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 :)

Baby #2 @ 35 weeks





Ella @ 35 weeks



Another girl? They look similar to me. Maybe Ella was chubbier and rounder?

Day #3 New Zealand

Our first winery. Really nice older couple ran this winery and the man had even worked at Labatt's in New West for awhile. Small world. We bought a bottle which hopefully Kristan and Rob have enjoyed by now.

Campsite in Queenstown. It got chilly once the sun went down.

Stay tuned for day 4....

Days # 2 and 3 - Mt Cook

We woke up early, picked up the campervan and hit the road!
All too soon it was time for a rest stop and a snack.

Our first sightseeing stop was the Church of the Good Shepard on Lake Tekapo
The water was the most gorgeous color!









Mt Cook in the distance, our campground destination for the night.
It is the highest mountain in New Zealand

We select a bare bones campground. It was really windy and cold at the foot of the mountain. Took us awhile to figure out the mini heater didn't work unless we were at a plugin campsite. We FROZE!

Suds bundled us all up and we headed off for a hike. Took me about 5 minutes to bow out and head back to the camper. That pregnancy card comes in handy!


Ella and Suds continued on and saw the spectacular scenery of the Tasman Galcier





Next day we headed into the mountain village of Mt Cook. All their really is a the Hermitage hotel. We had breakfast there.
Here we are with New Zealands most famous resident, Sir Edmund Hillary

On the road again. Here you can see the huge emptiness left in the wake of the glacier moving thru the area years and years ago.




Just down the road we head on another hike, this time to the Hooker Glacier. The weather has tricked us. After freezing our buns off and listening to howling wind all night long, today is sunny and hot. We are WAY overdressed to hike in this hot weather,

After a false start we have finally ascended to the top and can see some real to goodness icebergs.


This lake has formed from the glacier melting. There was no lake here at all 20 years ago.






You should have heard all the comments I got huffing and puffing my pregnant ass straight up the mountain to see this. Lots of support and sympathy
This is glacier and mountain runoff water. It was stunning. All the water is the area is this color.


Ella never really warmed to the idea of enjoying the view and scenery whipping by. The best times were when she was asleep or watching a movie :)

Time for an afternoon dip. We found a gorgeous little spot, but the water was ice cold.

Christchurch, New Zealand

Our flight from Hong Kong dropped us in Auckland and we then transferred to take a short flight to Christchurch.

On arrival, I felt like a million bucks having slept wonderfully and chowed down on steak in business class. Ella and Suds were a little less enthusiastic about their experience in Economy...

We had to walk to the domestic terminal and were pleasantly surprised by the sunny warm weather. After spending time in Hong Kong blue clear skies and clean crisp air really impress you. So far New Zealand wasn't disappointing us!


We arrived in Christchurch and book a room close to a large park. It was sensory overload with all the Spring flowers in bloom. It was a great park filled with massive trees that Suds could not stop taking pictures of :)





It was a holiday weekend and there was a huge free concert in the park. Over 100,000 people attended!





The Christ Church in town. We didn't have a lot of time, just the one afternoon and night. Plus Ella was cranky so we didn't do much sightseeing. There was no obvious earthquake damage to be seen. They had a large aftershock here just days before we arrived!

This started a trend of Ella wanting to go into every phone box she saw. This time she pretended to call Nana and Poppa but future calls were made to Lexi, Gamma Dudy, her Quincy doggy and the chickens.

Top 10 Things you didn't know about New Zealand

1. Sheep out number people by 20 t0 1

2. It is socially acceptable to not wear shoes in public

3. Men wear short shorts called Stubbies

4. To design a straight road somewhere proved impossible for the country's engineers. All roads are windy, hilly and require reducing your speed thru little crap towns no one cares about anymore

5. Eggs are kept on the shelf, not in the fridge

6. Chai tea can be purchased in all coffee shops

7. No matter how small the town, there will always be an Indian restaurant

8. The Maori created a language that ensures non-native speakers will always mispronounce words

9. It is the road kill capital of the world. All roadways are littered with dead bunnies, possums and even ducks.
RIP Thumper

10. Their hot dogs are big and fat and taste funny

We are heading off to New Zealand today so there won't be a new post for a while.

Here's a little something to tide you over. Not a great shot, this baby is as shy as Ella was, always keeping its hands in front of its face.