Although we have certainly had our fair share of rain and cloudy day over the past month, today as I sit and write this in the sunshine with the kids playing happily outside it really feels as if Summer is on its way ...... thankfully ;) Themselves have certainly made the most of the sunny days when they arrive that is for sure.
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| Picnicking on the farm |
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| Building huts from driftwood down at the beach |
Since Daniel's birthday weekend over to the West Coast was cancelled, on his actual birthday weekend, we decided to head over in the first weekend of October. Despite the rain coming down on us we had a fabulous time catching up with friends, exploring old haunts and wandering around Shantytown. After all it just wouldn't be the West Coast if it wasn't raining! The highlight for us all was having a go at gold-panning and then dressing up for an olden day photo with our friends, something that we won't normally do. It was a short weekend trip but really great to get back over there .... something about arriving on the Coast makes me feel like I've arrived home.
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| Dressing up |
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| On the steam train in Shantytown |
The school holidays brought with them more excitement for themselves with a few kid's activities around town. The first was a 'Give it a Go' golf session with the local Golf Pro which they both loved. They did try a bit of golf when we first came into Kaikōura with this same lady and I could see then that they were hooked. They even invested in a couple of old golf clubs and balls to whack around on the farm so when the holiday programme came up they were more than keen. It was a perfect day for it and they both got in a few nice hits - this coming from someone who knows nothing about golf apart from her own inability to connect the iron with that tiny white ball! They have both signed up for actual lessons which begin next month and are very excited about being able to play on the course after the lesson so watch this space.
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| Practicing their swings |
The second big event for them was a trip to Orana Park in Christchurch with the local Guide group. It was a full on day as we had to go through the road closure in convoy at 7 am and then return the same way at 6.30 pm. It was worth it though as the sun was out, the animals were willing (the 4 legged kind that is) and all the kids had an amazing time. It was great learning a bit more about the animals in the park, from the volunteers, too and not feeling that we had to rush through. There were lots of interesting conversations about the animals being in there vs their natural habitat and the pros and cons about that.
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| One of the two tigers - both brothers |
Even when term time began again the excitement wasn't over. Over Labour weekend there was a JOTA (Jamboree Over The Airwaves)/JOTI (Jamboree Over The Internet) event down in Christchurch which both were able to attend as a Cub and a Guide. They were able to sign off on a few more badges as well as trying out Geo-caching and talking to Guides in another country. Even though I thought we'd just be there for an hour we ended up lasting 4 hours as the activities kept them engaged and we were all enjoying ourselves! I think the Geo-caching will be something that gets dipped into again as Daniel had already tried it and Jasmine was really enjoying it too, especially now that they know how to programme in the co-ordinates.
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| Trying out the stilts at JOTA/JOTI |
Now we are enjoying another long weekend, it is Marlborough Anniversary on Monday, even though we are all getting over a few days of coughing, sneezing and lots of nose-blowing. After all those activities taking us out of Kaikōura it is great to just chill and blob. ;)
Arohanui
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