Home again!

Friday 12 January 9 o’clock and we have finally arrived home after 32 hours (!) of travelling. The journey was pretty smooth and uneventful, with only a short transfer of 3 hours in Hong Kong.  Robin and Ella managed to get a little bit of sleep on the planes, the adults not so much... Taking it easy now for a few days until it is back to school/work/ study.

It was the most fantastic trip!!! 

Hamilton Zoo

Wednesday 10 January. Visited the zoo in Hamilton. Nice place, great weather, fab day.

Karangahake Gorge

Tuesday 9 January. Went for a lovely walk in the Karangahake Gorge following a river, over bridges and through tunnels.

Family Reunion

Monday 8 January. A very special reunion with my mum, sister, two aunts and two uncles. It's been a *very* long time since we were together.
The weather was glorious and Ella and Robin loved playing in the water.

Goodbye South Island

Sunday 7 January. Took the scenic route from Wanaka to Queenstown airport to catch our flight back to Auckland.

Wanaka day 4: curiouser and curiouser...

On our last day on the South Island we visited the most remarkable National Transport and Toy Museum. The collection is as large as it is varied: there are indeed toys like Lego, Barbie, oldfashioned items as well as tin soldiers and the like.  There are also all sorts of cars, busses, planes, motorbikes, bikes, tricycles and even snow mobiles in various conditions. Pretty much a lot of everything...

In the afternoon of course we enjoyed the pool again.  Flying back to Auckland tomorrow...

Wanaka day 3: A puzzling day

Friday 5 January. We had a lovely time visiting Puzzling World in Wanaka. A park filled with optical illusions and a 3D maze.

My favourite was the Leaning House, a building built at a 15 degrees angle. It was bizarre and very funny ...

 

After that it was a picnic on a cloudy beach and then back to the apartment for tea and a swim in the pool.

Wanaka day 2: Weka Heaven

Day one in Wanaka was frankly not blog worthy. More driving, an aborted hike and shopping.

Day two however was much better. In the morning we joined a nature tour of a nearby island, home to the rare Buff Weka. The island had no predators (weasels, ferrets, possums, etc) so ideal for these flightless native birds. Robin and Ella were even planting a cabbage tree with our friendly guide Jason. 

On top of that, the views were fabulous.

(The other 15 pictures of gorgeous views with various people in it are available on request 😉)

Most of the afternoon was spent by the pool.

Makarora day 2

Tuesday 2 January. Traveling around this part of New Zealand is like traveling through a scenic calendar.

The weather has been absolutely glorious. Nothing but sun, sun and more sun.

The view from our patio on the River Ranch:

Tomorrow we'll leave the peace and quiet behind and move on to the hustle and bustle of Wanaka.