Halloween 2020

Emmett and Lucy joined us to celebrate Halloween.

The urchins made "Jack o lanterns' with orange balloons and black pens.

The T Rex tried to help, but his arms were too short.

Vampire wee and frozen hands

Jack o lantern pastries

The trick or treaters going out with the T-Rex.

We had to tape up the T-Rex's tail, as it kept dragging on the ground.

The penguin candy was delicious. Berry flavoured. It was weird eating penguins.

Happy Halloween!

Purple in Kuirau Park

The wysteria at Kuirau park has overgrown the bridge.

The bees are enjoying the purple flowers, they were quite noisy.

Duck on roof?

 

Heard some weird noises, and noticed a duck on the neighbours roof. Stayed there for about half an hour.

JPC Ball 2020

 The John Paul College Ball had been postponed because of the second outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland.   Gatherings of more than 100 people were prohibited.  The urchins just had to wait. Fortunately New Zealand went back to Level 1 a few days ago, and the ball could go ahead.

Pre ball refreshments and beverages at Charlotte's house

Anneke was stunning in a silk dress is by Zimmerman.  All the girls are looking gorgeous.

The urchins had an hour to get to the ball. The car had to drop Anneke off, pick up some more students, and take them to Girls High Ball, and then pick up Quinn. It was going to be a tight turnaround.

Anneke and Maisie

Quinn decided to be patriotic, by wearing black.

Quinn and Amtire at Tihiotonga

Quinn and Katherine

Anneke and Maisee were the first to the Ball. It was great to see them arrive.

The paparazzi watched the students arrive in the usual assortment of classic cars, limos, quad bikes (Hanna), utes, fertiliser trucks, fire trucks, camper vans, Harleys, caravans, buses, and amphibian vehicles.

Chad and Nicole

And then we waited, and waited and waited. The evening grew cold, and the paparazzi got restless. Finally, the last car in the queue.

The urchins had a great time at the ball.  

A Big Thank You to the team of 5 million, all working together to control covid-19.

A few days later, Quinn sends me a link to the JPC Ball 2020 photos. This was the cover photo

I think it is nice that Kat's mum and I are in the photo.

Tongariro National Park

 

The six hour drive back to Rotorua took 9 hours, due to a road blockage (crash) at Paikakariki. So pleased to see Mt Ruapehu before dark.

Mt Ngaruahoe looked impressive in the sunset.

Kapiti Island Nature Reserve (Part 4)

 
Do not trust the Kaka, they will still the food from your hand.

The Wilkinson track is a well formed track with a steady zig zag up the side of the island. We walked down it from Tuteremoana.  Unexpectedly a toutouwai (North Island Robin) hopped down and check us out. Very inquisitive bird. 

I expected more views of the mainland on our journey down the mountain, but it was cloudy.  This is looking north, towards the Okupe Lagoon.

Looking East across the chanel to Paraparaumu.

We made it to the base of the island in plenty of time before the boat arrived.   The urchins explored the coastline. I like the red beaks of the Tõrea mango (oystercatcher)

There sure was a strong wind, once we left the shelter of the native plants growing further inland

Weird looking jellyfish amongst the water smoothed rocks.

This is where the early whalers dragged the whales onto the shore. Windy, steep inclined, exposed to the elements.

I imagined my grandfather's grandfather living here 150 years or more ago. Tough man.

As we sat around waiting for the boat, another kaka and weka appeared.

Any food we had, was promptly stolen, and he scuttled off to the trees to devour it.

While the kaka was distracting the urchins, the weka stole the biscuits on the table.

Tighe lost another biscuit to the kaka. The weka and kaka worked as a tag team to distract us, and steal any available food.

As we walked to the boat along the lower part of the Rangatira loop walk, Tighe noticed some poo on some rocks within the bush line. He stopped, and he found a kororā (little blue penguin) nest. There was also a very fishy smell about.

Very quietly, not wanting to disturb the penguin, we turned the flashes off the cameras.

Excellent day exploring Kapiti Island. Such a variety of bird life.

Urchins waiting for the boat. We got picked up just after 3pm. The ride back was just as exhilarating as the journey coming over.  The day wore the teenagers out, and they were asleep before Pukerua Bay.