Holidays Archives -

Family Travel: Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium

Visiting aquariums is our thing, it’s what we do when we travel and we absolutely LOVE it. Both of the boys have always been a tad obsessed with all things ‘ocean’, an interest Dave and I can wholeheartedly get behind.

When we confirmed our (very) last minute trip to the Sunshine Coast, a visit to Mooloolaba and its famous Sea Life Aquarium was top of our must-do list. Ethan saw it featured on a TV doco years ago (which we all watched on repeat hundred of times!) and had been super keen to visit ever since.

Our first full day in Cotton Tree was a drizzly Sunday morning, perfect for a lazy, unrushed visit to Sea Life.

The drive took 10 minutes and at 9ish, we were able to find a carpark easily, though I can imagine this would get more and more difficult throughout the day.

We had a behind the scenes experience booked in at 11.30am so set about following the kids around, exploring the many stunning exhibits on offer.

New Zealand's Top Travel Lifestyle Blog Home Decor Sunshine Coast Aquarium — *Tidal Touchpool at Sea Life Sunshine Coast*

The one we came back to again and again, was actually the very first you come across upon entry. Nixon absolutely loved the Tidal Touchpool. It was so engaging for him, I think he discovered a new fish or starfish to observe, and yes, touch, each time he led us back there.

We were so surprised by how quiet it was in the morning, we were really able to take our time and move around at our own pace.

A family fave was the Freshwater Streams zone. Seeing the giant Barramundi and Australian Lungfish, species we don’t have in New Zealand, was awesome, they are huge fish!

We also loved the Ocean Tunnel. The Grey Nurse sharks are the biggest we’ve ever seen, even bigger when we got to see them from the surface on our Behind the Scenes Tour.

This tour was an absolute treat. We have never upgraded our entry tickets to include any experiences before so this one was so engaging for all of us but especially for our two young boys, one of whom has always aspired to be a marine biologist. I’m not sure why but I’d always assumed that the thick tunnel walls in aquariums magnified the size of the creatures on the other side – turns out the opposite is true! Being able to observe the inhabitants of the Ocean Tunnel from above and hear their stories made for such a memorable experience, both of the boys gave our guide their full attention throughout the tour which also included the turtle rehabilitation area – great environmental message for everyone here.

We are so stoked to have been able to tick Sea Life Aquarium Sunshine Coast off of our travel bucket list. It’s such a perfect family excursion and provided a really interesting morning for both of our boys, even with their 8.5 year age gap which can sometimes be a tough ask!

Thanks for having us guys!

Family Travel Japan: Nara and the Great Buddha

Nara was added to my Japan To-Do list pretty early on as I felt it was an easy combo of culture, religion and cool stuff for the boys, ie lots of roaming deer lol. Oh and this place is ancient!

The boys and I were on our own (which is always slightly terrifying for me at the moment because…..Nixon!). Dave was working so we packed up and headed south on the train. One little local line (¥150 ea) and then we were free-riding on the JR trains with our passes. Ethan and I make a good team whilst navigating train stations so we managed to complete the 3 transfer trip with no problems.

You don’t have to walk far from the station to experience the cuteness, and often aggressiveness of the Nara Park deer, 50m from the train station they are out of the pavement, harassing punters for deer crackers! In the Shinto religion, deer are considered messengers of the gods and there’s over 1000 of them roaming the giant park. Purchase the little crackers from the vendors with green umbrellas for ¥150, break them in half and have fun.

After Fun with Deer, we wandered for a bit as there was a small lake nearby and my fish-mad boys needed to see if there were fish to peruse.

Nara Park is so, so big guys. I was super stoked we had the stroller as the walk from the station to Todai-ji, the Buddhist temple housing the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Daibutso was quite a hike. But, on the way, we (accidentally) found the Yoshikien Garden. A beautiful moss garden divided into 3 separate areas. With free entry for foreigners we were in like flynn and the boys really, really enjoyed exploring this deserted but stunning corner of the park.

Nix didn’t want to leave but I eventually coaxed him out of the garden and we headed to our final destination within the park, Todai-ji, which was, until 1998, the worlds largest wooden building. The scale of this complex is so huge it boggled our minds. Watching the boys soak up the history and craftsmanship in world heritage sites such as this is what our trip was all about for me. Hopefully, they remember how these sights made them feel about their place in the world – I’m probably reaching here a bit with Nixon I realise lol. The Daibutsu statue, the flanking Bodhisattvas and the two wooden guardians protecting him are so beautiful you simply won’t want or be able to rush through the building.

Entry was around ¥600 each for Ethan and I, approx $7.50NZD and totally worth every cent.

Like other large stations in Japan, there are some great shopping and restaurants to experience in Nara before you board your train. Though on this day, Nix was so beat, we sat down in McDonald’s for the ONLY western takeaway meal we would eat for the entire two weeks! That’s not a bad track record, plus, I really wanted to eat an egg burger lol.

You could definitely spend a whole day exploring Nara Park and see so much more than we did, my boys can’t be pushed for speed when they are doing lots of walking – and neither should they when it’s of the sightseeing variety.

Don’t miss Nara, it’s fun, low key, relaxed (providing there’s no festival on at the temples) and you can explore at your own pace.

