Guy Fawkes Day

 Guy Fawkes Day is a celebration that New Zealand borrowed from England.  It celebrates an event in 1605, when a man named Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding gun powder that was under the House of Lords.  Yes, he got a holiday named after him for getting arrested.  It is to celebrate that the king survived an attempt on his life.  Today it is an excuse to set off fireworks.  They had a great show of fireworks in the harbor and we went and enjoyed.  It was cold, but fun.  We knew traffic would be bad so we took the train as a family for the first time.  The kids enjoyed it, and we found platform 9 &3/4 at the station.  We also played at a great park with a huge lighthouse and slide.  I was also able to see an absolutely gorgeous sunset.  As is with most pictures of sunsets, they do not do justice to the beauty.

Kyle's Birthday

October 28th, we celebrated Kyle's birthday.  We had a wonderful family party with hats, streamers, cake, and gifts.  The kids definitely enjoyed the festivities, and I think Kyle did as well.

Labor Day Trip to Castlepoint Lighthouse

Labor Day was Monday, October 26th.  Since both the kids and Kyle had the day off we took a little trip.  We left Sunday evening and arrived at our hotel around 8pm.  The next morning we awoke and played at the playground at the hotel and prepared to have an adventure.

We started by visiting the Mataikona Rocks.  These are rock formations formed by sandstone being compressed by the weight of the Pacific Ocean and then bent and buckled by colliding tectonic plates.  We went there first so we could see them at low tide, otherwise there is not much to see.  They were pretty interesting and the shells we found in the crevices look very nice in our entryway.

We then headed over the Castlepoint Scenic Reserve, which includes the lighthouse and the reef and lagoon that surround it.  It was beautiful!!!  It was also very windy and a bit on the chilly side, but we still had a lot of fun.

We then began our journey back to Wellington.  

 We saw some beautiful country as we drove through New Zealand.  We also began to glimpse the plethora of sheep that we were told New Zealand had.  We saw this little church which is where the first Anzac ceremony was held.  Anzac day is a holiday that is similar to veteran's day.  Anzac stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp.  The holiday began as a memorial for those fighting in World War I, and has grown from there.

  We also stopped at Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center.  They have a lot of conservation projects to help native New Zealand animals survive.  We were able to see two Kiwi, some Kaha parrots, Long Fin Eels, and Tuatara.

Below are pictures of the  Kaha Parrots.  They were very social and talkative.  Fun birds to watch.  Also pictures of the Kiwi birds.  There is a rare white one and a brown one.  They are nocturnal birds so it was hard to get a decent picture, but it was cool to see what is labeled as "the most unbirdlike" bird in the world.

 The Eels were a hit with the kids and were quite big.  The Tuatara is a lizard looking creature.  It is a "living fossil" as it belongs to a group of reptiles that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.

Our last stop was in Palmerston North for dinner.  We found this cool statue to climb on and a restaurant just for Aunt Bethany.  The kids all fell asleep on the road and we arrived home to have a good nights rest before beginning another week.