we were kindly invited by a group of people from our church to go to a beach half an hour’s drive up north. it was an absolutely lovely spot, with a sheltered grass area just above the beach, and a lovely calm beach/sea area.
being part of a kiwi crowd, we set up camp on the grass area
we did rock pooling which revealed loads of little crab (crablets?)
here they are inspecting crabs and trying to avoid standing on oyster shells which are very spiky and can easily cause infection if not removed quickly. (nice!)
this (below) is the view from where we were sitting in the shade
the girls went off and swam in the sea throughout the day and there was always a parent of two to watch them, and the teenager children were also there to look out for them
most of the national parks have these excellent photo frames. you can sit and watch people posing for photos for hours. it’s always very amusing.
at one point, one of the dads and I inadvertently took the 6 of the youngest kids on a walk to a geocache. unfortunately we went the trickiest way over rocks and boulders and didn’t actually find the cache. loops. they enjoyed the adventure though i think. and it gave the rest of the parents and hour’s rest !
a little later on we took the older kids on the more direct route and did manage to find the cache.
we also had this fantastic views
this is looking back towards the bay where we were sitting
parking is free at these places so we didn’t spend any money for a full day’s fun on a not busy beach (despite the cars!). other than a few dollars for the road toll and a couple of hot drinks in the afternoon.
we all had a ‘wow, we really live here moment’ today as we sat looking out across the flat blue sea on a cloudless warm day just hanging out a group made up of three lovely christian families who seem genuinely happy to call us friends too ! God is so good !
no idea what we’re up to tomorrow. we’re just hoping we won’t wake up and find the whole last two and a half months haven’t been a dream !
Comments
One response to “01 01 10 – starting the year in style”
“We all had a ‘wow, we really live here’ moment”
We’re so happy for you guys! Don’t tell anybody, but we’re still having those moments 5 years on and we hope that you do too. God bless you and your adventures in Aotearoa and long may you be so blessed.
Buzz, Wendy and girls