First of all, Happy New Year everyone - I truly hope you had the most magical time with your friends and family over the festive holiday season which is sadly almost over. At some point, I do want to share a little post that rounds up 2016, because really so much happened, and it was such a special and rewarding year for me.

But for now, it’s just about relaxing warm summer vibes from a wonderful Christmas back at home in New Zealand with my incredible friends and family. It was my partners first time in New Zealand, so it was really special to be able to play tour guide and see your home through new eyes while showing someone around for the first time. Neither of us wanted a very busy holiday as it was all about seeing family and friends, enjoying the warm summer days, fish and chips on the beach for dinner, stopping by road to pick a beautiful hydrangea in bloom and of course doing a little sightseeing here and there. Hobbiton of course is a must for anyone visiting New Zealand - even if you haven’t seen the movies which are beyond long, it’s well worth the visit. As is a day trip to Coromandel on the ferry from Auckland - it’s possibly the nicest way to get to this sleepy beach town, and then from their take the Driving Creek Railway tour where you’ll get to see the most remarkable body of artwork by Barry Brickell.

We were also kindly invited by Habitat Tours to join them on their Day/Night tour at Tawharanui - and it was absolutely incredible. I have spent many summers on Tawharanui Beach with friends, but have never seen it this way. Our guide Tristan showed us the beautiful regional park behind the beach in the afternoon and shared so much knowledge about the forest, birds and history before we all sat down to a delicious picnic next to the beach then walking through the forest again at night to find Kiwi Birds - I had only ever seen them at the zoo, but that night we where lucky enough to see three that evening! For anyone wanting to see a little more of Auckland, or if you have a friend or family member visiting, I truly couldn’t recommend their tours enough - it’s run by the kindest family where everything is take care of and it’s just such a special way to spend a day.

It’s so lovely to be able to look back at a wonderful holiday where we got a small break from winter in Paris - as at the moment while I’m writing this post it’s -1 in in Paris! So of course I’m daydreaming a little about sitting by the beach enjoying fish and chips with my family and then going for a swim, or simply lying in the sun reading a book until I fall asleep. But for now, it’s just as lovely to look back at many happy memories from a wonderful holiday.

I of course hope you all are all having a really lovely start to the new year. It was so special to start 2017 in Paris, I already have so many plans for this year and I truly can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. x