SUURRPWIIIISSE!!!

Tommy had been over on the island for the last couple of weeks working. When he got over there a few more jobs came up and he said he’d stay on a bit longer. There was only one problem… when he checked out ferry passages back the soonest he could get on was several days after Libby was due to arrive for a week of school holidays with us… A plan was hatched… I talked to work about working remotely for a couple of days… rang GBA to book a couple of seats and then waited for it all to come together… Mwwwaaaah-haa-haaa!

Libby arrived about 11 – jet-setting her way up the country to us. I got big hugs as she arrived and was signed over to me by the airline staff. As we wandered over to the luggage carousel I explained that Dad was still on the Barrier working and that we would hang out and do girly stuff until he came back. She took that very well and there were no complaints even though it was a bit strange for Daddy to not be there.

Once we were back home we had some lunch and I sent Tom a text to see if he was around the bach. Once I heard back from him we got in touch with him using skype. This meant Libby could see him on the screen as well as talk to him…. Very exciting!! Of course we had to pull faces and poke tongues at Daddy… there were squeals of delight when he pulled faces back… wow… this was cool, talking to Dad on the computer!!

We hung out for an hour or two, Libby started watching the Golden Compass while I started sneaking our bags and supplies into the car.

After a while I said to Libby… “I’ve got an idea… lets go and surprise Daddy on the island…. Should we do that?”
Libby’eyes got as big as saucers…. “On the barrier?”
“Yeah… I’ll have to check with the plane but would you like to do that? Go to Great Barrier to surprise Dad?”
“Yes! I’m going to surprise my Dad!!?”

I pretended to call the airline and that they told me we would have to go right away if we wanted to catch a plane. By this stage Libby was dancing about the house with excitement. On the way up to the aerodrome she ranged from being very quiet and wide-eyed to chattering madly about surprising Tom.

Once we got to the airport she was telling everyone that would listen what we were up to and had no qualms cornering the pilot to ask which plane we would be going on.
Finally we were on board and taking off… not long now!

“Janene… I see it … there’s the Barrier!!”
“No babe… we’ve only just taken off that’s the end of Whangaparaoa”
“Where’s my Dad?”
“He’s on the Barrier… we have to fly over the sea before we get there”
“Oh…. I might see a whale… Look… there’s a big ship! Laaa-laa… I’m going to the Barrier to see my Dad… Surprise! Surprise! Laa-la-la!”
…
…
I think she kept a running commentary most of the way and I’d zoned out a bit with the drone of the engine….

“There it is Janene!! I see it… I see the Barrier!!”
“Yep… there it is!”
“There’s a beach… that’s my beach… I see my beach!”
“That’s right… and we’re going to fly over the bach… You’d better wave to Daddy… we’re nearly there!”

Libby had a moment of panic when it looked as though we’d flown straight past the airstrip… I suppose it didn’t help me teasing her…

“Oh look… we’ve gone past… we’re not stopping”
…
…
“Oh no… it’s okay we’re turning around again”…

I couldn't resist!!

Once we landed it was lucky that I’m bigger than Lib otherwise I’d had been shoved out of the door while she clambered over me to get out… as it was she grumped at me when I didn’t move quick enough for her.

“Look there’s Daddy over there… we’d better go surprise him”

… that was it…
she was off…

“Surpwise! Dad! Dad! SURPWISE!! DAAAADDDD! SUUUURRRPPWIISSSE!!”

Ha! To see the look of glee on her face made it all worthwhile!!

“Dad! I came on the plane to Great Barrier to surprise YOU!”

She was very pleased with our plan! And the whole adventure was just the beginning of four more days of adventure… but that’s another story.

Barrier working *cough* trip

Had a work trip to do to the island a few weeks ago. The original plan was to go on the Friday, play on the weekend, work the following Monday to Friday then play Saturday and go back to the mainland on Sunday. Hmmm some rodents could have done with a better planning committee.
Got hit by a wicked bot on the way over which turned all the plans to custard, I had to extend the trip by 9 days. A combination of not being physically able to get the work done and the ferries being fully booked. This meant Libby and Janene had to come over the second weekend and hang out with me until the Tuesday ferry which was the first available. We were clearly devastated as you can tell from the video...................

Posting a video of the Barrier working trip.

Undersea world....

Wow, it's been a while since the last post!

Over the summer holidays at the Barrier we were surprised to see just how confident Libby has become in the water...

A star is born...

