5 months after the initial lockdown from Covid, New Zealand’s borders remained closed to the rest of the world and all of it’s beauty open and accessible to all of those who remained within those borders. There’s not really much more to say about that. We worked, we schooled, and we continued to travel as much as possible in the camper van aka “Sharkie” or “Taniwha”. I often would take the kids on shorter trips over the weekends: camping, going on little treks, looking for more Kiwi Guardian posts and finding animals to pet, while Christian and Nina stayed back and worked. Nina was working pretty much all weekends at Get Fixed Café in the coffee/café portion while Christian remained in the bicycle mechanic section.
Ashley Park was one of our favorite spots to go that wasn’t too far from Wellington. They had great camping spots, it was quiet, and tons of animals to see.
Foxton Beach:
Random things I felt worthy of posting.
Taj and his mates at school. The old hospital entrance left up as decoration. Kiwi day camp bbq!Ellamae at Crossfit WOFMali going for a swing. Taj’s friend from school, Mali, came for a visit to the boat. Taj’s art from Andre’s class at Te Ra WaldorfTaj at one of his favorite palces, the library. Christian in his early foil days.Taj and Morgan on Morgan’s boat “ROCK”Me trying to stay “ship shape”.Visiting Nina at work.
Nina off to her first Formal (New Zealand’s version of Prom)
Zoe and NinaMy Coworker Bronnie’s farm house with her dog and puppies. Mama MIa and her puppies
Yes that’s correct, above you will see us falling in love with a puppy and soon to be ours in October, 2020.
Trudy and ElliMillie and Taj at the book release held at Get Fixed Cafe.
We made it into the local book of tales from “The Lockdown”, so we went to the book release and signing party at Get Fixed Cafe. The photo below was even featured on the local news broadcast.
That’s it for this post. Next up will be of the Abel Tasman hike that I, Josie, and Ellamae did with Ellamae’s friends. What an epic journey that was.
As I started to go through pictures for this blog post that was intended to be for half of 2020, I realized a few things: First and foremost we have too many photos to share just for the first 2 months, because we did A LOT of epic things, therefore I needed to shorten the date range. And second, I am now grateful for my procrastination with writing about our time New Zealand. Writing this now, years later, has allowed me to revisit and reflect upon our adventures on a deeper level. Part of what takes me so long to get these up, even though I’m finally motivated and in a good place to write about it, is going through the photos. I love going through all of the photos and videos, so picking which ones to use can be a challenge. The memories they bring back takes me to such good places (mostly). I can now appreciate the time we spent there and the people we spent it with a lot more. I have to admit that for a while I felt like our time in New Zealand was a whirlwind of foggy, windy, cold days, scraping by financially, literally living pay check to pay check. Somehow we managed to do quite a bit of amazing things… I actually see and feel that now.
So here we go: January 2020 started with a lovely summer camping trip just around the corner at our friends farm for his annual birthday party. We set up camp along with other friends, bbq’d, played with the cows, and watched the kids roast marshmallows. What a blast! Thanks Rob Suisted ! He happens to be one of New Zealand’s top photographers! Check out his photography by clicking his name.
After visiting Mt. Holdsworth the past November, we had to make another visit, this time with our good friends Steve, Trudy and the kids.
We love the swing bridges in New Zealand. Friendly hitchhiker.Taj, Amelia and Elli.
Nina often spent part of her summers growing up going to visit Auntie Tara. The tradition continued, even traveling all the way from New Zealand! She loves getting spoiled by her auntie.
Cousin Lola and Nina.NZ summer is US winter = skiing in Flagstaff!Photo By Tara Lauducci : BnLove Studios
Fun times working in Wellington’s NICU!
Samantha, Chloe, Annie and LeahJanet!!!Me at work with my work mates. Taj and our friend’s son, Liam. Originally from Sausalito, came to visit from Australia. Gnomes added to the marina gnome garden for Christian and I.
Now for the big adventure: The South Island camper trip. My mom and brother had planned to fly out for a visit, so we planned it to where Ellamae flew back with them. As their tour guide, I thought it best to have them start their visit on the South Island. Since we had the NZMCA discount for the ferry, we ended up taking both the camper and the car over from Wellington to Picton. With both vehicles there we had a place to sleep and a car to drive everyone around in once Mom, Phill and Ellamae arrived. They planned to fly into Nelson, so we planned to arrive a few days early to get a head start on exploring. I am sad to say that Nina was gone for this one too, as she was still having fun in the US visiting Auntie Tara and family.
Sharkie heading onto the ferry. Must go to “Bakkerij” in Picton.
Christian was really into mountain biking at the time, so we dropped him off to do the Old Ghost Road from South to North. Definitely worth clicking the link to read about the trail. In short “The Old Ghost Road is a Grade 4 (advanced) mountain biking trail”. But there is so much more to it than that. While Christian was grinding away over the hills and through the valleys, Taj and I drove around to the other side to pick him up, making scenic stops along the way. It was a long epic day! We also made other essential stops…camping at Mussel Rocks Hill, Lake Rotoroa, and Marble Hills Resort (campground) near Kaiteriteri’s MTB park, and up near Golden Bay at Takaka. Nelson’s skate park and MTB park was a must as well. For finding places to stay, we were mostly using an App called Rankers looking for Freedom Camp sites.
