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lucky 13

On Sunday, Phoebe turned 13 years old. She's dealt with alot of stuff in her short life which has forced her to grow up faster than usual so this birthday wasn't so much a right of passage into teenagehood but more a confirmation of it. All I could think of at age 12 was climbing trees and doing cartwheels - I can't imagine how hard its been for her.

When I asked her if she was excited about turning 13 she said she was looking forward to it more than last year because she is happier now. On her 12th birthday she was in a different place and she's had to fight hard to get to the place she is at today.

It made my heart skip a beat and I realised that although I am sometimes blindly parenting, we must be doing something right to have her so happy and comfortable in our home. You can see that she is simply prepared to be a teenager and start worrying about boys and friends rather than "family issues" and that's the way it should be.

I can see the young woman emerging and although I think we are going to have our hands full; I can't wait to meet her. She's going to be glorious! I honestly could not be any more proud of her if she were my own daughter.

leaving on a jet plane

Just a few snaps of our final day in Auckland and as such, New Zealand. Although the window was horribly scratched, I really like the photo out the airplane window. It kind of looks like you can see where the world curves over. Just after we landed. I'm not sure if she's ecstatic or angry. She's a weirdo sometimes :)

Auckland in black and white

In all the times I have visited New Zealand, I have never stayed in Auckland. This time however, we had two nights there and I was so glad. The city is beautiful. One of the things we noticed was the cleanliness of the city. We were walking through Queen St and it was as though a floral perfume was in the air. It was the strangest thing smelling this sweet smell while walking through one of the busiest districts of Auckland. I'm still not sure if it was manufactured or from the magnolias lining the streets. These are a selection of shots taken around Auckland over the two day period. I love to hear your comments so feel free to comment away!

tiger lily

Our (other) little girl turned 3 on Australia Day. Lily came to us a week after Lulu did and ever since they first met, they have been inseparable. The photo below was a mere 30 minutes after introducing Lily to Lulu and they have slept together ever since. They couldn't have been closer if they were in the same litter. So in celebration of Lily's 21st birthday, here are a few shots of her as a puppy and the last one was taken on her birthday. So, without further ado Happy Australia Day everybody and Happy Birthday Lilykins! Whose a pretty girl?!

Taupo

We planned to stay in Taupo for one night. In hindsight we would have spent a week there - it is the most beautiful town and our accommodation was situated right on Lake Taupo - it was perfect! I decided to take most of the afternoon off from the camera and went with Mum to the waters edge for a swim in the lake. The water was freezing but the bizarre thing is that the Lake is on a geothermal area. I dug my feet into the gritty sand when I first stepped in and nearly scalded my toes from the heat. We ended up laying on the sand partially covered in water and they only way I can describe it is like laying on a warm beach with cold water surrounding your body. It was insane! I did manage a few shots over the lake as the sun set. Beautiful. We will be coming back to Taupo - possibly in winter - its a definate. The clouds lifted and we were able to see Mount Ruapehu the following day. We could see the snow on the mountain top but had to be content with a distant view because it was a long trip to Auckland that day. I love the way the plants are creating a natural frame around the mountain in this shot.

The extreme and not so extreme

On the morning we were leaving Rotorua we had a couple of activities to get done first. First up we headed up to the Skyline Skyrides to go luging. We jumped in the gondolas and headed up the hill balancing precariously over the mountain side bright and early. The luge course offers 3 different tracks - scenic, intermediate and advanced. I just did the scenic but the kids did all 3 (a couple of times I think) and some of the bigger kids did too. Thanks for the recommendation Steven! If only you could hear Ben in these photos. As he was flying down the mountain all you could here was this huge "woo-hoo!!!!". You heard that, before you saw him. First up, a self portrait of myself and Ben on our way up the hill in the gondola. They couldn't have sat any further apart if they tried ;) Afterwards we made our way to the Agrodome for the next extreme sport of the day - The Zorb. It was something that Grant had wanted to do since we decided to come to NZ and Ben was able to do it aswell. Basically they throw you in a big clear ball, chuck in some water and then roll you down a hill. Ben has decided that we are all coming back to Rotorua for a week stay just so we can do all the adventure sports on offer. We have created a dare-devil! Yep - that's Grant in the Zorb. Next up - Taupo!

my little guard dog

I have been spending alot of time on the couch lately. I injured my back at work almost a week ago and have been pretty limited in what I can do. Laying down has been great for my back and on a side note, I managed to watch an entire season of The Gilmore Girls over the weekend ;) Anyway, both of the dogs have kept be company and I caught a few snaps of Lily guarding the window yesterday. This is her favourite place to sleep. On top of the couch back with an eye out the window. I really was quite limited in the angles I could get because I can't crouch, bend, lean or lay properly. I can't wait to get back to 100%. Beware the guard dog. Isn't she cute!