We had a fantastic holiday on the Barrier the first couple of weeks of January... too many things to talk about right now though. Libby was amazing, swimming, fishing, diving, making friends.... and jamming with the boys!

What type of fish is this?

5 nice snapper on the right.... but whats that one on the left?

Home sweet home!

It feels more and more like home every time we go out to Great Barrier. Looking down from the plane always blows me away... especially when we can see the bach clearly!! Not so this trip but we looked down over the settlement and couldn't wait until we had landed... home again! We had five days over there this time and couldn't wait to get started! The ealiest flight we were able to get onto was the 1:30 flight on Good Friday. We got a transfer up to the bach, dumped our gear and jumped in the wagon to head down the island to the wharf at Tryphena where friends were waiting for us at the wharf. They had taken the ferry over and rather than trying to figure out a way to get to the bach ... and where to find it... they waited for us to arrive and pick them up.

The kids were buzzing... "We saw a stingray!! Right in there... look there he is!! His name is Stumpy, he has no tail!! Cool eh?!"
Anna smiled and told us, "It's so beautiful" and we had to laugh, they hadn't even left the wharf and the Barrier Bug had bitten them already!
We all headed back to the bach where the tent was pitched and we showed our visitors where everything was.
Later on we went down to Okupu wharf where I went out to set the long line, our latest toy! While I was out doing that the other fished off the wharf in the hope of catching a few squid and maybe a fish or two for dinner. I pulled the long line in after a while with 3 small snapper, all of them went back to grow bigger for another day.

The next day we were treated to a stunning sunrise. Tom and Mel went out to set the long line again and while they were gone I took the kids for a walk up to the creek that is our water supply, then we left a note and headed down to the beach where they had a great time beachcombing. Luckily I'd brought along a plastic bag each for them to collect all the treasures they were finding, shells, sea eggs, crab bodies, fish skeletons... I began to wonder how they were going to get it all home again!!
When they guys got back from fishing we all piled into the wagon and took a trip to Whangapoua for a bit more hunting and gathering. We collected a feast of cockles and mussels to take home for dinner and Kyle tried out his snorkling skills in the creek... the muffled squawks through his snorkle letting us know when he had spotted another fish cruising by. Fresh salty air and plenty of exercise meant that the kids were fast asleep not long after dark and to be fair the adults weren't far behind!

Another day, another adventure! Tom got up early and went out for a fish in the hope of bringing home breakfast. By about 9 oclock we decided to fill in time by beachcombing again and of course the kids found another bundle of treasures newly distributed by the tides. Tom came home with one fish which was enough for all the adults to have a bit wrapped in bread. The kids reckoned they didn't want any after seeing the raw fillets although Rowan changed her mind once it was cooked and managed to get a bite of each of our sandwiches.
Then it was into the wagon and off to the hot pools. There is about a 30 minute walk along a bush track from the road to the springs. We spent the time trying to convince Rowan that the springs were a creek like the one our water comes from and not spa pools with water jets but I don't think she really believed us until we actually got there. Tommy went a lttle further down the creek and created his own pool by moving the rocks around. It didn't take much convincing to get in with him! Aaaaaah!!! Lovely!

So, after a warm dip in the hot pools it was time to try another variety... the mermaid pool! This is a big hole in the rock that is left exposed at low tide. It is quite deep but that didn't phase the kids at all. Plus they were plenty of creatures to check out both in the pool and in the rocks around it.

While the kids were checking out the mermaid pool Mel and I took the double kayak out for a quick spin. Had a near perfect lauch through some mild waves and managed to stay dry on the way out. The swell was pretty big once we got out further so we had a quick paddle about then headed back in. I couldn't let Mel get back to the beach still dry so we caught a wave in and I "forgot" to keep the kayak tracking straight and... oh dear... wipe out!! Heh!! Tom and I went out for a spin after that and had a bit of fun in the surf coming back! In the meantime Kyle and Rowan (aka Hiawatha and Pocahontas) were trying out Libby's kayak in the more sedate waters of the creek. Once they got the hang of that they moved on up to the double... like ducks to water!










Sadly we had to say goodbye to our friends the following morning. We were up early getting them packed up to catch the 8:30 ferry back to Auckland. We said our goodbyes and waved them off. As we headed back to the bach we stopped at Pah beach to watch the ferry disappearing into the distance....





We had about 36 hours left on the island ourselves... what would we do now? ...
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...Go fishing of course!! Ha! But that's another story!