Fly Jetstar to Japan like we did > www.jetstar.co.nz

Family Travel Japan: Tokyo > Kyoto on the JR Shinkansen Bullet Train

Lord have mercy bullet trains are freaking amazing. Pure Japanese innovation and technology designed to increase the efficiency of people moving between Japan’s two biggest cities. Of course, the Shinkansen trains now run the full length of the country and with the amazing Japan Rail pass you are free to use Shinkansen at will.

When we planned our multi-stop itinerary; Tokyo > Kyoto (with day trips to Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima) > Nagano > Tokyo, it was obvious that investing in the JR pass was the way to go, and after our first foray from Tokyo to Kyoto, I’m totally hooked!

So, until this point, we had not made one wrong move on the trains. Which is seriously impressive if you’ve ever tried to negotiate Tokyo or Shibuya station with 3 massive pieces of luggage, a teenager and NIXON. But oh yes, arrogance comes before a fall and we made the grand JR Pass faux pas of getting on the blacklisted Nozomi Shinkansen as we flew out of Tokyo Station:::::::gasp:::::::

Ethan was mortified as we searched for our seats (which were taken by legit Nozomi passengers) thundering the aisles with 60+ kgs of luggage and NIXON, only to have our mistake discovered by a friendly European businessman (very Christian Gray), who looked at our tickets and pronounced our fate: you’re on the wrong train.

No major problem, we were supposed to be on the Hikari, so we just hopped off at the next station and re-embarked a couple of minutes later when our actual Shinkansen arrived.

So, big differences between the local lines and riding on Shinkansen;

There are reserved seats. It’s roomy, comfortable and there are power outlets to charge you shizz!
You can eat and drink on Shinkansen which is a big no-no on local trains. There is always a full complement of restaurants and convenience stores at Shin stations plus the wee shops on the platform are super cheap and have delicious sushi, bento boxes and sandwiches as well as beer, wine and cocktails. So charge it!
You get everywhere you want to go super fast. Obviously. But you pay for that for sure. For example, tomorrow’s trip from Kyoto to Nagano costs ¥13,000 which is around $161 NZD each. Considering we rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagano and then Nagano to Tokyo, as well as all of the local trains we rode every day in each stop, the $579 pp for the Japan Rail Pass was a GREAT investment.
With a JR pass you have to do all bookings and transfer through all gates manually, you can’t use the ticket machines (this applies to local lines as well as Shinkansen). Your JR pass allows you to reserve seats on the bullet trains, which is awesome, but, if the reserved section is full, don’t be afraid to take a gamble and jump in an unreserved car. We did this rather than waiting on the way back from Hiroshima to Kyoto and it was totally worth it. Seats the whole way and no waiting!
DON’T ride the Kodama unless you have to. It stops at every station and sometimes is subject to long waits at the platform.

When we arrived in Kyoto, we realised (surprisingly!) that we weren’t in Tokyo anymore!! The local train network was not as fancy, easily signposted or as comprehensive as we had become used to and we quickly hopped on a JR train heading in the wrong direction. Off/on, backtrack we eventually arrived at the right station, (not JR arghhh) and set about trying to find our AirBnB.

The street it was on had no house numbers and we had no image of what the property looked like. Did I mention it was raining? Eventually a schoolgirl walked by and I showed her the address on my phone. It turned out we were standing right in front of the place the whole time.

Kid status: great! The boys are super good on the trains as we allow them their iPads so they watch Netflix play their games for the duration and we make sure they have heaps to eat lol.

So, our Kyoto arrival was a little fraught, but we made it and settled in for the next 5, busy, days.

Family Travel Japan: Day 3, Ueno Park

After declaring it an anime-shopping-free day, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather in Tokyo so headed for Ueno Park. In Cherry Blossom season, this is one of the spots to be in Tokyo, however, as we are visiting in winter I was willing to take a gamble and have a wander. Home to many museums and Ueno Zoo, 3 temples and one shrine, Ueno Park is a beautiful place to wile away the hours.

I was actually really stressed out on Tuesday when we visited. Nix has been really, really hard work so far on this trip and he’s sucking the life out of me, so it was with great delight that I saw a freaking peony garden, IN FULL BLOOM no less, entry fee ¥600 ($7.40NZD). Dave saw that and was like, go ahead babe, I’ll hang with the boys.

Hallelujah.

One thing to remember about travelling with kids is that it can be quite tricky to steal a little quiet time. Dave and I find that we are so tired each night, we usually go to bed right after the boys so there’s not a lot of alone time to regroup. Ergo, a wander through some Japanese peony gardens was exactly what the doctor ordered.

We took our time exploring the park grounds, finally heading down a hill to Shinobazu Pond and the Bentendo Temple. This was such a great spot to wile away the sunny winter afternoon. The temple stands in the middle of the pond so there was lots for the boys to explore and look at, delicious food vendors (we enjoyed chicken katsu and crab skewers), as well as a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a cold Asahi.

As it was our last night in Tokyo we couldn’t resist the urge to head back to Shibuya and see the crossing in all of its after work, neon glory. I seriously LOVE this place, the energy is amazing but at the same time mellow and fun. Such a strange juxtaposition. We wandered and found the statue of Hachiko, the gorgeously loyal dog who would wait at the train station every day for his master Ueno to return, even after his passing, #heartmelt! We also saw a full Mario Cart tour stopped at the lights at Shibuya Crossing. This was something Dave and I really wanted to do but you need to hold an international drivers license so make sure you grab one of those in New Zealand before you leave home.

