Quest for Fabric Softner

Our towls and laundry has been rather crunchy...so we set out to find fabric softener.  Using our trusty stroller which has gone with us everywhere (plane, bus, walking, all the adventure walks) we set off around the bay to the mega store... then ended up coming back to the grocery store.  We looked for the right softener but the choices proved to be a bit overwhelming!  At long last we picked something that seems to make the towels feel a little less like sandpaper!

Christmas Decorations

Today's adventure involved setting up a Christmas tree and making our way to the neighboring town of Kilbirnie to buy some colored paper and supplies for making our own decorations.  We enjoyed a good walk and when we retured, spent many hours cutting, pasting and using glitter (the carpet is still sparkling with red glitter).  Later Emma and Daddy created a three demintional star for the tree top and our elf Happy found a good resting spot to keep an eye on the girls!

Molly and Emma create decorations for the tree

O Christmas Tree!

Emma's perspective of our elf Happy

Sunday (Nov 28th): Shell Collecting, More Surfing and BBQ

Sunday was another gorgeous day.  Emma and Dad went shell collecting along the nearby rocky coast while Mom and Molls rested.  Later we hit the beach, where Denise got to get on the surfboard (in her trunks!... she's tough), and J.P. took a few more turns as well.  That evening we had a yummy BBQ of lamb chops, steak, garlic mashed and salad with my gracious host, Alan, and his partner Niki.  It was a great way to end a fabulous weekend.

At home in Lyall Bay

Just a few pics of our new home.  We spent the day settling in, exploring the bay and finding a surf shop.  Great place and lots of places for us all to play!

note the surfer crossing our street - only two blocks to the beach!

Saturday: Surfing and Exploring Lyall Bay

Our first weekend adventure in Wellington was spent surfing and exploring Lyall Bay.  The weather was absolutely beautiful, about 70 deg and sunny.  On Saturday we took a long walk, did a little shopping, and eventually made it to the beach for some sun and fun.  Molly and Emma enjoyed the sand.  After signing up for a 10-time rental, J.P. got a brief chance to ride a few waves.  They weren't huge, but there were some bigger sets, and it was nice to get wet. 

Lyall Bay and Laundry

Now getting settled in our new home...today's adventure included walks around Lyall Bay and to the nearby beach playground with the girls - and the more daunting task of tackling the massive pile of laundry using the front loader washer and hanging the laundry out to dry!  That evening we relaxed with a nice bottle of New Zealand Sauvigon Blanc and visited the beach at twilight.

We love how New Zealand marks and respects pedestrian cross walks!

Overland Train Adventure

Today's adventure began with getting ourselves and all of our many bags from the hotel to the train station.  With Molly in the baby sling, the stroller full of bags, and Emma carrying her own backpack - we set-off.  As we checked in with the first load of bags, JP ran back to retrieve the rest and meet us on the train.  Once again, despite enormous amounts of baggage, we somehow avoided excess baggage fees and settled in for the 12 hour journey from Auckland to Wellington.

The scenic train leaves at 7:25 am and we enjoyed great views of farmland (there's a lot of sheep and cattle between Auckland to Wellington).  We also went through 14 tunnels (or so the brochure says - we lost track), over many viaducts and past mountains and volcanoes.  We enjoyed walking through the train to the observation deck and car, treats from the dining car, and a lunch stop at the national park.  The views were excellant and it was a nice way to see the countryside.  It was a rather long trip though and by the end the girls were ready to settle in to our new home in Lyall Bay, Wellington.

Emma said the best part of the train trip was seeing the sheep, and the baby sheep!

We arrived in the station at Wellington about 7:30 and took a van to our home in Lyall Bay. 
It was Thursday and if we were in the states, Thanksgiving.  We took a walk to the beach (two blocks away) and because we were out of cash and the one local eaterey that was open took only cash, we found it funny that instead of feasting on turkey we dined on ramen noodles that evening for dinner!

We're glad to be "home" and look forward to exploring our new stomping grounds!

Haka! ...and on the water AGAIN!

On our last day in Auckland the girls and I - feeling a bit queasy from the questionable lunch the day before...boarded another bus and set off to seek out the Maori Cultural performance at the Auckland Museum.  The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand and we'd heard great things about the performance at the Auckland Museum.  The bus dropped us off near the museum (though down the hill) so after a grueling push of the storller - or pram as they call it here - we made it to the top of the hill and the museum.  The performance was wonderful.  Great voices and peformers showed us dances, games, one with a poi which Emma really took to, and they performed the famous Maori Haka which is a traditional war dance...it is now performed by the Rugby team the All Blacks.  Check out the links at the site linked to Haka for more information and a video!

After a quick view of some of the museums treasures, we returned to town to meet JP at the Maritime Museum for an afternoon cruise on a scow, the Ted Ashby.  The day was stunning and this was certainly a highlight for us all.  We sailed under the Harbor bridge and our group got to cheer on a bungee jumper who jumped from the bridge as we sailed by!  The captain let Emma steer...fortunately she did a great job and we didn't hit anything on our return trip!

Auckland is the City of Sail and you can see why.  Surrounded by beautiful water, marinas and history, we enjoyed our stay.  Now we look forward to a trek across the North Island via train tomorrow!

On the water again!

Emma enjoyed the short ferry ride so much that she wanted to set off on a longer water adventure!  We set out in the rain for a longer ride around the harbor.  It was a bit cold but the ferry gave great views of the sky tower, marina, Harbor Bridge, boats on the water and the many old volcanoes that surround Auckland. 

Emma took lots of pictures and we enjoyed the ride around the scenic harbor.  We then had a bit of a gap to jump between from the ferry to the dock at one of the stops where we set off on an antartic adventure.  We went to Kelly Tarltons to see penguin feedings, ride a snow cat around live penguins for an upclose view (which ended with a very old, fake orca whale popping out of the water with a fake seal in his mouth).  On the whole it was a bit underwhelming, but the NIWA interactive area was the highlight.  I think the sandwich at the seaview (which was neat) cafe made me sick later that evening. 

We tried to catch a ride back to town on the free shark head bus...but we and 5 others missed it by a few minutes and had to stand in the rain to wait...unfortunately the stellar transportation system failed us as one bus blew by 8 of us waiting at the the stop, and the next one had a less then friendly driver, but, regardless, we and our trusty stroller built for two (which folds up nicely - thanks mom and dad)! made it home to our hotel after a rather cold and soggy outing!