Friday, December 30, 2011

hobsonville point park

We spend a lot of time at parks.  Thankfully there are many great here in New Zealand, many of which also in prime locations with fantastic views.  We have been very impressed with the quality of parks we have happened upon.  
A few months ago there was an article in the New Zealand Herald about the top playgrounds in Auckland.  We have decided to test these playgrounds out for ourselves.

Hobsonville Pt
Buckley Ave








Thursday, December 29, 2011

pakiri

We took a camping trip with our friends Jordan and Andy.  We didn't take many photos, but thankfully Andy and Jordan did.  Along with being great photographers, Jordan and Andy are adventurers. They kayak, sail, rock climb....you name it they have probably done it.   

Max and Maya were thrilled to go camping.  Their most recent obsession is Go Diego Go!.  They spend hours going on adventures in our garden and exploring at Playcentre.  We also recently read a book about a zebra that goes to camp, which prompted the kids to constantly ask when they were going to camp.  

We stayed at a holiday park which made the camping trip much easier than I thought it might have been.  Instead of camping on the dirt we camped on grass so we didn't even get very dirty.  We were within walking distance of the beach.  There was also great playground for the kids, which they loved.    Even though there were very few people staying at the camp ground we happened to be at the same place as some good friends of ours from church (New Zealand really is a small world).

My one photo for the blog....Andy, Maya and Max blowing up the kayak.
Some of Jordan and Andy's amazing photos....

Trent takes his kayaking very seriously.
The water in the river leading out to the ocean was pretty shallow.  So Jordan and I walked while Max and Maya paddled.  
Other than sleeping (or not sleeping) in a tent the thing Max and Maya liked best was climbing up the sand dunes.
I love this photo of Max.  He looks so happy and full of joy, ready to explore the world.
We even managed to get a family photo.  Most of us are in our swimming clothes (togs).  Lonnie has a stain on his shirt.  The boys aren't looking at the camera, but we look pretty happy which is pretty impressive given that Andy said that getting photos of our kids was harder than photographing a wombat.