For only the second time (gasp), I popped into a shop I wanted to look in – Zara was having a huge sale so naturally I had a quick browse and nabbed four t shirts for $28 NZD! Everything in a size L is always on sale here, it’s the one time I’ve genuinely been stoked about my size lol.

One thing we are definitely missing is fruit and vegetables. The meat, seafood and carb situation is plentiful and awesome but we love our fresh produce so we stopped to pick up some dinner from the mind-blowing Tokyu Food Show at Shibuya Station. I don’t even know where to start here. Think, every type of uber-fresh seafood and meat in a small format market, complete with butchers, fishmongers preparing your purchase, but, in a fancy metropolitan supermarket. It was crazy packed, frenetic but so, so amazing. There was a whole ‘restaurant’ section in the market where you could find anything under the sun so Ethan picked out some sushi and gyoza while Nix wanted (more) chicken katzu and some potato wedges. Dave and I ate some crazy omelette-y meat/rice combo from a teeny restaurant around the corner from our house. Full tummies = happy Jacks.

So, a different kind of day here, and one just as enjoyable. The parks here are beautiful and so worth exploring. It’s super easy when travelling to get in the trap of ‘paying’ for your experiences in a country, but you just don’t have to at all. Let yourself wander unscheduled and you may start to finally find that ‘I’m on holiday feeling’.

Family Travel Japan: Day 2, Ikebukuro

In my fast and loose ‘Mind Itinerary’, I had pencilled in Monday for a trip to Sea Disney in Tokyo. However, after one day on the ground, what we really wanted to do was simply see and experience more of Tokyo.

So, we ditched Disney and saved hundreds of dollars. The kids did not care and Dave and I were infinitely happier!

We began everyday in Tokyo with a visit to the most amaze bakery about 20 paces from our front door. I had NO idea that bakeries were a thing here, and my god, everything that comes out of Japanese ovens is fit for the gods I tell you! The Arteria Bakery was divine, the best pastries, breads, curry buns, melonpam, blueberry and apple pies………we tried it all. Yes. We. Did.

Dave had to work, so the kids and I headed off on foot, navigating the 30-minute walk to Ikebukuro where the boys were super excited to experience J-World, an anime theme park featuring Dragon Ball Z – off course. I find Google Maps a bit dodgy at home in NZ, but here the app works perfectly. We were navigated through gorgeous, quiet wee residential streets and alleys, just as spic ‘n span as the rest of Tokyo, and made it to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro in no time. I’ve realised on this trip the beauty of having no car! Exploring on foot is such a pleasure here and gives a real sense of what life is actually like here in Tokyo.

We had unwittingly stumbled upon a kids-go-free day at J-world so we were off to a great start. Ethan loved this place, Nixon enjoyed it even with only a cursory knowledge of anime, however, give it a miss if you or the kids are not fans as it will all go right over your head as there is no English translation or context. That said, the boys were happy so I was super happy!

Sunshine City is a HUGE mall, it was a struggle to navigate but we found the restaurant level and I braved ordering food without Dave for the first time. The kid’s option was easily identifiable by the Hello Kitty plate and was so perfect for Nix. It came with a giant tempura shrimp, about 10 fries, a small hamburger patty and some rice, dessert and orange juice. Literally ALL of Nixon’s favourite foods, neatly separated how he likes it. The dessert was a strange custard that he wasn’t a fan of, but aside from that 10/10.

I had a good look at the menu before ordering and noticed that there were two prices; one for the individual item and one for the ‘set’ which included rice and miso soup. As Ethan is not a fan of miso and the rice servings are huge, we ordered one set and one individual item and saved around 200¥!

After a quick visit to the Pokemon shop (soooo cute!) we headed upstairs to the Sunshine City Aquarium located on the roof of the mall. We absolutely LOVED this place. Skip the sea lions and penguins and head for the aquarium tanks. There were so many fish, reptiles and amphibians here that we had never seen before it was amazing for my animal-mad boys. A leopard shark, huge sunfish, giant spider crabs, poisonous frogs and so much more. It def got us pumped for the big aquarium visit to come in Osaka.

Whilst in Ikebukuro we headed straight to the heart of this shopping mecca and soaked it all in. There was a girl on the street with an owl advertising the ‘Owl Cafe’ nearby, there was an 8 story department store dedicated to DIY and basically, home and lifestyle called Tokyu Hands. I could have spent hours in here but I was with 3 boys so time was limited lol. Ethan was granted his final Dragon Ball Z shopping mission and found a figure he wanted in the giant Animate store. He was happy and I was happy the search was over.

The neighbourhoods between Ikebukuro and our accommodation were so pleasant we opted to walk the 30 minutes home again and pick up some don bowls for dinner on the way home.

I know no-one will believe this but, the only shopping I’ve done for myself is a $5 floppy felt hat on clearance from Uniqlo!!! Shock horror I know. Not even ANY sneakers!

There are 12 more days though.

Day 2 = AWESOME.

