Holiday heaven

We're back from New Zealand, after eight fantastic days of holidaying. It was such a brilliant trip. Everything was easy and, of course, gorgeous. I've been to NZ twice before, but both those trips were press famils, which mean you're pretty busy and scheduled. The difference to a family holiday, particularly an unscheduled one like we had (just hired a car and took it from there) is huge. I'd forgotten how gobsmackingly beautiful the South Island is.

Part of what made it so easy was that my parents came along too. They hired their own car and we stayed in the same places (splitting the accommodation made it pretty affordable - plus the Aussie dollar was nicely in our favour) and met up here and there when we wanted to see the same things and do the same walks. It meant Shaun and I could actually do some walks without Mr 3yo 'I Want To Go Home' crying all the way.

In fact, E was very well behaved ... on the whole. He discovered a true passion for throwing rocks in rivers - which is most excellent since NZ has an abundance of both. He also found his feet - he did a fair bit of hiking with Shaun. I did some too, but I would stop at any steep, stepped or slippery tips. Five months pregnant and mountain/glacier climbing do not a good combo make!

Here are a couple of pics from the trip: