Posts Tagged ‘Holiday’

Photo Diary: The Coromandel

Hi Guys!

So I may have taken a rather long break from blogging. It was well worth it for a week long holiday away from the big smoke and staying at our favourite bach in the Coromandel at Hot Water Beach (near Hahei). I thought the most appropriate thing to do upon my return would be to share some snaps from our week away, showing off a few of our favourite places to go. Edd and I go with my family to Hot Water Beach every year and I can never get enough.

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Our first couple of days were pretty dramatically terrible in terms of weather but this made for a good excuse to go visit Coromandel township on the other side of the peninsula and eat plenty of good food.

 

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We stopped in to the Driving Creek Railway which is full of amazing art and also hosts a wonderful train ride into the native bush. Well worth a stop, especially with kids.

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There was also a lot of wonderful bird life in the native bush.

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These little guys are so fluffy.

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A very small taste of the incredible sculpture at the railway. The pottery in particular is stunning.

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There is no such thing as too much beach

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Just ask Mr 6

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Evening walks along Hot Water Beach and candy floss skies

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These two had an awesome time once the sun came out.

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Lucky for us it stayed out for the rest of the trip. Most of our time was spent on the beach, usually with a book nearby.

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Occasionally we ventured away from the beach to visit some of our favourite spots. This place is amazing and does a huge range of delicious liqueurs.

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And Eggcentric cafe is another place we always ensure we stop at. The food here is amazing and again, the art in the gardens is wonderful to be around.

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There is always the little ferry ride across to Whitianga if you are in need of some serious shopping or a bit of night life (by that I mean the sports bar…)

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This guy was sitting right outside the bach, just waiting for his photo to be taken.

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On the way home we stopped at a wonderful hidden river spot, just by the state highway.

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My 12 year old brother is much braver than I am.

All in all it was so wonderful to get away from work and general life in the city and take some time to be with family. I’m already excited for next year.

Lizzy x

Made me smile: the last for 2012!

Kind of a big one today as I missed last weeks so I just shoved the photos into some multi-frames to avoid overloading this post with too many photos!

photo 1 (2)Callie my baby who brings light to my days with her morning cuddles, chocolate strawberries which although were technically made for a gift still made their way to my mouth…only a couple, hot summer weather which means it’s time for cold salads with grilled chicken and chipotle dressing as well as ice-creams for dessert.

photo 2 (2)The first swim of summer, a few of my presents, incredible sunsets, amazingly cute Christmas cards
photo 3 (2)Eating too many pavlova’s at Christmas and not feeling any guilt, staying at Mum’s for Christmas eve with some fluffy friends like Digby and this cute little rabbit called Chewbacca, random and cute presents from family (these taste like cupcake batter…seriously strange but delicious)

photo 4 (2)Christmas morning hot chocolates with baileys to get through the day, Christmas lunch (just one of the amazing meals I had on the day), making fluffy friends, NZ Christmas crackers
photo 5 (2)A new mug that sums up my daily life, breakfast with Edd while we are on holiday, iced chocolates cause it’s too hot to drink anything else and more cold salads with ham and pineapple.

Other things that made me smile: having 3 Christmas celebrations on the one day, a new mixer that is far too fancy for our Kitchen but that I can’t wait to bake with, wedding dress shopping and success, reflecting on the past year, Christmas albums, sleep-ins, re-watching Game of Thrones, getting much better post surgery and a family who spoil me rotten!

Friday’s Letters: 4 sleeps

Dear Nose: We have had our differences but I appreciate your amazingly quick healing. Dear Job Applications: I am not sure why you have to be so complex and difficult but the sooner I get a job and can stop filling you in, the better! Dear Edd: Thank you for buying me pfeffer-nusse and for introducing me to these weird but wonderful Christmas cookies. Dear World: Thanks for sticking around for the time being. I would have been devastated for it all to have ended before I could open all my presents under the tree. Dear Summer: As much as I adore your sunny swims and bright skies the sleepless nights thanks to unbearable heat is getting annoying. I am now walking around half asleep each day. Dear Self: Hang in there. Life is tough and confusing at the moment but its also an exciting challenge. Don’t get taken over by stress and don’t forget to sit and enjoy life every now and again. Life will continue, one way or another. Dear Christmas: 4 SLEEPS! I am so excited I just spend hours on end sitting and watching all my presents. I can’t wait to spend the day driving to 3 different family Christmas events. It will be exhausting but amazing, as always. Dear Callie: Thank you for making me smile. Thank you for waking me up when I am sleeping in and should be doing more productive activities (like petting you). I hope you love your Christmas presents.