The Orongorongo Track (again)

This amazing overnight tramp has featured on our blog before, almost 2 years ago.We loved it back then, and we loved it just as much this time.

Last time we walked it, the kids were just 4 yrs & 6 yrs, so they required a lot of help and we had to carry all their gear. This time it was different! We gave them backpacks and made them carry all their clothes, shoes, sleeping bags, books, toys, etc! Leaving us to just carry our own gear and a couple of days worth of food. We also brought another family along with us this time so we had 5 kids (and a dog) in our group who all motivated each other to walk all day without any grumbling at all. Nice....

So, after a picnic lunch in the bush, we set off. Here we are at the start of the track, all refreshed, happy, mud-free and sweat-free. Note Freddy Gawn (the dog) who was the only one who had no idea what was in store for him at this point - although he probably had the most fun out of all of us in the end!

The first day's walking went brilliantly, with just one brief stop necessary for some afternoon tea and a refreshing paddle in the river....

The track is relatively flat (by NZ standards) but the last half hour was a bit challenging with a lot of uphill along narrow rocky paths. I think we were all quite pleased when we found our hut!

The Department of Conservation maintains a number of these huts around the country which you can book out to sleep in when you're tramping, and they do such a great job. There's no electricity so you need to bring your own candles, but other than that all you need for the night is there - some mattresses and bunk beds, a gas cooker, a wood fire (with wood and an axe) and a table and chairs to drink tea and play endless rounds of cards at...

...while the kids occupied themselves playing outside with sticks and torches and stuff.....

After a very, very broken nights' sleep (Freddy kept pacing the floor of the hut and kept us all awake!), here we are setting off in the morning for Day 2's walking.

For the journey back we decided to take a different route, and travelled the first part along the (mostly dry) river bed instead of along the track. We thought it would be nice and flat and easy. How wrong we were!

The little water there was criss-crossed backwards and forwards across the river bed, which meant countless river crossings for us. Shoes off, shoes on, shoes off, shoes on, numb feet from the cold, numb feet from the rocks. Only two of us complained though...!

It did mean that the journey out took much longer than the journey in! So long that the boys/men couldn't hold on any longer....(!) ;)

And a couple of lolly breaks were necessary to keep the kids going this time...but we all made it out in one piece with only one tiny blister between the 9 of us, a few muddy items of clothing and lots of smiling faces....!

World of Wearable Arts (or W.O.W)

It's all over :( :( :(  So sad.

As much as we've wanted to, it's not been easy to post something on this blog about WOW, as the level of confidentiality around the show is very high and we signed a contract promising not to take or publish photos or reveal any show information.

But we do have to acknowledge it on our blog somehow, as being in this year's World of Wearable Arts show has been such a massive adventure for Molly and it has been such a big part of her life.

She's dedicated all her spare hours to it for the last 3 months, and she's performed in front of an estimated 50,000 people! She's made new friends - of all ages. She's learnt about theatre and dance and performance and costumes and lighting and fashion design. And she's learnt how to make her own Milo backstage (!).  

But most importantly, Molly has enjoyed every last second of every rehearsal, every performance, every moment backstage, and every late night.

Here's the official (child) cast photo that was in the back of the Show catalogue...(Molly in the front row, left of centre).

Because we weren't able to take photos or videos, we have little to remind us of the show, but we have downloaded a few pictures from the WOW Facebook page. This one gives a really good overall view of the childrens' section and was taken I think literally seconds before Molly came out on stage riding on the back of a trike!

Unfortunately there aren't any official pictures of Molly on stage, but here are some of her friends wearing their garments (Official photos courtesy of WOW Facebook page).

Now for a slightly naughty one! Some friends of ours saw the show one night and managed to sneak a little iphone snap of Molly on stage. They didn't have great seats so the view is from behind with a lot of stage lighting blaring, but it's all we have of Molly on stage so it's going on the blog! 

Molly is the little one who is standing right at the top of the human pyramid with her left arm in the air. Isn't she cool!!! (As one of the littlest people in the show, Molly's main role seemed to be the person who got lifted up/thrown around/carried/twirled by the adult performers). 

We also have this shot of Molly backstage getting ready for the show. The picture was taken by her casting manager who asked us please not to share this photo around publicly and only to let friends and family see a copy.

As this blog is password protected to friends & family only, we feel comfortable doing this, but just ask you not to download these pictures or share them around please due to the confidentiality agreement we signed - thank you!

Finally, just one more official picture from the WOW Facebook page, because this section of the show was just SO cool....!

Spring School Holidays 2014

It's nearly the end of the Spring school holidays, and it's been a really fun one!

Molly has performed in WOW almost every night throughout the holidays - this has tied us to Wellington so we haven't been away at all, and it's also meant we've tried to keep things nice and relaxed during the day as she has to stay up late every night (the evening shows start at 8pm).

I say we've *tried* to keep things nice and relaxed. It's not so easy sometimes!

Grandad will be pleased to know that the trampoline he put up earlier this year is still getting a lot of use. Note the picture to the right is not of two boys - the one in stripes is just Molly wearing Alfie's clothes.

As they're roughly the same height now, Molly seems to have taken this as a sign that her wardrobe has doubled and often chooses to wear Alfie's things. (NB This doesn't apply the other way round - Alfie has not yet been seen wearing any pink).

The right hand pic is an early, before-breakfast, 7.30am shot which involved lots of squealing and shouting (our next-door neighbours have recently put a For Sale sign up and I think I'm maybe starting to understand why!)

When she hasn't been performing, Molly has basically cartwheeled her way through the holidays.

She's cartwheeled in the park, in the Botanic Gardens, and along the waterfront. She even cartwheeled around our local Countdown supermarket (and attracted a lot of attention from the old ladies!). And she also spent a whole morning cartwheeling up the beach last week...

...until Alfie put a stop to it by organising a sandcastle building competition. We all had to take part - so I had to put down my book & coffee for a bit and get building too - but it was a lot of fun! Alfie was the judge, so of course he was the winner of the competition as well. ;)

After the competition we put our little beach tent up for some shade and we had a picnic lunch. Unfortunately we couldn't work out how to get the thing down again, so had to walk back through town to the car like this....

And of course, there's also been plenty of playpark time too, as usual.

But despite their best efforts to wear Molly out each day, there has been some quiet downtime too. Time for a bit of fashion design...

...and some iPad time... Alfie recently bought himself a Minecraft Handbook, so there's been a lot of world building (and sheep killing, but we won't mention that bit too much) going on these holidays.

....a little bit of Mathletics (online maths homework)

Movie time....(she looks a bit tired hey?!)

And some art time too (of course!). Do you like the new hair? Molly's real hair has arrived at last, so we've given the loan one back and we had a very exciting appointment at the wig specialists getting fitted last week. At some point we'll be visiting a specialist hairdresser to get it cut and styled, but for the short-term Molly has asked to keep it super long. It feels so silky and lovely - and you look great Molly!! :)

Meanwhile, Alfie's highlight of the school holidays so far has been meeting the Wellington Phoenix players one day in the park. To all those overseas blog readers who have probably never heard of them, the Phoenix are New Zealand's equivalent of Manchester United. Well, ok. Probably not. But they are Wellington's soccer team and Alfie is a big supporter.

Happy holidays everyone!!