First 10 days in New Zealand with our toddler

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog but here is a brief outline of our first few days. I have to say that Freddie has taken the whole trip so far in his stride and it has been much easier than anticipated. Full details of accommodation to follow soon...

You can see images of our trip on our Facebook page here

Day 1
Auckland

View from balcony

We arrived surprisingly upbeat following our 35 +hour journey (you can read up on it here). Hungry we headed out to an Italian restaurant for a quick bite to eat, at first Freddie was very well behaved but just as the food arrived turned into a terror tot! Unable to keep him entertained we took eating shifts with one walking along the quay with chap while the other ate.

We all went to bed at the same time but Freddie and I were fully awake by 2 am and both ate, and played for a couple of hours before crashing again while watching TV together. (the view also helped to pass some time, Fredie loved the boats and cars...)

Day 2

Freddie and I are fortunate to have Freddie’s older brother Kieran (my oldest son) on hand to help throughout our trip down under while Pierre (daddy and hubby) works long days buying wine! We took a day trip to Waiheke island, wasn’t a bad day out and Freddie enjoyed the boat journeys – again all went to sleep at the same time and Freddie woke at 2am we were so tired we succumbed to a little Calpol to help the sleep pattern kick in and we were asleep again by 3.

Day 3
Blenheim
Flew to Blenheim, was a very bad flight due to strong winds and had to land fast and hard, Freddie’s ears caused him lots of pain (was the first time he has had trouble with them). Our accommodation in Blenheim was on a vineyard and was wonderful. We stayed here for 3 nights. Freddie’s appetite by this time had gone and so we were having a struggle at every meal time. Over the next 3 days we were surprised he was already sleeping through the night, albeit mainly in our bed!

A good day out was Picton, we took a great walk along the Queen Charlotte Track at the Marlborough sounds, (there is also a shorter circular route at ???? if the Charlotte is a little too long). Picton is the gateway to the north Island, there are regular ferries to Wellington through the sounds, or you can explore the sounds by boat checking out the wildlife including dolphins. For a break from walking and water there is a nice little play area, children’s sail boat pond and railway for kiddies of all ages.

Day 7
Kaikoura

Today we took the couple of hours drive to Kaikoura. Not an awful lot to do here for toddlers, there is a nice peninsular walk and our chap delighted in the seal colony (coming face to face with one in a bush!). There are lots of opportunities to get close to whales, dolphins and Albatross but unfortunately under 3s not allowed). Daddy stayed shore-bound and baby-sat while we enjoyed the sea life. (Kaikoura should be pronounced Kye koda – meaning to eat Krayfish – one of their delicacies (I have always pronounced it Kye koura but this apparently means ‘eat feathers!’). I think the sleeping pattern is well and truly back to normal now.

Day 8
Lake Tekapo
Began our drive to Central Otago. (we were due to fly but changed our plans as I panicked about Freddie’s ears – will be checking them out once we arrive). We drove past Christchurch and to Lake Tekapo (took about 4 hrs). A good pit stop is Geraldine where there is a nice stream to walk along and park to let off a little tot steam. Spent the night at Lake Tekapo.

Day 9
Bendigo (central otago)
Finished our drive to Central Otago (3 1/3 hrs) – good pit stop was a town called Twizel – lovely park to play in located right in front of cafes and restaurants – again a good area to let off more steam... 

Day 10
Wanaka
Searched for suitable accommodation in Wanaka – my favourite place in the world! – found the perfect place...also watched Tottenham get through the next round of the Champions League – by holding off AC Milan – result! Had a lovely lunch in Wanaka. The whole lakeside is very tot friendly and houses a perfect play ground with the best dinosaur slide in the world (probably!). We also visited the doctors today to check on Freddie’s ears. As expected both are red and in need of some antibiotic treatment to aid the flight we have to make to Adelaide on Sunday (now Thursday).

Writing this I am now up to date – tomorrow we are off to Queenstown and hoping to persuade Kieran to do a skydive or bungee jump... 

Next instalment soon...

Also have details of flight and some info on where we went wrong and right to follow.