Goat Island

Goat Island Marine Reserve  is on the coast at the small town of Leigh, approximately 90km north of Auckland, New Zealand.

For more than 30 years marine life has been fully protected from any form of fishing. For the marine enthusiast, the experience is one you will never forget.

Fish seen include snapper, blue maomao, parore, red moki, goatfish, leatherjackets, sweep, blue cod, spotties, kelpfish, marblefish, eagle rays and stingrays. Some of the snapper for which the reserve is famous, are a metre long and have lived in the reserve for many years.

Snorkel, Dive, take a glass bottom boat ride or just relax on the beach side.

  

Gourmet Sculptures

Brick Bay Sculpture Trail near Matakana showcases an ever-changing exhibition of around 45 contemporary sculptures

 

Gourmet grazing platter and fine Wine on a warm NZ summer day is Bliss

Going somewhere guys?

would love to take these home

Peek a BOO!

LIVE WIRE

ollie ollie ollie

Priceless moments with a favourite Uncle , we love and miss you!

(Yasmine styling fresh design bloomers from Katie and gorgeous top from Sarah Lux)

cousin mania!

Yasmine had no idea the people she would meet in NZ and the relations on her mothers side , there really are no words for these beautiful girls, maybe action packed sums it up!

Yasmine's first cousins -once removed...

If someone walked up to you and said "Howdy, I'm your third cousin, twice removed," would you have any idea what they meant? Most people have a good understanding of basic relationship words such as "mother," "father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother," and "sister." But what about the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday speech? Terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend to speak about our relationships in such exact terms ("cousin" seems good enough when you are introducing one person to another), so most of us aren't familiar with what these words mean.

Cousin (a.k.a "first cousin")

Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts and uncles.

Second Cousin

Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins

Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.

Removed

When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to describe your relationship. The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals "once removed."

..... according to the genealogy website.

Going to the Zoo Zoo you can come Too!

AUCKLAND ZOO

Oops! how did that one get out! Sorry these are a rare creature and not always seen in the Auckland Zoo.
Uncle Stigs surely know how to have fun, some say he tastes like bubble gum, that he lives in a tree and that his sweat can be used to clean precious metals.


DAY 3:

We're going to the zoo. You can come along too.
  Sometimes we go the zoo. It's our favorite thing to do.
With our family, Uncle Stig and me
Go visit our friends at the zoo. We'll introduce them to you.

Giraffes and kangaroos, Zebra and lions too, all live in our zoo.
They will welcome you with a how do you do to you.

Who's that over there? Sneaking through the dark and fern trees

Makin' no sounds and hard to see? Can you-oo guess who?
The Kiwi and Tuatara says hi to you.

What do I hear now? Such a scary growl.
It's a big cat with stripes down his back. Can you guess who?
The tiger says hello too.

What do I see lookin' down at me with a long stretched out neck?
He's a giraffe and he's the tallest I've ever met.

 

What have I found? The biggest animal around.
With great big ears and a great big trunk he can make a trumpet sound?
The elephant says "How do you do?"

  Sleeping animals fat and thin 

Seals all honkin'; swimming and flapping their fins 

How the time does fly. We've got to say good-bye.
The zoo is a great place to be. There's so much to see.
I'm glad that we came to the zoo.

City of Sails

 Auckland's waterside location has fostered the locals' love affair with the sea, earning this place the nickname "City of Sails".

Auckland sprawls over the sparkling waters of the Waitemata and Manukau Harbours. A cloak of rainforest covers the surrounding hills, dozens of dormant volcanic cones dot the landscape and enchanting holiday islands are scattered throughout the vast Hauraki Gulf.

DAY 2: Today's trip to downtown Viaduct marina and ferry ride to Devonport with Granddad.
 The Viaduct probably one of Auckland's most talked about locations.
For al fresco dining, great nightlife, or a fantastic setting for day-time sightseeing, head down to the Viaduct Harbour. Enjoy a leisurely stroll around the Viaduct and take in the super yachts, before choosing from a delicious range of restaurants and bars.
Regardless of where you dine, you can count on being seated overlooking the water and surrounding activity, while sipping on a fine wine and enjoying mouth-watering dishes.
Try some fresh seafood at Kermadec Ocean Fresh Restaurant.

The seaside village of Devonport has a charming and relaxed atmosphere, you can stroll the streets of top cafes, art galleries and boutique shops , stop for an icecream while you sit by the waters edge boat watching, or visit historic points of interest and lookouts.

Wandering around the village takes you back to a bygone era of colonial settlement in the 1800s, as the streets are lined with beautifully renovated Victorian villas.

9 Months

Stay posted and enjoy our Auckland trip where you will see many more pictures of Yasmine 8-9 months, 

she blows kisses 

and pulls fish faces, 

says olly olly olly
has 6 teeth!

and moves quicker and quicker everyday

Kiaora

Hi and be well!

Gliding our way across the water to land of green , clean air and magnificent waters lapping at your feet no matter how far you go.

Home is where the heart truly is , I'm sure everyone in the world no matter where your feet take you will always leave apart of you in your home town , its not always where you were born , maybe its where you feel free , yourself , where your best friend lives or where your family comes together.

New Zealand is apart of life i would love to share with Yasmine, its culture is unique, the people and places are friendly and beautiful

And its where Grandparents live! its i blessing if your lucky enough to have one many have none

Our Trip to Auckland begins with love ends with love is fulled with love....

