Archives 2017

For Aiden’s third birthday, we decided to celebrate at Junglerama!  I designed a special invitation card and we sent out to all our friends (even mailed one out to Mom-Pop in the States).  We decided to have a batman theme so went with a batman cake and a batman tshirt for both me and Aiden.  The birthday party was from 1 PM to 3 PM and we had a great turnout!

Aiden seemed to enjoy it and was playing on all the Junglerama rides.  The staff served snacks for the kids and adults at 1:30 which consisted of fries, chicken nuggets, and mini pizzas.  The adults had sandwiches.  We brought the cake out at 2:30 and everyone sang Happy Birthday to Aiden!  Cake was delicious and all of us had a lot of fun but it was definitely exhausting.  After collecting all the presents, all of us returned home and started opening them.  I’m glad Mom and Pop were here to celebrate with us and they were a great help cutting the cake and taking pictures and videos.  A birthday we will never forget!

What a memorable trip!  We decided to take off to Kaikoura from Thursday to Saturday a week before Thanksgiving.  First leg was flight to Christchurch which took 40 minutes and then the drive to Kaikoura which took exactly three hours.  Their still working on highway 1 after the major earthquake last year so we took a detour through 7 and 70.  We arrived to our motel around 1 and after feeding Aiden, decided to check out the seals and do a little hike.  The views were amazing!  I didn’t realize Kaikoura was surrounded by snow capped mountains and the ocean was crystal clear blue.  Luckily, we spotted one seal sunbathing on top of a rock and then we walked a little bit up the peninsula walkway and took some great pics.  For dinner, we had a fish barbeque and had a smorgasbord or crayfish, scallops, salmon, mussels, and whitebait.  Yum!!

The next day was our whale watching trip and we had a 1030 meeting time.  After the 5 minute safety brief at 11, we all took a bus to the boat.  Very cozy inside and great commentary and video of the Kaikoura marine life and a nice facts about whales.  After half hour or so, we spotted our first sperm whale and it was unreal!  I caught a shot of him diving into the ocean and we saw the whale again half hour later.  They stay up on the surface for 10 minutes or so before diving again for food and staying underwater for 30-40 minutes.  On the way back to shore, we were fortunate to see a group of dolphins surrounding a humpback whale and took some great videos and pictures of that as well.  Well worth it and an experience I will never forget!

Afterwards, we had pizza and ice cream and headed back to motel.  Aiden was tired but seemed to enjoy the area.  He was riding his luggage scooter everywhere and people commented how cool it was.  All in all, a great trip and we made it back on Saturday a day before Mom/Dad arrive.

The Embassy hosted a Halloween event on October 26th and we all decided to go.  Sona decided to become a zombie, Aiden was a mini-vampire, and I was a big vampire.  We met at Mojos for coffee before heading to the party.  It was a lot of fun.  Everyone got into the spirit and employees/kids were dressed up as transformers, farmers, vampires, and prisoners.  All the doors were creatively done with our office being turned into a haunted house prison complete with an upside down mummy hanging from the ceiling.  Aiden walked around with us trick or treating and picked up a lot of candy.  He didn’t seem to be scared of anything and seemed to enjoy it.  The Ambassador and his wife dressed up as Dracula and his bride and really got into the act.  Very memorable day!

We decided to take a trip before Sona’s cousin (Hari) left for Nepal.  After some discussion, we settled on a trip to Nelson via the ferry.  The first leg of our trip was actually a town called Takaka near the Abel Tasman Park.  We left on a Wednesday and took the 3 hour ferry ride across which was peaceful and weather was fantastic.  We ate lunch in Picton and than proceeded to drive almost 3 hours to Takaka.  The drive was up and down several mountains including Takaka Hill and I was getting restless with all the windy roads.  We finally made it down and found out chalet for the night.  Great location close to downtown even though it was a little chilly at night.  We went to the Fresh Choice to get some meats since our place had a grill and proceeded to have a nice barbeque that night with some wine.  Aiden enjoyed walking around the chalet area and got some nice pictures.  The next morning we had breakfast at a nice place called Wholemeal Café and then took a drive to see Wanui Falls.   The walk to Wanui Falls was supposedly 30 minutes but 20 minutes into the hike, the bridge that led to the falls collapsed and the trail was closed.  We had to turn around but did manage to walk down to the river and take some pictures of the rapids.

Our next destination was Golden Bay kayaking but right before we got there, an angry Kiwi pulled us over and scolded us about throwing away Aiden’s diaper on the grass.  We only did it because there was no trash can anywhere.  We ended up going back and picking it up and disposing of it properly.  The kayaking was also closed for the day so we ended up going back into town and had lunch at a burger place.

Next stop was Nelson and we got there around 5 PM and the studio apartment was nice and walking distance to all the attractions.  We found an Indian café that night and did takeaway.  Next morning, we went on a hike to the Center of New Zealand which took around 20 minutes.  Got some great shots of the city.  After the hike, we walked around town and that evening, Sona and I went alone to see a movie called Logan Lucky.  It was okay but I thought it would be better.

Our last day in Nelson we went to Church Hill where Aiden planted some pinwheels which was part of a Guinness world record event.  Then we went to Founders Park and had some local brew and coffee.  Afterwards, we went to Japanese gardens and walked around.  That evening, we found a fantastic sushi place called Masa’s and had a good meal.

All in all, it was a great trip and we covered a lot of things in only 4 days.  Loved Nelson and plan to come back at some point before we leave.

