We were tickled pink when we were able to find a last-minute vacation/”bach” rental in Hastings, NZ become available during the nearby Napier Art Deco Festival that attracts visitors from all over to enjoy their 125+ events over a February weekend!

It turned out to be a superb location–perched on the edge of a vineyard, and in a quiet location without traffic or noise. The host was amazing, and let our kids help feed her chickens. As with many NZ properties–they also had lambs that they were raising for butchering.

It’s here that we were introduced to our first ever Springfree trampoline which passed the scrutiny of our gymnast in tow. Very cool!!

The rental vehicle van we drove through NZ was the perfect fit for us…and we loved private holiday “baches” for traveling around the islands!

After enjoying some relaxing time at Birdwoods Gallery and their delectable sweet shop (DANGEROUS, I tell ya!!), we drove out of town by way of a detour to Te Mata Peak. We climbed up and up and up and were rewarded with a beautiful view of Hawkes Bay (the water bay, as well as the town) and were surprised to see how much this area reminded us of Eastern Oregon/Washington! Such a stark difference from other areas of the North Island which feature rich, tropical vegetation! No wonder this area is known for its orchards and vineyards—it shares a similar climate to some of the Pacific Northwest that looks so similar!

We really enjoyed Hastings! It was the perfect landing spot to participate in the Art Deco festivities, and also go to the nearby Splash Planet waterpark.  Hastings/Havelock North is an unassuming area…quiet, with fresh produce galore, and really kind people!

In fact, when we attended church on Sunday we discovered that the listing on lds.org was incorrect, and we arrived at the tail-end of a Sacrament meeting for a foreign-speaking ward (Tongan or Samoan…I can’t remember which). We waited in the lobby to confirm the mistake, and as the people exited someone spoke to us about the mixup. The Stake President then came out, and invited us into the chapel where they offered our family the opportunity to take the sacrament. What a blessing! He then directed us to a nearby meetinghouse where an English-speaking service was taking place. We drove there and jumped into Primary/Sunday School. A while into Sunday School, we were pulled briefly from class—because the the Stake President from the other building had driven over to this building to find us and invite us to his home for Family Home Evening (FHE…a common LDS activity evening for families to spend together) and dinner the next evening! On Monday we enjoyed FHE and a typical meet/potatoes NZ meal with his family and missionaries!  Sweet, welcoming people!!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Enjoying Life on the Farm in Hastings, New Zealand appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

While driving through Hamilton, New Zealand, on the way South to Waitomo—we drove right past the LDS Hamilton New Zealand temple! It stands on a big hill on the outskirts of town…seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It overlooks 86 acres that it shares with the former Church College of New Zealand (a Church-operated school for 12-18 yr old students that permanently closed in 2009). The friends we were traveling with offered to stop and take some photos of our family in front of the temple. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and besides attending weekly church in meetinghouses throughout the world, we also love the opportunity to worship in temples. Temples are different from meetinghouses/chapels in that extra preparation and dedication is needed to enter them. As Mormon.org explains: “Literally a house of God, the temple is where members of the Church go to commune with Heavenly Father, feel His presence, and make covenants with Him that have eternal significance.”

It’s true–we didn’t take any spectacular photos of the outside of the temple—only family photos—shame on me! Here’s a photo that belongs to someone else:

© 2005, Trudy Osborne.

We didn’t have a lot of time to spare, so I just ran into the Visitor’s Center quickly to use the restroom. And what an amazing visitor’s center it is!! There is a replica of the Christus statue, interactive displays, and comfy seating available for those who are visiting. I wish we had time to explore the various displays here—but alas—on we went!

Want to know some random facts? The Hamilton temple has a sister building—the Bern Switzerland Temple! We missed seeing that one when we were in Bern…but I guess we can *almost* check it off the list, now! Ha! Also, it was the 11th operating temple, and the first temple built in the Southern Hemisphere. Next time…we’ll have to plan enough time to be able to actually stop at the Visitor’s Center, at a minimum!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Hamilton New Zealand LDS Temple appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

Did you try do read that out loud? If not–I dare you to try!!

Paraparaumu!!!

Need some help? Here goes: Par-uh-par-uh-ooo-moo

Simple, right? Kinda catchy, even! Well…we spotted it on the map, and decided we were headed to the Paraparaumu region after our visit to Taupo, and then Napier’s Art Deco Festival.

When telling locals our plans, we were a bit confused when instead of saying Paraparaumu, they used the name “Paraparam” (Pair-ah-pah-ram). Wha–what?!! Oooooooooh…we realized…it’s that *thing* New Zealander’s do…you know…where they have nicknames for everything?!!! Sooo….off we went.

