Wander & Nest

Monday-Thursday last week were pretty ordinary days… Mara went to daycare, Wylie and I worked, we went grocery shopping, watched some World Cup games (ok not so ordinary), cooked, etc. I explored more coffee shops and work locations in the afternoons after my workout classes and found a few more great spots including Tūranga, Christchurch’s Central Library, and a coffee shop converted from the old post office where they restored the function of the pneumatic tubes and use them to deliver food to your table!

Wylie and I had a great Friday afternoon after work and before Mara pick up. We had delicious brunch, played games in an adult arcade, saw the Barbie movie, and had a drink at a very cool spot downtown… all in matter of hours before daycare pickup! Amazing how much ground adults can cover!

Mara got her very own scooter last weekend and she was very excited about it! It seems like we’re discovering a new park every week so she’ll have lots of time to practice over the next couple of months.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and we started with one of the attractions that has been on our list – the Christchurch Gondola! Thank you to my company, Peoplism, for gifting us gondola tickets for my birthday! The ride up was great. It was short and sweet with lots of sheep spotting as we made our way up to the top. The sheep looked very happy and very fluffy. The views from the top were amazing – ocean, harbors, snow capped mountains, green hills, it was really incredible. Mara was less interested in the views than watching the gondolas glide up and down. As soon as one passed she asked for more, lucky for her it was pretty much an infinite supply.

Mara got a good nap in the car while we drove up in the hills from Lyttleton. I have no idea where we actually went, but I know that the views were incredible.

We finished the day with a visit to Hagley Park and the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. They have yet another fantastic playground where Mara stomped, jumped, swung, slid, and ran to her little heart’s content.

That’s all for this week. Next weekend we go on our first overnight trip in New Zealand. We’re headed up the coast to Kaikoura where we’ll hopefully see lots of sea life!