Marlborough Mama

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These are my feet ... and this is my life in the Marlborough Sounds. Just in case I forget, I've got to say it now and say it loud: I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!! And I hope every parent who has ever dreamed of that elusive perfect family holiday will believe me when I say there could be no better place for it.

Over just one three-day period alone, my girls have fed wild-but-tame eels in a crystal-clear river, petted llamas and a Tibetan yak, bottle-fed a piglet, done doughnuts in a speedboat, groomed a thoroughbred, pruned a tree, drove a Jeep, steered a dinghy, watched the Crocodile Hunter in a luxury home overlooking the sea, marvelled at a friend’s private cactus garden, sipped kiddie cocktails in a hot tub, wore a wetsuit for the first time, clung to their daddy on the back of a jet ski, caught six sharks, ate fish they caught themselves and slept in a windswept cottage without electricity while Auntie Leanne cooked their dinner over an open fire.

What’s not to love?

Split personality

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Split Rock is one of a zillion unbelievably picturesque parts of the divine Abel Tasman National Park at the top of NZ's South Island, which attracts international hikers and kayakers in droves. We’re happy to be here in the off-season, naturally, where we can hear ourselves think and where the seals and penguins aren’t too freaked out by the noise to duck for cover. If I had a zoom lens on my crappy little camera I could show you some penguins and seals but, alas, you'll have to close your eyes and imagine them ... and believe me when I say they were here. Honest.

Cool place, hot sunset

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Not for nothing was New Zealand recently voted the coolest holiday destination in the world (in a study by CoolBrands) as well as the best destination in the world (by British traveller magazine Conde Nast.) The fact that it’s so far away from Europe and North America is just about the only thing that doesn’t work in its favour.

Certainly, it costs a bit to get here but everything else – the thrills and spills of adventure tourism, the exchange rate, the wine, the clean and green reputation, the world-class sailing, even the Lord of the Rings film locations – attracts tourists like Anna Nicole Smith attracts rich old guys. Plus, it’s kid-friendly, super-safe and everyone speaks English. What more could a travelling family want?

OK, OK, the sunsets are pretty damn good too.

Neither cute nor cuddly

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I’ve noticed a bit of a travellin' mama animal theme lately, with my last few posts being big on teddy bears, calves, piglets and jokes about sheep. Today is no different, it’s just that the animals in question – eels – don’t rank quite so high on the cute-o-metre.

We’re visiting Golden Bay’s famous wild-but-tame Anatoki eels, which have been hand-fed for decades in a pre-WWII tradition that began when a local Kiwi woman discovered that clicking her fingers at the surface of the water could bring the eels right to her.


Long misunderstood and reviled for their slippery black slimy-ness, these eels provide a great learning experience for Annie and Molly who delight in feeding them chunks of raw meat (gross!) on a stick. I have a newfound respect for all things slippery and black, although being a total wuss, I do draw the line at feeding them myself.

Solitude is bliss

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Travellin mama finds that sometimes the best kind of travelling happens when someone else is out there doing it (ie. hubby and kids) and she is sitting on her fat ass reading an excellent novel with a fab view of the Tasman Sea.