Day One :

Uncle Stig and A come to stay, we were already having a great time relaxing in the sunny beautiful weather just chilling after a long day to get to the final destination AUCKLAND!
You might of met Yasmine's friend Bruce the shark with her love of Sharks and A's total fear of them we decided a trip to the underground Aquarium Kelly Tartons was the thing to do. Maybe A's fear would be conquered...  

First stop Sting Rays Lunch time, Hello Mr Sting ray you look happy!

Next the Antarctica Penguins snoozing and chilling , high light of the trip.

Then watch your back , SHARK!, these monsters of the depths of the sea are sand tiger sharks be careful A theres one coming for you....

Yasmine couldn't resist having her picture taken with this one.

the mysteries of the big blue before your eyes the tranquility of  the fascinating Southern and pacific marine environments, from the great ocean depths to the Antarctic ice, from rocky shores and coral reefs to Stingray Bay.

Its a big world baby!

2011 and Yasmine has just found out all about flying on Aeroplanes

Traveling with babies or small children isn't soo easy especially when they likely to be as active as Yasmine, restraining her our our laps was a tiring task but we managed to do it for 4 flights to and from New Zealand in the end its all worth while but during you cant wait to get your feet on solid ground every time.

here are some tips:

• Allow plenty of time at the airport for check-in, and connecting flights. Remember how much longer it takes to achieve anything with kids in tow and apply the same formula to your travel plans.
• Smile sweetly and helplessly at everyone and you may get help and be able to queue jump 

•  Always make sure you have enough food,snacks and drink for your child as this occupies them well on flights and fulls them up hopefully for a sleep during the flight as well. Jars of food for between flights and snacks for during, airlines don't mind the amount of food or formula you are carrying for your baby. 

• Formula - if you decide to take powdered formula in easy to open stick packets like i did (because they are easier to carry)there are plenty of water fountains or parent rooms in airports for you to fill your bottles up with but make sure you do this before boarding you plane other wise you will have to bother a hostess to do this for you and there is no time to do this if you need to sooth or relieve your child's ears during take off (breast is best but if your past this sucking actions can help ears during take off but especially when landing is when its most important),  Yasmine doesn't need her bottles warming up but hostess are more than happy to boil water or put your bottle in a microwave for you.
• Take disposable bibs, they are great the less mess you have the better , for those of you in SA i found these in foodland supermarkets,
• Spoons - i managed to find a tommie tippie set of two spoons that go in a handy case (from david jones) which was great to just slip in to my hand luggage and comes in bright stand out colours, I also found another way for one handed feeding and that's a boon squirt spoon which i also have but didn't use this time. Also helpful for all those day trips out you will be probably doing.
• Nappies and Wipes i don't think i need to stress how important it is you have enough of these.
• A spare set of clothes you will always need then if you don't have them, and this was nearly the case for me if i hadn't thought about it before we left for our flights home, it could of been an absolute disaster. Make sure you also carry nappy sacks or a plastic bag for any mess that does occur along the way.
• How are you going to carry your child... you can take pushchairs through the scanning machines to wheel around the airport but I've seen what a hassle this can be, easier to put under with your larger bags for the other end if you really think you will be needing one. A Baby Bjorn carrier with good support is what you need or a sling if you have a new born, reins or a harness for your toddler is also a good idea airports are busy places but you still want to give your busy bodies room to work off energy.
 

This is about all you need and its not much different to what you would usually have in your nappy bag, a backpack style will make carrying everything easier especially if your child is old enough to carry there own things. Extra things might be your child's favourite toys a blanket or wrap plus your own personal items and DON'T FORGET YOUR PASSPORTS!

YES EVERY CHILD FROM BIRTH NEEDS A PASSPORT so make sure you don't book flights too early that it doesn't give you enough time to get one for yourself and your child/ren

prepare yourself to lose things and don't be fussed if you do,

make sure you test out the new range of  duty free perfumes to keep yourself smelling fresh and feeling great. 

a pen on hand for arrival and departure cards will make sure you move through the airport process quickly.

travel in comfy clothing , ignore rude people, keep smiling and try to stay relaxed , make this a fun experience for everyone.

2011

Its here 2011!


Even though you probably are still accidentally writing 2010 on everything its time to face the facts that 2011 is here and were all well and truly into it, Yasmines thread has a new look but unfortunately for some things don't look so pretty, its been so far a year of disaster with floods in Queensland , earthquake clean ups in Christchurch, too much snow on the other side of the world, Yet we were blessed in a quick trip to Auckland in New year Zealand's beautiful hot and sticky north island to see Grandma and Grandad and the super Uncle Stig.

more to come...

Changing tastes: recipes from seven to 12 months- eggy bread

Eggy bread

Eggy bread is a great stand-by meal, and is popular with most babies. It's a good source of iron and B vitamins.

Ingredients

1 slice of soft wholemeal bread
1 egg, well beaten
A little oil or butter for frying

Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan. Dip the bread in the egg, turning to coat both sides well. Carefully place into the hot fat, and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the heat and place on kitchen paper to absorb any surplus oil or butter. Cut into tiny fingers, and serve along with some slices of tomato

Changing tastes: recipes from seven to 12 months

Cottage cheese and pea mash

This light meal is so easy to prepare. It will help your baby top up on iron and vitamin C.

Ingredients

50g frozen peas
50g cottage cheese

Cook the peas until just tender. Mash together with the cottage cheese and serve with fingers of bread or rice cakes.