We ended up finding an affordable Beach House rental at Otaki Beach, just north of “Paraparam”. The weather was overcast when we arrived—and it was actually the only day we even looked at the beach in Otaki, which was basically just up the street from our house. Oh well—you can’t do it all!

We appreciated the fact that the beach wasn’t clogged with houses taking up all of the views. Instead–there was a vast stretch of beach, some meadows next to those, and then houses.

I really love these kids!  And they were HAPPY to get out of the car!

Ella must leap wherever she goes…

We wanted some down-time, and so the following days we simply vegged and only took trips to the simple playground in Otaki.

It may have been “simple”…but how cool is this equipment?!!

The next day we met up with our friends, the Pearce’s, and went to one of the most amazing playgrounds we’ve EVER been to in Levin, New Zealand.

Adventure Park has some fantastic, unique equipment—including a free mini train (when running) and courts for various sports.

Kids busied themselves, and we had some time to catch up with the Pearce family!

Have you ever tried a hamster wheel?

Next, we went to an “Unschooling Conference” next to Foxton Beach. It was a bit of a disappointment, as their “Conference” was not much more than a very loosely-organized get-together with unschoolers from around the island. Nevertheless, we met a few fun families living “outside of the box” in New Zealand!

Pole Tennis. It’s. the. thing. We saw it in people’s front yards with little toddlers and kids playing with it. A brilliant, less-demanding version of tetherball, right?!!  I think we need to bring this to the US!

The kids mostly played in the woods and and created a “store” to sell their pinecone-wares.

Around sunset we decided to head home, but not before catching a beautiful sunset at Foxton Beach.

I love the speed limit signs on the beach

(Original visit January 24th-28th, 2016)

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Visiting Paraparaumu with Kids appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

After a 3 1/2 hour ferry crossing from the Southern Point of New Zealand’s North Island (Wellington) to the Northern tip of the South Island (Picton), we sought out a fun destination that would reward the kids for good behavior on the ferry, as well as fill some extra time before a long drive to Nelson. Picton is a small town with a population of only 4,000-ish residents, and although it gets a lot of through-traffic, it isn’t typically thought of as a destination for tourists to New Zealand.

You have to admit, this port town has a sweet little spot on the water!

There goes the ferry!

On TripAdvisor I spotted the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum in Picton, and immediately found myself fascinated and wanting to visit. The Edwin Fox is a boat that was built in 1853 in India, and was the last of her type (made exclusively from teak and saul timber). She has quite a history–first being a cargo ship, then transporting troops for the Crimean war, and then again carrying civilian passengers and cargo. It also spent time carrying indentured servants from Southeast Asia and China to Cuba, where they worked in cane fields. In 1858 she was chartered by the British Government to transport convicts to Western Australia, and then in 1873 it was charted by the Shaw Savill Company to carry immigrants from New Zealand to England. This especially piqued my interested…because I am a “Saville” (also sometimes shorted to “Savill”), and I’m almost certain there is a relation, although I have yet to track down c0-owner Walter Savill in my genealogy research. The Edwin Fox did 4 voyages carrying a total of 751 passengers to the new colony in New Zealand (the longest emigration route in the world), and then she was repurposed as a freezer hulk to support the booming sheep business on the South Island. She reached her final resting place in Picton in 1897, where she remained as a freezer ship, then a coal hulk. The Edwin Fox society purchased her in 1965 (for one shilling) and after many delayed efforts they finally got her on a dry dock in 1999 where they have preserved her as a tourist attraction.

We started our visit in the upper room of the museum that showed an informational documentary about the ship’s history. The kids didn’t find it too interesting, but while the adults tried to watch the kids happily occupied themselves with the dress-up bin!

The room had great displays with artifacts, placards and many photos. When we had our fill, we headed down to the ship itself!

Since it also had dress-up, the kids’ fun continued!

We tried to teach the kids what it would be like to sleep in Steerage Class in these replica bunks. “Steerage Class was the cheapest accommodation, with the world food & conditions. Each “unit” was for a family of up to 6 people-Dad, Mum and up to 4 children. Imagine 3 people sleeping “top and tail” on each level, in dark, damp, smelly spaces, on a straw filled mattress, for a 12 to 14 week voyage!”

There was a great deal of sickness in Steerage Class—as it was often crawling with ticks, cockroaches and rats. There were outbreaks of serious diseases such as measles, diptheria, scarlet fever, typhoid, small pox and tuberculosis.”

