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...

You have to wonder...

Snuggled up in bed Sunday morning...

L: Janene??
J: Mmmmmph?
L: I 'ave a family at Daddy's 'ouse
J: That's right... and you have a family at Mummy's house too...
L: Yes... and... I 'ave a family at Daddy's 'ouse
J: You have family at Mummy's... there's Mum and Dennis and Snoopy and Pussycat ....
L: Mmmmm...


L: Pussycat is a Mummy.
J: Really?

L: Yes.... and... Snoopy is a Daddy.
J: Hmmmmm....

Wow!! It's a complicated world... How the hell do any of us manage to figure it out?

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?

Pre-Christmas Christmas

Just a quickie update as Christmas rapidly steamrolls towards us.


We had Libsta up for a visit last weekend, the last time before Christmas. It was a very busy couple of days!
Lib’s plane arrived at 7pm Friday evening and we had a fish and chip dinner at her request … picnic style on the lounge floor.

Saturday morning we installed the Christmas tree and decorations before heading off to Lollipops playland for the Kiddies Party put on by my work. Libby had a fabulous time trying out all the slides and swings before it was time for their meal and presents. She was so excited to get her present from Santa!

After such an exciting afternoon it was a pretty quiet evening ready for the next day ... and the big event of the weekend… the Christmas Parade at Birkenhead. We were not only going to it… Libby and I were part of it!! My bellydance teacher had been invited to have a group on the parade and she in turn invited any children to join us. Libby was so excited!!

She got to see a lot of the floats while we were all assembling before the parade and had an absolute ball dancing up the road with us and waving to all the people … no time to stop in front of Tom to get a photo… she had her public to see after all!!

Not only that but she got to meet Shrek, the Pink Panther gave her a big cuddle and Santa himself talked to her at the end of the parade.

It was great to see how much she enjoyed herself, she couldn’t wipe the huge smile (complete with missing front teeth) off her face.

Priceless!

Picnic in the park

Last weekend my brother, Brendon, and his family were visiting Auckland so they organised to have a get together with us, my youngest brother, Robert, and his tribe and Mum and Dad. The plan was, weather permitting, to meet in Cornwall Park for a picnic.

Libby was up staying for the weekend so she was looking forward to seeing my neices and nephew.

We were blessed with a gorgeous day so we slapped on the sunscreen and headed off. Cornwall Park is a fabulous place for a picnic! When we arrived we found the others had picked a spot next to a huge old Magnolia tree. What a great setting!

Not only did the grand old tree provide a fantastic setting for photos, it was also a source of fascination for the children... well... the older ones anyway, Georgia wasn't so fussed on it just yet!

We had all taken a plate to share for lunch so we had a nice selection to choose from. The kids also had a lot of fun in the little tent Rob and Stacey had brought with them and playing with the ball... and at one point we had a couple of runaways on our hands... we looked around for Libby and Tiali, who were there a moment before, only to see them racing off across the park... can't blame them really, it was a great day for playing chase!!
It was a lovely lazy, relaxing afternoon and our first real taste of sun in a long time! Well, maybe not the first, but it was certainly the first opportunity we'd had to enjoy it, with the added bonus of good company!!

Weekend up north...

Life has been so busy this year that we haven’t made it up north much. We had Libby come and stay with us for the first week of school holidays and planned to spend the last weekend of her stay visiting Mum and Dad.

We packed up the van and hit the road about 4:30 Friday afternoon. A pretty normal trip up there and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset on the way. Had dinner when we arrived and packed Libby off to bed.

The next morning we hung out around the house. Lib and I spent some time exploring the gardens and Tom sorted out Mum’s outlook connection to her new ISP. It was a lovely sunny morning and we enjoyed mooching about soaking up the sun. Mum and Libs had a bit of a blast around the garden on the quad… something Libby enjoyed as she thinks she is driving the bike!

After lunch we went for a ride into town and went for a wander around the Community Gardens down by the river. I can’t remember when this project first started but it is certainly becoming more established now and makes for a nice place to hang out. The highlight for Libby was the play area which is built in the shape of a tall ship and has slides, swings, ladders…. and a fireman’s pole!

Lately Libby has been a bit more hesitant having a go at some activities which is unusual for a wee person that up until now has been fearless when it comes to climbing, jumping and swinging… Not sure where that’s coming from! Although she wanted to go down the pole she stood by it telling us “I can’t do it!!”. Tom went and took her down with him. The next time she decided to go by herself but needed a bit of coaxing from Tom as her guided her onto the pole, holding onto her as she slid to the bottom. After that she went “all by myself!” and then there was no stopping her!

