New Zealand part 1: 12/16-12/24

Once again, we decided to skip Christmas presents and spend the money instead on an epic family trip- to New Zealand! 

We really wanted to go there while we lived in Indonesia, because it's fairly close, but it was locked down tight during Covid. When it finally opened up in the spring of 2022, we had just decided to go to Australia. So having the opportunity to go now was a dream come true. 

Brian planned an amazing 18 day itinerary for us and off we go on Saturday morning while snowflakes are falling- 

We took the city bus to the airport and it was so comfy these two quickly fell asleep-

Whether sleeping toddlers or sleeping teenagers, I can't resist capturing the sweet, quiet moments still. 

WE WENT TO CHINA!!!! I've always wanted to go to China, for a visit, not a layover. So this doesn't really count, but still- we went to China! No pics- although we were only in the airport, so there wouldn't have been much to see anyway- but Brian had our phones all locked up tight. I very much enjoyed a 4 hour layover without any devices!

We landed in Christchurch, rented our car and headed to our first Airbnb. We noticed that New Zealand also has giant marshmallows in their fields, just like South Korea- 

Instantly in awe of the scenery. 

It was like a picture perfect postcard, everywhere you looked- 

First morning there we headed to Sumner Beach so the kids could surf. We rented boards and wetsuits from a shoeless dude who had a surf shop trailer-

Very hip. Very NZ. 

Headed to the public bathroom to change- a con to the surf shop trailer!

Off they go-

While the kids surfed, we walked around town and got coffee. Is this Elvis' house?

Palm tree or pine tree?

Random rock cave along the walking path that you can see through to the other side-

I loved the flowers/plants in NZ. It was summer, so everything was in bloom. Plus there wasn't a lot of Christmas decorations- almost nothing- so I appreciated all the red & green plants. 

Driving out to our first hike, looking at Sumner Beach where we'd just spent the morning- 

I LOVED all the fences made of these giant, perfectly manicured tall hedges- 

Our first hike to Taylor's Mistake-

I couldn't stop smiling. This hike- okay, more of a walk, was making me so happy! Little effort, lots of sunshine and amazing views- 

And sheep! See the arrow? There are sheep up there and they were happily just "baa-ing" away while we hiked up to them- 

Cool to see some WWI (or II?) bunkers and gun emplacements along the cliffs-

At some point, we ended up off the path-

Where are we going honey?

This path is much bigger than the one above, good job!

More sheep for me!

Again, off the path and in the sheep fields- 

Not only did we come across skulls and bones, but also sheepskin which looked like a fairly recent kill. "The circle of life..."

From the little rooftop, we could see where we had just hiked up from the shore- 

Macy was done. And we could almost see our car, but couldn't get there quickly or easily-

Navigator gives kids a map lesson-

Seriously? This is the way? 

I'll follow this guy anywhere! And thankfully, NZ has no deadly things- spiders, snakes, etc, so our jaunt through the knee high grass wasn't as frightening as it could have been!

Sadly- we didn't get to see any lambs-

Christmas flowers-

More hedge fences-

Another variety of Christmas flowers-

Our drive back into Lytleton was beautiful-

It's a port town and I was fascinated watching life happen down below- 

It reminded me so much of scenes from Thomas the Tank Engine!

Our cute little town- 

More Christmas flowers-

Our backporch view- 

Sitting on the back porch of our airbnb, we heard the most unusual noise and then realized neighbors had backyard pigs-

Our airbnb was at the top of a steep, long hill and I loved walking to town for all our meals. Off we go to breakfast-

But didn't always love the walk home-

Happy hour on the deck- sunny blue skies in December, yes please!

The name says it all! 

Dessert take out- chocolate calzone-

This was the most adorable little perfect cottage. We wanted for nothing. 

And the owners had a real, live Christmas tree waiting for us!

we have this tiny Santa on our tree too-

Dog food aisle- all refrigerated "meat" tubes-

Always love a brightly painted door-

Next up- Twizle. 

Brian had everything planned out- including where to stop for the best pies along our 3 hr drive so that we could take them hiking with us and enjoy them at the summit! We stopped in Fairlie for the pies, and everything was just so quaint. There was a COG (Cute Old Guy) playing the accordion at the pie shop-

Tiny table for Tate-

SNOW!

Hippie van!

First stop (after the best pie shop in all of NZ) was to the historic Church of the Good Shepard on Lake Tekapo- 

Our hike for today was the Mt John Summit Circuit track- and we didnt know exactly what to expect. It was HOT and longer than we wanted, but the view of the snowy mountains and the edge of Lake Tekapo were worth it. 

Of course Tate quickly finds a stick-

When it got hard, I looked over and saw this beast and was just so glad we weren't hiking up THERE!

