In New Zealand there is a Bank Holiday for Anzac Day (their version of Remembrance Day).  And it is a holiday that falls on the date rather than the day, which sucks if it is a Saturday or Sunday because they don’t “carry it over” to the following Monday.  Thankfully this year was a Wednesday so Gareth got a cheeky day off in the middle of his second week of work in Christchurch.

We weren’t sure how the day goes for locals, i.e. did they have a sombre day of reflection?  We went to the beach with some friends.

There were New Zealanders there so hopefully our day of fun wasn’t being hideously disrespectful.  Even though it’s their Autumn now the weather is warm and sunny so the children just ran around the whole time and I crouched under a sun tent feeding my 10 month old happy.

Now that we have the children in bed and I am sitting on the couch drinking a cider, I can reflect and remember what generations before us did so we can have these wonderful days in the sun.  What amazes me is how people so far from what was happening risked their lives to fight a war alongside foreigners.  There are many things to be in awe about.

This is Woodend Beach, Canterbury.