Easter Holiday
For Easter, New Zealand takes 5 days off. The supermarkets and shops close and everyone goes on vacation somewhere. We were late in the game in realizing it was such big holiday! We managed to book a last minute stay in the town of Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast for the night before Easter and a forest hut in the Orongorongo mountain range for Monday night.
So on Friday we took it easy and visited Norman and his family in the morning and then went to the Otari Wilton Bush, the last remnant of original forest in Wellington. It's now a botanic garden dedicated to native plants and provides a seed source for regenerating forests.
The girls with a Nikau, the most southern palm tree. It doesn't sprout a trunk for 15 years so this is an oldie.
Tree fern city with Dad
A pair of Kereru landed in the tree above us. It's a pigeon twice the size of the NYC variety. It's the only NZ bird big enough to have a bill that can eat the large seeds of a host of native trees (tawa, niro etc). All the bigger birds have gone extinct (like the M0a). So the kereru is responsible for keeping these large seeded trees pollinated and these forests regenerating. It's a lot of responsibility for a big mouthed bird.
On Saturday we drove an hour to Waikanae and hit the beach.
Wren and Quinn in a running race with two British girls they met on the beach
An awesome sand castle built in the driving wind
The airbnb was amazing. It was right next to the estuary so we could go running, walking or biking out the back door.
Lucas and Quinn on a stroll, Waikanae river on the right
Wren and Quinn giving some perspective to how large the NZ flax (harakeke) can grow. Flax was used for everything by the Maori, woven mats, clothes, rope...
Plus, overlooking the natural parklands was a trampoline. Score!
By flashlight Lucas and I hid the Easter eggs out in the backyard and flax bushes. Since they had seen the plastic eggs and chocolate I wasn't sure what they were going to make of the Easter bunny story. They came up with their own story in which I was the Easter bunny's assistant, lending him my supplies. I love this age where they can sense the reality but choose to still embrace the magical.
On the hunt
The owners made us pancakes in the morning as a special treat for the girls. So sweet!
The next day they let us stay well past checkout time so we could go for a bike ride. It's all flat out here and makes me miss riding my bike.
Next, on to the Orongorongos! Say that four times fast...
So on Friday we took it easy and visited Norman and his family in the morning and then went to the Otari Wilton Bush, the last remnant of original forest in Wellington. It's now a botanic garden dedicated to native plants and provides a seed source for regenerating forests.
The girls with a Nikau, the most southern palm tree. It doesn't sprout a trunk for 15 years so this is an oldie.
Tree fern city with Dad
A pair of Kereru landed in the tree above us. It's a pigeon twice the size of the NYC variety. It's the only NZ bird big enough to have a bill that can eat the large seeds of a host of native trees (tawa, niro etc). All the bigger birds have gone extinct (like the M0a). So the kereru is responsible for keeping these large seeded trees pollinated and these forests regenerating. It's a lot of responsibility for a big mouthed bird.
On Saturday we drove an hour to Waikanae and hit the beach.
Wren and Quinn in a running race with two British girls they met on the beach
An awesome sand castle built in the driving wind
The airbnb was amazing. It was right next to the estuary so we could go running, walking or biking out the back door.
Lucas and Quinn on a stroll, Waikanae river on the right
Wren and Quinn giving some perspective to how large the NZ flax (harakeke) can grow. Flax was used for everything by the Maori, woven mats, clothes, rope...
Plus, overlooking the natural parklands was a trampoline. Score!
By flashlight Lucas and I hid the Easter eggs out in the backyard and flax bushes. Since they had seen the plastic eggs and chocolate I wasn't sure what they were going to make of the Easter bunny story. They came up with their own story in which I was the Easter bunny's assistant, lending him my supplies. I love this age where they can sense the reality but choose to still embrace the magical.
On the hunt
The owners made us pancakes in the morning as a special treat for the girls. So sweet!
The next day they let us stay well past checkout time so we could go for a bike ride. It's all flat out here and makes me miss riding my bike.
Next, on to the Orongorongos! Say that four times fast...
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