Saying goodbye to the family in the Coromandel was hard as we knew we wouldn't see them again till we are home next year. It was great to see the parents but also made us realise that they aren't getting any younger or fitter. We caught a plane down to wellington and and spent the night at Logan's hotel and then an early start to get the ferry across the sounds to meet up with Lloyd and Anna.

We rode all the way over inside as it was a bit rolly outside. We left Bradley in Wellington and picked up Logan. Logan slept all the way across, guess he must have had a good night at his works Christmas party! We had a small wait in Picton. We whiled the time away at a local cafe enjoying the seen and the view.

One of the highlights was to cycle our way to Renwick from Lloyd and Anna's house and visit a few wineries. Loogn was very keen to show us which ones we should visit and it was a lot of fun even though I was very tired at the end...think I had biked over 40 km's that day. My amazing packhorse had his backpack so we were able to purchase some quality wines.

Lloyd was very proud of his garden that he and Anna are growing. It did produce quite a variety of goodies for us to eat. We were most impressed with this.

I took time to take a photo of each or our boys in setting on their own without their knowledge. The photos show us exactly what they are like and it also shows them that we are very proud of them. Logan had picked this book up to read and didn't put it down until he had finished it.
Bradley was forever writing in his little notebook. He has a great talent for making words come alive.
Lloyd has finally found a passion that interests him and he is making the most of his studies to ensure he has a great career ahead of himself. it was wonderful to spend some quality time with both him and Anna and we are very proud that she wants to be part of our family.
Christmas day started with a champagne breakfast and then a walk down to the local river for the boys to have a swim in the water. It was a matter of the other two picking on the baby (although he is the biggest). It was fun to watch and see how these boys interact as adults considering how much they fought against each other as little guys.
Zena is still a well behaved dog and still delights in taking herself for a walk. We managed to take her a few times for one and were impressed that she had lost none of the training she had had as a puppy.
Anna is developing her skills of the fire poi and I even had a go. Was amazed at how hot it was while doing the twirling but also impressed that when the poi did hit you that you didn't actually get burnt, it just left a black mark on you.
Then it was back onto the ferry to Wellington where we spent our last few days before flying back to Singapore. No stop in Wellington is complete until you have been to visit Te Papa. This time round we saw the giant squid and were suitably impressed with it and the process that went into preserving it,
Our final photos were of the tui that were singing so beautifully in the trees on our walk back down Wadestown hill after visiting my uncle Dave.
Our trip home was not long enough but it did give us a good taste of home and some great quality time with the boys, and our extended family. it did make us realise that one day we will be back to live in New Zealand but also know that we are not quite ready to do it yet.

Poppa and Nana's Tree

One weekend we went to Rotorua and spend a couple of nights with Wayne's brother David. We were going to spread Poppa's ashes at the tree. Nana has been with her tree for a number of years now (15) and as Poppa passed away last year it was time for him to join her. Thanks Brigid for organising this.

We picked Logan up at the airport in Rotorua, unfortunately Lloyd couldn't get away for the weekend and he was the only grandchild missing. It was so good to be able to drive DINK1E while home. If only our holiday could have been longer.
Femy enjoyed catching up with all of Poppa's family.
Aunt Helen was looking very fit and well. Being Poppa's only sibling still alive it was a very poignant time for her.
The three brothers, Wayne, Ian and David.
s.

Christmas in NZ 09

After leaving work at 6.45 pm, we were on our way to Changi Airport to catch a direct flight home for 3 weeks in our little slice of paradise. On our flight we were asking each other what we missed most about NZ and high on the list was to see the bloom of the pohutukawa flower. Its our Christmas flower and it represents the beginning of summer. As was having fish and chips by the beach, eating a bacon and egg pie, chocolate fish, catching fish, lovely wine, walking on the grass and many more things. Throughout this blog you will see photos of some of the very things we discussed.
We took a drive up the local coastal highway and were amazed by the pohutukawa carpet on the road. No drive up this part of the coast is complete without a stop at Waiomu where I captured our oldest son Bradley juggling. A highlight of our trip home was that we could spend quality time with all 3 of our sons. that was so special. You guys do make us very proud of you.
Catching a sunset from the decking of our house is one of the many things we do miss. thankfully my lovely sister and her family are in our house and we are able to stay with them to make the most of the view while we are home.
As Beth is also an avid photographer, her children are use to posing. Jacob, Dominic and Claudia you are awesome.
And yes we did get to eat fish and fishs at the beach. We bought them in Coromandel and travelled a few minutes to Oamaru Bay. Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, YUM!
Finally we arrived at our caravan for a little bit or r & r. Now this is one of the main things we do miss. We drive about 1 and a 1/2 hours to Papa Aroha to the camping ground. this place is truly bliss. We are so envious that Beth, Matt and their family get to use this place more than we do!!!! but Beth, our time will come!
Going for walks along the beach, along the road, across the grass is one of the pleasures of this place. And yes, men will still be boys and they climb trees. I even did climb up too! as did Bradley.