A quick bit of retail therapy was had after that at the Warehouse before we went to visit Grandma…. Janene’s Grandma, not Libby’s.
As we headed back out home to Mum & Dad’s it was decided we’d whip out to the beach. Lib fell asleep in the car and was a bit groggy when we first arrived but soon woke up once she realised where we were! We found an old screwdriver which was the perfect tool for writing her name in the sand so she wasted no time in making her mark.
There was a shout from the wagon, Dad had spotted something unusual in the surf…a massive lump of kelp?… or…. is that a seal? It was in very shallow and looked to be flailing about. We weren’t sure if it was playing or whether it was injured so went down to get a closer look. Libby was keen as mustard to check it out and we had to watch she didn’t get too close in case it was in a … er … grumpy mood. Anyways, as we got closer we could see that it was okay and that it was simply playing. Rolling about in the shallows and no doubt getting a lovely old back scratch and exfoliation! When we got to the waters edge it finally noticed us. Sitting up it took a good look, we didn’t move any closer at this point because, well basically we didn’t want to piss it off! It mustn’t have been as interested in us as we were in him because it flopped back into the water and rolled and lolled his way further up the beach… nothing to see here folks!

We had a lovely roast dinner in the evening, set our clocks back for daylight saving so we would be on time to leave on time in the morning.
Another weekend had flown by all too quickly!

Libsta - Dance Star

Go girl!!

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? ...
...
...
...



...Go fishing of course!! Ha! But that's another story!

Better late than never!!

!Well!! Libby came to visit for the weekend... just in time for St Patricks Day! Happy days! We all went over to the parade in Queen St which Libby enjoyed immensely and wanted to be part of! "C'mon Dad... march!!" ... hmmmm... maybe next year... What d'ya reckon Tom?
We had a fun afternoon after that, going to our local where they were having face painting and dancers coming in. Libsta loved the dancers, pretty dresses and fancy footwork! Once they'd finished Libby wasted no time in filling their space, the band started up and she was away!! Even got a round of applause! After that it was hard to keep her away from the dance floor...

Go Twinkle Toes!!

Kiwi Christmas!!

A very low key Christmas Day was spent at our house. Mum, Dad and my sister Claire were here for the day. We started off with hot baked ham, eggs, potato bread, soda bread and tomatoes for breakfast. When we lived on the farm Mum would often set the Christmas ham baking overnight and we would wake to the smell of it cooking... hot ham and eggs was a treat and Mum had been craving for it several years now!

After that was the present opening which didn't take long as we had all brought one present and then drew a number to see who would get what.
Contacting other friends and family followed that and some general relaxation ensued.

Dinner was served around 2 (or 3 ... it blurrs a little). Followed by more relaxation and a quick dose of The Princess Bride to round off the day.

So... why weren't we at the beach? Well, we were saving that for Boxing Day when we met my brothers and their families down at Devonport for a family picnic!



That's more like it!!

Big weekend...

It all started with a big trip on the plane! This was the second time Libby had flown up for a visit. This photo was actually taken when she arrived after her first flight ever (all by herself!!) back in September. She seemed a bit shellshocked by it all initially but was soon telling us all about how the plane goes up... up... up!!! The latest trip arrived on a Thursday evening and Tommy picked the wee jet-setter up from the airport..

On the Friday morning Libby went to see all her friends at the daycare centre. The staff love to see her when she is in Auckland and Libby loves to catch up with everyone! We picked her up in the afternoon and hit the road to Waihi Beach where we would be going to a party celebrating my Great-Uncle's 80th birthday on the Saturday.
When we arrived we set the tent up on the lawn and set about meeting everyone. There was quite a crowd about so there was some initial shyness with Libby hanging out with Tom until she sussed everyone out.
Sleeping in the tent was a whole new experience and terribly exciting! Tom stayed in the tent while Libby settled in and ended up not emerging again...
We woke in the morning with a very excited little girl telling us "I did it!! I slept in the tent!!"
We emerged and went 'next door' to have breakfast in my parents motorhome... sleeping in a tent... breakfast in a bus... what would be next? It was promising to be a big day! After breakfast and a bit of football on the lawn, the three of us went for a drive into Waihi township to have a bit of a look around. We headed up to the mine and discovered a big truck... and a big mother hole in the ground... everything was big around here... even the bugs! We found this gum emperor moth hanging out in the sun. These are massive... the wings would have easily covered my hand if he'd sat on it.
We headed back to Waihi Beach and of course had to stop and take a look at the beach. Libby 'talked me into' having a paddle in the water while Tom stretched out on the warm sand had a short snooze in the sun. After that we went back to the house where we discovered people were arriving thick and fast. My sister - Claire, brother - Brendon, and his wife - Vicky, had arrived and we were teated to news of another impending family memeber - Vicky & Brendon are expecting. After they headed off to check out their accomodation we had some quiet time snoozing in the tent before the party.
A little later my youngest brother, Robert and his family (Stacey and the kids - Tialia and baby Braxton) arrived. Libby had first met Tialia on our family weekend to Rotorua earlier in the year so was very excited at this development. We went down to the camp complex where the party was being held and where the rest of the immediate family were staying in the bus and rented cabin. This was great as it gave the girls time to catch up on the latest fashion tips and gossip. The formalities out of the way it was time to rev things up... there was a big field outside the cabin that had to be tested out ....


