New Zealand - 100 % scary!

Australia has a fairly well-deserved international reputation as a land of danger. After all, there are venomous snakes, red-back spiders, people-eating crocodiles, boxing kangaroos, stingers and sharks.
When we first arrived in NZ, I was rewarded with huge admiration from Miss 6’s friends when I fearlessly scrambled under a flight of stairs to retrieve a toy they’d dropped.
“But there are loads of spiders under there,” they said breathlessly. But who cared? It wasn’t as if there were funnelwebs, redbacks, or snakes to worry about! I would never have been so brave back home...
In the same way, Missy also received much praise when she calmly dealt with a cockroach that ran across a desk at school one day. The rest of her friends were screaming and running for cover, as she casually flicked it away from them.
“We get much bigger ones in Australia,” she explained.
And it’s true. Australia has a host of scary wildlife, and I breathe a sigh of relief whenever we're out walking that I don’t have to watch out for snakes any more!
But as the months fly by, New Zealand is sharing a few of her own scary secrets.
A few weeks ago, beaches on the North Shore were closed after five dogs died after licking rocks on the shoreline. Dead penguins and hundreds of fish also washed up on the beaches.
Tests have been done, and at this stage the experts believe the mass poisonings are due to tetrodotoxin, a poison found in puffer fish. The beaches are still off-limits while they work out exactly how the poison is getting there.
More recently, deadly porcupine fish have washed up on the Petone foreshore on the South Island. Again, the beach is now closed to kids and dogs, because the fish are toxic.
And in May, the deaths of hundreds of Ray's bream and snapper on a 60-kilometre stretch of Kapiti Coast beach were linked to wild seas pushing the fish from their normal depth.
And that’s not all. Lately, there seems to be an earthquake or avalanche every week somewhere in New Zealand. Though most of them are thankfully mild, there have sadly been some deaths, and some people have had to evacuate from the homes due to earthslips. Television ads frequently warn Kiwis to prepare emergency kits – non-perishable food, water, batteries, first aid kits etc – in the event of an earthquake or volcano eruption. We’re regularly reminded that a major disruption could occur at any time.
One of the kids’ favourite attractions at the Auckland Museum is a volcano eruption simulator. They squeal with delight as the earth shakes and moves, but to me, it’s just a little too lifelike!
Luckily, the worst disasters to engulf our family have probably been swine flu quarantine, and my busted hand. (By the way, thanks for the inquiries. It’s mending well, but I’m still having physio and have to wear a splint for a few hours a day. The physio involves dipping my hand into hot wax, which sounds weird, but feels gorgeous. The heat just seeps into the ligaments and bones, which makes them a bit stretchier when it comes to exercise them.)
Speaking of gorgeous, we've learned a little more about our kitty visitor - or "Catty" as H. calls her. She's a pet which was left behind, either accidentally or on purpose, when a family moved out (Hard to believe, isn't it?)
She's taken to following our complex manager around as he does his rounds, and divides the rest of her time between him, us, and a couple of other cat-loving families. She's been named Dora, after Dora the Explorer, because she is also exploring the complex and making friends. Whenever she is hungry, thirsty or needs company, she turns up on our doorstep and miaows to be let in!
Don't worry, if any of us move out, the manager and his family are happy to give Dora a permanent home.
Here she is, enjoying an afternoon snooze on H's bed...

Our night at the museum

Why go to a movie when you can experience the real thing? That’s our verdict, after spending a Night At Auckland Museum recently.

Billed as a chance to see the museum come alive after dark – just as the Smithsonian does in the movies of the same name - our Night At Auckland Museum did not disappoint.

Eagerly clutching their torches, Mr 8 and Miss 6 almost wet themselves with excitement as we charged through the doors at 5.30 pm. Literally. Thank goodness there was a handy restroom on the way in …

I looked longingly at the coffee-cart, but the queue was already lengthy and the kids were on a mission to explore as much of the dimly-lit museum as possible.

The museum certainly felt different after dark. Some areas were in total darkness, and it felt totally creepy – but in a delicious way. Cautiously exploring one darkened display, our torches suddenly lit up the face of a soldier mannequin, prompting squeals all round!

And there was a real carnival atmosphere as kids and adults alike charged around, trading hints on where to find the characters that had come to life. The characters included a soldier, a scientist, a wahine toa, a war-time nurse, an Egyptian princess, a Rarotongan musician, three lively dinosaurs, and the museum’s founder John Alexander Smith, as a portrait that wouldn’t shut up.

The kids loved them all, especially Nurse Nancy, who inquired solicitously about their health while brandishing a scary-looking vintage syringe.

The budding volcanologist voted Jonny Hair’s talk about volcanos and associated mini-eruption demonstration his favourite part of the evening. The reminder that Auckland is home to 49 volcanoes, and that earthquakes and/or eruptions could occur at any time, was music to his 8-year-old ears. Mine? Not so much.

For Miss 6 it was the museum’s resident dinosaur family which delighted, even though we almost needed the little girls’ room again when the largest herbivore, Basil, tried to snap her nose!

“It’s a herbivore Harmonie,” Mr 8 said witheringly. “He won’t eat you!”

The Knowledgeable One was thrilled to be chosen to tame the feisty dinosaur by hypnotising it, and even more excited when Basil chased him under a table for cheekily announcing: “There’s a man in there!”

Part-way through, there was an intermission which gave me time to get a coffee while the kids revived with a couple of hot chocolates and made some dinosaur masks. It was welcome chill-out time for a teary Miss 6, who had been overwhelmed by the crowds and excitement during Dinosaurs Alive.

The only real disappointment of the night was that we ran out of time to see all the displays, and get all of the stamps, before being summoned to the foyer for the Farewell.

Luckily, the staff assured kids they could still hand in their passports at the end of the night, even without all the stamps, to go into the draw for free stuff. Otherwise, we would have had a mutiny on our hands and I really would have been in line for an all-nighter at the Auckland Museum!

The characters gathered again to do a kitsch goodbye song to the tune of So Long! Farewell from the Sound of Music.

Our favourite verse went: So long, farewell, it was so nice to meet you, And we are glad, our dinos did not eat you!

Me too!