Gallery – The Adventures of HAM

Facebook Memories is a truly wonderful thing. For the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of that time we took a trip to New Zealand two years ago. Generally I take photos (almost exclusively) of landscapes but on this particular trip our Lego avatars were the stars of the journey. (This took the place of having to actually be in the photos!)

We started in Queenstown and worked our way up to the North Island via camper van. The first thing we did while in the South Island, before picking up our smelly camper, was one of New Zealand’s Great Walks, Routeburn Track. In this case, we most certainly did not save the best for last. When people ask me what our favourite part was, this is it. Wow, just wow! It was three and a half days of hiking and the trifecta of terrible sleeps, but I will forever remember it as the most amazing experience (until the next one if course). Fantastic scenery galore! Never again will I complain of walking in the rain as it always brings back memories of our breathtaking trek through the Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. To top it off we hit up Milford Sound on the loop to Q-Town.

Of course while were back in the “Adventure Capital of the World” we had to do something extraordinarily adventurous. (Sorry, no skydiving for this gal.) Our wonderful hosts at Pounamu Apartments suggested we try the Skipper’s Canyon Jet boat. It was a little out of the way (there is one closer to town) but when they say “GETTING TO THE BOAT IS HALF THE ADVENTURE” they mean it! Tons of fun! A truly terrifying bus ride and so worth it.

From there we went gold digging in Arrowtown, saw what I am pretty sure will be the most amazing sunset of my life from the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, checked out NZ’s only castle, drove through Arthur’s Pass, hit up the West Coast and the pancake rocks (Punakaiki)!, caught the sunrise in Abel Tasman National Park and missed the ferry in Picton.

After being put on the waiting list for the following day we just squeaked on the boat to Wellington. If we did get a do over for the whole trip, we would have book this ahead of time. We would have also looked into dropping the van off and getting a new one on the other side. It is a lot cheaper to just take the ferry without a vehicle.

Though we did not have quite as much time for the North Island, we did make some great stops. We stayed in Taupo (Lake Taupo) on the first night, and hit up a small hot spring in a local park early in the morning. From there we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu. Arriving just before they set of the geyser, we decided to skip out and head straight into the park. (We had already seen a natural one in Iceland.) What a great idea! We literally had the place to ourselves. So cool! And the colours were amazing! The mud pools are a must! Thoroughly entatained.

We ended our stay in Auckland after stopping by Redoubt – Bar and Eatery in Te Awamutu. (A favourite spot of a friend of ours.) New Zealand’s largest city brought walks on the waterfront, fresh oysters, souvenirs and, of course, our very first rugby game! It also brought the end of our trip that we were so very sad to say goodbye to.

However, our Lego characters live on in Facebook Memories and a Canadian Living blog post by Jamie Anderson.

Cheers to enjoying life in the moment and creating memories that will last a lifetime!

Everything is Awesome!

Our flight to Europe is booked! No, Harley does not get to come.

We will be starting our Eurotrip in London and it has me reminiscing about the last time we were there in 2013. Being a very small town girl, the country is more my thing… so I never expected to love this city so much! We stayed in a small suite (smaller bathroom) at Studios2Let near Kings Cross Station and using the overwhelming yet efficient underground, got around fairly easily. One time we passed on taking the claustrophobic, cattle car elevator and used the stairs (disregarding the “This staircase has 175 steps, equivalent to 15 floors. Do not use except in an emergency” signs). It was quite the workout!

We only had three days to spend but obviously wanted to see everything. Given our love for biking, we decided to try out a recommended Fat Tire Bike Tour. On the first day we chose to do the Royal London one. It took us by all the hot spots: The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The Royal Parks, Big Ben, Kensington Palace and Trafalgar Square. We even got to see the changing of the guard. The weather was beautiful, spring was in the air and the flowers were just beginning to bloom. We loved it so much we decided to do one on our second day as well. (Had to work of all the meat pies and ale somehow.)

Although the weather was a bit gloomier and a little cold, the River Thames Bike Tour was also totally worth it. I thought we had seen it all the day before but this tour took us by The London Eye, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Borough Market, The Monument and Leadenhall Market (AKA… DIAGON ALLEY HP Fans!!!) The best part of this one was, however, St. Dunstan in the East. Is was not officially part of the tour, just a place our tour guide happened to love. From the outside you could see the steeple and entrance of a medieval church but when you when through the door it opened up into a beautiful garden with a not so beautiful, yet interesting, story. It was originally built in the 1100s, was damaged in the Great Fire of London, rebuilt and then bombed in the Blitz of the Second World War. An amazing oasis in the middle of a busy city. My only wish is that I could have curled up on a bench with a book for the afternoon. Instead, we spent some time at the stunning V&A Museum. The line to get into the Natural History Museum was a little bit too long but this was definitely an acceptable alternative.

Our evenings were as busy as our days. We did a bit of grocery shopping and cooked a lot of our meals in our studio but did head out to the theatre for two of the three nights. We had the chance to see The Lion King at the grand Lyceum Theatre and Matilda at the smaller, Cambridge Theatre. Both shows were great.

We had an absolutely spectacular time in London. Though we didn’t get into too many places during out short visit, we really did SEE everything. I would definitefly recommend it all, right up until our Eurostar departure to Paris. Dubbed the $600 mistake, it is a story in itself. I am not sure how long we be in London this time around, if at all, but am glad that I have some very great memories.