This, ladies and gentleman, this is the beehive, also known as the Executive Government Building of New Zealand. What can I say? It’s ugly.

We had a typical capital tour. The kids were not that into it, but learning the process by which the two older buildings, the Parliament Building and the Parliament Library were restored to be earthquake proof was rather impressive. Kiwi ingenuity at it’s best.

That night we decided to venture into the “Creative Quarter” for dinner. It was a bit of a walk, but it was so nice to be in a city where one does not need a car. This is one of the things I miss the most about Sydney. Auckland has it’s funky quarters but they are all disjointed.

On a friend’s recommendation we headed over to The Red Dog, but at the last minute we decided to eat across the street at Monsoon Poon. We ordered the Cobra and the Tiger off the children’s menu. I dare say this is the best kids’ meals my kids have ever had.

The next day we headed over to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, called Te Papa for short. According to the gentleman at the coat check counter, Te Papa means both ‘earth’ and ‘our place’ in Maori. It is aptly named. The museum is beautiful and welcoming. Although there 4 distinct areas set aside just for children’s inquiry, there were interactive displays located throughout the museum.

Lana wasn’t the only one to be fascinated with the geological displays. (L:R: Lana trying to lift a volcanic rock, locating New Zealand on a “plate” globe and the kids engaging with an interactive map of New Zealand) but our timing for this visit could not be more perfect with her class presently studying volcanoes.

This picture makes me laugh because I had to show my son how to dial such a phone. The kids really got a kick out of this ‘old time’ machine.

We spent 2.5 hours there and I think we moved at a pace that was comfortable for Nuno. A good indication of how much we liked the museum was when we drove by on our way out of town and Lana asked if we could go back.

On our way to the Wellington cable car (which brought us to the Botanic Gardens) we had a wander around the waterfront. It was a cloudy day, but the rains held off. When Nuno spotted the bungy ride we decided to go for it. Only seems right to try it in New Zealand.

In order to get a higher lift my raison d’être (sorry mate, sounds worse than ‘my darling husband’) would pull Nuno down and then release him. The resulting lift was stunning.

The kid had a blast, no pun intended.

Our plan was to do a lengthy hike the nest morning, but the skies had opened up and it was just pouring with rain. No one put their hand up when we asked who wanted to go for a walk. We decided to say farewell to Wellington, but we’d take the scenic route out of town.

Owhirio Bay. Reminds me so much of Oregon.

Kapiti Island

There ain’t nothin’ artsy fartsy about taking a picture out a car window, BUT when you make your husband (who wants to be referred to as my raison d’être from now on) swear you’ll make it to the last parliament tour of the day, he then refuses to stop the car for any non-emergency reasons. I could have cropped the shot, and you would have been none the wiser, BUT I thought you should know that this is what it looked out of my window each time I looked up from my book.

I lie, this is what it looked like out my husband’s window. Otherwise I would have been reading, driving and taking a photo;)

No, this is not Wellington. But how can I share our experience without showing you what we saw along the way…

This is Lake Taupo with Mt. Ruapehu in the background. I clicked this photo as we were driving out of Taupo in the morning.

We had left Auckland the night before so that the kids wouldn’t miss any school. Taupo is not exactlky a half way point, but it did help break up the journey. We were meant to just spend the night  and head out first thing in the morning, but my arm was easily twisted when my darling husband suggested we stop at Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls.

Craters of the Moon is a walk that runs trough a geothermal steamfield right outside of Taupo.

It’s just perfect that Lana is studying volcanoes at school. She was really quite interested in the geography of the areas we crossed.

Even though it smelled a bit like sulfur, it was nothing in comparison to the smell of Rotorua. And to tell you the truth the steam warmed us up a bit. It was cool enough that Lana bought a winter cap on the way out.

Doesn’t this look eerie?

This is not how I remember the fields, but looking at this picture now makes me want to see more of New Zealand. Hopefully it makes YOU want to come visit.

Here is my kiwi kid walking over to Huka Falls. What does it take to be a kiwi kid you ask? Wear no shoes. Simple as that. Warning: this may result in verrucas. My daughter can tell you, they are gross. Wear shoes!

I didn’t get any great shots of Huka Falls, but I being there I could not help but think of Rob & Maria. But Rob, if you come here and go kayaking with my sister can you guarantee that she is in the appropriate kayak this time?

While we were living in Australia we became very caught up in “life.” Between soccer , Nippers and just being a somewhat social family we found ourselves rarely leaving town.  When our two years came to an end I had very few regrets, but I did wish that we had seen more of the country.

There are a few other factors that make travel in Australia a bit more complicated than I would have liked. The first is the extremely long distances from one place to another. The second factor is the cost. For example, one weekend  my friend Stephanie and I traveled a few hours up the cost and after looking around for a place to have dinner, it seemed our options were to pay $40 a meal each or eat at a greasy poor quality fish & chips shop. We opted for the cheap fish and chips. It was memorable, because I was with one of my best friends, but the meal was nothing to write home about. The last factor was lack of availability of accommodations. Since most of the country was on the same school schedule, you needed to book a holiday months in advance or you were left with the option of a $250 a night for a 3 star dingy motel. We tried that option once and let’s just say, it didn’t work out so well.

Upon arriving in New Zealand, I promised myself that I would do anything in my power to make sure we saw more of the country. This being the Queen’s Birthday weekend I planned a getaway for me and the family to Wellington. It did involve Nuno missing a soccer game, but I figure he’s 5. His team would cope. My darling husband did a fair amount of wingeing at the prospect of driving to Wellington for the weekend, but I told him I’d go with or without him. I am glad to report he joined us.

Before I post about our trip, let me share with you a sculpture Nuno created in honor of the Queen’s birthday.