Next we went below-decks where a great expanse of open boat was available for exploration…

and make-believe…

Eli (2 1/2 years old) mainly just watched his older, silly siblings!

All-in-all, the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum is somewhat small, but well-done and a fun break after/before a long ferry ride! I think it was also helpful in educating us and providing us perspective regarding the conditions the British emigrants had to face on their long journey to New Zealand!  Now…if only I can figure out my relation to Walter Savill, the co-owner of the Shaw Savill Company who last owned this boat…then I will be fully-satisfied!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Keeping Kids Entertained on the Edwin Fox in Picton, New Zealand appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

After leaving Rotorua, we drove to Taupo, which is located centrally on the North Island. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand, and the town of Taupo, on its north end, has a population around 24,000 people.

It’s known for being a center of volcanic and geothermal activity—but unlike Rotorua (which is stinky), Taupo is not stinky, and is well known known for hot springs! It’s not nearly as “touristy” as Rotorua, and was a quieter stop during this busy Chinese New Year holiday!

We found a great, basic Taupo rental just West of town in a beautiful neighborhood. It had two bedrooms, and featured sealed plywood floors (we came across this numerous times in NZ)! The landlord lived next door, and rented this home out as a vacation rental to visitors:

The view from kitchen sink looked out towards the lake.

Just down the street was a park which we visited frequently.

The day after we arrived in town, I was shocked to get a message from an old college roommate, Lilian (who lives in Texas and loves to galavant around the world), telling me that she also was in Taupo while on a two-week stint in New Zealand! We hadn’t seen each other for at least 15 years (likely more)! Our visit was short, but sweet!

We were able to attend church in Taupo, and found the ward to be kind and welcoming. I introduced myself to three of the Young Women and asked them what their favorite activities were (so I could report back to my YW in Oregon). I was surprised to hear them rave about “net ball”, which I had to get an explanation for. It’s essentially New Zealand’s more-popular version of basketball (no dribbling or running with the ball, and no backboard). Who knew, right?

We had a lot of heavy, rainy weather while we were in Taupo, so we often stayed in the rental house and were fortunate that our host brought over some movies that helped keep the kids entertained.

One day we ventured out to Huka Honey Hive, which is a great spot to taste some authentic New Zealand honey of various flavors! This gift shop features an extensive tasting station, it also has a great informative area for kids to learn about bees and bee-keeping. We enjoyed looking through the glass to view the live bees at work in a beehive that was accessible to the bees from the outside.

But of course…the true highlight was the tasting station! Who knew there could be so many flavors?!! Every white sign below represents a different flavor (and this is just one half of the display):

Our very favorite honey turned out to be Lavendar Honey! It’s light, flowery, and oh-so-divine! Nothing like the manuka honey that New Zealand is famous for, or any type of “honey” you can find in the US. While New Zealand grocery stories have several rows dedicated to various flavors of honey, it seems the US just sticks to the golden honey-bear type flavor that I’ve never really enjoyed all that much.

The prices at Honey Hive were high, but there’s no comparing these honeys to the bland ones we’re used to. We bought a few very small jars that we rationed throughout our NZ travels.

One of the best highlights of our stay included going to AC Baths, which is a family-friendly recreation center with a complex outdoor pools, a “hydroslide” (waterslide), and indoor lesson/swimming lanes. But what makes it extra-special is that the pools are thermally heated using natural hot spring water (not stinky!). We spent hours soaking in the bathwater-like water, while it was fairly chilly outside and even rained on us for awhile.

A sign in the entrance indicated the water’s temperatures that day (in Celcius, of course):

And just for kicks, I took photos of a few other signs with the quirky New Zealand verbiage that always makes me smile:

And don’t forget your “togs”, okay?

We ended up staying longer than expected at the pools as we waited for the hydroslide to open (after school hours). What we didn’t realize then was that the privilege of riding the slide cost an extra $5 each for unlimited rides. Ouch! They let each child do one run for free, and we decided it wasn’t worth the extra $5 (when the children’s admittance to the pools was already $4/each).

A few other signs in Taupo also made me smile:

And I must admit…New Zealanders know how to “merge like a zip”!! They respectfully merge one car at a time, like a zipper. Apparently, Americans just can’t figure this out…

Baby food flavors often feature lamb, a New Zealand staple:

I may have fed my baby some spring lamb, but I skipped the mint peas, which I hear are quite good!

We told our landlord we were undecided about where to head after Taupo, and we asked if he had recommendations.  He mentioned that we wouldn’t be able to find accommodations in Napier, on the East Coast, during the following weekend. We inquired why, and he told us about the Napier Art Deco Festival . Of course it sounded amazing, and after further investigation and great lucky at finding a last-minute accommodation, off we went to the Coast, after all!

