Wed 31 Dec 2025: New Years Eve

Wed 31 Dec 2025: New Years Eve

Celebrated NYE at home with family and Seeto's

Fri 26 Dec 2025: Queenstown to Sydney - Day 8

Friday 26 December 2025: Queenstown to Sydney – Day 8

Boxing Day - Queenstown to Syd

6:00am woken by rain

Back into bed after no2, brush teeth

7:45am up and changed

Have a apple pie muesli bar with meds.

Drive car up to make it easier to load.

9:00am check out

Drive to Kmart car park. Soph, Just, Ally and Zach have sushi.

Walk Whitcoulls, and other shops

Drive around to The Warehouse. Parking is bustling.

11:28am PaknSave petrol to fill up NZ$54.70.

Drive to airport and drop off car. Lucky for me, they did not notice the bump in the car and was not charged extra.  Sophia on the other hand got a notice for a scratch on the side of their car, but they took photos of the car on return and wrote to dispute the charges.

12:05pm check in - after waiting the service desk tells us to do self check in. Bag drop.

Then go through security gates - jacket and bag in tray.

Then through immigration

Duty free and lounge

12:30pm waiting for our flight which is scheduled for 2:20pm boarding

Eat apples, cherries, cheese.

2:40pm on board sitting in 23A, 23B - JT, 21ABC -Ally, Soph, Zach. 22ABC - Lily, Justin, Mark.

3:10pm taxi on runway

3:18pm up in the air - Ally says the clouds are like cotton candy

Gingernut biscuits x2, rice crackers, shallot crackers.

4:30pm Tea with small Lindt bunny

6:20pm/4:20pm arrival

4:07pm landed

5:30pm

6:00pm pick up Fee

7:00pm Dinner

Fri 26 Dec 2025: Boxing Day

Fri 26 Dec 2025: Boxing Day

Celebrated Boxing Day with lunch followed by dinner at Strathfield.

Picked up Fiona, who cam out for the holidays.

The Seetos came over too. Evan made a sushi salmon bake.

Lunch was Macau takeaway.

This was followed by presents for the kids and adults.

Thu 25 Dec 2025: Queenstown Christmas - Day 7

Thursday 25 December 2025: Queenstown Christmas – Day 7

Christmas Day

Raining wet morning

Wake up at 7:30am : kids still sleeping

8:50am kids are up and down to open presents

Make hash browns and fried eggs.

Breakfast: 2 slices bread, fried egg, ham, lettuce and 2 hash browns.

Chicken chips.

Still raining

1:00pm Lunch: corn, peas, macaroni

1:30pm clearing up, sun is out. Then rain again

2:30pm Head to gardens

3:00pm Ally has ice cream

Walk to the village green - take photos. Raining on and off.

Look in souvenir shops which are open

Aotea Gifts $229.70 - Buy sheep/kiwi/cow weights 8 x
$19.90. Soft toys - sleeping sheep $18.90 for Zach pink sheep $19.90 for Poppy and small sheep for Ally $14.90

Magnet $9.90 and pin $6.90

4:30pm raining again.

5:00pm back at resort : crackers, cheese, pickles, ham, cherries, grapes, blueberries.

6:00pm nap in bed

In a grumpy mood. Biting heads off. Justin just lying around. Scared Zachy.

8:45pm dinner- noodles with garlic prawn, octopus, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn.

9:00pm shower

Pack

11:00pm bed

 

Wed 24 Dec 2025: Queenstown Resort Day - Day 6

Wed 24 December 2025: Rest Day, KJets for Justin, Sophia and Zachy – Day 6

Christmas Eve

7:00 am Raining in early morning

10:00am breakfast - vita wheat x 4 ham, cucumber tomato cheese and 2 boiled eggs

Justin and Soph take Zachy to go on KJets ride

We stay at resort with Ally who amuses herself by watching iPhone.

Brie Cheese, crackers pickles, chicken chips. Apple juice, coke.

Advent jigsaw

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2:30pm they are back.

Watch Justin’s gopro replay.

Have a bit of Tom yum goom noodles - spicy, cucumber.

Play games with Ally and Zachy

Craft with Ally

6:00pm dinner: Soph’s potato noodle salad - spinach, carrots, bean sprouts . Baked Chicken wings.

7:30pm shower

Justin, Sophia and Zach go shopping at PaknSave.

JT and Ally playing tag.

Advent Jigsaw

Ally is filming with the iPad.

10:30pm in bed

11:00pm it’s raining heavily

Santa arrives

Tue 23 Dec 2025: Queenstown Skyline Gondola and Luge - Day 5

Tuesday 23 December 2025: Skyline Gondola, Queenstown – Day 5

Skyline Gondala and Luge

Cloudy with a bit of sunshine

9:00am breakfast: vita wheat x4, ham, cucumber tomato cheese.

Sophia, Zach and Lily awake, others still sleeping

11:15am park in Queenstown Gardens and walk to Skyline

JT buys tickets- 3 adults gondola only. 3 adults gondola and 6 luge and 2 preschoolers gondola and 6 luge.

Toilets before going up. Free photo taken before entering the gondola to go up.

Upstairs- Soph heads straight to cafe and lounge area and grabs a table. We leave our stuff with MC, LC and JT and go to luge. 