Fly Jetstar to Japan like we did > www.jetstar.co.nz

Family Travel Japan: Day 1, Tokyo

Lord. Japan is far, far away from Auckland, New Zealand.

And I mean far.

But that is what makes it so amazing.

After two great Jetstar Flights (thanks Jason for the attention you gave the boys on the long Gold Coast – Narita leg!), we landed on Saturday night at 6.30pm at Narita Airport. It felt heaps later of course as it was fully dark (mid-winter) and we’d been awake for like, days by that point lol. This is where my planning came into full effect. There are 3 terminals at Narita Airport and we flew into #3. There is no train station there so we really enjoyed our walk to terminal 2. I’m not joking either, despite how awesome the Jetstar crew were, after 8 hours on a full plane with a kid with Hirschsprung’s the fresh air and being able to stretch our legs was luxury.

The walk between terminal 3 and 2 is just over half a km, there is a shuttle bus you can take if you cbf walking.

I had pre-purchased our Japan Rail passes in Auckland from www.traveljapan.co.nz (who were totally awesome, I highly recommend dealing with them). This was quite an investment, $1737 NZD for 3 adult passes (under 6’s ride free) but we are travelling extensively within Tokyo, using the Shinkansen (bullet train to Kyoto), day trips to Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, ferry to Miyajima, then north to Nagano and back to Tokyo via Shinkansen so it’s absolutely worth the money. JR passes are exclusively for foreigners so you are issued with a voucher in NZ and have to exchange this for your actual JR pass upon arrival in Japan.

The JR information centre is on the station level in Terminal 2 at Narita and located in a great spot right by a 7-11 for snacks, a Foreign Exchange kiosk and a Pocket WiFi rental shop. I picked up our passes, Dave rented our WiFi gadget ($99 for 2 weeks, unlimited data and up to 10 devices!) and we settled down to a cold Asahi while we waited for the Narita Express into Tokyo.

Like Auckland Airport, Narita is a good haul out of the main city, almost an hour into Tokyo Station where the train split, literally. The first 6 cars went on one line and the rest went through to Shibuya Station which is where we transferred to Ikebukuro. This was probably the trickiest part of our commute as we had to use a local line to get to our AirBnB, which meant we had to buy tickets and generally figure things out as the line is owned by a company other than JR. Super cheap though, $1.70 per ride and probably even cheaper if we buy multi-trip passes which we will over the next couple of days.

Booking our accommodation was by far the most difficult part of planning our trip to Japan. The cities are so huge, I had to figure out which parts were quiet and suitable for a family, what we could afford, where homes were in relation to the trains and our to-do list. I would have spent at least 5 hours researching each of the 3 properties I ended up booking.

Here’s where we are staying in Ikebukuro > https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/10222084 and it’s absolutely perfect, bigger than it looks, sparkling clean and about 50 steps from the train station. We arrived at around 11.30pm on Saturday night, the neighbourhood was silent with no one around, despite a couple of sake bars on the street. It felt so safe. After picking up some pastries for breakfast from the bakery on the way to the train station this morning we were utterly convinced that this property and it’s location are an absolute win for us. If you like a sleep in the trains might bother you as they start running from around 6am I think, but Nix is such an early riser this doesn’t bother us at all.

Day 1 – Tokyo

The most difficult part of trip planning is scheduling in your itinerary in my opinion. So I really try not to do too much of that. Speaking frankly, kids hate being rushed around from here to there, trying to meet trains/deadlines/expectations so, we just don’t travel like that. I have ‘region goals’ I’d like to hit while we are in Japan, but little else cemented in. You get a better feel for what you want to do more of, see, once you’re on the ground I reckon.

So today we rose early, headed out at 9am after some cuddles and showers, hit the local bakery for the MOST amazing croissants, apple pies and cream cheese and blueberry pastries and hopped on the Tobu Toju line back to Shibuya Station.

We coffee’d at Starbucks and found the incredible Shibuya Crossing, probably quite quiet as it was Sunday morning lol but still totally awesome. What we noticed immediately was that Japanese locals walk like they are driving ie they stay in their lane! Big contrast to our family where the boys are constantly running, backtracking, stopping in the middle of the footpath………we are very conspicuously the square pegs here!

So we did a little shopping, not much to be honest and just had a really great time wandering around. At lunchtime, we charged a local eatery which, as it turns out specialized in pork Sta Don bowls. Dave nailed the kiosk ordering system and we had a delicious meal of fried rice, gyoza and the pork/rice bowls. I’m not a huge pork fan but the meat was shaved and thin it looked like bacon but was brown rather than pink. We were quite proud of ourselves after that!

Ethan had done some research and wanted to visit a store called Mandrake which was 4 floors underground in Shibuya. Specializing in all things Japanese anime, this is a collectors paradise. We saw one Pokemon card with a $1550 NZD price tag! E is on the hunt for Dragon Ball Z merch while we are here so this was a perfect starting point.

Always walking, we headed away from Shibuya and found ourselves gawking at the uber-trendy fashion hub that is Cat Street, Harajuku. Our destination was actually Kiddyland which was just around the corner, a large toy store dedicated entirely to character toys. Think Miffy, Hello Kitty, Star Wars, Marvel, Pokemon, Peanuts, Trolls………super fun, very cute, also very crowded and hot.