For 2017, my birthday fell on a  Saturday and after an initial thunderstorm, the weather turned out great.  Sona and I first went to the vegetable market to pick up food and we shared a Chinese crepe which is our tradition there after shopping.  We all took an hour to get ready at home and than proceeded on our road trip.  The plan was to first go to Martinborough to hang out at a Vineyard and then in late afternoon drive to Cape Palliser to hopefully see some seals.  The vineyard we went to (Margain Vineyards) was also celebrating it’s 25th birthday anniversary and I decided to have some lasagna along with a glass of Pinot. Sona and Hari had pizza and a salad.  Aiden was sleeping the entire time during lunch but woke up after we finished.  We drove to downtown Martinborough and had a smoothie and bought brownie and chicken dippers for Aiden.  Around 3:00, we made the drive to Cape Palliser which took almost an hour and a half.  It was quite spectacular though and the payoff were some seals!  Not just one or two but around 15!  The lighthouse was amazing too even though we didn’t climb the steps going to the top.  We drove back around 4:30 and arrived back home two hours later.  All in all, it was a memorable trip and fortunately no work related calls since I was on duty!

Our friends recommended a new pool complex in Upper Hutt which was open for toddler only two hours on a Saturday morning.  We decided to go and it’s quite impressive.  A lot bigger than Huia Pool and with more toys for Aiden to play with.  There was a slide that the older kids were taking but I just took Aiden around the pool and through the river path they carved out in the pool.  I lost count the number of times we did the river swim.  They also had a ring to help toddlers swim and I put that on Aiden so he could kick better and go in the deeper part of the pool.  All in all, a good time for two hours and even the showers are better than Huia Pool.  We might make an outing there at least once a month!

What a city!  I took Sona and Aiden to Melbourne 2nd week of May 2017 to coordinate with my ISSO training.  This was our second time visiting (the first being from Baghdad during an R&R).  I read that Melbourne has been voted most liveable city for the past 7 years so I was curious to see what the fuss was about.

We arrived on a Sunday evening and arranged a taxi van to take us to the Marriot located downtown.  It was about a half hour ride and we checked in to a nice room.  Just ended up unpacking and getting settled that first night since my training was the following morning.

Training was great and we had an excellent instructor who communicated well and I learned about new responsibilities which I’ll address upon returning.  But that’s enough about work 🙂  Every night we ended up exploring a different part of the city.  The Melbourne Star which is their London Eye was a highlight and there was even a full moon when we went.  On another night, we went to Chinatown (close to the hotel) and throughout the week visited the Shrine of Remembrance, Crown Entertainment Center, took a bus to Chadstone shopping center, and even went up to the Eureka Skydeck for an amazing view of the Melbourne skyline.   Aiden enjoyed LEGOLAND which was part of the Chadstone complex and checking out all the trams (Melbourne has the most trams of any city).

The food was great and Sona even found a Nepali momo place which was fantastic.  Did some shopping the last day and collected some “beverages” through duty free at the airport.  All in all, a fun adventure filled with many memories.  Melbourne is on my bid list and I’m considering it strongly since I felt really attracted to the city.

What a great trip to Dunedin!  We were a little worried about the weather since a Cyclone was arriving up North and headed down to the South Island.  Anyway, we decided to go anyway and left Friday morning early via Jetstar direct to Dunedin.  Friday was raining all day but stopped late afternoon.  We took in the Otago Museum and had some Chinese food and relaxed in the hotel.  When the weather cleared, we drove to Baldwin Street (known as the steepest street in the world) and proceeded to walk up it.  Aiden, surprisingly, joined us the entire way walking up and we all were exhausted and excited upon reaching the top.  Going back down was easier and we enjoyed the site.

The next day was clear so we drove out the Larnash Castle and did another hike to Tunnel Beach.  We were carrying Aiden the entire time so it was tiring plus the weather was warmer.  The views were spectacular though and we took a lot of scenic pictures.  On the way back, we decided to go to Speights Ale House and had a 8 beer tasting of Speights finest.  My favorite is Dark Ale while Sona liked the Golden Ale.  Aiden was coloring the entire time and occupied with stickers as well.  For lunch, we took in Velvet Burger and I had a Vension patty while Sona tried the lamb.  Both were really good!

On Sunday, we did a 20 minute tour of Cadbury World and Aiden bought a Cadbury toy truck.  Afterwards, we went to Glenfallach Gardens and had a amazing lunch.  The area is so peaceful and calm.  Aiden was getting fussy because of his nap so we rushed out after lunch and went back to hotel.  We went for a walk in the evening and found a decent sushi place.  Called it an early night because of our flight the next day.  Thoroughly enjoyed our vacation in Dunedin and had a wonderful time!!

Today, April 8, we went to the DCM’s house in Karori for Aiden’s first Easter Egg hunt!  Before we arrived, we stopped by New World to get his Easter basket and chocolate cake/cupcakes since it was a potluck.  When we arrived, we greeted the DCM and then proceeded to mingle for a bit until the hunt started around 12:30.  Aiden found two golden eggs and handful of others and was enjoying himself.  Afterwards, we ate lunch and did some more socializing.  Aiden was easily opening up every egg to see what was inside and some included candy while others had stickers.  He’s too young to have the candy so he gave all of that to us and used the stickers on himself.  Afterwards, we went to a café called Chocolate Fish which has spectacular views of the water and planes coming in every 10 minutes or so.  We ordered a platter plus a fritter which was alright.  Aiden was busy running around playing with the cars and using the slide in the playground.  We plan on coming back next time close to sunset because I think the view will be amazing.  All in all, a great day and Aiden experienced a new holiday tradition!