Pick out helmets the line up for chairlift. Take chairlift up to start. Line up in the “Today is my first time” and wait for instructions. 

Ally rides with Sophia, Zach rides with Justin. Shown how to brake, go and steer. Then we’re off. 

Do two runs and then go to lunch. Others have ordered wedges. Sushi for Ally and Zach. Soph gets bacon and egg burgers and chunky chips.

After lunch we all head out to the viewing area. Leave our stuff with others and go for the rest of our rides.

After our rides, we go back to viewing area and take free group photos. 

Then we need to head back to car as we have exceeded our 4 hr of parking but it is ok - no tickets, phew.

Ally wants ice cream and park so they stay on while we drive to PaknSave to get veggies, drinks, bread etc

Also go into The Warehouse- huge variety store- looking for egg cups to replace a broken one. Mark asks and they tell him to try another shop at the other end. So he goes.

I buy oven mitts $10, 3 colouring/sticker books for $10 and 3 glow in the dark necklace and bracelets $1 each.

7:30pm get back to resort

Ally and I help JT with dinner- chopping mushrooms, carrots and broccoli stems. Lily gets big pot from owner’s lounge and helps cook broccoli and cauliflower. Then use pot to cook spaghetti. JT makes the sauce.

9:00pm dinner: Spaghetti bolognaise with broccoli and cauliflower

10:00pm shower and wash hair.

Post to FB

12:30 hang washing with LC

1:00am bed.

Mon 22 Dec 2025: Walter Peak High Country Farm Tour - Day 4

Monday 22 December 2025: Walter Peak High Country Farm Tour – Day 4

Another sunny nice morning but clouds in late afternoon followed by rain

TSS Earnslaw Paddle Steamer & Walter Peak High Country Farm tour

6:30am Wake up

7:00am up

7:30am Cheese bacon roll

8:00am out the door

8:30am Park in Man St parking as no free off street parking.

Forgot my phone- in car rush back to get it. Soph pays for tour 6 adults 2 kids free (4 under)

9:00am Depart for high country on Lake Whakatipu.

Weather is beautiful.

9:35 Farm tour : Josh tour guide and Mia (dog) - baby sheep, baby highland cow and goat, Finlay the highland cow, Fallow deer, cows, llamas, donkeys, Coony coony pigs.

10:30 High tea - sandwiches, salmon, cream cheese tartlets. Cheese scone, cinnamon scone with jam and cream, cake, chocolate cupcake.

11:15am Farm show - sheep shearing show

11:40am Gift Shop - bought 2 paper animals- Sheep and highland cow @ $19.90, $5 fridge magnet, $5 ceramic sheep

11:55am boarding

12:00pm back on ship

12:40pm back to shore

1:00pm Exit car park

1:30pm Queenstown Gardens/ Ice rink

While Justin, Sophia and Ally skate we walk the gardens. 

Visit the Rose Garden. Janet pushes Zachy in pram. Mark stays in car.

3:00pm Finish skating

3:25pm back at resort. Snacks - chips, coke, boiled egg.

Colouring in with Ally but so sleepy 😴

4:30pm Nap

5:30pm awake

6:00pm shower- wash hair

6:30pm dinner - rice with tomato beef, leftover noodles and chicken with bok choy and choy.

Decorating the place with tinsel. Made a Christmas tree on the window with hooks and green tinsel. Ally decorated it with her artwork and JT helped her.

Sun 21 Dec 2025: Wanaka and Arrowtown - Day 3

Sunday 21 December 2025: Wanaka, Arrowtown – Day 3

Not a cloud in sight. Sunny nice day

7:30am get up but sleep in bed

8:30am up

9:00am breakfast- vita wheat x 4, ham, cucumber, tomato, cheese

9:30am

11:50am Puzzling World: Are you a clever dummy?

Photos taken outside. Kids love the tables with puzzles.

Sophia pays for our entry. 2 seniors $28.50, 3 adults $32.50 and 2 kids(under 5 free) $154.50.

6 illusion rooms: Glow Rooms, Tilted House, Gallery of Illusions, AMES Room, Following Faces.

1:24pm Lunch- cheese bacon pull apart, 1/2 Ferbakery Chocolate pain, cherries, grapes

2:12pm Got lost in The Great Maze - the others managed to find the 4 towers.

3:00pm Head to Arrowtown.

4:00pm whilst parking I reversed into another car - Irish guy, Shane. Nothing wrong with his car, but it put a dent in the boot. Justin tried to fix when we got back.

Walked to Night ‘n Day Arrowtown grocery store to get Ally’s ice cream $5.50 for 2 scoops before walking up the street to the historic Chinese settlement. Lots of mozzies.

Ally, Sophia and Janet walked the Bush Creek Trail while the rest waited at the entrance.

5:00pm drive to resort

6:00pm back at resort - Justin panel beats the boot. Mark tries to assist. They manage to repair it, but still can see it. Will have to hope that they don’t see it when we return the car.

Janet prepares dinner with assistance from Sophia and Lily.

8:20pm Dinner - noodles with beef, carrots Chinese mushrooms, bean sprouts, broccoli, chicken wing and drumette

8:45pm shower

9:09pm apricot

Typing up diary