At the end of May we got another visit from family, when Mom and Dad returned for visit with Thomas (and us). It was fantastic to have another set of hands around the house especially as I tried to finish up my thesis. It was full of fun and laughter and the experiences were new not because of where we went but that Thomas was there to experience them. In and around Auckland we visited many of our favourite places such as the zoo where Thomas still got the biggest kick out of the chickens.
Our big trip away was to Hamilton, a place Nana and Grampie had not gotten to explore their first two times to New Zealand. We took a wonderful winter stroll through the gardens enjoying the changed but yet still beautiful scenery. I think they had a good time, especially taking some family photos with Thomas.
Being such big fans of the natural world, we also headed back to the Hamilton zoo which, we had raved about after our last visit. The grandparents were not disappointed, and we also had some better sightings of the animals at this zoo. The rhinos were much closer this time around and were enjoying a brisk morning meal. The giraffes followed suit, providing Thomas with a great viewing.
With my camera in tow, I also got a chance to try and get a photograph of one of New Zealand's iconic birds, the fantail. This of course resulted in a good fifteen minutes of me chasing the fluttering bird with only a little success.
We were not the only ones out toting our young in the park. We had a unique view of a chimpanzee mother out for a stroll with her offspring, much like Thomas, peering around with his tongue sticking out.
Of course, no zoo trip would be complete without a stop to the red pandas. A great spot for Thomas to stop and have a snack while Daddy and Grampie played "focus on the running red pandas". They were still so much more active than Auckland Zoo but they did eventually stop and give us some great sights.
Overall it was a nice trip and with a big sky we all headed back to Auckland.
It was a great trip and so nice to have the extra hands. The Grandparents got some wonderful time with the little tyke, and we all shared some wonderful experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment