Auckland Harbour Festival

Celebrations for Chinese New Year were combined with the first Auckland Harbour Festival..

which included some the biggest fireworks Auckland has ever seen

Gong Hey Fat Choi !

Abel Tasman National Park

The fantastic Bakers Lodge in Motueka

The even more fantastic Anchorage Bay, a short boat ride into the Abel Tasman Park

Some lovely local flora

And one of the gorgeous locals! ;)

Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef Glacier (in the rain!)

A break in the rain (!) and the beautiful view westwards

New Year's Eve in Queenstown

We met up with Iris to watch the fireworks for NYE in Queenstown :)

Kepler Track Final Day

"are you sure this bridge is safe Tom?"

Some great river views

and more, very safe (for 10 persons or fewer) bridges!

and we finish (!) apart from the short 45min (!) walk back to the town

Kepler Track Day Three

A beautiful start to the morning in Iris Burn Forest...

some fantastic wildlife along the way...

and great view back through the valley (by 'the big slip' 1984 landslide!)

through the forest and across numerous streams and rivers

and zig-zagging up and down for what seemed a lifetime...

to the gorgeous Lake Manapouri

and the hut right by the lake (and the sandflies!)

Kepler Track Day Two

We started the second day bright and cheery...

made it to the top of Mt Luxmore (1400m/4500ft)

made some friends along the way... (Keas)

appreciated the beauty of it all...

and enjoyed lunch with a view...

but struggled with the huge downhill...

before a much needed cooling off break...

and finally arrived in the hut (8 hours later!)

Kepler Track Day One

Lake Te Anau

Ready to Go

Tom faces a hurdle in the forest

6 & a half hours later - Mount Luxmore Hut

Judge Jules @ Starzz

Happy Christmas :)

erm, that should have read Happy Hanukkah! sorry

5 Year Anniversary

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary at Red on Jervois - lovely meal & champers followed by romantic stroll along 'our' beach :)

Ellerslie Flower Show

Well last weekend was fun- we had a great time staying in Taupo and then we came back to help out on our friend Heather's art stall on which some of our cards were displayed, at the Ellerslie Flower Show, an event not dissimilar to the Chelsea Flower Show but perhaps a bit smaller. The event was great fun to help out at and good experience for Rachel's art business.