sheep!

The next day we probably should have taken it easy and given the kids a rest... 

...but instead we went out biking on the Hutt River Trail in 27 degree heat and ridiculously high humidity levels.

To start with the kids just LOVED it - but by the end they looked completely shattered! 

The trail goes for 28kms but we "only" did about 10 or 12 kms, stopping on the way for a bit of a paddle in the river to cool off, and again for some lunch, and again for a play in the playground at Avalon Park. 

For the last day of the year, we let everyone rest and recuperate by taking a trip down to Makara Beach, one of our favourite family spots and in my opinion one of the most special places in the whole world. We pottered about in the rock pools collecting crabs and water shells, had a picnic, played "tag" and generally relaxed......a great way to end 2013.

Happy New Year everyone!