According to the boys . . .

We've been here for a whole month now, so I asked the boys:  "What are your favourite things about New Zealand so far??"

Xavier "I liked seeing the octopus, the flying fox at the park, the chocolate cake for Jackson's birthday, golden kiwi fruit, lots of playgrounds"

Jackson "I liked the pavlova for my birthday, the toys from the toy library, Asterix books, playing games like Monopoly Deal and The Great Moa Hunt, sleeping in with no school (Mommy takes that to mean he loves homeschooling!), sand dunes, seeing pukekos in the sheep paddock, L&P and burger rings!"

 So, here are some shots of local playgrounds, both at schools and parks . . . tons of challenges for the kids, lots of metal, wood and tires, lots of climbing and hanging to build upper body strength. 

  

This is our homeschool location:  in the sunshine on the living room floor.   Every morning for about 1 hour, plus experiential activities throughout the day.  And a WHOLE lot of board games . . . about the only way to guarantee peaceful, quiet behaviour at Nana & Poppa's.

 

 Jackson's pizza party birthday complete with 2 desserts!

Fireworks in the backyard at Nana & Poppa's for Guy Fawkes day and a bright orange octopus found at low tide down in the rock pools near the beach.  

 Lots of hiking opportunities with Daddy and of course . . . the beloved Tip Top ice cream stop! 

These are a few of our favourite things.

Made it!

Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud - GodZone - Down Under - New Zealand
However you want to call it, we've arrived and we'll be happy to call it home.

If you're hoping for scenic views and stunning photos, this post isn't it.  We'll get there eventually, but priority #1 here is spending time with family and starting to wind down from our "holiday" mode for a little while and consider what we're intending doing here for the next 8.5 months!   

The boys were treated to new bean bag chairs for their birthday pressies from Nana & Poppa.  

Nana was delighted to have a special afternoon tea prepared for her 4 grandchildren - all together for the 1st time ever!  Gingerbread men from the local bakery - yummy!

A nice trip to the park (3 doors down) provided a chance for the boys to show off their soccer skills.

 We headed inland to a country school fair where somethings felt strangely familiar like this bouncy castle / slide and others were frighteningly different - like their massive playgrounds with balance beams 10 feet up and only a wire to hold on to . . . totally freaked this Canadian mommy out!
I'll do a whole post on playgrounds one day.

 Ok, so here's a little peek at the scenery.  Mountains and hills surround Nelson which is nestled around a harbour on the Tasman Bay.

 This photo is included to highlight the necessity of not letting your child take his flour-filled-squishy-balloon-thing with him in the car . . .   Xavier's broke within 5 minutes of purchasing it at the market and Jackson's lasted over 24 hours, but still ended with the same hilarious result.  Not so hilarious on the side of the road mind you.   Yes, they spent their own money on it.  LOL 

Festival Fun!

 Sharing fried Maori bread with melted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

 Sheep Shearing Demonstration of course!! 

 Boys watching the sheep shearing, mouths wide open . . .

 It feels like every post I've written has ended with a beach scene lately, so I'll continue to follow the trend.  This is Tahunanui Beach in Nelson and while arriving in NZ has brought us the coolest temperatures we've had in months (think April weather in Canada), the boys couldn't completely stay dry next to the ocean . . .  I'm sure we'll return here many more times as we drive by it everyday now. 

We spent much of our first week scouting out places to rent in Nelson, as 10 in a house is pushing it with the likes of our little X-factor (yes, I mean Xavier!).  Renee updated her resume and applied for a retail job advertised in a local shop window by the third day in the country.  More on all of that in the next update!  Great end to the week though - celebrating with fish & chip take-away's wrapped up in newsprint, eaten on the lounge floor picnic-style with Wattie's tomato sauce.   

Here's to "raising kiwi's"!

 

Good Morning Sydney!

 

Good Morning and welcome to Sydney Harbour!  Our last breakfast onboard was to take in the sight of the Opera House as we awoke at Circular Quay.  We confess to not waking up at 5am to watch the cruise ship enter the harbour although it's supposed to be a spectacular entrance.  It would have been before sunrise and  . . . we're not ones to wake sleeping children.