Paradise Valley Springs

Another "must see" while in Rotorua is one of their wildlife parks. We chose Paradise Valley Springs and it was gorgeous. It was another wet day but it kind of made the rainforest even more beautiful. Being a nature lover I was enamoured by the gardens and all the animals. The redwood, the tree fern, silver ferns, everything. The major feature of the park is that a major trout spawning stream for Lake Rotorua runs right through the park - Ngongatoha Stream. Apparently nearly 20,000 trout spawn in the stream each year. The water is crystal clear and you can feed the trout and other animals throughout the park. There is also a lion park, farm walk with goats, sheep, horses, etc. The kids couldn't wait for this part where you can pet the lion cubs. I did the same thing when I was a little bit older than Phoebe is now at this very park - only without the cage. The cub I pet was a lot smaller than this one who was 10 months old. The keeper was in the enclosure with us and told us that both of the cubs were 1kg in weight when they were born and at 10 months weighed 80kg. They were huge - just look at that paw! I love the image of Ben's hand over the lion's paw.

Rotorua - Cultural Centre

Rotorua is the cultural central of New Zealand. We had so much to get done there is only 2 days and here is just the start of our stay. We visited the Geothermal village and it was a wet and dreary day but it kind of made it all the more "authentic" I guess with the wet weather. I love wet weather but lets just say the ponchos provided did nothing for me so I kind of braved it while using the ponch as my camera protector :) Here are a couple of images from the village. I liked this juxtaposition of a symbol of christianity with the traditional maori carvings. There is something intriguing about it. On our second evening in Rotorua we arranged to take part in a cultural show and traditional hangi with Tamaki. This was the best cultural show I have seen and the entire program from getting off the bus at the village to getting off the bus at our hotel was fantastic. The evening started with a storytelling of how the Maori people came to be in New Zealand having come from Hawaiki and the journey they made. We then arrived at the pre-european Maori Village outside of Rotorua and were greeted traditionally which was quite frightening at first but in context I was breathtaken with the history we were seeing. After viewing the village and the different trades and areas you would typically have seen we were seated for the cultural show which was spectactular.

on the road

So on with the trip of NZ, during our last couple of days at Whangamata we went up to the lookout and I got this great panoramic shot of the town. Its a bit hard to see it for what it is in this format, but I love how this shot turned out. Aeteoroa was living up to its name for us on this trip but on our last full day the clouds dispersed a bit for us and the ocean was a clear blue. The island on the left is Clark Island and we actually walked to it at low tide the day before. You can actually see the sandback even from this distance where we walked although I must say we were up to waist deep water so it wasn't just wading. This next photo kind of sums up Phoebe and Ben's trip of New Zealand. While Grant was practically having a beer tasting trip across the country, the kids were having their own "iced/hot chocolate tour of NZ". I can't tell you the difficulties I had getting them to just sit together at this bar. Thank god they had their drinks to keep them occupied. On our "road trip" to Whakatane we stopped off for lunch at Kiwi360. Its basically a kiwi farm/restaurant/tourist centre/souvenier shop but I couldn't let the opportunity pass of getting the kids in front of the big kiwi fruit. Isn't it massive!? We actually climbed inside and came out the top looking over the farm. Sharon will probably laugh when she sees this image. Hi Sharon! We stayed in Whakatane at Sharon's farm before heading to Rotorua the following day. We went for a walk across the property and she kept ripping up these yellow flowers. I forget the name now but I remember thinking how pretty they were and yet they are quite a vigorous weed. Bakas, the staffy, was adorable and this was taken just before she started her sneezing fit after frolicking through the long grass. While staying at Sharons, we found out that there was a mudslide just out of Whakatane that Sharon's daughter, Jules, was working at. Ben's eyes lit up at the thought so the following morning it was the first thing on the agenda. Both Ben and Grant did it and . . . well, the photos kind of speak for themselves. Next up . . . Rotorua!