Mommy arrived half a day earlier in Auckland so explored a bit on her own. The Ong’s didn’t turn up ’til like 3am in the morn — late flight + a detainment in customs no bueno. :(

The kiddos and all slept in ’til like noon-ish. Meanwhile, Mommy took Grandma and Grandpa Ong to the local farmer’s market.

Anywhere you go, there will always be Chinese people and Chinese food. ;-P

Bought back brunch for everyone. Our taxi driver on the way back asked how we found out about this particular market and commented that tourists don’t usually come here — more of a local thing to do. The way we like it!

Everyone was just about awake and ready when we got back to the hotel. We then visited a nearby strawberry farm. Unfortunately, no fruit picking for the day but we did a grab some cartons of strawberries — which turned out to be succulently sweet.

We brought all our farmer’s market goods to Ambury farm park for a picnic.

And some scampering on green pastures…

With flocks of sheep! (While trying to avoid pellets everywhere, lol).

After some tiring sheep chasing, we moved on to Mount Eden — an inactive volcano noted to offer 360 degree views over Auckland and beyond.

It took a short uphill walk to get towards the top.

Everyone made it.

It was getting near dinner time so we drove downtown around the Sky Tower area to hunt for food.

The square was pretty festive.

Loads of sugar and caffeine late at night when you’re trying to fight jet lag? Hrmm…. :D

The next day Uncle Yu En and Auntie Celine’s family headed to Rotorua for an overnight trip while we stayed with the grandparents to look at some neighborhoods and housing developments for possible investment.

Batman souvenir bottle he found at the cafe we lunched at.

Took a break at an awesome covered outdoor playground at a mall.

Night market for dinner. Apparently, these happen all over the city at different days of the week.

We tried hangi, which is a Maori dish with meat and root vegetables, usually cooked in a pit for hours. It was earthy, delicious tenderness!

We dropped by a supermarket to browse around and called it a night.

Since plans for the day after were just kind of free and easy, we decided to take the ferry to the Victorian bayside village of Devonport.

Lunched at a cafe with a Malaysian chef: laksa in NZ.

Got some wiggles out at the playground.

Followed by some quiet time at the snuggest library we’ve come across.

We then took a short hike up to Mount Victoria, one of Devonport’s notable landmarks and supposedly a great vantage point of the Auckland skyline.

We descended back down to meet up with the grandparents who had decided to rest by the side of the road.

It was back to the hotel for naptime while Daddy snuck out for some quick pick-up ultimate. The other half of our crew was on the road back and we were able to all do dinner together at One Tree Grill — which we was full a couple of nights before when we tried to go. We could see why.

The handmade truffles with individual fillings was just something else!

Before we knew it, it was time to fly to the South island.

The views as we approached Queenstown were just a miniscule taste of what was to come.

Someone dropped this kiddo in Middle Earth, haha.

We arrived a little before our hotel rooms were ready so we hung around and grabbed a quick bite.

Then we took a quick drive to town and strolled on the pier.

Stopped at the popular Patagonia chocolates for dessert.

Soaked in the scenery.

After herding everyone up a steep street, we took the Skyline Gondola up to the top of Bob’s Peak.

Wow, just wow.

A first for us: trying out the luge.

He was majorly stoked.

E loved it and went one more time with Mommy. Both times, he kept telling us to go faster.

Alfie and Xander tried it but Lexie just watched midway with grandparents. Everyone was pretty wiped out so we bought takeaway back to the hotel and turned in for the evening.

On our agenda next was a day trip to Wanaka. As we were grabbing coffee and some breakfast items, we noticed the infamous Fergburger had a relatively short line compared to the day before. Maybe the fact that it was 10:30am in the morn had something to do with it? Queues are usually hours so they decided to take some to-go. Verdict: meh, there are better burger joints in the states.

Pulled over for some scenic overlooks along the way.

In less than an hour, we were at Wanaka Lavender Farm.

The field rows were ideal for the kids to run to and fro. The tearoom, gardens and honey and gift shop were so quaint. And we met a gal from NJ working there.

Puzzling World was another kid-friendly spot just up the road.

They really had fun with all the puzzles!

After trying to decipher them for a long while, the two dads took the kiddies to the outdoors maze. It was hot and they came back sunburned. That’s when we realized it’s true that the NZ sun is really strong.

We made our way to the town centre and played for awhile at Wanaka Dinosaur Park.

This is what the locals do after school. Lucky duckies!

Ordered some interesting dishes for dinner.

No one could finish the humongous lamb shank.

Gelato downstairs before hitting the road back to QT.

A stop on the outskirts of town…

Sunset was eerily and beautifully like another world.

No words; just no words.

Is there a way to bottle up that glow and save it for a sad day?

Can’t forget to mention that after trying their gold kiwis from the farmer’s market on the first day, we had been having them every single night, promptly replenishing when consumed. :)

And as usual for Mommy, the best way to scope out a place is putting in some miles. And these trails were just indescribable.

E and Mommy wandered by the lake near our hotel in the morn.

He can smell a playground from anywhere. ;P

Ice cream and fidget spinner for breakfast? Why not?

After brunch, we boarded the vintage TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak Farm.

The boys liked exploring the engine room.

Seeing and feeding the animals was a highlight.

We enjoyed afternoon tea, with freshly baked goodies.

Lovely gardens with fragrant flowers.

Then we got to see some sheep shearing!

And the sheep dogs…

Some spindling action.

Some of our gang were pretty excited to try oysters and crab.

All the seafood.

Kombucha, matcha and the most heavenly raw bars are the perfect combo for guess who?

We packed up in QT, bound for Te Anau.

Of course, stops along the way were in order.