Taj on his Propel Skateboard.Morning coffee at Lyell (old Ghost road south) in Sharkie. Taj looking for Gold (“fossicking”).Taking the bike off and getting ready to ride!Old mining relics. Mid ride stoke!Plunger/French press at “Rough and Tumble Bush Lodge and Cafe” while waiting for Christian to finish his ride.He made it “home”.WekaRoom with a view.Another cool old post office. A sign with all the epic adventures that await along the West Coast of the South Island.Glow Worm cave.Living on the Edge.Lake Rotoroa. Book time in Sharkie.Skipping rocks at Takaka.Burgers on the grill. Marble Hills ResortKaiteriteri MTB: Hop Liberation Loop. They grow hops around the area that are shipped throughout the world for making beer. Notice the kid Taj is jumping over. Driving under the ledge.
From there we went to Nelson to reunite with Ellamae. We were so grateful that she flew back accompanied by her grandma ( my mother ) Katie and uncle ( my brother) Phill. We played tour guides and tourists at the same time, starting in Nelson (the north end of the South Island). We first toured the Nelson and Golden Bay Area .
Taj “helping” uncle Phill with his backpack.Yay, reunited!Ellamae looking over Nelson. Sister and brother. Mom enjoying the hikes in New Zealand.Super cool rock formations. TajPhill and Ellamae. Ellamae giving Taj a ride. Pupu Springs (see next photo caption for full name).
Then we drove down to Hanmer Springs, where we stayed over night and went to the spa and resort water park. Then on over to Arthur’s Pass where we stopped by Castle Hill Rocks (another Lord of the Rings and Narnia scene), Devils Punch Bowl Falls and lookouts with overly friendly Kea birds. From there we drove down the West Coast to Franz Josef Glacier, back up the West Coast through Greymouth, and Pancake Rocks and then up and over to Nelson. We even fit in a sailing trip with our friends on their Wharram catamaran out of Elaine Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. From Nelson we drove both car and Sharkie to Picton to hop on the ferry back over to the North Island.
Kea our cabin at The Rainforest.Pancake Rocks.Taj found another Kiwi Guardian post.Phill takes the leap!ChristianSue and MomSue hoisting the main.PiripiHeeni and Ellamae
Our South Island tour!
The ferry ride home was a little bumpy, but it sure was beautiful heading out of Picton.
Power Nap on the ferry back to Wellington,
January 2020 was coming to an end, the kids were about to start school, but summer was still in full bloom. Our tour guide experience with Mom and Phill continued in and around the Wellington area. I showed them the Te Papa museum and other sights in town. We hiked the escarpment track, went to a local CrossFit workout , and visited the kid’s schools.
Another Kiwi Guardian at the botanical gardens in Wellington. Phill at the larger than life Gallipoli exhibit. “I’m Late! I’m Late!”“A boy after my own heart”Someone’s excited for some local draft beer.Wellington GastroPhill finishing up the Escarpment Track.Tons of stairs on the Escarpment Track!and swing bridges too!Mom was so brave!
So windy!!!
While mom had a few days rest, Phill and Christian took a quick drive up to Mt. Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe to climb the “Tongariro crossing” to the top of both. It was Christian’s birthday, so he was excited for this epic hike. Phill, who has climbed a lot of peaks, was also so excited to climb one of the iconic peaks in New Zealand. For those of you who are “Lord of the Rings” fans, you may recognize this peak as “Mount Doom”.. You can see the “Facts Sheet” here.
From there just Taj and I, Mom and Phill continued the tour on up to Auckland, where they would fly back to the US. Along the way I had to show them Flat Hills Cafe and tourist stop and Lake Taupo. We rented an Airbnb called the “Fat Pigeon” aka Pukeko at a small lake near Rotorua called Tarawera. What a lovely place to swim and go out on the house owner’s boat to see the local birds and take another dip.
Flat Hills smoothie and Kunekune Pig viewing. Lake TaupoOutside dining at the “Fat PIgeon” airbnb. All aboard on the Fat Pigeon boat ride. Lake swim!“The Barn” airbnb.Piha Beach.View from the highest accessible point on Lion Rock. Looking through the “Keyhole Natural Tunnel“Cafe Elevation.
Swinging at “The Barn House” airbnb near Piha.
We then went up just past Auckland and stayed at “the Barn” near Piha, a lovely little beach town. Again, we had some great little walks to take in the beautiful country.
A venture up the 60-storey Sky Tower in Auckland!
Looking over Auckland.Don’t look DOWN!
The last day there before their overnight flight home, we fit in a trip to another museum in Auckland, the Papakura. Definitely worth the time if you’re ever there.
What a way to finish off Mom and Phill’s stay. We just got wind of a possible pandemic starting. Thankfully they had no troubles getting on the plane, but they did need to get their temperatures taken prior to boarding. As much as we would have loved them to be “stuck in New Zealand” we were super glad they made it home before lockdown. Phew, that was close.
On the way back to Wellington Taj and I had one last adventure by making a stop by Lake Taupo to camp at Taupo DeBretts Spa and Resort for some hot springs and waterslides. The natural mineral pools felt amazing. It was a perfect way to wind down and end the summer.
Taj and Ellamae learned how to take the train and shuttle to school. Is was a 20 min drive each way, so we were very grateful they had this option and that the New Zealand is safe enough to let them do that. There were other school kids on the train as well, so the kids had travel buddies to look forward to seeing .
Taj and Ellamae’s first solo train ride to school!
Taj started “free running”.
Ellamae started CrossFit Teens class at WOF Porirua.
Taj’s class camping trip.
The kids loved showing their new friends the “home” scene at Mana Marina.