As we drove East towards Napier/Hawkes Bay, we enjoyed gorgeous vistas out the window:

I wouldn’t mind doing that drive again!

We returned briefly to Taupo at the end of our trip, on our return drive up from the South Island in April. The weather was clearer by then, so we stopped by Huka Falls, which is the biggest natural tourist attraction in Taupo.

Overall, Taupo is a sweet and simple town with enough to do, and yet not too much. It is sooo much less touristy than Rotorua, and the small-town feel was a great fit for our family.

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Visiting Taupo, New Zealand with Kids appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

One of our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE things about traveling is when we happen upon major celebrations or cultural events. Napier’s “Art Deco Festival” was one such event that we found out about simply by accident.

When discussing our upcoming travel options with a landlord of one of our rentals in Central North Island, we mentioned that we’d likely head to the West Coast, rather than the East Coast next. He mentioned that while Napier in the East was pretty, it was likely all booked up due to the Art Deco Fest, anyhow. I had to ask…”What is that?” A short explanation later (and a bit of googling) and we immediately reversed our travel plans and instead decided to dive headfirst into the crowds and go to Napier instead. We went on the hunt for the highly-sought-after rentals in the Napier/Hastings area, and happened across a beautiful bookabach.co.nz rental that had just been put on the market (and thus was still available). We were booked!

Our rental was located 30 minutes south of Napier in the Hastings/North Havelock area. While Napier is right on the coast, these other little towns are inland and quite agricultural. Just our style!

Napier’s history is what makes it so unique. In 1931 it sustained a huge earthquake that destroyed the town center, collapsed buildings and resulted in deaths of 256 people. Long story short—they rebuilt, and Napier is now recognized as being one of the most perfect preserved cities featuring Art Deco architecture. The “Tremains Art Deco weekend” is a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history, and features all sorts of events and activities (including guided tours for kids or adults—but you must pre-book)!

We first arrived to watch the parade of cars, and were shocked at how close New Zealander’s crowd in on the parade of vintage vehicles. I couldn’t even catch a decent photo—because in order to see the cars, I had to stand nearly within arm’s reach of them. Yikes!

Spectators crowded both on the streets and the buildings:

A better view was afforded after the parade, when the cars parked along the Marine Parade (ocean-front road) and we were able to walk among them and admire both the parked vehicles and sometimes their passengers, who were still hanging around.

This car got a lot of laughs (covered in stuffed wildlife)…and it couldn’t have been more fitting that they parked in front of “Opossum World”–a retail store that carries Possom/Merino-wool mix clothing.

Classy couple in a classy setting!

Did our kids enjoy the parade? Yes–they did! Of course, it wasn’t the kind of parade they were likely hoping for (with floats and candy being thrown from the vehicles)—but it was enjoyable for a period of time, nonetheless. I really wish the crowds would keep a bigger distance between them and the parade, so that everyone could have a better view, however.

The parade is only ONE of the many, many activities available during the festival. Upcoming blog posts will feature the street performers, air show, and extremely popular soapbox derby races!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Will kids enjoy the Art Deco Car Parade in Napier, New Zealand? appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

One can be quickly overwhelmed when looking at all the offerings of the Art Deco Festival schedule for their yearly February event in Napier, New Zealand. This festival brings in tourists from all over the country (and in our case, beyond), and truly has something for everyone! While we wish we had booked in time to get our kids in a street-tour of the earthquake history, we ended up instead just enjoying the free entertainment offered throughout town. On our way to enjoy the Parade of Cars in downtown, we first stopped at the air field where they were showcasing vintage planes and preparing others for takeoff.

We then headed downtown in anticipation of the parade, and found ourselves on the beach to enjoy some lunch and take in some brief rays.

On the beach they had parked a vintage firetruck, complete with firefighters all suited up and happy to take photos with our kids!

To our surprise, as we were enjoying the beach and a yummy Asian takeaway, we were surprised at the sudden arrival of some airplanes that gifted us with a great airshow!

Next arrived a parade of Marines and the marching band:

Perhaps one of the best parts of the Art Deco Festival is simply enjoying the Eye-Candy of everyone dressed up in their vintage clothing–spectators, performers, everyone! You have to admit…the the 1930’s featured some spectacular styles, and it seemed like we were the odd-ones-out without our own Vintage apparel! If I were returning…I’d be tempted to join in the dress-up fun!