Even just looking at this picture makes me feel so hot-

Trees ahead = shade!

We stopped on the way to the airbnb for fresh Mt Cook salmon! This is Mt Cook in the background- 

Macy was delighted to find a sunken trampoline in the yard at the rental house- she has ALWAYS wanted one-

New LL Bean Christmas pajamas for the trip to NZ!

Kids helping with dinner- 

I cherished the nights when we stayed in and cooked & played games together- especially at this house with the view. Scenes in Lord of the Rings were filmed right out the window!

The Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail takes 7 days to complete. We rented bikes and rode one of the 9 sections- 

Our first night dinner at home of local salmon was so amazing that we wanted to do it again, which is SO unlike us. We decided to try to the other salmon shop in town- 

Tate picked up some fun salmon socks-

The views in this house were AMAZING! 

Everywhere we look, it's just postcard worthy-

After being so hot on our last hike, we (Macy & I especially) decided to shed some layers and enjoy this hike! It was the one that Brian was most looking forward to probably. And as we headed out, we had beautiful blue skies and sunshine-

Off we go on the Hooker Valley Track, all pretty excited about this one!

See all that snow? We had no idea that we were hiking in there and that it was a COLD hike! 

This guy is excited-

The deeper in we got, the darker it looked ahead-

Is that fog or rain behind/ahead of us? Either way, it's sure to be cold!

it's now so windy that we have to hold our hats and sunglasses-

Just imagine this view on a clear day-

There was ice floating- that's how darn cold it was inside the valley! 

But while cold rain fell, we made it!

Our friends would go there a few days later and get THIS picture- 

After seeing that, I understood why Brian was so excited about that hike. Luck was not on our side. It was quite miserable!

Get us out of here!

That bridge was swinging in the wind, we were soaked and for the first time in my life, my fingers were numb. 

"Here comes the sun..."

Brian picked this airbnb because it was in THE Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve- which means wide open spaces and low/no light pollution- made for incredible star gazing. In fact, the very popular start gazing tours bus tehir participants to a spot along the road that our house was situated on!

We happily watched the sun set in our backyard and a clear night come in, hoping for some amazing stargazing-

It doesn't get dark until 10pm this time of year, so we set alarms for 3am to go outside to look up and see the milky way with our naked eye. I hated to get out of bed when that alarm went off, but I am SO glad we did!

Once in Australia and once in NZ- how lucky are we to have seen the beauty of God's creations twice now!

Somewhere deep in these rolling hills ahead is where a very famous scene or two from Lord of the Rings was filmed, right on the road we were staying on-

This was the house right across from that field, perhaps a super fan?

Next up- Wanaka.

First stop- the Omarama Clay Cliffs. These otherworldly formations are made up of layers of gravel and silt, originally formed by the flow from ancient glaciers over a million years ago.

The cliffs are on private land.Imagine owning them?!

Can't get enough of ALL THE FLOWERS!

Right on the edge of Wanaka, we stopped at a lavender farm-

And also at the coolest little winery- Aiken's Folly. We did our tasting in a converted front porch. Macy saw the family christmas tree when she went into the house to use the bathroom!

We got into Wanaka, found our cute little condo just a clock from town and headed out. We happily discovered a little market in the park and bought several pieces of pottery from this artist, who even digs his own clay!

I always love a bookstore and imagine my surprise when I opened up a travel book for the top places to go in 2024 and the page I opened to was- 

Brian planned a wine tasting dinner for us that we could walk to. But the quickest way to walk there was THROUGH the golf course- 

Brian and I went to the wine tasting alone, and then had to explain to the kids the best way to navigate through the neighborhood and across the golf course to find us for dinner!

It looks like noon here in this picture, but we are walking home from a lengthy dinner and i'd bet it was close to 9pm!

And yes I did steal someone's ball on our walk home. Sorry. Not sorry. 

New day, new hike. Off we go to hike Roy's Peak. 

We knew this hike would be a beast. See the paraglider above Macy's head? 

They were very distracting for a bit, which was nice! And so were ALL the sheep-

Constantly hearing them Baa was very motivating for me. They were like my personal cheerleaders when it got hard!

See the helicopter on the left in this photo- 

We watched it land, thinking that it was some showoff tourist company and hating them for not suffering through the hike as we were! Then we got closer and realized a woman had fallen and was being evacuated. Yikes! Macy and I noticed how cute the rescuers were and joked that we should do whatever it'd take to go along with them. Little did we know that within the next 48 hours, Macy would get her own mountain side helicopter evacuation. 

Macy was the first one to the rock. Brian a close second. Tate and I eventually showed up!

DONE!