Along the road home we found this monarch butterfly having a drink from the clover flower.

Further along the beach we came across some birds that were trying to lead us away. This oyster catcher had a nest somewhere in the sand. We didn't see the nest but he made sure of it.

Beside the oyster catcher was a pair a dotterils. I was lucky enough to get a good photo of them. They weren't sure of us and tried all sorts of tricks to lead us away. Like the photo below where it is pretending to have damaged wings so that I could catch that instead of their eggs.

Wayne is using the tractor to put in the boat...still no name..if you have any ideas for a name, let me know. Bradleya nd Wayne went our for a fish and did bring some back so we could have fresh fish for dinner...so YUMMY.

Kayaking on the beach is always a treat.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

When we first arrived in Singapore, we visited the wetlands as a group and have always said we would love to go back...well we finally did. It is a great place to see some of the wildlife that live in Singapore and a great place to take your camera for playing with.
The spiders here still amaze me...I don't particularly like them but they are big and colourful.

As you can see this one was almost as big as Wayne's hand...well the legs spread that far out!

The Giant Mud skippers are huge, the shell beside this guy is smaller than him and the shell is huge, more than a hand span.

While I was taking this photo I was being bitten by mosquitoes and started slapping my legs to get them off and Wayne was busy telling me to 'be quiet' which I couldn't do for some reason. My legs were literally black with the little guys and I did have repellent on. Needless to say I put more on and it kept them at bay for a while.

The butterfly stayed still long enough for me to get this shot.

I used my zoom to get this one of the dragonfly.

The tide was on its way in so there was plenty of birds to see. We went into the hides and sat and watched and were amazed at how many more you could see by just sitting and waiting.

The crabs in the mangroves climb the trees and they aren't small crabs. We found them hiding in knots of trees too.

Its not often a squirrel just sits and poses for the photo, but this one did. He was sitting on the railing of the board walk. Just after I took the photo he turned and looked at me and scuttled up the tree.

Up close and almost person with a monitor lizard.

While having lunch I noticed the couple beside us looking at what to me looked like wire on the decking, but it turned out to be a paradise snake. Not very long but quite slim. the cook came over to watch the otters playing and catching fish and almost put her hand on the snake which then promptly flew into the water and swam away.

walking back to the bus stop we met some locals who were eating a fruit of this tree. The flower is similar to pohutukawa to look at but the fruit is quite dry but tasty. They offered some for us to try, we did after we had seen them eat it first.

An amazing place to walk around, we spent most of the day there and it wasn't long enough, but our legs were tired after walking and decided to make our way home and promising to go back again.

Christmas lights 2009

Once again Christmas is upon us. It really doesn't seem that long since the last Christmas. The lights of Singapore just amaze us and thought we should share some of the highlights with our family and friends. We started our walk at the Tanglin Mall where we were entranced with the fun the children and adults were having in the "snow"

The lights on the tree here and the decorations were astounding. It was like being in a Winter Wonderland. Then the snow came and the laughter and fun began. We were so captivated we stayed for over an hour watching the families having fun.

We looked up Orchard Road and it was a sea of blue...fascinating and beautiful.Orchard Road had its own entrance at the Ion corner, where the colours changed to an orange/red.

All buildings are decorated and this is Wisma Atria's food republic (a great food court area).

One of my favourite shots looking up Orchard Road.

Even the trees are decorated. They have balls hanging down, lights hanging down and around the tree as well as these lights that seem to drop.

Christmas Trees in Singapore are so different. We even saw one that had used painted shuttlecocks for the decorations!

Takashimiya Christmas tree is one of the highlights.

Paragon had a blue and purple one. The lights on the tree are incredible and there does not seem to be any vandalism happening to them.

Ion ( a new shopping mall at Orchard MRT) had a huge tree outside and we were able to go inside the tree and see the lights of the night sky.

Here Wayne is inside the tree and all the lights are around him.

All along Orchard Road are all these reindeer wearing different costumes and striking different poses.

My own dear had to pose as well!

And it isn't Christmas till you see a jolly fat Santa!

All of this was just up Orchard Road...we have yet to visit other areas of Singapore.