 We hauled our bags off the ship and took a bus to the hotel and took the bus and ferry back to Circular Quay to head to Taronga Zoo - the zoo with a view as you'll see the harbour shots interspersed with the wildlife shots.  Loveliest zoo we've seen, set on a hillside overlooking the harbour. 

 Sleepy koalas (they wanted $20 to "meet" one up close . . . )

 Jackson petting a wallaby . . . and the kookaburra singing in the old gumtree!

 Spot the cruise ship!

 The boys had a calipso push pop (freezie / Popsicle kind of treat) after lunch while we waited for the seal show to start - thanks Paterson family for the Aussie coins!!

 yes, that's a military sub making it's way through the harbour - put a smile on Dave's face!

Up  close and personal with the pelicans - they are huge!

Great first day in Sydney!  We made it back to the hotel in time for a McDonald's dinner - our new "home away from home" because they have free WIFI and most hotels in Sydney charge for WIFI.  And also they have this great family deal for $19.99 with 2 Big Macs, 2 hamburgers, 4 fries and 4 drinks that feeds the family.  Why don't they have that in Canada?  

Day 2:  Darling Harbour was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel and realistically, all we could hope for in a playground for the boys.  A huge slide, climbing structures, a wading water feature and of course  . . .  A FLYING FOX!  The boys had never seen anything like it and spent at least half an hour taking turns. 

Yep, you guessed it - McDonalds for lunch again!  Apparently in Sydney, these birds are a bit of a pest . . . they are everywhere!  

I've got the boys sitting next to me on the wharf area looking at jellyfish in the water.   The weather was beautiful too.  

 Dave's choice of attractions was the Nautical Museum.  They have a replica of Captain James Cook's  "Endeavour" which you can board and view the artifacts and ask questions of the guides. 

 Next was the destroyer . . .

spot Dave . . . 

 and now to the submarine (please notice how often the camera catches me holding Xavier at railings!  LOL!) and down the hatch!  You can see how they would launch the torpedos and where the sailors would sleep and the vast array of dials and knobs . . . apparently the Australian government is building a bunch of new submarines, but the problem is that even by offering prospective sailors $100,000 a year, they don't have enough crew for more than 1 new submarine yet.  Hmmm:  Don't get any ideas Dave! 

 and the museum even had a pirate zone for the children where they had to decode a map to find the treasure chest!   It really was a great day to spend at Darling Harbour.  

For those of you who have been following the blog you may remember our attempt at a photo in Whistler with the Olympic rings.  Well, here's attempt number 2 in Sydney, see how well Xavier continues to follow instructions?  At least we've got Jackson trained, only 2 more years to go, X-factor! 

 Day 3:  Manly Beach  - took the ferry again out to Manly beach, got a great view of the harbour along the way.    Just for you Dad - if you want to be pulled out of retirement that is . . .

 Change of pace from McDonalds???  Not really, but when your kid's name is in the restaurant title it's really hard to say no, even when it'll be your 3rd burger meal in 3 days!  And there was free WIFI of course! 

Finally made it past the "strip" of beach stores and restaurants and the water was warmer than we thought it would be!  Kids in the distance starting their surfing lessons after school - can you imagine?  

 Recap:  Great beach day, Xavier gets all tired out and falls asleep on the beach, Jackson looses another tooth as the ferry is docking back in Sydney, and we managed to find a genuine Italian little restaurant for pizza for dinner. 

 Last night in the sharing a bed for awhile boys - got to love the pillow barrier that goes all the way down the bed - they don't sleep with pillows anyways!

Goodbye Sydney!  We dressed the boys in their NZ gear, fed them a donut for breakfast (from the patisserie bakery outside the hotel) and headed for the airport for the final leg of our journey to the intended destination via the "scenic route".   (Yes, Dave & I had to repack again for an hour or so to balance out the bags for weigh-in and flight, but it was much less messy than leaving Vancouver)

(Summoning the enthusiasm:  The boys looking totally unimpressed by the sheep shearing statue and bucket of wool)

The customs / immigration officer says to us:  you could have at least bought an Aussie t-shirt while you were here!   I think I mumbled something about there not being enough room in the suitcases for souvenirs . . . but since the boys are traveling on newly acquired NZ passports, and Xavier has never even entered NZ before so it's actually quite appropriate that they are dressed in black and silver to go to their new "2nd home".