NZ: Lewis Pass and the West Coast

"On the road again" (I'm missin' Texas!), we stopped for lunch in the small town of Waiau, and the kids played on a fun playground. Then it was on to Hanmer Springs, most famous for its thermal hot springs and water park. We just had to soak awhile! Cooler air temperatures made the warm pools feel delightful, and even the kids preferred these to the colder pools with the slides. (Here in Malaysia, all we want is to jump in cool water!)

Afterwards, we enjoyed appetizers and drinks at Monteith's Brewery Cafe. Adam was excited to try local brews and was impressed with/jealous of the beer selection everywhere we went. I'm more of a wine girl and enjoyed sampling various local wines, both from restaurants and from the comfort of our van in the evenings!

That night, we ventured beyond plug-ins for the first time and freedom camped. We chose a wonderful spot on the Lewis Pass highway, parked for the night, and temporarily claimed this spot "for the Dews". When the sun finally set (close to 9:30), we marveled at the stars and even saw the Southern Cross!

After "brekkie" in our van, we enjoyed a brief stop in the historic mining town of Reefton. At the I-site, we saw a steam-powered elevator in action and walked thru a recreated quartz mine. We also chatted with some old guys with long beards at the Bearded Miners' Company.
 

We reached the West Coast, then headed 35 km north of Westport to hike the Charming Creek Walkway, promoted in Steve Cook's NZ Frenzy. And how charming this walk was; so glad we made the detour! The easy path took us walking on old train tracks through tunnels, across a swing bridge, and past an amazing waterfall.

That night, we freedom camped at Fox River near Punakaiki. Mark found a ninja stick and had fun being a boy and throwing rocks in the river. =)

The next day, we slathered on the sunscreen once again and took a short but delightful hike to the geologic wonder known as the Pancake Rocks (Paparoa National Park). During high tide, the waves come in and crash majestically at the blowhole, but unfortunately, we didn't time our visit right. Even so, these incredible stacked rock formations are truly unique! I wished that I had my geologist dad with me to explain how the tides had formed these over so many centuries.

We had fresh pasta for lunch at Ali's Cafe in Greymouth, then spent the next few hours reliving old mining days at Shantytown. We tried our hand panning for gold and came away with a (very) small fortune in a bottle. We also rode a steam-locomotive, wandered down main street, and watched our kids fly down a zipline!

After a busy day, we parked our van early at Jackson's Retreat on the Arthur's Pass highway. Our kids played in the freezing cold stream while I sipped wine. =) We were not intending to go this way but were going to continue further down the coast to the glaciers, but a storm earlier in the week knocked down the bridge on the only major highway. That's okay though, 'cause the pics below of Devil's Punchbowl Falls and the top of Arthur's Pass are major eye candy--wow!!

NZ: Christchurch and Kaikoura

Did the fun end on New Years' Day?! No way! Off once again to catch our flight to what might be THE most perfect place on Earth . . . New Zealand's southern isle!

We flew Emirates for the first time, and I was impressed with the service as I sipped free wine and dined on smoked salmon. Even better, when we arrived in NZ, Rachel's status as "under 5" allowed us to skip directly to the express immigration lane.  =) We were eager to get our first taste of Christchurch, a beautifully historic city still bruised and recovering from the devastating earthquake two years ago.

We spent the evening strolling through Hagley Park and were thankful to find at least one restaurant, Spago's Italian, open on New Years' Day. (On a side note, kid coloring pages and the availability of fresh salmon become pure luxuries when going without them for so long!)

Early the next morning, we picked up our campervan from Wilderness Rentals. After orientation, Adam bravely drove our huge van away. (I opted for a break from driving for two weeks. . . and I was more than a little intimidated by the thing!)

Starving and in desperate need of caffeine, we drove to Re:Start, a temporary mall and public space constructed from shipping containers. Located near the downtown "red zone", we enjoyed lunch, shopping, and mingling with the locals in this space created to add a sense of normalcy during recovery. We loaded up on groceries at Countdown, then headed north to Kaikoura, famous for its picturesque coastline and marine wildlife. Only lightly raining, it was an idyllic drive past fields of sheep and wine!



We parked our van for the next two nights at Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park. The kids were thrilled with the playground and, best of all, the jumping pillow!

We spent the next day driving a short ways up the coast to the Ohau Point fur seal colony and Ohau Falls. Almost all were delighted to see the adorable baby seal pups playing on the rocks! (Mark was cold and thus declared that he "hates seals", retreating to the warmth of the van. Crazy boy!!)

Later, we drove to the nearby Kaikoura Peninsula and saw the Point Sheep Shearing Show. Watching a Drysdale sheep (used for carpets) be shorn in only two minutes was quite impressive, and Abigail got the chance to get close to a dog and a sheep, and even to feed a little lamb!

Sydney Style!

To check another world city off my bucket list, and to ring in 2013 in style, we chose to spend New Year's in Sydney, Australia!  After a long red-eye flight on the two-level  Airbus A380 from Singapore, we arrived tired but ready for fun.  =)   (On a side note, the Changi Airport never fails to impress! This time, besides the usual impressive floral displays, moving sidewalks, clean bathrooms, and water fountains, we breathed in the scent of fresh 20-foot pine trees decorated all over with stunning live orchids!)