Woohooo! Party time! We had a fantastic meal and great time at the party. It was all over so quickly in the finish and the next morning we headed north again to drop Libby back at the airport and head home to wait for the next visit!

Neverending Birthdays!!

Do you remember when having a birthday was something REALLY special and not something to shudder about?? When you could pretend it was your birthday everyday?? A couple of weeks ago we were going to visit Libby and the day before we left a parcel arrived....

Kayak fishing trip

The kayak lads heading off from Awana Beach in light surf, it was a different story coming back!

Well we couldn't have asked for better weather to go to Great Barrier Island for a kayak fishing trip. Stunning blue skies and warm weather considering it is barely the end of Winter.

The fishing wasn't bad with half a dozen or so kahawai caught and 4 snapper. Enough for a feed! Also a weird and wonderful looking thing called a parrot fish, brightly coloured and similar shape to the snapper but according to Nick, a pain in th ass to fillet. Super sharp gill plates and quite a slimy skin making it hard to hold in place.
It was my first time in a sea kayak so as is the custom I fell in a few times to baptise myself. Coming back from a day on the rocks fishing was interesting, we came in at Awana Beach, a popular surf beach!!!!!!

This photo was in the morning, by the time we came back around 5.30pm surf was up and looking more like double what it was in this photo. The others all managed to get back dry, not me.......I will blame inexperience and the fact that I caught the perfect wave without meaning to. Warren and Dave had told me what to do if caught by a big wave, dig the flat side of the paddle in and surf in. It went well for the first 3/4 of the wave, then splashdown. I got dragged under and turned upside down a few times before popping up like a cork, paddle in hand! The paddle is attached to the kayak and fortunately I had tied everything on properly so I didn't lose any gear. Also managed to keep the camera dry!

We had a good feed of fish and everyone was pretty tired by now so we gave the club a miss and went straight back to the bach. Being a novice at the hunter gathering thing, Dave and I became "house bitches" for an hour doing the dishes and digging a hole for the fish guts and frames. (Great for the garden). Warren and Nick filleted the fish and I think Kelly supervised!!

We had a fine banquet of fish a la frying pan in butter along with plenty of slices of bread and butter, washed down with a beverage of choice, either Jim Beam and coke or a cold Heineken or Steiny. Yum yum pigs bum.

An hour or so of talking and having a laugh over the days events and then one by one the heads hit the pillow. There aren't many better ways of spending a day than being out on the water, in the fresh air, chasing fish and being away from everyday shit. It makes for a well earned, deep sleep. Unless of course you are unfortunate enought to be within 50 metres of me if I start snoring. Warren reckoned it was like a 2 stroke chainsaw. Luckily it only lasted an hour. I wouldn't know, I was asleep at the time!

Sunday morning started with a decent view from the deck.

After another feed of fresh fish left from the night before it was decided after committee meeting to not go with the kayaks due to time pressure. The ferry was due to leave at 3pm. Instead we packed all the gear away and went for a tiki tour before making our way towards Tryphena. There was a reef not too far round from the jetty that was accessible on foot, so we grabbed some basic fishing gear and spent a few hours on the rocks. The fishing was slow......ok totally crap but the views were stunning, the weather great, beers cold and company bearable. :)

Getting Laid...

