bob and robert (I)

dunno how or where to begin posting about a lovely, relaxing holiday so will let the pictures speak for themselves.

a book, a plate of seasonal fruits bought earlier at the farmers' market, and a expansive view of the pacific ocean.  what more can one ask for on holiday?

laid back lifestyle of the kiwis - kite flying on a little hillock in auckland

shale beach at te awanga, 15 mins from napier, hawkes bay

a very happy xiao char bor

one of my fave pictures of a relaxed father and his precious daughters

the following pictures taken at bluff hill, napier, tell a story

and the ticklish moments....

yes, you may be laughing at how cartoon i look but i was seriously ticklish as oz tried to adjust the strap of the smelly helmet before we started the luge at rotorua.

the luge turned out to be loads of fun. of course, i was the grandma of the family while everyone overtook me. we took 2 rides on the elementary course and one on the intermediate. didn't dare try the advanced one.

was in kiwi land for only a few days and she's trying to look like a maori  (see below)

took in a maori cultural experience in rotorua. the expected haka, bulging eyeballs, tongue-sticking, and lots of belly fat.

the photographer at work:

the weather was good throughout the ten days we were there - sunny blue skies and cool winds.

the hat made me look like quite a dorothy lamour in her heyday (minus the bikini)

ok, so the hat may be a bit sua teng but it really did its job. this was taken at close to 7pm.

think of the gazillion freckles that could have sprouted!

these three photos are taken from the lake taupo apartment at 3 different times of the day.

l.o.v.e.l.y

and for the simple pleasures of life...

instant noodles tasted esp good for breakfast. must be nong shim korean noodles and have to be eaten out of the pot. serious.

on a rainy evening in lake taupo, this one pot meal was heavenly. found an asian grocery store that sold knorr chicken cubes and udon noodles and fishballs :-)

no, we didn't fish in lake taupo after all. but the girls really enjoyed prawn fishing.

after one and a half hours, they caught a grand total of 5 prawns with wei's catch of the blue-clawed prawn (above) being the biggest.

at the te awanga villa, we had regular visitors who quacked their appreciation each time bread was served to them. they were called bob and robert by oz.

 

at nicara cottage at rotorua, the jetty is a great place to feed the swans and ducks.

a sunshine-filled dining table with breakfast cooked with love.

apart from the luge, the girls did the bungy-jump. mighty proud of them cos i know i would never have the guts to do it.

the red pouch that fell with wei contained her glasses :-)

did the huka falls jet that had all the thrills and spills.

the te awanga villa had a trampoline which was meant to entertain younger children, i am sure. but it didn't stop two teenagers from monkeying around.

it's obvious that one is a dancer while the other is, well, a jumper.

and they couldn't stop jumping after that.....

we rented a 4 wheel drive Prado which was really comfortable and great on those trunk roads. except one very important detail:  no reverse sensors.

as oz complained :  no good lah. no teet-teet.

and this is what happens when there's no teet-teet.

came across other su(e)'s.

one of the rare family shots. this was taken on timer aboard the cable car in rotorua.

*end of part one*