Labour Weekend 4 - Bridal Veil Falls

Even the walk to and from the falls was lovely. Tom particularly found it exciting as it was like Disney?! I think it was a compliment to the authenticity of the rides at Disney.

Labour Weekend 3 - Bridal Veil Falls

Ten minutes from Raglan is Bridal Veil falls and we were not expecting much but to our surprise it falls was fantastic. The boys were really into it and wanted to go to the bottom and see it. The spray was amazing and they were genuinely wanting to know what was going on. Although the lollipops helped on the journey down!

Labour Weekend 2

Colm and Susan had kindly booked a table at 'Vinnies' and as soon as we were tented up we headed that way. The campsite was surrounded by the sea and attached to a park which was handy for the boys. The town was a lovely five minute walk away.

Labour Weekend

For labour weekend we headed to Raglan, with our friends Colm and Susan, which is on the west coast about three hours from Auckland. This was our first time camping as a family and it was great to have some experts with us.

First impressions were good as Tom was impressed with the beach, the camp was not too busy and the sun was shining. We got the tent up, eventually. It wasn't too much of a problem although we were stumped by some poles but with a little advice from Colm and Susan our tent was ready.

Aliens in the Attic

After a 'heavy' night we took the boys out for breakfast at 'Dennys' and had a lovely breakfast. They are very keen to go again. I took the boys to see 'Aliens in the Attic' and we met Alvin and the Chipmunks on the way. They absolutely loved the film, I have never heard Alex laugh so much. Highly recommended for kids.

Bunnings

Bunnings is the equivalent of B & Q. However, they have a play area and an art area. Alex spotted some little wooden houses they were making and he wanted to build one too for his dog. Fran showed her artistic skills by helping Tom design some glasses. What should have been a 10 min visit turned into an hour!

Devonport 2

After a great coffee and cake we decided to pop into the Devonport library which is part of the North Shore libraries so we were members. Alex struck gold and found loads of books he has been after and an audio book of 'The Goblet of Fire' which is like gold dust so he was a very happy boy! Tom and Ollie played with a jigsaw as Alex skipped and danced around the library.

On our way back the boys couldn't resist running on the beach.

Devonport

It was a stunner of a day and Devonport is becoming a favourite of ours on these kind of days. We park further back and the walk in amongst the trees is great as the boys spend most the time climbing them as we enjoy the awesome views of the city and sea. Devonport is a very picturesque town with huge palm trees, small shops, english pubs and great coffee houses.

Sheepworld 4

The day finished with a show which included a very funny farmer who demonstrated sheep shearing and his amazing dog. The boys were enthralled and Alex's dream of bottle feeding a lamb came true. He couldn't believe his luck when he was allowed to pick them up too!

Sheepworld 3

After lots of petting the boys needed a runaround but Ollie insisted on sitting on a tractor?! There was an unusual play area with logs of wood all connected together which the boys enjoyed chasing each other on for twenty mins. It was then a made rush to get to the sheep shearing demonstration but Alex refused to run past the animals without feeding them.

Sheepworld 2

Without a doubt Alex's favourite part was the petting area. If you look carefully at the first picture the lady sat down, not Fran, has a possum in her top?! Alex couldn't get enough of handling the animals so much so that we had to leave him there whilst we explored the rest of the farm! Ollie had a quick go and enjoyed feeding the calves milk. Tom preferred to watch the animals.