Postcard from NZ- we are home

This is the final set in my Postcards from NZ.....so please excuse the "selfie" overload.....

The week was awesome for a couple of reasons...

The destination was perfect....

and the man that I spent the week with....my man........... 

 

 

Thanks to this gorgeous man who made the week so special....the best second honeymoon one could ask for.....

This one week has set us up for taking on anything that is to come.....

Here's to the next 25 years and lets not wait that long to do it again.

Love you heaps....xxx

(**** To all those who have popped in over the last week....Sorry to subject you to my infatuation,  thanks for reading along this week). 

Postcards from NZ

 Well we are here......our last day in this beautiful hideaway where we have spent the last week.....well not quite a hideaway but felt like a little piece of the Swiss Alps by the sea......

perfect place to have celebrated our 25 wedding getaway....

 Yesterday meeting up with Neetz which was a lovely moment...go check out her take on our meeting here......so much kindness going back to her too.

So today was pack up day...squish those suitcases and double check that we had picked up all the necessary souvenirs for those who were not so lucky to join us on this trip...sorry kids but you just knew it had to be done...

We have missed you heaps ...

Anyways..we found it hard to leave  and had to sit and take in the beauty  of the place and again express our gratitude for the most spectacular of days we have had..... 

 Still so much more to have done......or so much more of doing nothing that could be done.....

 We did saddle up and armed our self with some sweet local easy peel mandarins for the road

Our GPS was set to take us the scenic route back to the big smoke......oh that GPS was the best decision we made when planning this trip......it so helped keep the "romance" in the week...no misguided map reading or discussions over to go left right or straight ahead.

 

 We stopped and chatted to the locals on the way ....

...who suggested we take the scenic route....winding roads ( just like the driver liked) along the  Matapouri / Tutukaka coastline....

 

there was some  surfing envy going on for a short while.....

The views continued to wow us and we could have sat at each vantage point in the sun for longer if time had allowed us......the first time all week that we have been on a time schedule....

 The views and dizzying heights just go as far as the eye can see.......

We saw rain and grey skies for the first time all week an hour away from Auckland....

then we happened upon the city......

After the week we have had we just couldn't bring ourselves to stop in the city...the hustle and bustle.....so with our hotel room booked and ready by the airport, that is where we headed..... 

Time now just to gather our heads for flights that will see us flying most of tomorrow...a meal and a repacking of the cases ready for an international flight.....

Sadly we say goodbye to New Zealand.......fond memories we take and well as a renewed commitment to the many years that lie ahead of us as a family....

Thanks NZ for turning on such a beautiful week of weather and sights.

Joining in with a lovely Kiwi blogger ,Meghan for Things I am loving this week......

 

Postcards from NZ

Hey kids......we are nearing the end of our week in New Zealand.....but before we head on out there was one place we wanted to visit...

 

 

A town called   Whangarei

 

It has a beautiful harbor or at least we saw where all the boats are moored...dad was dreaming a little about owning a boat and sailing the high seas....

 

No dad wasn't just wanting to show how tough he is ...it really was warm in the sun again today...although by the time we were leaving the black clouds rolled in...we headed the other way and managed to stay dry......

 

The reason we came to this bustling town was so I could meet up with a "friend"....

 

A couple of years ago while I was reading some blogs.....I noticed a girl who had the same last name as us....my curiosity got the better of  me and hence I met Neetz. well that was until today I had not met her in real life......because we were so close to her home town we met for coffee....

It was lovely to sit and chat just like old friends...she was just how I imagined she would be...and we also got to meet very cute Kendyl who is 4 years old

as an added bonus Neetz had invited another local blogger Simone to join us with her sweet kids too......

 

 

It is amazing that through blogging we can eventually meet some awesome people who have very similar beliefs and values and in some cases share names ( I am off to see how close we may have come to marrying guys who are related somewhere)

 

It was only a short catchup but so glad we made the time to do it..,..

After we parted ways we continued to explore a little of the waterfront...we came across this local craft studio that had some beautifully crafted local pieces...also these women were working on a community tapestry....

 It was huge and community members are invited to participate in the weaving....the finished piece will be a stunning interpretation of the art work you see there.

Well before the day ends here is the pic of where we had the most delicious "fish and chips" last night.....in the hull of this boat restaurant.....

We have seen so many beautiful sights...eaten some yummy foods and really enjoyed every minute of our holiday here....

 

tonight it is time to begin packing the bags as we head back to Auckland in the morning for 24 hours till we fly home....