Although going down is more enjoyable for sure, it's never easy. But this view was incredible- 

At the end of the hike, a mother and college age son came up and asked us for a ride back to town. Love this place! Of course we said yes. But we couldn't figure out how to get the 3rd row raised, so Macy happily just hoped in the back- 

Gorgeous hydrangeas outside our little condo- 

"Op Shops" or opportunity shops (non-profit thrift stores, like Goodwill but usually small and cutesy) are everywhere in NZ and Macy and I could not pass them by without going in. These guys were so patient with us-

Afternoon winery stop- yes please! Rippon Winery was gorgeous-

Tate stayed behind to do some homework (perhaps?) but Macy came along, hoping for a winery dog. She quickly realized that what makes our winery visits so fun, is having Tate with her. They truly are good friends, and while I enjoyed having time with just her, I knew she would have had a better time with the random winery fun that she and Tate always create when together!

Which got me thinking about how life is going to be for her when Tate goes to college. We are all going to miss him so much. He kept joking that this was his "last Christmas" which of course is not true at all. But all future Christmas' will be shorter- as he we likely never wake up at home on Dec 1 again and all will have logistics to manage. So in many ways, this was the last normal, as we have known life so far, Christmas as a family of 4. And that made me tear up often on this trip!

Anyway, back to wineries in NZ. This one was a beaut-

Fron the winery, we were right across from Roy's Peak that we had just hiked that morning!

Our kids love a winery day, so we hired a driver and headed out to some amazing locations with tasty wines!

And some cornhole-

Lunch in Arrowtown, a historic Gold mining town-

Our driver stopped off so we could watch the people bungie jump!

The Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge spans the Kawarau River in the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The bridge is mainly used for commercial purposes by the AJ Hackett Bungy Company for bungy jumping - the world's first commercial bungy jumping site.

Even I wasn't sure I wanted to do this after watching them. It was a gorgeous spot though! 

Final stop was at the famous Cardrona hotel-

If we ever go back, I am staying here. Established in 1863, the Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels, and is one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. In it's hey-day Cardrona was a prosperous settlement and significant commercial hub for the area.

Back in Wanaka, this town was SO charming!

We walked along Lake Wanaka-

To the FAMOUS Wanaka Tree!

Really? That's it? Well, maybe at sunset or on a clear blue sky day? Maybe. 

Macy is such a big kid- even at 14.5 she can not pass up a playground!

Tiny table at the condo-

Guess what's for dinner?!

Lamb was so cheap. And delicious. But guess what was even more popular than lamb on most menus? Venison! Which quickly became a favorite for Tate. There were deer farms almost as often as sheep farms. It was crazy to see deer behind fences. 

This condo was adorable and an excellent location. But what I'd bet the kids liked best was the regular visitors-

We hated to leave Wanaka, but next up we were off to Queenstown, over the harrowing The Crown Range- a spectacular 69km drive between Wānaka and Queenstown on the Crown Range Road. Renowned for its beautiful views and epic scenery the road traverses New Zealand's highest sealed alpine pass at 1076m.

I often had my eyes closed!

The boys got out to snap a pic at the summit-

We did not get to go to one winery the day before, called Chard Farm. With it being Christmas Eve, we didnt know if they'd be open, but a quick email reply from Santa's reindeer said they were! 

It's the beautiful property-

But the drive in was WILD!

We were on the edge of a cliffside dirt road-

Looking down on the crazy bridge bungie jumpers!

Check out this aerial pic of the property-

Our photos just cant do it justice-

New Zealand did a great job bringing in the language of their Māori who were the first inhabitants of New Zealand. Not as good as Australia, but 100 times better than the United States is doing or has ever tried to do. 

We got to tour the wine cellar. Since it was Christmas Eve!

We were first on the waitlist for a horseback tour to explore Lord of The Rings country, so we decided to head out there just in case we got a spot!

Sadly we did not get to go on the tour. But as the rain came in, we very much enjoyed the sights from our car and were thankful we weren't out on horses in the rain for hours!

Stopped off to see another Lord of the Rings site- is it over there?

okay, time to head back to town for Christmas Eve! I very much wanted to go to a local Christmas Eve church service, but it just wasnt meant to be. 

It felt like a fun summer night in Queenstown- much livelier than Wanaka. 

We met up with the Lombardo's, our friends from Jakarta on Christmas Eve-which felt like a big ol' hug- 

Sunset came with an eery rain shower- 

And a beautiful rainbow- 

Seeing a rainbow on Christmas Eve was definitely a first for Clan McCullough. But we did find our traditional Italian Christmas eve dinner out. And then we headed home, excited for an epic Christmas Day adventure paragliding, luging, hiking and dining. Brian had a day to remember planned for us and it would begin at 9am. 

Little did we know how off track we'd go....