Our weekend in Mangawhai

What a great weekend we had up at the property. We took Kien's friend up with us. The boys were enthusiastic to stay in the tent which was super. They also spent a bit of time in the container playing on the strung up mattress - pretending they were riding on a horse, then it morphed into them during the war and being in a submarine topedoing the Germans. It was really interesting listening to them.

Some pics from the weekend.

We went to the local butcher and got a beautiful little pork roast. So we chucked that on the fire with a carrot and some spuds. Our dinner was fabulous.

The boys had sushi we picked up on the way up. Yes, make life as simple as possible. We all had a great time away. I love it up there.

At the beach before lockdown

We were at a friend's bach in Pauanui last weekend; the one before the lockdown period. It was really nice to get away from the madness for a little bit. There place backs onto a reserve, and was about 5 minutes walk to the beach. We headed up on Friday night straight after work. I had debated staying longer than the weekend as we had anticipated working from home, but without wifi on the property it meant having to hotspot our phones, and we didn't really know how the situation would have unfolded through days to follow. So we made the sensible decision to come home on Sunday night. It was a great weekend away.

Tramping the Waitawheta tramway

Kien's friend, Natalie, decided that for her 10th birthday party she wanted to go on a weekend tramp with her friends and stay at a hut. So over Waitangi weekend that's what a group of us did.



10km tramp along the Waitawheta tramway, with lots of stops at riverbeds, and many swing bridges. Luckily that Saturday was a little overcast, and we even had a sprinkling of rain, so we all managed to stay relatively cool.











Initially Kien was petrified walking over the swing bridges, but by the end of the weekend he was a pro.







We arrived at the DOC hut in the late afternoon, and the kids ran around playing tag/hide & seek. They also managed to forage a big bowl of blackberries for our breakfast. We were served spaghetti bolognese, which tasted amazing at a hut with no electricity in the middle of a forest.





What was also amazing was that the kids did all the washing up as well! So cute seeing them in the dark with their head torches.





We all turned in relatively early for the night. Jef decided he wanted to brave the wilderness and risk being attacked by mosquitoes and possums.




I didn't get much sleep. In a room full of people rustling around in their sleeping bags it wasn't easy to switch off. Kien also decided he wanted to sleep under the bunk for some reason, and I didn't have the energy to argue with him. Needless to say he changed his mind after midnight, of course!

After breakfast we cleaned the hut up before heading back.












We stopped along the way for a couple more swims.



















When we got to the car there were cold beers and a feast waiting for us. This definitely was not their first rodeo. Natalie's parents had a chilli bin packed full of goodies.



This trip was so much fun. Kien is very keen to do some more. We're building up for Tongariro crossing, when he's ready.

Pre birthday birthday party

I didn't feel like doing anything large this year for Kien's birthday party. It's just too hard at this time of the year. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he was really keen for a room escape challenge. So last Sunday that's that we did with a small group of his close friends. They truly are such an eclectic mix, which makes it very interesting when they get together.





We had to split the group into 2 teams to go to 2 separate rooms. Kien was in a room called "The Bach" and the other group went to "The Shed". They had an hour to solve clues to open locks and get out. I was locked in with Kien's group, and they were so excited throughout the whole thing. We managed to get out, but with lots of help from the game master, and with extra time as well.

















All round we had a great day. Kien and his friends enjoyed it - that's the main goal. Tick, another parental obligation fulfilled.