We love to spend time outside with our children. New Zealand offers great opportunities and an amazing lifestyle. Kids can walk outside without shoes, run in the forest, play in the sand, swim in the ocean and just enjoy the free atmosphere.

It's entirely different from Europe where I grew up, which is why we always give them the freedom to explore. They are constantly off on adventures, exploring new environments, places, animals, and plants. We are happy to encourage them on this journey.

We spent last weekend in Cornwall Park, a massive park right in the middle of Auckland with a big hill, forest areas, and fields full of sheep and cows. The kids were amazed by the views from the top of the hill to Auckland, and ran around the top of the mountain exploring and climbing rocks.

William hurt his knee, which is pretty normal with little ones who are totally determined to do what they want. Dad helped him wash the blood from his knee, and the kids were off on their next adventure.

They were amazed by the scenery, and halfway down the hill they asked to stop the car to walk around near the animals. They quickly learned that they need to step carefully around the "bombs" (manure) on the ground. Both kids stepped on them – and later had a good bath back home.

Anna-Bella covered her nose as she found out the smell near animals was not-so-sweet, but it was so much fun for the kids to learn something new, experience being on top of the mountain, climb up and down, see how small the Skytower looks from far away, discover animals in the middle of the city, and learn what they need to do when getting close to sheep or cows. It was such great family time and an amazing experience for all of us!