Last Day of School

Well, it is hard to believe but we are on the final stretch of our experience in New Zealand. The kids had a hard time saying goodbye to their friends and teachers on their last day of school. For a look at the classmates and friends of Rachel, Lexie and Evan, click here.

South Island

We were able to snag a great deal on airfare to Christchurch, so we took the kids out of school for three days and jammed in a lot of sightseeing in a short period of time. The scenery was beatiful - a mixture of rocky New England Beaches, California Hills and Rocky Mountains. For pictures, click here.

Christchurch:

We took a couple of trips downtown and walked around Cathedral Square. We stopped into the Cathedral and listened to the Boys Choir rehearsing. We were also able to ride a cable car and get a guided tour of the city. For pictures, click here.

International Antarctic Centre:

Christchurch is the "gateway" to Antartica. The International Antarctic Centre is home to the New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic Programs. We took a tour of the Centre and saw NZ Blue Penguins and went into a snow and ice filled room and experienced a simulated Antarctic Storm. It reminded us of January in Pennsylvania! For pictures, click here.

Willowbank Reserve:

We also visited a nature reserve. The Wallabies were roaming about -- but the kids didn't get too close. Lexie was especially excited to see the Kiwis again. For pictures, click here.

Christchurch Gondola:

We took a ride up a gondola and got some fantastic views of the ocean, Cashmere Hills and Southern Alps. We took a hike that exhausted Rachel. For pictures, click here.

Sumner:

We had a couple from West Chester join our tour -- lucky for us, they had paid for a personal tour of the area, so we were able to get an added little trip to the bay to see a really cool beach town with a cave and great rocks to climb. For pictures, click here.

Soccer in Raglan

Lexie's soccer team had to play their last game in Raglan, a town along the Tasman Sea. The team was their toughest opponent yet and they eventually won (4-3). It was a great experiences playing on a field with views of the sea. We then travelled up the coast to see some surfers and the kids got to play on the rocky beach. On the way home, we visited Bridal Falls and trekked all the way through the Bush only to find that the trail to the lower falls were closed. For pictures, click here.

Tirau

I took my parents for a quick "touristy" trip to Tirau, a small town off of Route 1 on the way to Rotorua that boasts sculptured buildings made from corrugated metal. The views to and from Tirau are beautiful. For pictures, click here.