The sweetass birthday cake I made for Suds.
I'm basically a cake rockstar.

Day # 7 - Kristan and Rob!

Early morning start towards the ferry. So early all the yummy wineries had yet to open. Here we are with the vines at Cloudy Bay


The ferry to the North Island







Every time we are on a ferry, Suds attempts to re-create my ferry picture from when I was a child





A rainy day in Wellington





Cute waterfront homes in Wellington





Photo op in the cute town of Shannon





Almost there.....





We made it to Palmerston North and Kristan, Rob and Keira.
Dinner was waiting for us, yummy spaghetti!

Here is Ella at her last day at Baby Buddies. We brought a cake to celebrate

Day #6- Nelson

See the large sculpture hanging off the building? It is a sandfly, like a mosquito. They were crazy on the West Coast. In no time flat they could have you covered in bites and begging for death to escape the itch. No laughing matter.

One of Ella's top 10 things to do...feed animals! These were at the sandfly place. It was the Twillight Zone here. It was run by an oddball hippie hunter with taped together glasses. He seemed to survive hunting possum and eating them. His store was full of handicrafts made from animal parts and handwritten signs taped to everything. He also had a collection of letters he had written to people and their replies, the theme of which were insults disguised as humor.
























Another pitstop to look at a waterfall. Another chance for the sandflies to try to drain all my blood


New Zealand is full of one lane crossings. You'll be driving along full speed and BAM! you'll have to yield to oncoming traffic at a one lane bridge thing. This one was special because the train tracks. Always yield to a train!


The town of Nelson. Cute town but crap options for camping. Had a very yummy pub meal here so thankfully we were fully re-charged for campground scouting. It had been a hard day on the road with Ella and I REALLY
wanted a drink. Like really bad. Can't wait till I can resume drinking to ease the pain

Tomorrow we leave the South Island behind and take the ferry to the North

Day 5 New Zealand Wanaka - Franz Josef glacier

This was one of our longest driving days





first stop to walk around was the Blue Pools.




The water was crystal clear







Deep and so gorgeous





The West Coast of New Zealand






Another pit stop to see what the fishermen were catching




I just love this picture. It was so gorgeous. Reminds me of Vancouver Island













Finally at the Fox Glacier. Ella was asleep in the carseat so we had to take turns running up to the glacier to check it out




Our campground. I think it was called Rainforest



After a quick dinner it was a drizzly hike to the Franz Josef Glacier




At the look out point there was a map with pictures showing where the glacier used to be before it starting receeding. The whole valley used to be ice!

The Kia, an alpine mountain parrot native to New Zealand.
This was a fairly large bird. It was hanging around the parking lot. Apparently they are a funny bird and like to steal the rubber bits from cars for laughs!
Next morning we continue heading North...

bunch of random stuff

Street fair in Soho. Look at all the people!








The car ride at Disneyland. There is always a 30 minute wait for this ride so this is the first time we have bothered.

The painter man. He sets up shop everyday trying to sell his paintings. Ella can see him from our apartment window.





funny chairs






A little bit of Safeway at a butcher shop in the market








Ella the multitasker blowing on her whistle and eating a hotdog while rocking her first facepainting





Ariana, Ella and Anastasia at the park

our new home

Master bedroom







Front roof top terrace with water view






Living room with small balcony







open kitchen





dining room/kitchen looking out onto 500sqft terrace




Ella's playroom where all her toys will be!




Moving in 30 November!!

Day #4 New Zealand - Queenstowne

Our day in Queenstown
dawned bright and clear. Gorgeous!
We packed up camp and headed into town for breakfast. There was a mountain village feel about the place that reminded us of Whistler

Breakfast was yummy, generous and beside a warm fire. I had an awesome hot chocolate




Ella was thrilled to be out in the sun!
The town is on a lake and is famous for its adventure activities


We headed up the mountain in a cable car to admire the view of the town









Suds got into the adventure spirit and rode on the luge track around the peak. He was eyeballing the parachuting booth, but decided against it


Lunch was a famous Ferg Burger for takeaway. Definitely worth the hype!


All too soon it was time to hit the road for our next campsite. We spent the night in Wanaka. (Hil this is where we Skyped)
It was the first of many campgrounds with a trampoline for Ella. If going between 2 campgrounds, we always chose the one with the trampoline :)