 After dropping off our bags, we walked from our hotel in Darling Harbour through the lovely Hyde Park and enjoyed the cool summer breezes.  At the Australian Museum, we learned about some of the world's deadliest creatures that make Australia their home.  We toasted the day over a good Western meal at Love, Eat, Pizza, then went to bed early.

 The next morning, we only just made it to the Sydney Opera House in time for our Kids' Discovery  Tour.  It was so neat to be under the world-famous sails and see where the magic takes place!

 After, we caught the hop-on, hop off Captain Cook ferry to Watson's Bay, where we marveled at cliffside views from the Gap and ate at the historic seafood restaurant Doyles on the Beach.

In the afternoon, my kids played for hours at the awesome water and land playgrounds in front of Darling Harbour, and we ended the day with a nice meal at Blackbird.  Adam enjoyed a crocodile burger, and I tried kangaroo loin---yummy!

On New Years' Eve, we hopped on a bus to Bondi Beach and spent hours soaking up the sun with "all the beautiful people" (as my Sydney-native friend says)!  The amazing blue water, the surfers, and the bikini-clad crowds equaled an authentic party atmosphere.  =)

 That night, we had wanted to watch the world-famous fireworks backed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but alas, all viewing spots were full and police would not allow more people in to the park.  Though Abigail and I were most disappointed, at least we were able to enjoy an impressive fireworks display at Darling Harbour.

 Cheers to all in 2013!  May new adventures await, and may health and happiness abound for you and your families.  =)

Fun with kids in Penang

For those who've been wondering what we've been up to lately, or for those looking for fun things to do with their kids in Penang, here are some things we've done recently to lure our kids away from the iPad and iPhone games.  Be inspired to get outside and explore!

Several months ago, we hopped in the car and drove across the bridge to the Penang Bird Park on the mainland.  We were greeted there by a beautiful scarlet macaw, and the staff there was very friendly.  Rachel loved the flamingos (they're pink!), and Mark had fun feeding grubs to some finches.  Despite the heat, we also enjoyed the bird show.  At one point, birds were flying back and forth just inches above our heads!  They keep an incredible variety of birds here, and we marveled at the rainbow of colors.  We stared face-to-face with a large ostrich, saw Malaysia's national bird, the hornbill, and safely observed a rather large, lethargic crocodile!

Another fun recent outing was the Hard Rock Hotel's Foam Party.  They host this special event on the first Saturday of each month, and we'd been waiting for a good day to try it.  Mark and Abigail enthusiastically ran in and were covered in mere seconds.  Rachel, however, refused to enter, taking her time to build up her courage.  In the end, she conquered her fear and loved it too!

This morning, we visited a new park that a fellow expat told us about.  It is called Taman Lakuintas, also known as the Traffic Garden.  (Pass Loh Guan Lye Hospital on Jalan Macalister, turn right on Anson, then 4th right on Jalan Nirwana. The park will be on your right.)  It's our new favorite park, and is so close to home!  The paved miniature streets complete with traffic signs, road arrows, and even a mini petrol station make this park a great place to ride bikes and scooters.  The park is completely enclosed so kids can't escape, has a small playscape, and there are no monkeys to scare my son.  What could be better for free entertainment?

Langkawi "lagi"!

We welcomed another visitor to our island home last week, my sister-in-law Elizabeth!  I enjoyed being tour guide once again as I showed her my favorite Penang sites.  We spent the week temple hopping, market shopping, mansion browsing, and eating at all our favorite restaurants.  She especially loved the roti baum and even tried dragon fruit!

One special highlight was the Heritage Lunch cooking class at the Tropical Spice Garden, hosted by 4th generation Nyonya Pearly Kee.  We enjoyed an informative tour of the beautiful gardens followed by a hands-on lesson in making curry kapitan, prawn sambal, and papaya kerabu--yummy!!  I can't wait for her cookbook to be released at the end of the year.  =)

We chose to spend the weekend relaxing on a nearby island paradise and hopped a quick flyover to Langkawi for the second time. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the lovely and family-friendly Frangipani Beach Resort, soaking up the sun on the beach and in the pool.  Adam, Elizabeth, and I took turns enjoying spa treatments, Elizabeth tried parasailing, and Adam and I rode a jetski!  I also enjoyed sipping a few "Langkawi Wowees" while looking out over the blue waters.  =)

I really would recommend this resort, which was on a quieter stretch of beach (just south of the main strip) yet still accessible to many attractions and much cheaper than the high-end boutique hotels.  We were even pleasantly surprised to find our two rooms connecting!  This resort received high marks on tripadvisor, and I like its focus on green practices and protecting the environment.  The kids and I took the free "eco tour" one morning, where a friendly staff person showed us around the property and demonstrated the hotel's mastery of the 3 Rs ("reduce, recycle, reuse").  Not only did they have extensive produce gardens, they widely used recycled materials in building construction and for decoration, planted shade trees in strategic locations, collected and reused rainwater, and harvested solar energy for heating water.  They even save leftover rice, bread, and veggies to feed to their organic fish, ducks, and chickens, and to make into compost and fertilizer!

We ventured out of the resort two times, once to visit the Underwater World aquarium, and once for an island hopping tour, which took us to a freshwater lake and to a coral beach.  It was fun to watch the tropical fish swimming amongst the corals and sea anemones clinging to the pier!

We hope Elizabeth left with fond memories of her trip to Southeast Asia.  We certainly enjoyed having her here!