We happened on a tiny honey shop in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

And met the (French!) beekeeper who lived right across the street. She gave us a quick little lesson in how manuka honey was produced.

Boys were happy to stretch the legs.

We reached Te Anau in the late afternoon and checked in to our hotel overlooking the lake. The kids, as usual, wanted to throw rocks. ;D While trying to buy our tickets online for the glow worm tour we had planned on in the early evening, we found out they were all sold out! :( We made the call to break into two groups for the last two tours for the 2 older kids + parents while the twins were tucked into bed by grandparents.

The area around the caverns was pretty at dusk.

A kiwi bush in the back. :) We weren’t allowed to take any photos on the actual tour inside but it included an intro, walking through a cave, a boat ride in pitch black where the glow worms really shined and a guide that provided some informative narrative.

The boat ride back was right at dusk when the sun sets at 9pm (yes!) which made for some stunning and colorful scenes all around.

We disembarked and saw Daddy, Uncle, Auntie and Xander ready to board for their tour. The walk back to the hotel was so serene.

Daddy caught the moon in its glory.

Mommy ran to the start line of the Kepler Challenge, supposedly a premier mountain running event in NZ. She got to run part of the trail/course — on the Kepler Track.

Just as she was emerging from the woods, she caught the kids race and ran at the tail end of it.

Seemed like a great community feel race.

The next destination was Milford Sound, Fjordland – a World Heritage area. But this purple lupine field unquestionably deserved a stop.

The foursome wanted to recreate a photo they took like in the 80’s when they were last here!

The drive in was just stunning. You just have to be there. You really do. Waterfalls gushing out everywhere. Daddy immediately thought LOTR.

Then we set sail on our cruise to magical wilderness.

They got pretty windblown but didn’t seem to mind one bit.

A contemplative moment?

We spotted seals resting on the rocks.

After the cruise, we stumbled upon this little friend when we stopped at The Chasm.

Emerging from an amble through the rainforest was this beauty.

Guess who insisted on wanting to go to the bottom? The daring 4-year old! So he, daddy and uncle made their way down. Mommy was on pins and needles until they got back to safe ground.

Then it was a long 5 hours back to Queenstown for our flight to AKL the following day. We stopped at Te Anau again for dinner. Daddy found poutine. Not as good as Canada, he said.

The two bros made it out in the AM for a brisk trail run up Queenstown Hill.

We checked out with some time to kill before our afternoon flight so we went to visit Arrowtown, a gold mining town also known for its Chinese settlement.

The main street, albeit a little touristy, had a picturesque, old time feel.

Perused two tiny farmer’s markets.

Stepped into this sweet, pint-sized church.

We read up (or to, haha) on the harsh conditions of the early Chinese settlers and miners living in very modest huts.

If it’s not throwing them, it’s climbing rocks. ;D

Ice cream at another Patagonia shop before the airport.

Jetstar back.

Checked into our downtown hotel.

Dinner along the pier and a quick family snapshot.

The fish and papaya salad were quite tasty.

Poke, on the other hand, was just so-so.

Grandpa can’t let too many days go by without Asian food so we tried a dim sum place. Not too bad.

Wandered around the Britomart, Queens Street and CBD area.

Lulu in NZ. ;)

Artisan gelato.

Creative cones to match.

Yu En had just met up with a friend who lived in the city and she suggested Mission Bay Beach would be an enjoyable outing for the littles.

They spent forever at the playground.

Then moved on to collecting seashells. The parents tried to keep them off the sand as the Singapore half were getting on the plane late that evening.

Amassed an impressive loot.

We made our way a little further down the road to Achilles Point, a popular viewpoint of the bay and island.

We ascended to a higher ground for not more than 10 minutes and came back to…

One of our rental cars’ window being smashed and two backpacks full of personal belongings stolen!

And we had JUST been commenting on how it was so safe in this country. ;P And oddly, with so many years of travel under our belt to lots of states and countries, this is like the real robbery that has happened to us. :( The next few hours were spent on the phone trying to file a police report (NZ po-po were NOT easy to reach), cancelling credit cards, calling the rental car company, insurance, etc., etc. Not an ideal way to end a trip but what can you do… Thankfully, Auntie and one of the kids who was napping in the other car were okay. And by God’s grace, Mommy had just handed Daddy her passport a couple of days before to keep them all together. Otherwise, we’d have to make a trip to the embassy the next day and most likely miss our afternoon flight. We are reminded again that trip insurance IS worth buying — and we have been ever since traveling w/ the kiddo.

The kids knew what had happened but were still as crazily playful as ever. Last pic with Grandma and Grandpa before they departed for the airport.

Made time for one final family photo as exhausted and annoyed as we were with the mishap. Those were just things, right? At least everyone was still safe and sound. Daddy dropped them off, went back to the rental car company to trade cars and then we had one more night before it was back to the US.

Stopped for a quick breakfast at Little Bird Organics — a nice GF/raw foods bakery with local ‘buche.

Couldn’t decide! They all looked delish.

He liked it! Also chatted with one of the employees who asked if we were Americans. :P She was from Knoxville, TN which we had just visited this summer on our eclipse trip.

Daddy had lots of coins to rid so we bought a lottery ticket. He said that if we could get robbed in NZ, maybe we’d be lucky enough to win, haha. Nope. We also stopped by Global Culture as Daddy wanted to get a souvenir for himself. :)

Had just a little time to stop at the AKL lounge after clearing security. Should’ve came earlier. We also had to report back to Uncle Dan as visiting airport lounges is one of his hobbies. :)

They had sauteed kabocha squash, mmmm!

We got two upgrade seats on the way back so Daddy let Mom and son take them since he said he already got this first class fix. ;P

Knocked out! After a layover in LAX, we landed back in Dallas in the early evening…

Haera Ra.