St Brigid's School Fair

When we attended the School Fair last year, Jo-Lo was still in Kindie. Now, he's in Year One! My wife is part of the volunteer crew at the Asian Food stall so we were there a couple of hours early to prepare. But even then we were not able to do much looking around as the day progressed. The Asian food stall is quite popular. I was able to get a hard-bound cookbook though when I did a quick look around with Jo-Lo. Along with a couple of kids' books, for only 3 dollars. A bargain! And then Jo-Lo did some shopping all his own.

Jo-Lo bought Walkie-Talkies for a dollar

It was a fun day but I hope we'll have more opportunities to shop around next time :-)

Kids at work at Waitangi Park

Waitangi Park is a recreational area located near the Te Papa Museum and the New World Supermarket. It has a children's playground, a skateboard park, a grassy area, and a few minutes' walk leads you to the beach. The Waitangi Park is also host to a weekend market on Sunday mornings.

The first time we visited the New World Supermarket we had quite a culture shock. We had known that locals like walking around barefoot, but what greeted us at the door was a teenage girl with a tight shirt and skimpy swimsuit walking barefoot into the store. My wife thought she forgot her pants! We learned later, of course, that the beach was just nearby.

The kids had loads of fun at the Waitangi Park. With a playplace where you can play with water without being scolded by your parents, who wouldn't? :-)

Zealandia: wildlife sanctuary

When we arrived here in Wellington in 2008, I have been looking for an opportunity to visit the Wellington Zoo and the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. The latter held more attraction for me, because it is a fenced-off area where flora and fauna are encouraged to thrive in as natural a surrounding as possible.

Now renamed Zealandia, the sanctuary recently celebrated its anniversary and for two days, opened its doors to Wellington residents free of charge. That's quite a substantial saving, considering that an adult pass costs $28.50 and a kid's is $14.50. So off we went to Zealandia with some friends.

I would like the photos to speak for themselves the fun and beauty of Zealandia.

It's truly a magnificent place.  If you plan on visiting, check the weather as you will be walking on nature trails, the views of which are breathtaking.  Bring also liquids and food.  And most of all, do not hurry.  Just enjoy the leisurely walk and marvel at how the place was transformed from a mining area to a conservation park!

What's even more amazing is that Zealandia is only a few minutes' away from the city. For more information, visit the Zealandia website.