Golden Bay

This is going to be a whistle stop tour of the South Island. I promised to myself that I would at least complete the NZ experience. I think I would like to continue it beyond NZ (is there life after NZ I am wondering?!?) but let's wait and see.
From Nelson we headed North to Golden Bay and the Sand fly capital of New Zealand! We were glad to be joined by Rich, Kath and Amelie in Pohara. The Johnsons found this great 4 bed bach with enough room for all of us to enjoy. We had a great time together. The highlight of this part of the excursion had to be the taxi boat ride around the Abel Tasman National Park from Kaiteriteri to Tonga Bay. Not only was the scenery incredible but we were joined by about 200 dolphins for the trip. This is where Rosie managed to win the "photo of the Amess NZ year" competition!
The only down side to the time in Pohara was that it rained a fair amount. Totaranui was our favourite beach. Rosie and I made full use of staying with the Johnsons by going out to a great local restaurant called "The Penguin". It was a great time together as families in the same house.

Tutukaka

The day after Boxing day we went up to a place called Tutukaka and a holiday resort called "Pacific Rendezvous". You may well think we spend all our time on holiday (which is partially true!) but I actually wasn't allowed to work in between Christmas and New Year because all the other staff from the surgery went on holiday. New Zealand practically shuts down from Christmas until February...Auckland is a ghost City and most Kiwis seem to be at the family bach for the Summer. (A lesson to be learnt?)
We tracked "Up North" with Paul, Laura, Gracie, Amy and Julia and spent a fantastic 5 days at this holiday resort with amazing views. Highlights of the holiday were body boarding at Sandy Bay, fun evenings playing Settlers and enjoying the facilities at the resort (including tennis court, great children's park, table tennis and private beach).
We also spent one day taking a boat trip to the Bay of Islands. The magical experience for us all was seeing dolphins on the trip (see video). Quite spectacular.

Bethels Beach

It was a gloriously sunny day on Saturday which meant a trip to Bethels beach (as previously mentioned). It is about 40 minutes drive from us and great for surfing. Paul and I had a little go at body boarding but it was flipping hard work to get out to the big waves and so came in after a while..still amazing fun though. Best of all was watching Harry being pulled along by Paul along one of the rivers going into the sea. See above!

Amy's arrival and Auckland Harbour

Well we have made it to December and the much awaited arrival of the lovely Amy/ Auntie Pee (Rosie's sister). It has been great to show her the sights of Auckland and have her stay at chez Amess in New Zealand. The down side has been that the weather has not exactly been the kindest for Amy's arrival! Rain has been the order of the day although it is still quite warm.
There have been 2 main highlights (linked closely to good weather!). One is a private boat trip around Auckland Harbour and the other a visit to Bethels beach (out West) with Paul, Laura and Gracie.

Up North!

It feels quite a while back now but we decided to go on holiday for a week in the middle of November after a great weekend with Kurt and Sacha. We went "Up North" and contrary to popular belief it's not as grim as you might think! It may appear that we are constantly on holiday but in reality we actually haven't been away as a family for more than a long weekend since we arrived in NZ. It was brilliant to have fun as a family. We stayed at a "Top 10" holiday park in a little fully contained apartment. It was perfect. There were many highlights but perhaps the best part of the adventure was a coach trip to Cape Reinga (almost the northern most point in NZ and where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet). We had this great Maori guide who gave us a great insight into the local history. The other great bits were driving along the "ninety mile beach" and I had a go at sand dune body boarding...wicked man!
Best beach of the holiday was Matai Bay. Best fish and chips of the holiday came from the world famous Mangonui fish and chip shop. Best moment of the holiday was seeing Matilda fly the kite that I made with her during a lunchtime and it actually staying in the air!!

Mangawhai Heads

Another weekend, another Bach and more amazing beaches. I sometimes have to pinch myself that it is all real because we have enjoyed such a privileged existence in NZ (mostly because of extremely generous Kiwi friends)! 2 weekends ago we were invited by friends Kurt and Sacha (with their 2 great children Cassidy and Brooke) to a place called Mangawhai Heads (about hour and half north of Auckland). We stayed at Sacha's parents Bach which was brilliant. It has its own vineyard which produces some delicious wine (sampled during the weekend). The other real attraction was access to a massive sand dune that only the residents of the private road can explore because there are no other roads to it! This, understandably, was a real hit with the children who loved running down the sides of the dune (surprisingly Harry and Matilda were slightly fearful to begin with but soon got the hang of sliding down!). It was a great weekend with fantastic hosts!