Everyone was slightly frazzled after Kiddyland so we stopped for a snack (and cocktail hour!) before diving into Takeshita Street which was seriously amazing. A mix of huge international stores and small independent market-style shops, wandering along as night fell, stopping for crepes and enjoying people watching – this is Harajuku after all – was so, so fun. The crowd is INTENSE, however, but Japanese people are so incredibly lovely, quiet, well mannered and patient, even with my nutty family, you never really felt affected by the masses of people.

After that, we were well and truly done for the day so we hit the trains and headed back home. We had realised throughout the day that Nix was not going to be able to hang with the amount of walking we’ll be doing on this trip, so Dave found a Babies ‘R Us and set off again to bring home an umbrella stroller and some dinner. The footpaths here are clean as a whistle, super flat and perfectly maintained so pushing the stroller is no problem and everyone seems to be accommodating regarding leaving the stroller to enter stores and restaurants.

Day 1 was so awesome! Everything has fallen into place and we are just in LOVE with Japan, so excited for what the rest of the trip will bring.

Parents, this is how you win at the internet – MindLabKids.com

Summer school holidays are almost upon us here in New Zealand and, as far as I can tell, there are two distinct methodologies parents use to tackle the school holidays;

The Organized Planner: Days, playdates, excursions, picnics are all planned with military precision – only to be completely at the mercy of the sometimes/usually unpredictable January weather (especially if you live in Auckland!)
The She’ll be Right Parent: No planning necessary – it’s the holidays after all!

Whether you identify as a #1 or a #2 or a happy mix of both, it’s inevitable that weather, exhaustion or, real-life necessity such as parents having to adult and go to work, will result in days spent at home. If you find this heralds the ‘I’m bored’ chorus we all dread, well, I’m all for letting kids ride out their boredom (if you can stand it!). Giving kids the space and independence to be bored allows them the creative freedom to ‘un-bore’ themselves in ways adults may never have imagined.

If that doesn’t work, or has run its course, some intentional time online may be just the ticket. Screentime for the kids; they’re happy, combined with educational, productive activities; Mum and Dad are happy.

Everyone wins! (So bookmark this website now before you forget >> www.mindlabkids.com

What is MindLabKids.com?

The Mind Lab by Unitec is an award-winning, specialist learning lab dedicated to increasing knowledge and understanding of modern technology via workshops, school visits, holiday programmes and teacher professional development. Emerging from this cutting-edge combo of education and fresh ways to deliver it, comes MindLabKids.com.

The website itself is an engaging, exciting online destination where kids can discover science and technology at their own pace, through hands-on experiments, challenges, and safe collabs with other kids. Three new challenges are released each week around kid-magnet topics such as; robotics, 3D design, animation, and stop-motion, movie making and more.

How we use MindLabKids.com

First points to note, rego is free, quick and easy. Ethan was instructed NOT to use his own name as the username, plus, the only contact information requested was a parents email address – which I had to verify before the account was activated.

That was it! Ethan was off, with Nix observing at elbow height, of course, intrigued by the fact that his big brother was stoked to be using the computer with Mum’s encouragement.

The home feed is a collation of challenges, fun facts, members responses to challenges, surveys, and cute memes – essentially everything kids want or more importantly NEED from an educational site that is kinda a cross-over with an age-appropriate social network. You can respond to user-created content in a positive way via likes and even ‘favorite’ accounts that are uploading videos you love.

But obviously, the very BEST part, which the boys are loving, is getting their curious neurons firing and getting stuck into the online challenges.

Nix and E both have a Mind Lab Kids Starter Pack (which got them so pumped to get cracking I gotta say!) These are definitely not necessary to participate in the challenge responses, but Ethan found after looking at the kit inclusions such as a propeller, 3V motor, battery pack, pager motor, hovercraft plate (stuff we generally don’t have lying about the house), his mind was a little more open to the creative, problem solving process, knowing that he had some extra tools on hand.

On that note, seriously great Christmas gift right?! Create your child’s login, write their username and password on a gift tag, wrap up the Mind Lab Kids Starter Pack and you’ve got the perfect parental gift trifecta; it’s educational, not a toy they don’t need and can be reused over and over again in different ways.

Boom.

The first challenge the boys tried their hand at was Professor D’s Hovercraft Challenge – obvs Ethan and I helped Nix a lot with his, he was just down to go crazy with the glue gun to be honest, but that’s every 4 year old’s prerogative lol.

Check out our Hovercraft Challenge Response Video here on the MindLabKids.com website.

Win a MindLabKids.com Starter Kit!

Get your kids excited about science and technology and they could win their own MindLabKids.com starter kit!

To enter;

Join Mind Lab Kids, if your kids are already a member then they are good to go!
Film and upload a challenge-response video to www.mindlabkids.com before 10am 10 December 2017.
That’s it!

Full terms and conditions can be found here, otherwise, the main point to note is that you must be a NZ resident.

This post was made possible by www.MindLabKids.com.

8 Ways to Nail That Family Road Trip

How good are the school holidays guys?! Slow starts, maybe a sleep-in (not in my house but a girl can dream), no lunchboxes, no homework dramas and maybe a road-trip thrown in for good measure………

The easiest way to kick your school holiday mojo into gear is to take a second to remember just how much you lived for the holidays when you were a kid. Those magical two weeks seemed to stretch out forever with unlimited possibilities. Thankfully (?) for us as parents, holidays don’t last forever, so a little planning can go a long way towards making these holidays one to remember for both parents and kids alike. With a bit of luck, even the Annual Family Roadie will be a total breeze, glorious family memories will be made, photo albums will be filled and the kids won’t fight a bit.

