Doubtful Sound, East Coast and Lake Tekapo

Our second daytrip from Te Anau was a boat cruise around Doubtful Sound. This required one boat to cross a lake, a bus ride through the mountain range and then the three hour boat cruise through Doubtful Sound. Everywhere you looked it was pristine. Take a look at what we saw.

This was the first lake we went over.

This was part of the bus ride through the mountain pass, look familiar to any of you Canadians?

The next few are part of the nature cruise.

Although we spent a night in Dunedin we didn't visit the Otago Peninsula which is supposed to be a special place. We did visit the Cadbury factory for some cheap chocolate. This was the first beach that we stopped at and could walk on along the east coast. It was so warm that Clint could wear his shorts without funny looks!

I was there to catch the kids if they fell! Aren't they cute though?

These Moeraki boulders are on another beach just down the highway. There are about 30 of them and they look like large rock marbles on a sandy beach. This boulder looked like it had run into the cliffs and split apart.

Izzy was tired out after all the running on the beach, so much so that she cuddled with Clint on the walk back to the car.

This is Lake Tekapo, probably one of the most beautiful places we saw. There was a glacier fed lake, mountains all around and perfect clear skies. Our 2 bedroom condo was so nice that I could have lived there for a year!

We started the day with a hike but unfortunately the higher we climbed the snowier and icier the path got so we had to turn back and slip and slide our way down which Miles didn't enjoy, he cried the whole way down!

This was the view from half way up the climb. After our hike we had some Thai food overlooking the lake and then went back to visit the Church of the Good Shepherd seen below.

This church is in the most beautiful spot, not hard to talk to God here! We finished the day at the hot pools which overlook the lake and mountains.
What a great way to end our trip.
We went back to Christchurch to catch our flight home. It was another fabulous trip and took away some of my homesickness since it reminded us so much of B.C. Although coming in July meant being in the snow and cooler temperatures the payoff was no traffic on the highways, especially on the west coast.

Hamner Springs and the West Coast

We flew into Christchurch and spent one night there before heading off on our New Zealand adventure. We found an amazing pizza place (Hells Pizza) and the next morning we checked out the market (some great souvenirs and food) and Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. The devastation of the earthquakes is evident all around town. It was sad to see such a huge area fenced off because the area was so unsafe and broken. It seemed to us that the churches were hardest hit or really anything made of brick.

After spending the morning in Christchurch we drove 2 hours to Hamner Springs which reminded us of Jasper and Banff combined. We headed to the hot springs which had about 10 different pools of varying temperatures.

The kids had a great time swimming, it had been a while! In the morning we wanted to explore the town but the stores weren't open and we had six hours of driving ahead of us so we decided to head out.

After driving for three hours in the rain we finally saw the ocean. The west coast seemed a lot rougher to us, but maybe that was the weather conditions.

We spent the night in Fox Glacier but didn't get to see the glaciers due to low cloud and lots of rain. In fact, this is the Haas Pass which we almost didn't make it through. Chains on your tires were essential and guess who didn't have chains for their rental car! We spent an hour debating whether to try to get through or detour 6 hours and exchange cars. So glad we didn't detour, even though there was snow the road had been plowed and it really wasn't bad at all, we were more scared that cops would tell us to turn back than the actual road conditions!

This country must have the most incredible views. Everywhere we went there were postcard worthy spots!

This is the view from our apartment in Queenstown. Queenstown reminded us of Kelowna. Lots of shops and tons of activities. We decided to do a 4x4 Lord of the Rings tour with the kids. We had the jeep to ourselves other than the driver.

The morning started out overcast and rainy but this is a view of Queenstown from half way up the road leading to one of the ski hills.

This area was used in a scene from the first movie where a boat goes through two greek god pillars. Bungee jumpers were a minute up the river as well, we saw three people jump!

We weren't sure how Miles would like the trip but this is what he looked like when we were going through the river (which we did about 15 times!)

Clint and Izzy enjoyed the bumpy ride too!

This is what it looked like when the jeep went through the river.

