New Zealand: Kia Ora

March 1

Technically today is March 1 here, even though we missed a day and are so confused about where we are and what time it haha. But we got off of the plane in New Zealand and by the time we got in the van that came to pick us up for our rental we already knew that we loved it here. There is no traffic, wide open spaces, the people are friendly (someone called Rusty mate) and the air smells good. We got our rental car and enjoyed watching Rusty drive us all home. He did a great job, but turned on the wipers every time he tried to use the blinker haha.

We all showered and took a nap before heading out to get a Subway and then going to the grocery store. This grocery store was like heaven! It had so many things in it, and things that we know how to cook and eat. Of course we picked up some important New Zealand things like Manuka honey, Tim Tams, and Afghans. I drove for this part of the day and I think it is so fun! I have missed having the independence of driving, and staying on the left is not so hard; it’s staying in the lane haha. I keep drifting over so that I’m halfway out of the left side of the lane. Ooops.



March 2

Today was our first full day in New Zealand! Although we spent a good part of it asleep, I can tell you that I want to move here haha. We woke up and made a big breakfast, the kind that we have been missing. We made French toast and cinnamon apples with syrup. Then we all took a nap for a few hours, woke up and made tacos (another thing we have been missing) and then went out for a little while. The salsa here is weird and is made with a thickener so it is really thick and tastes really sweet. We did find some good, normal cheese though! Thank the heavens!

After our lunch we went to Brighton Pier and walked around on the pier before heading over to the park. I love beaches like this, that are colder with more seashells and less people. Where you can just walk along the water holding your shoes in your hand but with your jeans and a jacket on. Ah. So perfect. The kids loved playing at the park and I made a new Maori friend. Then we all walked along the beach and the kids got WAY too sandy and WAY too wet haha. Rusty and I just sat for a while and watched them playing and I felt the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time.

After that we came home and played, did laundry, and then we made sandwiches for dinner. Another normal meal! Who knew that I would be so excited about normal cheese, lunch meat, tomatoes, mustard, Ranch, and spinach on my TOASTED bread! YES THEY HAVE A TOASTER HERE.  Best day ever.

March 3

Today was Sunday, so we were going to go to the 9 AM ward so we had the rest of the day, but jet lag kept us up all night. Adeline and I were out on the couch watching Queer Eye for a while eating cookies haha. Needless to say, at around 10 we were still all asleep. There was a ward that had a reverse block and sacrament started at 11, so we rushed out and made it there. It was our first English ward for a while and it was nice to be able to understand everyone. It was also in a regular church building and felt very comforting like home.

After church we came home for a nap and some food. We were planning on heading over to a little beach to walk around but ran out of time. Instead we opted to go for a pretty drive and a short little walk. Well, what was supposed to be a short walk. It turned into a really long hike that ended with us walking completely unprepared in the dark with no service or internet and not entirely sure where the car was haha. This hike was beautiful and full of friendly little sheep and ocean views. This is one of my favorite things we did in New Zealand (writing this almost a month later) because it was spontaneous and so simple, yet so rewarding. And so “New Zealand.” We went tramping in the wop wops with some scraggin. Haha! Kiwi translation: We went hiking in the middle of nowhere with some trailmix. Also, fun fact: New Zealand has more sheep than people.

March 4

Today we had a slow morning to recover from the jet lag, get some work done, and give the kids some much needed down time. There is a little backyard here that has nothing in it but they love just running around and having some space. In the afternoon we went over to the beach we tried to make it to yesterday and explored the little cave that is there! It is so cool! The cave goes all the way through and is actually like a tunnel instead of a cave. We climbed up on top of it, and then through it to the water. Then we sat on the sand and watched all the kids out surfing and talked about how cool it is that kids here get to do that after school. Rusty and I are quickly falling in love with New Zealand, and have even started looking up details for moving here… It’s so far from our family, but it somehow feels like home. I don’t know that we will ever live here, but if we did we would be lucky!

In the evening it was time for our Ko Tane Maori dinner! This was really special, and a real highlight of our trip. We got there and were led back through a cool nature preserve. Then our guide stopped us by some gates and told us a little bit about what was going to happen that night, and about the Maori culture. He told us that we were like a new tribe coming to be introduced to the village and they were going to follow the norms that they would have done hundreds of years ago. We chose a “chief”, which was Rusty!!!, and then a warrior came out from the village and put some greenery down on the ground. Rusty picked it up and held it close it to his heart which meant that he came in peace and then some villagers came and did a welcome haka that they would have done for new people. I learned that although the haka sounds TERRIBLY TERRIFYING, it is done for lots of reasons. One is for respect, one is for welcome, and one is to declare war. When they did it Adeline started freaking out and crying poor thing. It was really alarming ha! Then our chief, Rusty, was welcomed by the village’s chief by touching noses and we were brought into the village. 

