Description

We lived in Richmond, New Zealand for three months. Richmond is approximately 15 minutes away from Nelson at the north of the South Island. We picked this area because it reportedly has some of the best weather in the whole country (lots of sunshine!). It also has easy access to the ocean and mountains.

We ended up in Richmond—a suburb of Nelson—because the housing was more affordable (although still expensive). We specifically wanted to be near a larger city, so the boys would have access to activities like fencing and ninja classes.

Knowing the area better now, we might have picked to live in Motueka, which is a rural … Read More

Description

From mid-December through mid-January, we road tripped around nearly the entire South Island of New Zealand.

Our family’s personal “road trip formula” is that we have to spend at least three nights and two full days in a place to feel like it’s worth it. So that’s what we did in the following towns:

• Kaikōura
• Christchurch
• Akaroa
• Oamaru
• The Catlins
• Stewart Island
• Manapoura
• Wanaka
• Okarito
• Hokitika
• Arthur’s Pass

Highs

What a spectacular country! You truly feel like you are at the edge of the world.

I loved traveling to a different little town every couple of days. Every place was so different.

I loved reconnecting with our friends’ family … Read More

Description

For three weeks, we settled into the “hinterlands” of Byron Bay.

My family and I discovered this area of the world accidentally several years ago when we visited Australia for the first time. We knew we had to visit it again during our Family Gap Year.

We lived in a little cottage on a family’s property, and we enrolled our children in school for the last three weeks of school. Honestly, this was one of my absolute favorite parts of our trip so far!

Highs

There is so much magic in this part of the world. On our first night, we happened upon a Thai food truck in … Read More