Monthly Archives: January 2016
We Bought Cross Country Skis!
I may be a Finn but I have done some cross country skiing about 3 times in the last 30 years. There just wasn’t enough snow to ski on the island I grew up on, and when there was a winter with enough snow again, well, then it was too lame ( I was a […]
When Flying with Kids takes 60+ hours?
“It was a catastrophe” I admitted when a friend asked me how our last flights to New Zealand went. After a more detailed story the friend commented that the only thing that did not go wrong was that nobody threw up. A pretty good summary; all planes late, all connections failed, three nights waiting for hours […]
Birds in New Zealand
Did you know that there were no mammals in New Zealand before the humans arrived there some 900 years ago (well except for some that can swim like seals)? Hard to believe with all the farm animals around! But there are plenty of birds that do not exist anywhere else in the world, and many […]
Free in Taupo
There is sooo much to do in Taupo, obviously one can watch jet boats (which we did in Queenstow) or bungy jumps, the “normal extreme stuff” that looks pretty cool. There is a cafe next to the bungy jumping platform but as it seemed to rain the whole day, we didn’t expect anyone to jump […]
Rainy Day in Taupo
When we are in New Zealand, we mostly, at some point, drive through Taupo: it is on the way, there is family, it is beautiful and there is plenty to do. This time we were about to hit there on a rainy day but to my delight there would have been a few good options […]
Picton, Perfect Place to Wait
Picton is the town in the north of the south island of New Zealand where the ferry leaves to the north island. We arrived there a bit early for the ferry to have time to run off some steam before the approximately 3 hour ferry ride (the ferry was big enough for kids to strech […]
Farm Stays
For city kids, especially our boy, having old tractors etc on playgrounds in New Zealand was awesome. Visiting a farm (personal connections in use), to drive some, climb up in some and help the men fix some machinery was something he talked about for days. I know farm stays are heavily marketed to families in […]
Flower Arrangements
Granny has a wonderful garden, and my daughter loved being able to choose the flowers she’d use in her arrangements. Have to say, I think granny enjoyed the activity quite as much. But a lovely activity for anyone who has access to garden flowers!
Sea Pasta
In Kaikoura we crossed “a water labyrinth” to see some seals. Our kids loved jumping over the water bits and finding the shells that where everywhere. We found ONE seal, where there usually is a colony. But our kids were not disappointed. Seals aren’t nearly as interesting as a water labyrinth that ends with “sea […]
Churches in Christchurch
I’m sure everyone heard about the destruction the earthquake caused in Christchurch four years ago. I was still shocked to see how bad the effect from it and it’s after shocks were. One can still see what a beautiful city it has been but the city centre still has loads of doomed houses and is […]
Free But Fun 