 

They showed us some of their hunting methods and musical instruments, the hangi dinner, and then it was time for the show! I didn’t really know what to expect but it was super cool! They performed lots of traditional songs and dances and even taught us some haha. I had a hard time with mine but watching Rusty and Henry do the Haka was awesome. I was really impressed with them and Henry and Adeline could not take their eyes off of them. The chief was a really cool guy who told lots of stories. He really showed us what the culture was like without it feeling fake and touristy. They even did some demonstrations with different weapons. The women had paddles and when they showed us I was seriously terrified. They told us that the women were trained just like the warriors but they stayed back to protect their children. The chief also told us about these long shafts called taiahas that the men used in combat for defense or quick, sharp attacks. It was interesting that the most dangerous part of the weapon was designed to look like a face with the tongue, because the tongue can do more damage than any other part of the body. These people were smart.

Then it was time for our hangi dinner! It was tasty and had a very specific taste to it which comes from the manuka branches that they smoked the food in. There was tons of food but the New Zealand highlights for me were the lamb, yams, pavlova, and hokey pokey ice cream. Man that ice cream is good! We had it many, many more times before leaving New Zealand haha. But the real highlight for the kids was all of the animals right out the window! When they were done eating they got to go out and feed them and they thought that was amazing! Well, Henry did. Adeline is really freaked out by animals haha.

March 5

Today was another great day! We have gotten really lucky and had just perfect weather here. Today we went and saw a few sites around Christchurch. This is an interesting city because it is one of the biggest ones in the country yet it feels like a little town. There isn't a busy downtown area, but there is a cute little area to walk around where we ate dinner. We started at the Cardboard Cathedral. This was built after the 2011 earthquake and is called that because of the building materials that they used.

We walked over to Cathedral Square which was actually really sad. This beautiful cathedral is still in ruins from the 2011 earthquake and it is so sad because you just know it would have been so beautiful complete. It is also sad because it is a reminder of the earthquake that hit that city so hard and the damage that was done. We managed to squeeze in a visit to the Christchurch Museum that is free and right next to the Botanical Gardens. I thought it would be a run in and out type of thing, but we spent a little more than an hour here and only left because they were closing and kicked us out. Henry was really enthralled by a lot of what they had! They had a house that was full of Paua shells that an old couple used to live in. They also had really cool artifacts from the Maori people including the taiahas so we could take a picture close up.

They had a star tunnel that Henry just wanted to camp out in haha.

After we spent some time here we went over to a cafe called 22 Steps that I had read really good things about. It was in a really cool spot with a little pedestrian alley with shops on both sides and the trolley coming right through. We sat outside and ate the yummy bread they gave us and then looked at the menu and panicked. It was wayyyyy over our budget. So we just ordered some appetizers and then went over to Wendy's for dinner haha. Travelling on a budget is a little tricky sometimes.

Walking back to our car we went past a slack line park! Who knew that these even existed?! How cool is that! We stopped here and played around for a little while and the kids all loved it. We remembered how fun we think it is and decided to find a good place for our's when we get back home. 

Hokey pokey ice cream and a movie

TIM TAM SLAMS

March 6

Today was one of my favorite days ever! It started with Punting on the Avon. This was very similar to doing a gondola ride in Venice. It's a traditional boat ride that they used to do here in Christchurch and now they do it as a tourist attraction. The punter even wears traditional clothes and it was so fun! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the sun made everything look like it was bathed in a golden color. It was surreal and pretty magical! We loved it!

Adeline loved the ducks so much! Every time we saw one she would yell, "Quack quack quack!"

After our ride we got a quick lunch and then went to the Botanic Gardens. We had a tour on the little tram but we got lost and were too late. The next one wasn't for another hour and half and we were so bummed, and frustrated, but decided to give it one more shot and run that way. As we got there we saw the tram leaving and we asked the lady if we could hop on. She said that there was another at the gate we could get on. So we did and it was just us, like a private tour (for the first part until some other people hopped on too haha). The tour was awesome and took us all over the gardens (52 acres!!). Some highlights were the rose gardens, the Peace Bell (made from coins all over the world), and the trees to play in. After our tour we hung out and played for quite a while. It was so peaceful and beautiful!

Our last stop for the day was this Margaret Mahy Park, and it is by far the coolest park we have ever been to! It is massive and has so many different things you can do. Everything is so tall that it feels like it's a playground for the adults too and I have never seen so many adults playing on a playground haha. This was true for us too, including Rusty. There was an area that had water features and Rusty kept telling Henry, "Back up Henry. It's Daddy's turn." Hahaha

End of the night with some hokey pokey ice cream and a show.

March 7

Today we got up and got everything packed to leave Christchurch and head to our new destination: Kaikoura. We had a little mishap though with the keys. We thought we left them in the locked apartment and spent quite a bit of time trying to break in, until we realized that Rusty had them in his pocket the whole time haha. Whoops.

