Off To The Other Side Of The World

Waitmo Caves2 NZ

I’m just back from a family adventure of a lifetime. Our youngest son is doing a study-abroad program through Boston University in Sydney, Australia, and when he got accepted, my wife and I realized this may be our best opportunity to get to Australia, accompanying him to Sydney. Then, we figured, as long as we are traveling that far, we may as well explore the North Island of New Zealand (we did not have the time for both islands, alas). And then we thought, let’s see if our two older boys can make the trip, too, and soon enough, it became a five-person family excursion to New Zealand (the older boys had to return home before we did our second leg in Australia).

It was an amazing adventure, with tons of hiking (including part of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing), cave explorations with the bioluminescent glow worms, beach walks, Hobbiton (which was actually wonderful, but we worried it could have been too commercialized), and so much more.

Here are some pictures from our travels:

Auckland NZ

We started and ended in Auckland. This harbor was full of boats as far as the eye could see.

Hobbiton NZ

We had to see Hobbiton – it could have been overly commercial but it wasn’t. Instead, it was a quaint and curious visit to the Shire.

Waitmo Caves NZ

We went underground, rafting in tubes through caves with glow worms on the ceilings and walls.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing2 NZ
Tongariro Alpine Crossing NZ

These two images are from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike. We did a half hike, given the winter season.

Tananaki Falls NZ

The Tananaki Falls was impressive and loud.

Lake Taupo NZ

Lake Taupo is huge and beautiful.

Craters on the Moon NZ

Craters Of The Moon is a walk through geothermal cracks in the Earth, with impressive outbursts and pungent sulfur smells.

Huka Falls NZ

Huka Falls was so loud, you could barely hear yourself think.

Kiwi Bird NZ

We tried to eat Kiwi (the fruit) every day in NZ. We also could not resist a photo with these Kiwi bird statues.

Three Sisters Blue Mountains Australia

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, north of Sydney.

Blue Mountains Australia

Also in the Blue Mountains. The outlooks took our breath away.

Sydney Opera House Australia

The famous Sydney Opera House, where we saw a disco-inspired burlesque show that blew our minds.

Sydney Harbor Bridge Australia

The famous Sydney Harbor Bridge at dusk.

Bondi Cliff Walk Australia

Bondi Beach and its cliff walk, where the ocean carves out its moments in raw beauty.

And

Wild Life Zoo Australia

Peace (away from here),
Kevin

Book Review: Make Believe

This short but jam-packed book by Mac Barnett makes the strong case for children’s books that are filled with imagination rather than life lessons. Barnett, in a very engaging voice, shows how picture books and young adult novels have their own space apart from books for adults, and how we should value what sparks thinking in young people.

He argues against the idea that children’s books should have educational or moral messaging, and instead, he wants weird, strange and intelligent stories that spark thinking in the young readers in unusual ways. He uses Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown as one example to show how a classic picture book pushes against genre and labels, and breaks a few rules along the way, to spark young reader interest (and it worked, given the book’s classic nature and endurance across generations).

I enjoyed Barnett’s examination of the field of children’s literature in Make Believe, and agree with nearly all of his points.

Peace (and story),
Kevin