Disney on Ice!!!

I took my favorite 4 year old for a couple of hours to see a skating show with the gang from Disney. Here are some of the highlights!
The show was based on a typical day in Disneyland, starting of course with a walk on main street....
Mickey & friends hang out with Alice at the tea cups
Cinderella & The Prince were in the main street parade
The evil queen from Sleeping Beauty ruined the main street parade with her spinning wheel, Minnie pricked her finger and Disneyland went to sleep. Luckily Mickey, Daisy, Goofy & Pluto were not close by and able to save everyone! Here they are getting trapped by Maleficent the evil queen and her minions!
Lucky for Minnie she got a kiss from Mickey to awaken Disneyland again!
Ended the day with the Spectromagic Parade! :)

Was really neat to see all the characters on skates :) Hope to get on the ice myself and take Ida out with her new skates in the next week or two.

Autumn in New Zealand

Trying to spend as much time outdoors before all the rain sets in for the winter. Been out on a few walks the past couple of weeks, and trying to make the most of the sunshine. Headed out for a walk on the beach today. Here are some photos from a recent hike through Tongariro National Park.

Easter Weekend Roadtrip!

The above photos are from the Forgotten World Highway, departing Taumarunui and 2.5 hours later arriving at Mt. Taranaki, a perfect conical volcano on the west coast of the North Island.


West Coast of New Zealand has some spectacular sights, rugged coastlines & beautiful sunsets.


...Climbing Mout Taranaki to Fantam's Peak....
5.5 km of climbing stairs and then scrambling up a mountain side for a while, we called it quits early when the clouds started to roll in. Unfortunatley that wasn't early enough to warn off the week of calf muscle soreness ahead!



Kawhia is a quiet little harbour town which was a halfway stop back to Auckland from Mt. Taranaki. The sunset photos are from Ocean Beach, a fantastic sandy beach with a hot water spring, where you can build your own hot pool at low tide.




Bridal Veil Falls en route to Raglan, where we found a cool backpackers with hammocks, a spa pool, free kayaking, mountain bikes and surfing!! Can't wait to go back and try out everything!!
Fish & Chips on the beach :)

Napier, Hawke's Bay

Spent my 3 weeks of Annual Leave relaxing, catching up with some old camp friends and driving through some awesome panorama's.
Kelly Tarltons with the PenguinsCamp Awosting friend Karl passed though AucklandPrize Giving @ Lawn Bowls

Enjoyed a 17km tramp to the Tama Lakes as Tongoririo Crossing cancelled due to inclimate weather. An excellent time with some friends from Auckland who made the trip down to National Park for the walk.
The following week I embarked on a journey out to the east coast where I caught up with old work mate Michelle & her family in Napier. Together we toured around and visited some beautiful vineyards in the area.
......Next weekend is Easter and I have a full week off between my shifts so stay tuned for Annual Leave part 2.....

Slacking on the updates

Busy times the last month or two, with most weekends spend on the highway through Kings County down to the Central Plateau.

Now on 3 weeks of Annual Leave and trying to relax and enjoy! :D

In the past week I have Offically become a New Zealand Resident! So my work visa will now be valid for an extended length of time, as long as I want it! Horray!

Here are some photos from the past few weeks, been busy with our annual work tennis tournament, and lawn bowls every Wednesday night! Last weekend we went camping and woke up to frost on the ground... brrrrr!




With my week and a half left of holiday coming up I am headed on an adventure to Hawke's Bay which is on the east coast of the north island. Will visit with a friend and see the sights of the area :) As well as embarking on my first real physical challenge since my ankle injury back in September and hopefully weather permitting will be re-doing the Tongaririo Crossing with friends.

This time last year I was checking out the sights of the south island, glaciers, and launching off a cliff into a canyon!