The weather forecast for our time here was pretty bad, so we had to do some adjusting. This meant that I moved my whale watching tour to this afternoon after our drive, so we went straight there and Rusty just dropped me off. Turns out the marina where I got on the boat was literally right across the street from our new house haha! I got to the whale watching place and then got on a bus to go to the boat. On my way out I saw two dolphins, an albatross sitting on the water, and a fur seal on a rock. I knew that it was going to be a lucky day! While we were waiting for the sperm whale to come up we saw so many beautiful albatross birds! And this might make me super nerdy, but I was so excited about it. They are so graceful and beautiful and HUGE!

We got out on the water and listened on the hydrophone and heard a sperm whale down below hunting! They said that the sonar is so strong it liquefies bones and internal organs and then the sperm whale just swallows the animal whole. It was so crazy to hear that, it was really intense. We also heard him just using his sonar for echolocation. Eventually he came up, they normally hold their breath here for 45-60 minutes and then come up for 5-10 minutes, I thought he would swim around like humpbacks do. But he just floated there haha. They call it "logging" and it was... uneventful haha. But it was cool to see and hear him breathing, and then when he went back down we saw the fluke. Pretty cool! 

After seeing the sperm whale we went over to find some dolphins. We found pods of common dolphins and dusky dolphins and they played around with us for a while! I can't believe how beautiful this water is here. We also saw some more fur seals, SOME BLUE SHARKS!!, and lots of cool birds.

March 8

Today was a low key day where we just stuck around at home and Rusty got lots of work done. It was rainy off and on, but when it wasn't raining the kids were playing outside on the toys. The house next door was also a holiday rental and the family was out feeding the seagulls. They had two kids Henry and Adeline's age, so Henry asked if he could go over and talk to them. He used to be so shy and he is coming out of his shell so much so I said of course! He went over and we ended up talking with them a lot. The parents are Jess and Ant (Anthony) and the kids are Emerson and Ivy. They loved playing together!

While we were outside some fishermen came in. We walked over to see what they brought it and they had some really huge fish and also some sea urchins. I was in changing Della's diaper but the fisherman cracked one open and let Rusty and Ant taste it. Rusty described it as warm, salty pudding so I wasn't so sad that I missed it haha. But it is a big deal here so I'm glad one of us did!

Late that night over some delicious Tim Tam Slams, Rusty and I practiced our hakka faces haha. His are way better than mine.

March 9

Today it was still rainy, but the forecast is rainy for the entire time we are here and we weren’t about to let that stop us! The real bummer is that the day we leave it is supposed to be gorgeous and will stay that way for the next five days. Oh well. One of the things that was on our list was to visit the Fyffe House, a really old house built during the whaling times. The coolest thing about this house is that it was built on a foundation of whale bones, which is so crazy! There are a couple of cut outs where you can see it. Just Henry and I went in because Adeline was taking a nap in the car and Rusty wasn’t really that interested, but I was shocked at how much Henry liked it. They had a little scavenger hunt to do and he was so excited about it. They also had some really horrific dioramas about whaling and he wouldn’t stop talking for a few days after about whale blubber. The tour ended in a room where they would make and bottle the oil. 

After the house we wanted to go walk to seal colony right on the beach. Adeline was still asleep so Rusty and Henry took off and I waited in the car with her. After a while she woke up and they weren’t back yet so we went out to find them. It was SO RAINY that you couldn’t see out into the water, but we trudged on! We ran into the boys and then they turned around to show us the colony that they found. It was so cool for the fur seals to be so close! There were so many little babies and they were the cutest. Eventually we got too cold and wet so we went back to the car to go home and warm up.

For dinner tonight we headed over to Cooper's Catch, which is supposed to have some of the best fish n chips in the whole country. And we agree! It was so flaky and light, and the fish was such a good quality. We ordered it with an L&P soda, which is a big deal here, and honestly we didn’t love it very much. But we are not soda people so maybe that has something to do with it. 

March 10

Today was Sunday but when we looked up a church building it was two hours each way. Yesterday Rusty was scheduled for his whale watching tour, but it got cancelled because of the weather and rescheduled for today. He went out and it was gray and rainy and a lot choppier, but they got to see two whales. Rusty said that because the waves were so choppy they got to see more of the whales which is cool! They also saw Hector Dolphins, the smallest dolphins in the world. The guide said that they hardly ever see them, and that most likely nobody on that cruise would ever see them again in their lives. That is so cool!

While Rusty was doing his whale tour the kids and I headed back over to the seal colony. It wasn’t as rainy today and I just let the kids do their own thing for a long time. They got so excited to make a bunch of “soup” with all of the tide pool puddles. Then we went back over to see the fur seals and we watched the babies all bug their mommies while they were trying to sleep, just like real life haha.

That night we fed the seagulls, ate dinner outside, and then took a little walk over to the beach by our house. We found lots of cool shells and where an old whaling oil shop used to be!