... Don't panic!! It's all quite "G" rated!! Things have been a bit up and down for us the last week or so... different things going on that have left both of us feeling a bit stressed. Nothing to worry about though, just life!
Anyways... Tommy arrived home Friday afternoon and told me he had some Lino for me to look at, I had to go down to the van to do it because he wasn't going to drag it upstairs unless I liked the look of it and thought it would go well in the house. I do have to say Tommy has a real eye for colour because it only took a fraction of a second to decide that I liked it! And so the house is a wee bit more ahead on the re-decoration plan.
We have used the lino he got to replace the manky stuff in the bathroom, toilet and kitchen... and so we have gone from this.....

To this....

... Yay!!! The new stuff is a wee bit greener than the colours in the photo (but that probably depends on the settings on your computer). I have to say I'm very impressed!!

Happy Birthday Libby!!!

You're getting very grown-up now!!

We all live in a yellow submarine!!

Well.... that's a bit of a fib, but on Friday afternoon we pretended we did for a while.

We took Libby to visit Kelly Tarlton's for the afternoon. Tom had never been and it's been years since I last went! I have to admit I was really looking forward to it!

Sadly only part of the complex was open as they were still repairing damage to the underwater tunnels. Despite that we still had a really fun afternoon.

The first thing we did was get into one of the snowcats so we could be taken through the penguin enclosure. At one point we were driven alongside the side of the aquarium so we were below the water level and could see how the penguins "fly" underwater. Funny, I always think of penguins as small wee fellows but the two species at Kelly Tarlton's made me realise that they aren't all quite so small. They were really amazing to see up close and we had to go back and have a second trip to get another look.

Next we stopped for a coffee break and icecreams. We were sitting right next to where the stingrays get fed and while we were there one of the staff appeared in the tank in to talk about the rays as he fed them. When dinner time was over we spent quite a bit of time watching them swimming about at the deep end of the tank.

After that we stopped in at the interactive centre where Libby made herself a mermaid crown and then very patiently helped Tom to colour in a picture.

It was certainly something different to do - we'll have to go back some time when the tunnel is open again!

60 years, 60 hours, 60 challenges!!

Last weekend was my father's 60th birthday. He had told my mother he didn't want any parties but we couldn't let a 'big O' slip by without doing something special. I don't know quite how we managed to keep it all so secret and despite Dad having a few suspicions he didn't know what we were up to.

We packed him off on a 'mystery weekend' to Rotorua and eventually we all joined him there on Friday for a family weekend. The challenges were all pretty harmless really and just a bit of fun so he got into the spirit of things and started going through the list. There were the kiwi icon photos that had to be taken:

and the signs that included a '60' or 'sixty'...

You have to hand it to him, he was a pretty good sport about it all... until the challenge that involve 60 seconds pretending to try on lingerie!! Eventually though he cracked that one too... twice!! And then went and purchased some... so what if it was for Mum... the shop assistants didn't know that! We considered taking points off because he seemed to actually enjoy that challenge a little too much!! Hmmmm.... might have had something to do with that 60oz of beer we had him drink in the hot-pools!!
We had a pretty awesome weekend together.... but of course we had one last secret challenge for him to complete on the Sunday... the grand finale!!

As we headed off towards the outskirts of Rotorua I'm not quite sure whether Dad noticed that we seemed to be following the signs to the airport.... but he soon figured it out... about the time he saw the huge signage on the side of one of the hangars... "SKYDIVE WITH US TODAY!".

I tell ya, he fair leapt out of the car, "I'm not jumping out of any bleeping plane!!"

Oh dear!! Stay calm.... no way was I throwing my Dad out of any plane... far from it... we had organised something far more sedate... A flight in a glider!!

The glider club offer trial flights to the public as conditions allow. I had called the day ahead to ensure that all systems were go and the weather was just stunning! When we arrived we were told that this was the first time they had been able to use the airstrip in 10 weeks. There had been a bit of flooding and weather conditions had not allowed the grass strip to dry enough up until last weekend.

They got Dad all strapped in and ready to roll... off along the runway they went.... up... up... and away!! Not long after the tow plane came back into the strip and was soon followed by the glider.... there had been engine problems so the flight was cut short and they came back in to check out the plane. We waited about for a while to see if they'd get it going again but then decided to head off and have some lunch. Everyone was pretty tired by then and we all had to think about the trip home. When I rang the glider club to let them know we were going to head home I was told that the problem with the plane was a major and they couldn't fly any more that day. Since then the weather has turned to crap and I wouldn't be surprised if the airstrip is out of action again.... it may have been a short flight Dad, but it looks like it's the only one for a while!! Gotta use those windows of opportunity while they are open!

I think everyone had a good time! It sure looks like it!!

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY DAD!!