 

 

I know that you guys have had an awesome time too on your holiday with the cousins and we look forward to swapping stories in a a couple of days.

 

Take care..

 

love you lots. xxx

 



Postcards from NZ

 Hi guys......ready to see what we got up to today????

You would love New Zealand....

We did another day of driving this time we went West...well half a day as we don't seem to be able to move very fast before breakfast lunch.

We were recommended to visit a little place called Rawene....

 Very pretty and quaint although it appears that not much is surviving there as most of the business were either closed up or for sale...sad really as it has beautiful views of the local harbour......

Some of the locals we met there .....

Just a pic to show you that even though they say it is 14 degrees we are traveling fine.....having no wind at all helps and the sun is so warming....

We did end up finding this really lovely little town on our way back to our stay......Kawakawa

I loved it because it was full of interesting colourful sights...I think it is the "hippie" in me that loved it so much.....

Dad was a little sceptical of me wanting to stop and visit a famous toilet block here....right in the main street in the middle of town 

 

They were designed and built by a famous artist....

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

and they are on the tourist map to see.....I made sure there was no-one in the toilets before I snapped the pictures.....

funny dad even did the same in the males...hehehehe 

 Of course the coffee was to be tasted...or in my case the hot chocolate......

it was the best one I have had all week....

a chance to pick up another couple of postcards for you guys....wonder who will be back first????

 The town also had some funky roof top gardens and cool art work on the buildings.....

We have eaten some yummy food this week...tonight we had the best fish and chips at a restaurant  floating boat called "Shippeys"...

will go back and take a photo in the daytime tomorrow...

Well take care be good and we will talk again tomorrow.xxxx

Postcards from NZ

Good Evening kids.....

Thought I would take a photo of what we wake up to each morning.....bule skies and the promise of another perfect day of exploring ahead of us..... 

Today we headed North from our base.........

Visiting a place called KeriKeri......

 

You know dad he likes to start the day with a coffee and so we found some at The Stone Store......

 

Not far from the town of Kerikeri were the rainbow Falls......

 

It was just a short trail walk to see this beautiful spot.....

From there we headed into the Kauri Forrest to check out the oldest and largest trees we have ever seen......we actually got our coats out  for the first time.....just because it was very damp and cool in amongst the trees.....

 

  

 Beautiful thick lush greenery that we don't often see around us at home...... 

 

Most places we have been to have been so quiet...our little car was the only one around for miles...it was so quiet in the forest all you could here was the wind in the very tops of the trees...

We have this really super cool GPS system in the car.....it not only tells us where we are going and how to get there....which is has been really handy...but it also has a running commentary of all the history and land marks as we pass each place......we have learnt so much history and interesting facts about New Zealand....

Lots of stories that Fraser would love......lots of wars and fighting stories!!!

 Dad has loved driving the very windy and steep roads.....he loves seeing me dig my nails into the car seat and asking politely if he could slow down...do you think he does....NOOOOO

We have seen plenty of these lovelies all over the hillsides along the way too......

 

 To finish off our day we headed back over the mountains to the coast ....spectacular views of the many islands surrounding this part of the East coast.....the views were stunning from so high up...again dad loved the winding our way down through these mountains .

 Well glad I have finally worked out how to get good internet connection to show you our journey.....

Talk soon..

Postcards from NZ

Hi kids....we tried to call today

 

But the line was really bad.

 

We wanted to tell you about the ferry ride over to Russell

 

about the yummy warm lemon curd muffins we had

 

About climbing to the highest part of the town ...really high just so we could find a cache

 

We didn't need our coats again today.....the sun has been so lovely

 

 

We saw the oldest church in New Zealand...it even has bullet holes in the sides....part of it's history

 

 

We walked so much our feet hurt...

 

We bought postcards and sent them to you

 

Wish this connection was better and we could show you in pictures about our day....

 

Hope all is well

 



Postcards from NZ

We are here........Beautiful New Zealand........

These are posts are for our kids.....and anyone else interested in our little  second honeymoon....25 years after the first.

Someone said that around every corner is another postcard moment......and boy were they right.

We are right up the North end of the North Island. Our first day spent exploring the very sleepy seaside town which will be our base for the next week....perfect for the pace we want to achieve this week.

 ( Bay of Islands)

 (Downtown Paihia)

 ( Haruru Falls)

 

( Explored the Waitangi Treaty grounds)

 No coats needed today.....the weather was stunning.