Kiwi dip!

March 11

Today was our last full day in Kaikoura. The weather was still rainy but for the past few days Rusty and I had to reschedule our seal swim. This morning they were open, but by the time it was Rusty's appointment they had to cancel for weather. Bummer! I went and they put us in wetsuits and I forgot how absolutely freezing and miserable it is for the first few minutes while the cold water comes in haha. At first I was seriously questioning my decision but then once the fur seals started coming in the water and playing with us I was so excited and knew that it was a great choice! They were so playful and fun and agile! I couldn't believe how fast they could swim and twist around. They also came really close to us, and most of the time they would just hang upside down and stare at me haha. It was so cute! This was such an incredible experience!

March 12

This morning was Rusty's turn to go to the fur seal swim (and our last chance here) but he was up so late with his work and my work that he cancelled. The AirBNB house was supposed to have internet, but it was awful. Come to find out that the guy had internet in his house so he said the vacation home had it too, but it was so weak you couldn’t do anything on it. And Rusty didn’t have good enough cell service for the hot spot to work well enough to teach from. So we talked to the guy and he said I could use his “man cave” which was like a detached garage in between our houses, but with my classes being so late at night (2-4 am) I was scared to be out there in a creepy place by myself. So Rusty was the absolute sweetest and would sit out in the car so we could watch the door and hear the kids in the house. He is such a sweetie.

We got all of our stuff packed up and then went out to get some last minute things fit in with the great weather. We drove up to a nice view point over the city. It was so beautiful and I’m pretty sure that Rusty was ready to move there on the spot. 

After this we went and did a little hike up above the seal colony again and saw really gorgeous views! Then we stopped at Kaikoura Seafood BBQ (a little food truck) to eat some authentic NZ food. We ordered a crayfish plate, which was delicious and kind of fun because she took me over to a cooler where I picked the one I wanted out. Then we also ordered a whitebait fritter sandwich, which was a terrible mistake. I knew what it was when I ordered it, but for some reason I just assumed that it would not taste as terrible as it sounds. But I was wrong. It did not taste good, and we couldn’t even eat it because there were just so many fish eyes staring at us. YIKES. The kids and I had fun making the crayfish walk around though haha.

After lunch it was time to drive to our new stop, Upper Moutere. We took a very small detour to add in Cullen Lookout and the Queen Charlotte Sound by driving the road that winds along on the coast called Queen Charlotte Drive. These views were absolutely insane, and it was even really cloudy. I was bummed that we didn’t have great weather for those views, but with the clouds it looked kind of mysterious and misty. I’ve never seen water the colors that it is here!

We got to our place and it is pretty cool and has a lot of toys for the kids to play with. They are so enthralled with these legos that I know what they will be getting for Christmas! They also have a DVD player, but the only show that the kids can watch is Robots but Henry LOVES that haha. They have a little trampoline out there and this place is in the middle of nowhere. They are off the grid and do everything with solar power. The hosts came over and said hello and brought us some homemade Afghan cookies. They are so nice!

March 13

Today we just stayed home! I ran into town and got some yummy lunch from a bakery and then hung out at the house. Tonight the hosts (Bridget and Julius) took us down to feed their sheep Timmy, who apparently only likes and nobody else haha. We also fed Sylvester, a cute little goose that has decided to make this his home. 

March 14

We stayed home again today and played and relaxed. We are not used to moving so often, and I think it is taking a toll on us haha. The kids played outside and then Jack (the son) came over and gave the kids some more toys and showed them his remote control car. Henry loves Jack and told me after he left that he will remember Jack forever. For dinner we tried to make a run into Nelson, but turns out we didn’t really care for that city haha. We ended up eating at Subway and then just going right back home haha. 

March 15

Today was our first day with decent weather, and it is the same story as Kaikoura. The forecast shows that after we leave the weather will be perfect haha. And Bridget told us that before we got there they had sunny weather for like a month. Cool Bridget haha. Anyways, there was really only one reason we wanted to come to this area, and it was to visit Abel Tasman. We headed out there, parked, and then started on our hike. Originally we were going to do a water taxi and then hike around but we changed our mind and decided to hike to Cocquille Bay, which Bridget recommended. I’m glad we did, it was so beautiful! The hike was awesome- we pulled off at a few different places and had lunch on a really pretty beach with a little cave. One of the places we stopped we saw this really weird looking bird steal a girl’s sandwich and run away with it haha. 

Our lunch view

The thief

Our final stop was Cocquille Bay, which had the most beautiful turquoise water with golden sand and bright green trees. There were these crazy huge ferns that we SO giant dotted all around. It looked like dinosaurs were going to coming walking out at any minute. We walked down to the beach and had it all to ourselves. The kids loved playing and Henry was in the water pretending to be a jet ski. The only downside was all of the sand flies! They were eating us alive!This park was so beautiful and I truly wish we had a few more days to explore it. This is on my list to come back and see some more of this beautiful coastline!

