Our NZ summer is a letdown. Instead of sunny, dry weather we’re currently getting drizzled on and looking for indoor activities.

Fortunately we found Chipmunks. Fortunate in the way only parents could see. But a happy few hours for the children (playing) and the adults (drinking coffee and eating wedges).

Then back to family tasks – buying the Cairns family a new PC from the very fine folk at TasTech Computers. They did a brilliant job of building a custom PC overnight and made it the easiest install I’ve had to do.

Since it’s Valentines Day we with the other Mr and Mrs (L) Scott and headed to Arjee Bhajee for a superb dinner – happily recommend the deluxe banquet.

Then home to see our nephew-in-law’s video debut – DeathCheaters. Not much I can add to that. There’s a one hour DVD of the complete production. Random tree-jumping is comedy genius.

So the usual early start courtesy of Seb and Bella. Well, mainly Bella. Since there has been a distinct lack of brunching so far on this trip, we decided to remedy this situation with a visit to the Cosy Cafe. Slightly lame name but they turned out an excellent set of pancakes and an accompanying latte.

Since the weather was not particularly summer-like we decided to do an indoor activity – so headed to the International Antarctic Centre.

Excellent afternoon for the children with a ride on the Hagglund vehicles, the 4D cinema and the general exhibitions. The cold weather experience was a bit of a letdown but mainly because we’re used to Polish winters so -15 isn’t a big deal.

Icecreams to end and a trip to the Northlands mall for Lila. Not too many days to go.

No earthquakes or aftershocks. Or at least none that we felt. Take a look at my twitterfeed site for Christchurch earthquake related tweets and info.

A lazy start to the day (if you don’t count getting up at 6am with the children), lunch at home and then into the centre of Christchurch for a look around. We visited the Re:START project which is attempting to kickstart the renewal of the centre of Christchurch. Dozens of shops are now open, housed in steel containers. Frankly the safest place to be if another shake comes through I would have thought.

Then out to the beach at Sumner for ice-cream and a wander in the sea. Finally home for one of Lila’s ‘Pampered Chef’ creations for dinner – brie, apricot, walnuts and a bunch of other ingredients.

We toured some of the earthquake affected areas on the way home – Christchurch remains ‘munted’ in many places. The houses above the cliffs, the Eastern suburbs and of course the central business district. So much to repair and no real certainty around future shocks.

Lovely evening in Tekapo; wandering around the lakefront, visiting the Church of the Good Shepherd where Ben and Maree were married last year and getting some dinner at Route 77.

Only downside was not turning on the hot water at the house and so we had warm, but not hot, showers in the morning. Small price to pay for staying in a great place for the night. Left behind a bottle of Te Kairanga pinot but ended up buying another bottle when we got to Christchurch as it looked too good not to drink.

Saturday morning involved a coffee run to Route 77, packing (again) and driving to Christchurch. Quick stop at Ashburton for lunch and into Christchurch early afternoon. Warm, sunny weather.

Watched The Guard on Saturday night. Glad my mother wasn’t watching. Mostly funny if a little slow moving.

We left Dunedin just after 10am and drove up State Highway 1 to Oamaru where we turned left on to highway 83 towards Kurow and Tekapo. If you haven’t driven through this part of New Zealand then I suggest you get in a car, train, plane, boat and get here to do it. Utterly stunning scenery, empty roads and brilliant summer sunshine.

The coastal weather was a little cloudy and gloomy but once we got behind the hills and headed inland the day got brighter and sunnier.

Then we hit the lakes. You see those stereotypical New Zealand summer landscapes; parched hills, mountain/alp backdrops, turquoise lakes and deep blue skies. We just had to keep stopping and taking photos. And there’s something about revisiting your home country with a fresh set of eyes.

We passed through Omarama and Twizel before stopping at Lake Pukaki for those amazing views of Mt Cook rising up at the head of the lake. We thought about driving up to Mt Cook but we’d been in the car for a while and the children aren’t quite so enamoured by the views.

So tonight we’re staying in Tekapo and looking forward to breakfast with a view over the lake and then driving over/up to Christchurch.

A busy final day in Dunedin. It was supposed to start with a visit to the cinema to see Hugo in 3D however I got the screening details wrong (I blame the website) and we ended up on the pavement outside a cinema that stopped showing Hugo the previous week. Cue slightly unhappy son and lots of promises of restitution.

So that morphed into a coffee and a trip to the Otago museum which always goes down well with Seb. He’s in a information absorbing mode these days and loves seeing historical stuff, especially if it involves a gun. Or even a club.

Then some admin activities involving driving around town to the bank and making landlord arrangements. I love that you can drive into Dunedin on a weekday and still park pretty much outside the place you’re visiting. No motorways, queues or throngs.

Finished off with a lovely visit to the Taieri Plains to visit friends who have built a great house, have two children, a dog, some other animals. And sheep. Yet more friends living in large spacious houses. Our semi detached in England looks less appealing by the day.

Every time we come to Dunedin we drive down the long and winding road that takes you to the end of peninsula. At the end of the peninsula is Taiaroa Head which is very nice to visit, however the children don’t find looking at oversized seagulls to be very entertaining so we tend to take photos of the view and then drive back to Macandrew Bay for a spot of lunch (Dunedin’s Riviera?!).

The views across to Aromoana are fantastic (from the heads) and we’ve promised ourselves to drive down the other side of the harbour next time – straighter road and a decent beach at the end.

Afternoon was retail therapy for Mrs Scott (junior) and a few more coffees.

Another day in my home town. Started with a swim at the fabulous hot salt water pool at St Clair. Kids had a great time, met a fellow Brit (albeit ex-Australian) and they have a cafe with great coffee. What’s not to like.

Then out to the exciting town of Mosgiel which is broadly flat, sunny and populated mainly by people over a certain age. Had a park for the children though, so got a big tick from us.

Loads of photos to be uploaded to our Flickr photostream when we get near wifi (rumoured to be in Christchurch).

A pretty quiet day in Dunedin. A wander along the St Clair beach, a play at Kettle Park, and a drive around some familiar spots.

I grew up in Dunedin – schooled at Arthur Street primary, Balmacewen Intermediate and Otago Boys High school. All good schools that worked hard to educate the mixed bunch that we were. We took a look at our house on Kenmure Road that mum built after leaving the farm at Waitahuna.

As an aside we came across a house for sale in Waitahuna – the converted church. Quite fancy a change in lifestyle. Might be a bit of a leap from Surrey and the City.

Christchurch to Dunedin with a stop at Temuka Pottery. And the Moeraki boulders.

Long drive. That’s it.