That is the power of positive thinking.

But here’s how you really get it done.

8 Ways to Nail That Family Road Trip

1. Create Family Traditions
  It could be as simple as stopping at the same dairy for jumbo ice cream scoops or a family in-joke, but traditions are important and tie people together. A running joke on our family roadies is “I only beep for sheep” – not going to go into details here but deserted country roads and sheep in paddocks must be present before this one gets busted out! Dave also has a lovely woollen travelling vest that accompanies us on our tiki-tours, so looking for suitable photo opps is always entertaining and keeps the kids appreciating the scenery as we speed past.
2. Travel on KID Time
  Remember, the name of the game when confining your entire family to a vehicle for hours on end is not just to arrive, but to arrive with your sanity intact. Putting the groms in the car during peak hyper-time is not going to end well. Schedule departure time for around an hour before naptime or after they’ve had some full-on playtime at home. If you’re determined to get on the road early, pull into a local playground before leaving town and let them charge it for 30 minutes or so before you hit the highway.
3. Eliminate Stress
  Check (and double check) that everyone, including Mum and Dad, has everything they need within reach. Water, wipes, coffee, tissues, favourite pillows or cuddly toys, phone chargers etc. The last thing you need is to be distracted whilst driving. That goes for your vehicle as well! Always give your car a quick once over, checking water, oil and tyres before you head off. Quality tyres (much like these tips!) can also help reduce the noise of a family road trip. Goodyear’s new EfficientGrip Performance SUV tyre comes with advanced noise dampening tread design – the result? A superior quiet ride. Trust me I’ve driven for an hour on these bad boys and they’re as quiet as a Mum sneaking out of a sleeping child’s room – Stealth! You can check out the fun I had that day at loudenough.goodyear.com.au
4. Be a Fun Mum (or Dad)
  The boys seriously flipped their lids on our drive from Christchurch to Methven 2 weeks ago when I pulled off the road (rather suddenly!) and into the parking lot of the Cookie Time Cookie factory! Admittedly my kids are a tad biscuit-deprived but never in their wildest dreams did they imagine getting to pick out a kilogram bag of cookies! Keep your eyes peeled, or plan ‘surprise’ stops in advance to break up the boredom of the road.
5. Kid Life Revolves Around Food – NEVER FORGET
  If ever there’s an occasion to relax the whole ‘no eating in the car’ rule, then a long road trip could be the right time. My kids can literally eat on the hour every hour and hell hath no fury like a hungry Jack boy – so it’s best to play it safe and travel with copious amounts of food, lest you get lost and god forbid there are no golden arches in sight. Is that even possible???? Car food doesn’t always have to be messy. Pre-cut apple slices, yoghurt suckies, dried fruit, filled wraps instead of rolls…….these are all crumb-minimisers and should buy you some time in between mince savouries!
6. Share the Navigating
  Plot your course using Google maps and hand the phone over to one of your little co-pilots. This helped us immeasurably whilst navigating the Mt Hutt region. Ethan really enjoys this responsibility it and it stops quarrels between Dave and I over map-reading fails!
7. Pump up the Jams (or download the shows)
  The older your kids get, the less they are going to like hanging out with you or listening to your music. This is FACT. Spread the suffering and take turns picking the driving tunes. Yes, as unfathomable as it seems, my 13 and 4-year-old sons don’t love my indie-rock playlists (weirdos), but they do LOVE music. Everyone’s happy sharing DJ duties. If peace and quiet are in order, don’t leave home without downloading episodes of the kid’s fave shows from Netflix. In all seriousness, that is my number one travel tip and honestly, kids are usually just so pumped to be out and about in the world you will find you only have to resort to screen time when those hard-out meltdowns start threatening.
  Don’t forget, a set of headphones for each older kid = instant quiet time!
8. Use your Crystal Ball like your Review Mirror
  Be proactive and stay alert for potential disturbances in the force. On our last snowboarding trip, our rental station wagon was struggling to squeeze in 3 snowboards (+ 2.3 tonnes of kid snow paraphernalia) so we folded down half of the split back seat for the gear, meaning Nix and Ethan would be sitting in very close proximity. RED ALERT.
  Dave took one for the team and we moved Ethan to the front passenger seat for the 30-minute drive time back and forth up the mountain. Peace ensued. If you can wrangle it, be flexible in seating arrangements – keeping kids out of each other’s ‘smack-you-in-the-face’ range is always a bonus.

Most of all, relax and enjoy the ride! Sometimes it’s easier said than done but roadies are one of those special, weird things that kids remember and hold on to forever – at least that’s how I feel about the trips in my childhood. Relax the itinerary and roll with the many (many!) pit stops.

Drive safe these holidays!

Thanks to Goodyear Tyres for making this post possible!

Family Travel: 5 Ways to Make Travelling with Kids Amazing

If the idea of traveling with your kids is enough to induce a cold sweat, or the thought of spending 4 hours (or more!) on a plane with both your toddler AND the general public warrants a stiff drink, then read on friends.