March 16

Today we packed up and drove to Hokitika, our new home for the next few days. The drive here was along the coast and was so pretty. Again, it was pretty rainy and cloudy, but what we could see was awesome. We had to turn around at one point because we realized that we were too far away from the next gas station. It is all pretty spread out here haha. We made a few stops to take pictures, and one big stop at Punakaiki.

Punakaiki is nuts! Honestly it was way cooler in real life than I was expecting, and much more beautiful. These rocks look like stacks of pancakes, and nobody knows why they are formed that way. There is a cool little free walk that takes you right around them, and also some cool blowhole areas. This country is so beautiful! The kids had a great time splashing in puddles on the walk back to the car.

Henry kept picking me these flowers, he said that they were beautiful flowers for beautiful Mommy. Ahhhhhh

They had some flowers that you could put on the trees here to remember the victims in Christchurch. It was so sad to have to explain to Henry what happened, and why people would choose to do that.

March 17

Today was Sunday and our first chance to go to church in a while! We had passed the church on our drive to Hokitika (in Greymouth) but it was burned down. Rusty reached out to the missionaries and we learned that it had just been burned down by arson the week before. On Friday there was a massive shooting in Christchurch at a mosque, and 51 people were killed. It was just terrible. You could see the whole country mourning, and while there is no silver lining to something like that happening, it was really empowering to see the people respond to this incident. Police officers in Christchurch put flowers on top of their guns to detract from the weapon, a big biker gang came and stood outside the mosque for the next prayer to keep everyone safe, a group of high school boys performed the haka, and the country is paying for each person’s funeral. It is just amazing to see this whole country rise up and support each other.

Anyways, we drove out to Greymouth and had church at a little school. The Stake President talked about the two events that happened the last week, and his main message was really powerful. He said that it had caused him to reflect on how he is loving his neighbor. He realized that he didn’t know much about Islam and what they believe, and that if he learned about that he could better love his neighbor.

On the drive home we passed a little honey stand on the road, and Rusty was in heaven! It was the best honey I've ever had, but I've never had fresh honey before so maybe that's it? It was delicious Manuka honey!

After church we went home and took naps and had some food. Henry made friends with a girl next door visiting her grandma, and while I took a nap Rusty and the kids went to the park nearby. After dinner we all headed out to the beach! This is a very different beach than I have been to. The current must just be so strong that a bunch of things get washed up here, but we saw so many logs, chairs, and even a bathtub washed up haha. The highlights were the “Hokitika” sign out of sticks and the huge ship they had. Apparently ships would crash here a lot and then they would bring them up and fix them and send them out. Then it would happen again haha. Henry loved it and his eyes were so excited about being able to get on a real ship.

March 18

Today was a low key day, but when Henry and I went out to the grocery store we saw that it was right next to the Kiwi Museum and we decided to make a Mommy Henry date out of it. We got a yummy treat and some postcards at the store and then went to the museum. They had a lot of fish that you could see, and some reptiles too, but one of their main attractions was feeding these giant nasty blue eels. And while you fed them you could pet them. There was absolutely NO WAY that I wanted to do this, but I was shocked that Henry did. The eels didn’t want to eat anything, but one did swim up to the top and let Henry touch it. So gross. Another thing we did was try to go crayfish fishing! We tried for a long time and never caught anything, and poor Henry wanted to catch one so bad. I must be really bad at it haha. The last big highlight was seeing the Kiwi bird! He loved Henry and pecked on the glass next to him and would follow Henry around wherever he went. Henry said that he was his best friend and named him. 

Tonight we went out to the glowworm dell. It is the only late night activity we have done with the kids since we left on this trip, and poor Della was already asleep when we left so we had to wake her up. But it was so worth it! It was right off of the highway with a little sign, and it was free to go in. You walk up and then all of a sudden you see the walls around you just glowing like you are surrounded by stars. The pictures do not come anywhere close to doing it justice, but man it was a really magical moment. 

March 19

Today was our last day in Hokitika. On our way out of town we went to the Hokitika Gorge. The entire drive we kept wanting to pull over to take pictures because it was so beautiful, and because of this we never stopped or took any pictures because it was too overwhelming haha. We went through the beautiful countryside and next to the Southern Alps-which are stunning- before getting to the gorge. It had been raining a lot so the color of the river wasn't quite as bright as it can be, but it was still really pretty. And Henry was so excited to walk on a swinging bridge over it!

We made another stop at Franz Josef Glacier to get out and stretch our legs. Today's drive is all the way to Wanaka, so it is pretty long. But it is ok because we had these stops that we wanted to make anyways! It does make for a really long day though. We got out and hiked at this place and it was great to see all of the waterfalls and the views of the glacier. I had no idea that Rusty liked glaciers so much, but he legitimately got so excited when he saw it haha. He is the cutest. We hiked here for a while before turning around (it would have taken a really long time to get to the glacier). Such a pretty spot!

