Lunch time reunion

Brilliant little day today, quick jog on the treadmill, followed by a trip to library to do some bloggin’… get a call from an old uni friend Sam who is currently in Auckland on a business trip… "fancy a quick catch up and some lunch?" - hell yeah… so half an hour later we’re in Auckland harbour cramming in years worth of gossip in an hour over a bottle of wine. Hopefully we’ll be able to squeeze in another trip down to the South Island to see Sam, Jules and their little ones before heading back to the warmer climes of Britain.

Sam, Sam, Sam, all I can say is you haven't changed a bit!

Auckland Sky Tower Revolving Orbit Restaurant Birthday Dinner

Now anyone who knows me, I find airplane flights or little boats slightly challenging to say the least and spinning restaurants… well I left my last spinning restaurant in Toronto slightly on the green side, however thankfully my constitution has somewhat hardened, see there is a positive to ageing!

We arrived at the sky tower just as the sun was setting so were able to catch a squiz of Auckland at dusk and then up a few floors to The Orbit restaurant. 

Have to say the food, drink and service were first class and a good time was had by all. 

The boys found it most amusing with the fact that they had to go hunting for the toilets as they had moved every time. Also important to note… don’t put any coats or bags on the edge by the glass if you don’t want it to go walk about, as we found out fairly early on in our meal!

Now the taxi home to Takapuna was entertaining and again another first for the books, little Italian (very Italian I might add) taxi driver produced a little microphone, popped on some ABBA, and hey presto, had a little grandma singing her heart out all the way home, happy days!

Look on the boys faces says it all really!

Visit from our flying doctor - Sunset on Mount Victoria

This past week we had a little visitor from Aussie land, none other than our budding flying doctor, Victoria. We were quite tied to Takapuna as the boys were at school, however relaxing and retail therapy were on the agenda, so we managed to fill the time with a few leisurely beach walks and lots of restaurant sampling.... it has to be done!

Once the eagle had landed our first port of call after a quick dip toes in the sea, was Devonport to have a gentle trek up Mount Victoria to watch the sun setting over Auckland skyline, a beauty.

On Tuesday it was Victoria’s birthday, so after the boys were deposited at school and a quick birthday breakfast we headed into Auckland for a quick squiz at the shops and an art gallery (oh so cultured), and lunch at Harbourside Bar and Grill overlooking Auckland harbour. Then back to school to collect the boys, and a small birthday dinner at Aubergine followed by a slice of cake. Man talk about stuffed!

The during the week the poor girl was enrolled as a helper on the school Waterwise sailing lesson....

... and lots of strolls on the beach...

Underside of a chitin mollusc

Hopefully this has sorted out Victoria's seaside withdrawal symptoms given that she's been working in the dry dessert heat of the outback. Takapuna vs Broken Hill, quite a contrast I think!

MOTAT - Museum of Transport and Technology

After our few weekends of road trips out and about to Hobbiton, Waitomo and Rotorua, we thought we'd have a little bit of a breather and have a quite weekend at home in Takapuna.

On Sunday we drove over to the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT)...mmmm, to be truthfully honest I can't say it got me really excited. It was OK I guess trying my best efforts to be positive about it... they have got a nice little selection of cars on display.

 The boys got to go on a tram ride and a cute 100 year old little steam train.

And a tram.

The best part for me probably was the aviation centre.

But to be brutally honest the interactive technology section was pretty basic and really tired - needed some work doing to it, and the whole place felt slightly run down. When I asked the boys if they would go back - there was a unanimous "no"... says it all really!!! Sorry thumbs down from us.

Auckland Lantern Festival

Dan had a quiet day so we had a relaxing day and were able to pop out to lunch before collecting the boys from school.

It was the Auckland Lantern Festival (post Chinese new year festival – year of the horse), so we caught the bus into Auckland and made our way to Victoria park. It was truly stunning - the trees were filled with various displays of hanging lanterns of all shapes and colours and we walked around the beautiful light displays dotted around the park. The atmosphere around the park was amazing, lots of families milling around or sitting having a snack from the food corner of the park  - which was absolutely rammed I might add.

The boys had a quick go on the water zorbing – hamsters running around a wheel springs to mind – who ever invented them is pure genius – great way of totally knackering out a child. I think I'm going to have to invest in one of these balls and a paddling pool when back in the UK. 

By the time we left the crowds had arrived and to say it was packed was an understatement – so think we go there just in time. Sadly I forgot my big camera had to make do with the phone camera but I think I managed to get a few shots!

The bit which brought a smile to my face was the karaoke tent... where people sat on the grass and went forth onto stage for a little sing song - very amusing. The one we watched was this elderly man who really got into it - dance moves and all. Felt like I was watching the X Factor auditions - where the crowd would whoop and cheer with encouragement when he did a little turn or slide to the left - very amusing to watch!

Remember you saw him here first!

Rock Pooling at Takapuna Beach

Even better than the day before so no question it was down at the beach again…. back to our little (and my favourite) rock pool area. It’s a beautiful sheltered part of the beach enclosed with a backdrop of the most stunning rocks, above which precariously hang huge trees defying gravity – I'm sure one day they will take a tumble down to the beach, however for now they are just hanging on in there. Slightly set back from the edge stand some luxurious beach pads, probably worth a bob or two…. Now I know they must have the most magnificent views and are quite literally on the beach, but personally slightly too close for comfort for my liking. 

Hidden gem - my favourite corner in the whole of Takapuna

I managed to squeeze in a few pages of my book while the boys decided to rebuild their marine reserve from the day before as the tide had completely demolished their earlier attempt. They met up with another local boy in the know, and together they managed to add crabs and star fish to their rock pool wild life list.

Not sure what these are but were like a blanket covering this massive rock

Don't think they should be up there

The afternoon was spent going back and forth to various shops to look for a school bag for my eldest, who unfortunately has inherited the indecisive gene from me. So we took a few photos for the shortlist. It's an important decision so need to sleep on it before making the final decision, oh happy days!