Traveling with your kids, whatever their ages, is a great privilege and luxury afforded to few. If you have the opportunity to get out there and adventure with your family then what are you waiting for?! The rewards and benefits of forgetting your daily routine or even just ‘transplanting’ it somewhere warm and sunny for a few days can be a liberating experience for parents and kids alike.

Right now I’m mentally prepping and researching for a family trip to the Gold Coast next month, so, I’d thought I’d share a few tips we’ve learned over the past 12 years as we’ve traveled with the boys.

Getting ready to travel, even for a short while can be super exciting but also incredibly draining. Get a head start on your planning, figure out what the ‘Travel Deal-Breakers’ are for your family (quiet accommodation, short transit times, kitchen facilities, proximity to Zara………..) and make it happen.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Travelling with Kids — Queenstown Gondola 2017

5 Ways to Make Travelling with Kids Amazing

1. Food – Pack as much as you can! It’s a brave parent that leaves their home without snacks and drinks packed for their little ones. It’s a crazy parent that leaves the country (or city!) without doing the same. When we traveled to Rarotonga two years ago I did meal planning for the entire 10 days and packed a suitcase full of snacks and meal starters. Why? Kiwi staples can be expensive on the islands and food is NOT one of our family’s Travel Deal-Breakers – we would rather save money on eating out and spend it on local experiences.
  My boys are ready to eat 24-7. Having to constantly stop and search out food in unfamiliar locales is both costly and time-consuming. Rolling with pre-packed snacks and drinks leaves more time for fun and also provides some home comfort for little ones in an unfamiliar place.
  Hungry kids are not happy kids. End of story.
2. Itinerary – Think before you book. My boys travel well first thing in the morning, and by first thing I mean, we’re on a plane or on the road at 8 am. If we’re heading to a NZ destination this gives us a whole day to get our bearings and start with the fun! I’m also really cautious about how much I try and cram into a trip. Dave and I can seriously smash out some touristing but it’s unreasonable to expect kids to go go go, all in the name of ticking boxes in your Lonely Planet guide. We plan on one activity per day (unless we have a driver), anything else is a bonus.
  
  Rarotonga, 2015
3. Accommodation – Here’s where your Travel Deal-Breakers are super important. If you’re looking for a ‘lay around the pool-max out the Kids Club-never leave the resort holiday’, you’re going to be looking for a premium hotel that you’ll love spending time at. If getting your kids to sleep easily/early is a priority, look for options away from the main drag and off the pub-crawl route. If you’re only there to lay your head, save some cash and book an economy option.
  How can you tell what a place is really like when you’re making a reservation online? Easy.
  Read. The. Reviews. All of them lol. I’m looking at accommodation right now in the Goldie and there are hundreds of reviews on each of the properties I’m considering on Booking.com. Take your fellow travellers advice under consideration, after all, they’ve been there, done it! Warning – there are over 1.2 million properties to choose from on Booking.com so don’t leave choosing your accommodation until the last minute lol.
4. Transport – Little legs move slowly, don’t rush your kids through their travel experience. Consider your accommodation location carefully and plan your transport options accordingly. If kids have to walk for ages, they’ll be tired and cranky before you even arrive at the day’s activity. Take your stroller! We have a trusty umbrella stroller that cost all of $30, has been all over New Zealand and to Australia and Bali and it’s worth its weight in gold. It doesn’t incur any extra luggage charge and makes Nixie’s life much more comfortable when we’re rushing from here to there. On last months trip to Queenstown, we took his balance bike instead and this was amazing. He even rode it 5kms along a trail to see the Franz Josef glacier! (We stayed here while in Franz Josef and it was perfect for families).
5. First Aid – Be prepared. If you’re traveling to warm climates use the space you’ll have in your luggage (after packing minimal bulky clothes) to go nuts at the pharmacy. Little cuts, scrapes, and grazes or excessive sun can quickly ruin a family holiday. Pack more insect repellant and sunscreen than you think. Pack 3B Action Cream, chafe can be a killer when you’re doing heaps of walking and you’re hot and sweaty. On a trip to Tonga, Ethan pretty much lived in his board shorts, however, his little thighs were rubbed raw by the end of the trip from so much time at the beach and in the sand. Take antiseptic cream with you, take Pamol and Phenergan for bug bites and allergic reactions. The medicine we had to purchase for Nix in Bali was flavored differently and proved a mission to get into him. Prepare like you’re Florence Nightengale for all child-related contingencies lol.

So, you can take all of this into consideration, but the most important thing to remember when traveling with kids is to just be open to changes of plan and expect everything to move a wee bit slower than you might prefer.

I find that our willingness to pull the kids out of school to travel gives us more options in pricing then trying to book trips exclusively in the school holidays. Many people disagree with us, but I firmly believe that there is not one thing that Ethan will learn in Year 8 that compares to walking the cliff tops at an ancient temple in Uluwatu. Travel is life!

Tauranga, 2017

Family Travel – Hamilton, Balloons Over Waikato

This weekend away in March was amazing! We ditched Auckland and had an epic three-day family adventure in Hamilton. Our itinerary was co-ordinated by Hamilton & Waikato tourism and was so good I’ve decided to share it step by step in case anyone wants full details on how to max out three days with your kids, in a super-fun city just 127km from Auckland, NZ.

