I heart New Zealand

We may have said goodbye to our friends in New Zealand and spent countless hours returning to California, but there's a part of all of us that feels very much at home in Wanaka, something we can't seem to ignore.  I'm not sure if it was the ease in which we slipped back into the daily life, or if it was the countless friendly and familiar faces we saw around town or it was just a great family vacation.  But we've unpacked the bags, shed a few layers in the warm spring weather and figured out which way to look before crossing the street... yet we're all longing for another excuse to return, even if it means another 27 hours of travel.  

Skyline Traverse

Dan decided to do one of the classic Wanaka hikes while we were there, the "Skyline Traverse," starting in the Cardrona Valley and hiking up to the ridge of Mt Alpha and then over to the top of Roy's Peak.  The photo at the bottom is the view from the top of Roy's Peak.  The hike took him 7 hours from start to finish and he said the hardest part was the downhill.  We treated him to a beer after we picked him up at the trail head.    

Rippon, take 2

So the boys and I went to Rippon Vineyard earlier in the week and I sent a photo to my friend Debbie saying we should go, and used her birthday as an excuse.  Since Rippon doesn't sell wine by the glass, we "had" to buy the whole bottle, but thankfully Lynne and Debbie's mom Glenda, came along to help us out.  Truly, a glass of fine Otago Pinot Noir, a cheese platter, a view like this and some delightful company, what a great way to toast a Friday afternoon.    

Fall color in Wanaka

A few snap shots from down by the lake front in Wanaka.  The top ones were from a walk to Edgewater for a coffee and the bottom ones were from a play date at a playground.

Bremner Bay

Bremner Bay is one of those magical spots in Wanaka that's amazing every season.  I loved the picnics in the summer, the fall color and the reflection of the snow covered peaks in the winter.  The boys had a delightful time playing on the sand, the low tide provided plenty of opportunities to play.

Crown Range Walk

My friend Megan invited me to go for a "long walk" and after checking to see what would be a good option from Wanaka, we decided to try the walk from the top of the Crown Range.  (It helped that our friend Jeanie was heading to the Queenstown airport and was willing to help us out by dropping us off on one end of the route).  So Megan and I found ourself at the top of the Crown Range parking lot at 7:45am and started the walk up to the the top of the hillside.  You could see all of Queenstown and Cromwell from the top (all hiding under a dense layer of cloud), but we walked the ridge line and enjoyed the views.  The long walk took us 6 hours and we ended up at the beginning of the Meg Hut track near the bottom of the Snow Farm road.  I love that New Zealand hiking often takes you into very rustic places, while still being rather close to civilization.  And all we saw were sheep, no other people. We finished the walk with a beverage and a cheese platter at Ritual in downtown Wanaka, truly, what more can one ask for?

Lesley and Gareth's Wedding

Congratulations to Lesley and Gareth!  What a fabulous cermony and lovely reception.  We felt honored to be a part of it.

Rippon Winery and Vineyard

A visit to my favorite Wanaka winery, Rippon.  

Kayaking on Lake Wanaka

An afternoon paddle on Lake Wanaka with our friends Nicole and Scott, what fun to be a tourist!

Queenstown

Queenstown, one of those places that takes your breath away every time.....  

We all took some rides on the Luge, Dan even caught air on the fast track, Josh and I raced around slow folks and Ben managed to navigate on his own.

Rocky Mount

A few snap shots from an amazing hike up Rocky Mount, we had intended on just walking up to the look out, but Josh decided that we were all going to the very top, so off we went.  The boys have reached a new milestone with where they can hike to, as the hike was about a 1200 foot elevation gain and we managed to do the loop in about 2 1/2 hours.

Otago Settlers Museum

Before we left Dunedin earlier this week we went for a visit to the recently revamped Otago Settlers Museum, which was a fabulous museum (seriously like night and day from the old version, which I'd visited years ago).   Josh commented that the caravan looks just like ours and Ben was in awe of the computer the size of a room (bottom right photo).   

And it's always a treat to see the history in downtown Dunedin.

Puzzling World and Lake Wanaka

Fun and games at Puzzling World in Wanaka.  We successfully made it out of the maze.

And the boys on the banks of Lake Wanaka.

greetings from dunedin

Greetings from Dunedin... the boys would tell you their top thing was the Cadbury World Tour, Dan would tell you it was the mountain bike riding with Glenn and I'd probably say the peninsula.  It's been a joy to hanging out the Symons.    

Taieri Gorge Railway

Some photos from our trip up the Taieri Gorge Railway trip.  The last time I did the trip I was pregnant with Ben and miserably ill, thankful I got the enjoy this trip a bit more this time.  Our meal at the Middlemarch Hotel was a classic Kiwi meal and one of the most entertaining of the trip was spotting of the Middlemarch nudist colony on their Sunday afternoon train greeting (they were standing by the side of the tracks drinking a beer and waving to the passengers).

St Clair Beach

Here's a fun artsy photo I took at the end of yesterday, while taking a stroll along St Clair Beach.  Photos from our adventures on the Taieri Rail trip once I sort them out...  We went for a play at the beach afterwards so the boys could run around (they never left the playground, but I enjoyed a walk along the beach).

Otago Peninsula

The boys on Allan's Beach on the Otago Peninsula.  We read the sign about the yellow eyed penguins and sea lions before we walked on the beach and Josh was terrified of the sea lions.  The sign said "Stay at least 5 meters away" and our lack of metric system led to all sorts of interesting discussions on how far was 5 meters.  When we did eventually see a sea lion (after almost dragging Josh down the beach) he said in a very scared voice, "We have to go we're more then 5 ounces away".  Oh precious child.  So our trip to Allan's Beach was rather brief, so we went on around the peninsula to meet Dan and Glenn (who were riding their bikes).

We sat in the parking lot waiting for the boys and after we'd eaten our lunch we decided we'd brave the "steeper then Keyhole" sand dune to head down to Sandfly beach.  (Down wasn't my worry, it as up that had me concerned).

Dan and Glenn arrived, we fed them their sandwiches and cookies and we drove back to Dunedin while they rode home.  We had a quick visit with my friend Leah, the photo below is the view from her kitchen of St. Clair Beach.

Cheers, what a delightful day in Dunedin!