Exploring the North Island with the Canadian crew

On January 2nd (Happy Birthday Chris), Dad and Marielle, Chris, Colin and Emily, and Edwin and I piled into our rented passenger van to tour the central north island for a week. (There seems to be a pattern here, as Chris and I invited ourselves and our partners along on Dad and Marielle's honeymoon, too!) Our first stop was back to Hahei, to enjoy one last view of the gorgeous beach and eat some more fish and chips. On our second day, we visited with Uncle John and Aunty Tui on their property on Matakana Island, before spending the night in Tauranga. We went to the Mill's Reef winery before heading to Whakatane for a visit with Edwin's friend Susan, who he had known during university. We spent three nights in Rotorua, and visited Te Puia and the Agrodome. Our last nights were in Taupo, with a visit to Huka Falls and Craters of the Moon.

Through our whole journey, the best traveller of all of us was our four-month old niece, Emily. After dancing all night with various aunties and grandmas at our wedding reception, she was ready to have a bit of a nap, and she slept soundly most of the time we were travelling between towns, in the van. Although she fussed a little when we put her into her stroller, Chris says she's really faking it, and she loved to be pushed from place to place, taking in the sights along with the rest of us.

It was really nice to be able to tour around with family, Edwin was a great tour guide, pointing out all the sites along the way. The scenery was great, the people we met were very friendly, and we had great weather the whole way except for our last couple of days in Taupo, where it rained just a bit. It was hard to say good-bye to everyone, as we parted ways in Taupo - Edwin and I headed west to Raglan to meet up with his family, and the Canucks spent a couple more days trout fishing in Taupo before heading back to Auckland for their return flights.

Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Our Wedding

After several months of long-distance planning and preparing for our wedding, the big day(s) arrived at the end of December. We had planned a small ceremony on the east coast of the Coromandel region of New Zealand for December 29, followed by a wedding reception back in Auckland on New Year's Eve. With just a few surprises (like our reception facility forgetting to book us a DJ - yikes!) everything came together very well.

On December 28, nineteen of us made our way out to Hahei, a small town on the Coromandel. Our wedding was planned for Cathedral Cove, a beach that is part of the Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve, just around the corner from Hahei. Early on the morning of the 29th, we awoke to see that our wish for clear skies had come true! Christine and Marielle helped me get ready at Hahei B&B, one of the bed and breakfasts where our wedding party was staying, while Edwin got ready at The Church, where the remainder of our family was.

In order to avoid the 45-minute trek that most people have to walk to get to Cathedral Cove, we had arranged two sets of transportation. Most of the guests - Edwin, Dad Kirzinger, Dad Tucker, Natia, Colin and Emily, Uncle George and Aunty Sally, best man Bryce and his girlfriend Michelle, cousin Robert along with our Celebrant and David from Simple Weddings all boarded a four wheel drive bus that would take them from Hahei across a section of land adjacent to the Marine Reserve that belongs to a local farmer. They then made their way down the final 200 steps (along with our picnic lunch) to the beach. The rest of us - me, Chris, Mum Tucker, Marielle, Tina, Tyrone, and Leina and Sophia boarded the Hahei Explorer, a small zodiac boat which zipped us across the water to land at the beach.

It's hard to describe how beautiful the beach actually is. When our boat landed, my first thoughts were that I was so glad that we were going to be married at this very special place. At the end of the beach where the ceremony was held, there is a small waterfall, while at the other end of the beach is a huge cave carved out of incredibly white rock. The sand is fine and white, and the beach is lined with pohutakawa trees, which bloom with red blossoms over the Christmas season. Lovely rock formations sit in the water just off the beach, including the Cathedral, for which the beach is actually named.

My Dad walked me up the beach, while Sophia and Leina sprinkled flower petals on the sand. Our ceremony included Chris singing Songbird; an Indian wedding blessing, which had been sent to us by our friend Matt (who introduced us in Nepal); and a sand ceremony, which mixed sand from the beach at the Cove, with sand from Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver. After our "I Do's" were complete, our sandals were quickly kicked off, champagne was poured (it was 10:30 in the morning by now - a perfect time for champagne), photos were taken, and everyone enjoyed the beach. We returned to Hahei for a restful afternoon, and a wonderful dinner on the balcony of the Church. I was very happy to wear my puletasi, a traditional Samoan dress that Mum Tucker had made for me.

We returned to Auckland for our Reception at the Auckland Botanical Gardens on New Year's Eve. Uncle John played the bagpipes as we entered the room, and we enjoyed a great barbeque meal. Our sisters Natia and Chris did a great job as MCs, and Leina entertained us during dinner with a dance. Chris surprised us with a video greetings DVD from friends and family in Canada, and Bryce and Dad made us feel really special with their kind words during the toasts. After the formal stuff was done, everyone wanted to dance! Fortunately, the staff at the Gardens had found a DJ (slightly deaf, but he did a great job), and we danced until the New Year arrived. Edwin and I survived our first siva together (a Samoan dance that we pretended to know how to do), and I managed not to scream with surprise when I turned around during the siva to see Uncle Vale with his shirt off to reveal his full body Samoan tattoo!

We were very happy that everyone had a good time, and we both feel incredibly lucky that our families came together as they did in their support of our wishes and plans.

Location: Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand - Before the "I Do's"

We arrived in New Zealand on December 10, greeted with flowers and tears at the airport by Edwin's family, and friends Bryce and Michelle. Within just a few minutes of arrival, we had settled into a wonderful routine of playing with our nieces Leina and Sophia, cramming in last minute wedding planning, and meeting and visiting with Edwin's family members, who were gathering in New Zealand for both our wedding, and an 80th birthday party for Edwin's grandmother, Tina (Samoan for "Mother"). And eating! I don't think we went for more than a couple of hours without some scrumptious food being placed before us. I was happy I still fit into my wedding dress after consuming copious amounts of mince tarts, Cadbury's chocoate, barbequed mussels and sausages, and food only available in NZ (such as Vogel's bread and Hubbard's muesli), and his Mum's and sister's wonderful Samoan cooking.

It had been 2.5 years since Edwin had last been in New Zealand, and almost 9 years since I had visited for two months of travel in 1998. It was wonderful for me to see Edwin being reacquainted with his friends and family - how much they had missed him, and also how his friendships with his mates picked up where they had left off years before.

Amongst preparations for Christmas, Tina's birthday, and our wedding, family members started to arrive from Samoa, Australia, Canada, and other regions of New Zealand. For those of us from the northern hemisphere, it was wonderful to be preparing BBQs and hanging Christmas decorations on the orange tree in the Tucker's backyard. Those who arrived from Samoa bundled up in sweaters and blankets in the evenings.


On Christmas Day, 45 family members gathered at Aunty Sally and Uncle George's property just south of Auckland to celebrate Christmas and Tina's 80th birthday. It was a wonderful day of Samoan food, dancing and singing, Christmas "prezzies", a lolly scramble, meeting and getting to know our new extended (and international) family.

Location: Wellington, New Zealand