Day 1

We left Auckland around midday on Friday and had a great drive south to arrive in Hamilton at 2 pm.

After check-in at the Sudima Hotel, we walked across the street to the Waikato Museum. Let me tell you, Friday afternoon is the time to visit if you want a really peaceful, quiet experience. We spent almost a full hour just in the Exscite exhibit. Every activity is a kid magnet. The boys ran around in a frenzy at first, touching on every station within the first 15 minutes. They calmed down a little after that, took their time and really took it all in.

After visiting Milk Matters, For Us They Fell, Te Winika, Beyond the Cordon and the Bob Marley exhibit (all awesome), we left the museum and headed a couple of blocks along Victoria St to Bowl & Social. Situated in Sky City, we were totally unprepared for how cool a bowling alley could be!

We bowled one game with the boys (Even Nix loved it at 3.5yo) and enjoyed a really great meal overlooking the river. This is hipster heaven, but equally perfect for a family fun date or birthday party – there were three parties in action while we were there!

Part of the Balloons over Waikato calendar is the City Burn and Markets. The boys were a bit shattered so I left them with Dave and walked the single block to Garden Place in the city. What a fun family event! There were food vendors, market stalls, live music and of course the choreographed basket burn set to a really cool soundtrack. I loved this, it was quick and awesome and makes a fairly early night for the kids.

Day 2 – Super busy AWESOME day!

We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and loaded up for the drive south (54min) to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. We had no idea what to expect, but if you LOVE getting your family out in the New Zealand native forest like we do, then this is a must-do on your next visit to the Waikato.

Surrounded by the world’s longest pest-proof fence, Sanctuary Mountain’s ancient forest offers a sanctuary for populations of many of our most endangered species – from birds to bats, frogs to reptiles, tuatara to giant weta.

We spent the morning on an amazing tour along one of the many trails and just soaked in the abundant native wildlife that is being so well protected here. Major highlights were seeing many Kaka plus Ethan and I did a solo mission to a freshwater pool and were wowed by the biggest Kura we have ever seen!

Tip: Don’t be off-put by less-than-perfect weather. We visited on a rainy, gloomy morning but the thick forest canopy did an excellent job of keeping us dry and happy.

Next on the itinerary was a trip to the famed Waitomo Glowworm caves. After an easy 47-minute drive south-west of Sanctuary Mountain, we were sitting down for lunch at Waitomo Homestead. Delicious cafe food, well-priced and a convenient spot to refuel before you begin your cave adventure.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are an NZ institution. I first remember visiting with my parents when I was a little girl and loved bringing my own boys back here to experience the beauty of the underground caves and magical, twinkling glowworms. This is a beautifully run operation and something special but, as a kiwi, I couldn’t put my finger on what was missing and have only just figured it out as I sit here in Ubud completely surrounded by Balinese culture. It is a completely sterile operation, almost devoid of any Maori/NZ culture or history – it could conceivably be picked up and plonked anywhere in the world. I’m not sure international visitors would pick up on this but it seemed really odd to me.

The rain began to fall as we headed back to Hamilton and we were fading a little. We were seriously considering skipping the weekend’s main event, the Balloons Over Waikato Zuru Night Glow. Instead, we hardened up, charged it and were rewarded by the rain clearing and the most fabulous family night out in a long time. Held at the University of Waikato, this is an event worth travelling for. The food vendors provided ample choice (we chose some fab burritos), the music from The Jordan Luck Band was incredible, the hot air balloon light show set to an awesome soundtrack kept even Nixon in raptures and the fireworks finale was simply outstanding.

Put the Night Glow Event on your family calendar for 2018. It’s a seriously good night that I expect to become an annual tradition in our family.

Day 4

We delayed the inevitable drive back to Auckland for as long as possible with our first visit to the famed Hamilton Gardens. Over the past few years I’ve been coveting pictures of the many varied landscapes within the gardens so was super keen to explore with the kids.

The space here is incredible, there are tourist buses aplenty (and rightly so) but you can easily find a spot to yourself and lay out a blanket and wile away an hour or two with a picnic.

Which is exactly what we did – after 2 separate plays at the beautiful Hamilton Gardens Destination Playground. Both boys, big and small, had such a wicked time here. Just like the wider gardens I feel like you may spot something new to do here every time you visit.

Phone ahead and let the professionals at The Hamilton Garden Cafe take care of lunch. We picked up our laden basket and blankets and settled down to the most delicious lunch under a tree in the Rose Garden. The food was ah-mazing, not exaggerating one bit. I dream of another picnic like this one lol

What a weekend Hamilton/Waikato! We enjoyed some incredible activities and visited some beautiful spots but we also saw twice as many things that are now on our to-do list for our next long weekend.

Our Accommodation

We stayed the weekend at Sudima Hotel in Hamilton City. We had a huge 2 bedroom suite with, pretty much a full kitchen, 2 large bedrooms and a balcony – a perfect, kid-friendly hotel right on ‘the strip’ in Hamilton and surrounded by amazing restaurants and things to do.

Tip – the street side room can be a bit noisy at night so pop the kids in the interior room and bring some earplugs if you’re a light sleeper like me.