Tawharanui

The next weekend after Papamoa was a trip slightly closer to home to Tawharanui Regional Park (an hour north of Auckland). We spent our time at this incredible bach in a place called Christian Bay (aptly named with lots of sheep on the hillside and next to the ocean...Jesus would have approved I am sure!). We spent the weekend with Rich, Kath and Amelie and enjoyed catching up/discussing life/enjoying good food and wine! They knew the owners of the bach and we managed to tag along...result!
The highlight was going to.. yes you've guessed it...Tawharanui beach which was almost empty when we went to it. The other great fun event was enjoying Matakana farmers market (pretty famous in NZ) and buying some lovely bread and salad dressings. (I must be getting old to enjoy things like salad dressing!)

Martins Bay

We dared to travel north of Auckland the other day! We found yet more spectacular beaches and stunning scenery. We travelled about an hour to a small town called Warkworth and then drove on to Martins Bay on the advice given by tourist information ("Snell's beach is good but not as pretty as Martins Bay").
The beach was beautiful and weather particularly good for early Spring. I was almost tempted to get into the sea but fortunately had not packed any swim gear! Martins Bay had the added excitement of trees invading the beach area which doubled up as great climbing frames for Matilda and Harry (and me!)
After a brilliant morning we went back to Warkworth for some fish and chips and a play in the park...what a great way to spend a day!

Fun with Friends

Having Paul and Laura over has been a perfect excuse to do some fun things (not that we really need an excuse). I have really enjoyed having some blokey company and managed to go out to see The Bourne Ultimatum with the boys. Paul and I also found this great place to play golf in the centre of town. It had amazing simulated golf courses so we can now claim to have played Pebble Beach (a famous US golf course) in Auckland..crazy!
The 2 other highlights were a day trip to Piha Beach and a great 8th wedding anniversary/farewell to P and L meal at the top of the Sky Tower. The fun thing about dining in the Sky Tower is that the restaurant is revolving.....well some may call it fun.. but others might say it does provoke a sense of low grade nausea especially if you're really hungry! Despite this it was a great evening. Comedy of the night was watching the girls (Kath, Laura and Rosie) try to fit a whole glass into their mouth! We waved goodbye to Paul and Laura the next day..very sad ...particularly for Matilda who for some reason found Paul's magic tricks vaguely entertainly! The old money behind the ears gag is always a winner!

Whangamata

"Uncle" Paul's birthday came at a perfect time this year. One week after a hectic moving weekend we celebrated Paul's 27th birthday (is he really that old?!?!) at a bach in Whangamata (in the Coromandel). The weather was brilliant and the company not too bad either! The New Zealand coastline constantly impresses me. It is always a joy to go to amazing beaches but even better is the fact that there is nobody to share/spoil it! Call me anti-social but who wants to holiday with other people (apart from the group you are with). It's also great not to have to walk a mile or 2 to get away from the crowds especially if you've got loads of kit for the children! If only I could transport this part of NZ back with me!
Anyway, the weekend was really great. We played far too much Settlers (a strategy board game and great fun but not so good for your marriage if you're competitive!) and enjoyed some good coffee and fantastic pizza. The other highlight was flying a kite on the beach. I don't know about you but I haven't ever been able to fly a kite for more than 10 seconds. I remember spending many a frustrating time with my Dad and then with my children unable to get the stupid kite in the air. I think I have now cracked it...thanks to a little tuition from my brother-in-law I would now consider myself almost competent!

Waiheke Island

Rosie's parents came to visit in March and April which was a real blast. Amazingly, they had already booked the trip before we knew that we were going to NZ! The highlight of their stay was a trip with them (and Paul, Laura and Gracie) to Waiheke Island (One hour ferry ride from East Auckland).
We stayed at this fantastic Bach right next to Onetangi Beach. It was perfect for the children who could cycle up and down the beach. It also provided a great running circuit for Rosie and me(that is correct grammar before you email me!). Another big highlight were the incredible rock pools and sea life. Harry and Matilda loved it.
We did brave swimming in the sea although it was autumn. Matilda seemed to really get the hang of body boarding....and warming up in the hot tub afterwards was definitely a bonus!

The Coromandel

During our first month in NZ we visited the Coromandel (the sticky out bit to the east of Auckland!) with our great friends Rich, Kath and their little baby Amelie (our God daughter!). We stayed at a beautiful bach in a place called Whangapoua just 2 minutes walk from the beach. It was incredible and also fantastic to catch up with our friends (who have been living in Auckland for 2 years now). The highlight of the trip had to be walking from Whangapoua to New Chums Beach. You can only access this stunning beach by foot and it takes 30 minutes to trek through the jungle to get to it...worth every second! The children loved it and pretended to look for tigers to pass the time!
It was truly a fantastic break.