New Zealand

We're starting to lose track of the number of visits we've had to New Zealand. It's such a beautiful country - quite similar to Canada, in fact - that it's been an easy decision to visit it often given our proximity to it from Canberra.

This visit, we focused entirely on the North Island.  We visited Lake Taupo to relax and view geothermal sites, Hobbiton to see the set of LOTR, and Paeroa to visit the L&P cafe (for Blair). Last, but not least, we finished our tour by spending a lovely week in the beautiful city of Wellington.

Here are some photos from our visit to Lake Taupo:

Geothermal spas at Wairakei Terraces

Stacy enjoying the naturally-heated spas!

Here are some photos from Hobbiton:

And for Blair, here are some photos of our tour around Paeroa (where his favorite soft drink is/was made):

And finally, photos from the beautiful city of Wellington:

Oriental Bay

Matty meets the Beehive

The Canadian Minister of Finance was visiting on this day

LOTR characters in the Wellington Airport

LOTR characters in the Wellington Airport

Canberra Multicultural Festival

In February, we had the opportunity to visit Canberra's Multicultural Festival (now called the National Multicultural Festival). We missed it the first year we lived here because we didn't know about it (!!!) but this year it was marked in our calendar at least 8 months ahead of time. We even planned some of our vacations around this event. In other words, there was no way we were going to miss it again! This is, in our opinion, Canberra's best festival.

There are literally hundreds (thousands, perhaps) of booths/stalls representing countries from around the world (what better place to do this than in a city full of diplomats!).  Each booth represented a single country and served traditional dishes, wines, and beer from their home. You name the food - they had it there! Everything from Spanish paella, New Zealand hangi, American hot dogs (haha), Croatian cevapi, Hungarian langos (these were awesome!), Bavarian pretzels, Korean bulgogi, Indian/Malaysian/Indonesian curries and noodle dishes, Irish stew, Yorkshire Pudding, Canadian pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, etc. You get the idea!

Here are some of the very few pictures we took while we were there - we were too busy eating!

Adelaide

In January, we had the opportunity to re-visit Adelaide - this time for a friend's wedding!

We were planning a visit out to Kangaroo Island during our time there, but it proved to be too difficult to squeeze in. Instead, we threw in a beach day in addition to another tour of the Barossa Valley. Although we visited many of the same wineries that we toured in 2009, we also stopped by a few others that we didn't have a chance to visit last time. And...just like our visit in 2009, the temperatures were up above 40 celcius. Very, very hot!

And here are some shots from Glenelg, the beach town we stayed in for the wedding!

Australia Parliament Visit

Before Stacy's parents left to head home to Canada, we took them on a visit to see the Australian Parliament.

For those whom have visited Canberra, you will know that the Parliament building is one of the main focal points of the city. Being built in only the 1980's (completed in 1988), it has a rather modern design. The building itself was built into Parliament hill, allowing citizens (and visitors alike) to walk on top of it. Many also do not realize that the front architecture is designed to be shaped like a boomerang. If you stand at a distance, you can see this distinct shape.

Photo Credit: John O'Neil via wikipedia

We completed a guided walking tour of Parliament the day we visited. We were able to see The Great Hall, The House of Representatives, and The Senate. Here are some of the pictures we took that day.

The House of Representatives

The Senate

New Year's Eve 2013

For the second year in a row, we spent New Year's Eve in Sydney. This year, however, we booked a 4-person table on the balcony of the Novotel at Darling Harbour. The meal included a fantastic all-you-can-eat buffet, all-you-can-drink alcohol, and a perfect view to the fireworks at Darling. It was a great night, and allowed us easy access to our room in the hotel after the celebrations were done (thus avoiding the ridiculous crowds at the end of the evening).

Here are a very few photos of our NYE celebrations.