We finally made it to our new home in Wanaka, and it was such a breath of fresh air. The host met us in person and she had so many toys (inside and out) for the kids. They got so excited and didn't even miss a beat before playing outside. This place has a playground, toys, and a big yard. They also have a huge garden that we were welcome to pick from anytime, and chickens. She would come and leave chicken food for the kids to feed them, and she even let Henry collect some eggs with her one day. It was such a great place!

March 20

We stayed home today to recover from our day yesterday! The kids were so excited about all of the toys, and Rusty and I were too because that meant that they would be entertained for a little bit haha. They had so much fun playing outside, and we even got some vegetables from the garden for our dinner.  I ran into Wanaka to get some food from the grocery store and picked up some "New Zealand treats" like Lamingtons. They were really good!

March 21

This morning we took it easy and stayed home, and then in the afternoon we went to hike to the Blue Pools and also stop by the Wanaka Tree. The hike was easy and really beautiful, but the real show stopper was the color of the pools! I've never seen water that blue in my life! It was so stunning. There was also a little part where you could go down to a river and Henry enjoyed building a cairn and Rusty tried going out into the freezing cold water haha. The only downside: the sand flies. They are out of control! We had only experienced them in Abel Tasman, but many having them here was really a bummer for the hike. You couldn't stop or they would swarm you.

We saw a little ice cream shop on the side of the highway, and we just had to stop because ice cream is a big deal in NZ because of the dairy... so we didn't have a choice. The kids loved the special treat and we took a funny video of Adeline throwing a fit because she wanted to hold it and then being totally fine the second she got it back. Silly girl.

Our final stop for the day was at Lake Wanaka to see the famous Wanaka tree. This tree is so strong and just simply beautiful. It grows out in the lake a ways. The kids loved throwing rocks in the lake and we liked sitting on the shore just watching everything in the quiet. NZ is a special place.

We had a little picnic in the backyard today, complete with cloud watching and a little bunny visitor. It's nice to be somewhere that you can actually be out in the grass again, and have space to have grass again haha. We are definitely country people.

March 22

Every once in a while it's nice to have a change of pace, even when we are on this trip and the pace is fast and seems to change so often. For something a little different, Rusty stayed home and got some work done today and the kids and I headed over to a little lavender farm. Wanaka is famous for its lavender, and even though we were about a month late it was still beautiful. I love seeing the flowers everywhere! They also had a little farm/zoo area, and as soon as Adeline saw it she was done. Just throwing a fit and very unhappy, which made for a long day out. We wandered around for a little, played tic tac toe, drove the tractor, and said hi to some animals. We also tried different kinds of honey, including lavender honey!

March 23

Today we left Wanaka to make the long drive to Manapouri. We had two stops we wanted to make along the way, and we ended up adding a few more for the beautiful viewpoints. Our first stop was Arrowtown, which we were going to in the hopes of seeing the fall colors which are supposed to be spectacular. We were a few weeks early and didn't see any colors, but the town is adorable. It is one of those little towns that still looks like it would have back in the day, and I just loved it. We had heard from our host, who grew up in Arrowtown, that it has the best sticky buns so obviously we went there to try them and they were so good! We loved walking around and I think I would very much like to live somewhere like this.

Rusty was listening to some questionable music, and H and I were not enjoying it

We drove about fifteen minutes to make it to Queenstown, and again the scenery was just nuts. Seriously NZ, take it easy. Our first stop was Fergburger, which is supposed to be the best burger in NZ. It's so popular that there is always a huge line, which was true for when we went to. Luckily the place to get our tickets for the gondola was right across the street so we were able to do some multi tasking. We got the original burgers, and honestly they weren't anything special. In fact, I prefer the burgers you get in an American diner. But I will say that the fries were delicious and the aioli was amazing, and the views... perfect.

After lunch it was time to ride the gondola! There is also a gondola in Christchurch so I was pretty torn on which one to go on, but being up here I know that this was definitely the right choice. I was blown away by how beautiful the views were from the top, and I was also surprised by how much the kids enjoyed the gondola ride. They both did not stop grinning and giggling the entire time, just staring out the windows so happy. 

After the gondola we got back in the car to drive to Manapouri. We got there and got checked in to our place. I had no idea what to expect here, but the scenery is unreal. WHAT?!

March 24

Today was my birthday! We were originally scheduled to do the Milford Sound Cruise today as a family, but the weather wasn't super awesome. And it was going to rain hard the next few days, so our scuba diving trips were cancelled later in the week. We ended up totally moving things around and I went scuba diving today on my actual birthday! It was so great, but I did really miss being with my family.

I got up early and started my two hour drive to Milford Sound. It was still dark so I couldn't see anything, but on the way back home I saw how beautiful the drive was. Right as I was getting close, the sun came up and I saw these huge mountains on either side of the road. I pulled up to the spot and saw the Milford Sound for the first time. After we got our gear on we headed out in the boat and saw some waterfalls, and honestly, that is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It was the first time I didn't want to get in the water to scuba dive because I just wanted to stay above and see everything. The dives were good, saw some skull sharks, the biggest cray fish ever, lots of kinds of sea stars (including the snake stars), and sea cucumbers. The highlights though were a shark egg that we saw the embryo of with the flashlight and the black coral. It is so cool to see something that you normally wouldn't be able to see because it only lives so deep.

In between our dives, we jumped off the boat and swam over to a little part of shore where we hiked to a little waterfall. After our dives we drove around the Sound and then also went into the waterfall, like all the way into haha! She backed the boat up into the water and I just couldn't stop laughing it was all so surreal and beautiful.

On the way back it had started raining, and so the sides of the mountains were just pouring these tiny waterfalls. It's true what the locals say: Milford Sound is best in the rain.

I drove back home and Rusty and the kids had a delicious dinner waiting for me. Rusty was awesome and researched fairy bread, a birthday dessert they have in NZ, and made me some and also got a cake. He bought me some new camera equipment for our African safari and I am so stoked! The kids wrote me the best cards ever. I love my little family, and I am so lucky! Here is to a great year! I can't believe I'm 28.

The kids and I ran into town and we didn't wear any shoes... it is the New Zealand way!

March 25

Today it just rained and rained and rained. So much rain. But, we put on our rain coats and went out and played around in the water! Henry and Della loved splashing in every single puddle they could find and spinning until they were dizzy and couldn't run any more haha. I love that having kids helps you remember what it was like to be a kid and just have no reservations about what people think of you. I love my little munchkins.

March 26

Today we stayed home again! It was another rainy day, so we played outside in the rain and then played inside too! As much as it is a bummer to have to stay inside, it is nice to be forced to slow down. The kids and Rusty and I all needed a break.

March 27

We had a few errands to run today so we went into Te Anau. Rusty and Henry needed to get new haircuts... the $1.50 ones they got in Thailand are so terrible haha. So that was the first stop. We found an Indian place we wanted to try, but it wasn't open yet and we passed by a park that looked fun so we stopped to play for a while! I swear NZ has the best parks. Rusty and I had races on the ziplines and Henry and Della went as high as they could in the swings. It stopped raining and we looked over at the lake and there was this bright, perfect rainbow right over it. This place is pure magic!

March 28

Today we got to go as a family to see the Milford Sound! I was so excited to show Rusty this place because I think it is the most beautiful place ever. We got really lucky with beautiful, sunny weather, but we did have the results of all of the rain make the water in the sound a brown-green color. Even with this, it was seriously so gorgeous, but I was pretty bummed about the water color. But that is nature and that's the Milford Sound! The freshwater from all of the rain and run off just sits on top of the service in a layer.

March 29

Today is was finally Rusty's turn to go scuba diving! He thought it was as breathtaking as I did, and also thought that it was a pretty similar dive to what we did in Puget Sound. This was our first cold water dive since there, and we both remembered how much we love warm diving haha. He says that it was diving in the prettiest place in the world, and I agree with him.

March 30

Today was one of my favorite days in New Zealand I think. We passed by some of the prettiest scenery I've seen our whole time here, and when I think of New Zealand I'll think of these mountains and lakes. We went back through Queenstown and stopped for food at a place called Balls and Bangles- no idea what that's about- which was just a lucky guess really. They had the most delish bagel sandwiches, and the coolest, funnest donuts ever! The whole vibe and atmosphere was awesome and we loved this place.

Then we continued on our journey and stopped at two lakes: Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo. Seriously I don't know what is going on with the water here but it is all unrealistically blue. Lake Pukaki was our first stop, which is stunningly blue and has great views of Mt. Cook. Sadly for us, it was cloudy and we couldn't see the mountain. But the views are wonderful and we enjoyed climbing down the rocks to touch the water!

After this we continued on to Lake Pukaki, which has a beautiful church right on the shore that was built from stone in 1935. In the Spring there are tons of Lupin flowers all around it, but we were lucky to see just a few! I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in the Spring!

We made it to Fairlie, the tiniest little town I've ever stayed in, and found the only place open still for dinner-at 6:30- haha. It was a cute little place with pizzas so we ordered an appetizer of cheese and crackers because we were starving and then a big pizza. It was so good, and I don't know if I'm getting old or if this was the best bleu cheese ever, but man it was delicious! After dinner we drove out a ways and then looked at the stars. This is in an International Dark Sky Reserve so it is supposed to be good for star gazing, and it really was! We saw so many beautiful stars. This is such a beautiful planet that we live on!