We enjoyed some wonderful 1920’s/1930’s period dance performances by a local dance troupe from Hawkes Bay:

And we even attended the award’s ceremony at the outdoor amphitheater. It made me wonder what kind of entertainment was enjoyed here, back-in-the day!

While the Marine Parade was packed with people, we found the other sides streets were much more manageable.

Parking was a bit tricky, and it required some walking to reach the main area. Parking spaces were so highly sought after that we witnessed a driver literally drive into a woman who was trying to block an open parking space as she directed her husband on her cell phone. Crazy peeps!!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Swinging through the Art Deco Festival in Napier, New Zealand appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

We enjoyed the Art Deco Car Parade and other events at the Art Deco Festival in Napier, New Zealand on Saturday, and knew we had one more event we couldn’t miss!

After attending church on Sunday in Hawkes Bay, we returned to downtown Napier to watch the Soap Box Derby, where children and their fathers race their homemade boxcars down a hill! It is a VERY well-attended event, and we were lucky to get a even a tiny view at the very end of the track!

The kids loved watching it, although the excitement was over by the time the cars slowed to a stop at our end of the track.

“The man” waiting patiently in the shade for the rest of us to finally get bored, as well

Walking back to the car, I found this sign on the local fire-truck to be somewhat humorous. “Don’t drink & fry”…

How cute is this?

And this? Everywhere I looked was a photo op!

If you want to see the Napier Soapbox Derby…you better arrive early and be prepared to stand in the sun for a long period of time!! This is a very popular event!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Have you ever been to a Soap Box Derby?! appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

…you just might have to give them some more…and more…and more.

Am I right?!!

While in the Hastings/Havelock North area, we were advised not to miss Birdwoods Gallery. Trip Advisor reviews confirmed this recommendation, and so we really couldn’t say no!

We peaked inside the Birdwoods Gallery, which featured beautiful artwork and crafts from New Zealand, as well as Africa. The owners have spent a lot of time in Africa, and import some beautiful artisans crafts from there! We’ve heard the Cafe is also excellent, but as we had recently eaten—we decided to hit up the Sweet Shop, instead!

The traditional Sweet Shop is simply charming! Oh, my!! It’s full of jars of seemingly endless varieties–and the employee was kind enough to walk each kid through which treats they wanted. We discovered the joys of Bon Bons…which were a candy we weren’t familiar with in the slightest. We decided to let each kid to collect a small bag of goodies, which was then weighed to total our cost—which was HEFTY. The things we do for kids, huh?!!

The kids also had a blast playing in the area in front of the Sweet Shop—which featured a hula hoop, ring ross, hopscotch and old-fashioned hammer/highstriker game!

The property at Birdwoods is absolutely charming, and a must-see if you’re in the Havelock/Hastings area in New Zealand!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post If you give a kid a candy… appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.

Since Chinese New Year is just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to share our experience with Chinese New Year in Rotorua, New Zealand!

Admittedly, New Zealand gets flooded with Asian tourists over the Chinese New Year. We found busloads of Chinese groups everywhere we went, and we sometimes found it humorous to watch what excited them the most. For example, in the evenings we saw buses drop off the busloads at the local Kuirau Park—and the adults ran around and enjoyed the children’s playground equipment (I didn’t see any kids in tow). My parents lived in China for half a year, and admitted that playground equipment like we’re used to is a bit of a novelty for the Chinese—so it’s no wonder they enjoyed it so much. It sure put a smile on our face just watching them!

Anyhow, we found info online that said there would be a Chinese New Year Celebration at the Rotorua Night Market (Thursdays) when we were in town. The event description said: “An evening bursting with activity for all the family – animal face painting, calligraphy, Chinese folk dances, Chinese food, dragon dances, lantern displays, a tea ceremony, Tai Chi, and the very significant red envelope gifting. A fabulous opportunity to experience traditional customs!”

And that, it was!

We stood right next to the drummers, which was an explosion of sound!

And sure enough, just as the event description said, our children were receivers of traditional red envelope gifting (with small coins inside).

It was a fun experience, and the crowds weren’t too terrible. If we hadn’t already eaten, there was also a plethora of food options which would have been yummy to try!

If you happen to be near Rotorua during their Chinese New Year Celebration, it’s a fun pit-stop that will have the kids entertained!

My name is Alisa, and I love traveling the world with my adventurous husband and rambunctious 5 small children. I am passionate about gorgeous scenery, meeting new people, and I’m a certified salad nut. Most of all, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others!

The post Chinese New Year in Rotorua, New Zealand appeared first on Living Outside of the Box.