Izzy had fallen asleep in the jeep and Miles feet were freezing from our snack break so we got a moment to ourselves on a road to another ski hill.

Te Anau was our next stop. We did two trips out of here, the first to some glowworm caves and the second through Doubtful Sound. Here are some scenery shots of things that we saw, beautiful!

Canada Day Birthday Party

We decided to have a joint birthday party for the kids on Canada Day which falls in between their big days. Miles turned 5 on June 13 and Izzy turned 2 on July 21. We had a big hockey night in Canada party where guests were asked to wear red and white on Canada Day, which they did!

We took an idea form our friends the Masters and had 4 games to get everyone involved and enjoying hockey. We started with a hockey shoot out where each family chose 2 family members to shoot at the net and try to get points depending on if they could get the puck in the net or hit a milk carton, which was worth more points! (Just so you know Clint had to carry the hockey net home while riding his bike because it wouldn't fit in the car! He got a few weird looks on the 10 minute ride!) This is Snake, Clint's assistant principal having a shot.

Next, another family member played Snock Knock. A golf ball was put in a pair of nylons and attached to the players belt. Without using their hands they had to knock over three hockey pictures on the floor. Lots of fun, thanks Scott!! Sarah and Rochelle represented their families although the fastest time went to Ben in another round!

The kids each got to play pin the puck on the faceoff. We had a very close game with lots of pucks piled on top of each other.

The last game was orange art where each family had to use an orange to create something Canadian. One family came up with a hockey player while the winning team included our exchange family and a bear encounter that Bree (the daughter) experienced on a school camping trip.

Our camera ran out of batteries so sorry there aren't any more pictures but hope you enjoy our party as much as we did!


As lots of you know I spent a bit of time cooking Canadian food from scratch and after some failed attempts some things were scraped because they just didn't work with the ingredients I could find here. I made perogies while my mom was here (which people here have never heard of) and we had sweet and sour meatballs, a baked ham and some side salads for our main meal. For dessert the big guns came out, I made Nanaimo bars, beaver tails and cupcakes. After getting over the name beaver tail everyone gobbled up the desserts and there wasn't much left at the end of the night!

Everyone seemed to have a good time, including the birthday kids! I couldn't believe how much the other kids loved hockey, they were out in the back yard all night and the only injury went to Miles at 9:30 pm which was way past his bedtime.

Everyday Life

We do lots of travelling around during the school holidays but there is lots of time that we spend around Port Augusta. Before my mom left we took a cruise up the gulf. Due to the tides, the cruise is in the morning because later in the day the water is too shallow.

A momma dolphin and her baby came for a swim off the front of the boat!

The top area of the cliff is part of the Arid Lands just outside of town. There are pictures further down so you can see both vantage points.

We went for a walk in the Arid gardens the weekend before my mom left. Izzy was lagging a little behind so Miles went back for her!

This is the landscape and plants that grow around here. Usually the skies are bright blue and it is sunny but it is getting very cool at night now. Clint actually bought 2 pair of pants because he has been so cold and if you know Clint you know he hates wearing pants!!

Izzy loves helping out in the kitchen. She pulls up a chair to stand on whenever she sees me starting to make something!

Clint was teaching Miles how to play his new video game and of course Isabella was in there like a dirty shirt!!

The weekend of Miles' birthday happened to be a long weekend so we went out to Wilpena Pound for a bit of fresh air. Still don't get sick of wild kangaroos!!

We went on a 6.5 km hike which exhausted Miles after running most of it. This is on the trail heading back to the campsite.

Isabella and her little buddy Harry helped themselves to the crackers and dip that were served before dinner. There was a little more than just double dipping happening so the dip became there's!

This is a great way to cook dinner, actually a chocolate cake was baked in the pot earlier in the day. A lamb roast and roasted veggies were for dinner. In my opinion it was much better and healthier than our typical hot dog and spagettio dinners when we camp.

This is a picture of everyone at the top of a little hill just beside the campsite. The Anno's and Kitchins have been lots of fun and we had a great time with them. Camping may never be the same again!!