March 31

We woke up today kind of bummed that it was our last day in New Zealand, but also kind of excited to head over to Australia. We met our neighbor while we were loading the car and he said, "Ah... Don't stay long there. Come back to New Zealand." He was an older guy and was so sweet. I told him that we loved NZ because everyone was so kind and we felt so welcome. He said, "Well you are welcome! It's sad that it took an event like the shooting to give us all a kick in the bum and remember that everyone is welcome in NZ." Seriously, I love the people here.

Rusty messaged Anthony and told him that we would be in the area and he said that he was going to be shearing sheep at a farm not far away the next day, and he could ask the farmer if it would be okay for him to show us around. We thought that sounded great, so we told him we would meet him at the Fairlie Bakehouse for breakfast. He was a little later than us so we spent some good time playing at a little playground close by and then walked over to the bakehouse. Here we tried a meat pie that is so big here, and honestly I just don't get it haha. But they love them. We also got a big breakfast croissant thing and a muffin that tasted like a cupcake haha. It was fun to catch up with him, and the kids started playing great without skipping a beat. Ant has a really strong accent, and there were many times that Rusty and I had no idea what he was saying haha!

After breakfast we took a drive out through the country and it was so stunning! Just these beautiful rolling green hills with sheep on them. We ended up at a little farm and Ant showed us the sheep and the little shearing area that they had set up for the next day. He walked us through the whole process of shearing them and cleaning the wool, and the entire time the kids were just running around making sounds like sheep in the stalls haha. It was a lot of fun! 

Then it was time to say goodbye and finish our drive to Christchurch. We got to our hotel, a really nice place, and started to pack up for our flight to Sydney. Rusty took the kids swimming while I packed, but quickly brought Della back because she pooped and because the water was so cold she was not enjoying it. We got some yummy Mexican food and then went to bed for a really early flight in the morning!

New Zealand has been such a special place, and it will forever be one of our favorite places that we have ever been. The people are so kind, the views are insane, and it has such a slow pace that it is really relaxing. Their hokey pokey ice cream, Tim Tams, and pavlova are delicious, but the lolley cake, meat pies, and gum drop ice cream can stay here haha.


Henry's Highlights:

• Henry loves this car racing game on the table that Rusty downloaded for our long flights. He seriously LOVES it. But it is getting really hard and he can't do the levels all on his own, so his favorite thing to do is to ask us to do the levels and he watches. It's bizarre. 
• He is getting so good at talking to new people! I am so proud of him!
• He still loves to pretend to cook.
• Says, "Follow me wherever I may go!", "How fun is that!", "Try it and you may like it", "Whaddya say??" 
• Sings "Go Away Scary Monsters" when he is scared
• He says, "Grip" for crawling under things: "Mommy, can you grip under the bed?"
• Says, "I hope you had a toasty shower!"
• He gets strikes if he is having a bad day. 3 strikes before a consequence. He calls them "stripes"
• Loves the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." Always says the scotch tape part and then says, "here it is!" and points to it.
• His imagination games have focused on police officers getting bad guys and also travelling to different countries.
• Loves to pray. He gets mad if it's not his turn.
• He saw a funny video of Rusty and said, "That is so silly it makes me laugh my butt off of my body!"
• He wrote "love" legibly on some postcards and my birthday card!
• For a few days before my birthday he would just start giggling and then say, "I can't tall you, it's a surprise!"
• "I hope you have the best birthday ever! How was your peeing? How was your nap?"
• "Sleep well my mommy!"
• "Mommy, did you be built by Jesus? But there's no cracks in you like legos..."
• Calls his penis a peenie. A weenie and penis together haha.
• "Oh excuse me, I burped. My burp said 'Thank you Daddy for the yummy food!'"

Adeline's Adventures:

• Della gets carsick in the car really easily and has thrown up in every country. Hooray.
• She is talking so much! She is learning new words all of the time and continues to babble and yell at us
• She is so scared of animals
• She shrugs her shoulders and gives a mischievous smile 
• Della loves to say no haha. Usually it is accompanied by her hand or finger waving around, and it is always repeated many times (often in a sing song voice). I cannot get mad at her for it, I think it is so hilarious
• She still loves her bubbas. When she can't find it she will walk around calling for it like it will come to her.
• Started to say prayers by herself! They are completely unintelligible, but she is doing it.
• She is very independent. Only wants to feed herself.
• If she made you sad she will give you a kiss and pat your face. The best is when she wants to uddle and she pulls your head in to her tummy.
• She completely adores Henry, but that doesn't stop her from picking on him a lot.
• She gets embarrassed if she hurts herself. She bonked her face really hard and I gasped and she yelled no at me and then just looked down until some time had passed. Same thing if she gets spooked. 
• She loves to pretend to drive the car.
• She runs so funny. She raises her shoulders up to her ears and then runs.
• Started to really yell out for what or who she wants. She walks around yelling "MAMA!" and I love it.