bookweek 2013

Gandalf wears

a "stunning" shop bought wig, beard and brown cape and sword

op shop belt and grey raincoat

grey school trackies and riding boots

large branch from the garden

Angelina Ballerina wears

a real tutu that Santa brought years ago

ears and nose made by moi (amazing what you can whip up with cardboard and pipe cleaners)

old cardi, tights and shoes

total cost - zip!

The Mad Hatter wears

an entirely bought outfit (online)...I know...lazy!

Don't you just adore Bookweek! And now to plan next years' costumes...

a beard no more

in the early days

After four long months, 'The Beard Project' has come to an end. Hooray *insert happy dance*.  Last Saturday was Judgement Day Night! A highly acclaimed and passionate panel of beard experts assembled at the Norfolk Island Leagues Club to critique and score each participants facial fuzz. There was suspense and excitement in the air as each gentleman took his turn at the judging table. Armed with beard probing instruments (rulers and pens), the length, thickness, uniqueness and overall quality of each beard was measured and assessed. Let it be known dear readers, we take beard growing very seriously on Norfolk Island!

the whole bearded gang

The bearded boys raised over $5000 for Norfolk Island's Sunshine Club (a local charity that gives financial support to individuals and families burdened with medical related expenses). My hairy-faced husband received an award for raising the most funds - $1270!!!!! Aren't you pleased to learn my suffering wasn't in vain.

fire up the electric razor

 source

the finishing touches at home...for extra smoothness

Now would you look at that baby face!!! OK, I confess....after all my whining, it took a little getting used to the beardless Ben. Harry and Till want bearded daddy back. But I think I'm happy with my smooth faced man!!!

Pffftt...beard growing....

been there, done that.

 source

manual mishaps

I joined a FB photo-a-day challenge this month. Sometimes it has been painful to keep up with. A few of the subjects have been tricky, and now and then I've cheated by digging through our photo archives for one that fits. On the whole though, most days I've really enjoyed getting out with my camera, armed with a specific theme in mind. The photo-a-day challenge has been helpful in developing my photography skills too; pushing me to look at things in a less than typically expected way.

Today's topic was 'ten minutes from home'...that sounds easy, right!? In reality, we never drive anywhere that takes more than say around 7 minutes at the most - I'M NOT JOKING!!!!! So giving myself permission to bend the theme just a smidgen, I decided to shoot some photos at Bumboras, especially as we had to take a trip to that part of the island anyway for Harry's guitar lesson. Bumboras is about 8 minutes from home!

Today was kind of a big deal in my photography journey as I switched my camera settings to manual. Today I twiddled the aperture and shutter sped dials with so much gusto I practically had RSI. I took heaps of photos and...... most of them turned out rubbish, but hey, you have to start somewhere!!! As I was taking the photos I kept thinking to myself, "oh that's going to be a great one', but in reality, once I loaded them onto the computer I saw them in all their over-exposed and under-focused glory.   For a minute I felt deflated.   But now having reflected a bit more, I don't think it's so bad that they didn't turn out as expected. We learn from our mistakes. Plus, I can always go back tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that, until I get it right!!!!!!

These photos were taken with my Nikkor 50mm prime lens.

new zealand [day three]

...how about I move on from Day Two (at this rate, it may be Christmas by the time I'm done sharing our NZ trip). After spending the night in the car park of the Firth Tower Museum at Matamata, we headed for Rotorua. Driving into the outskirts of Rotorua we stumbled upon Skyline, one of Rotorua's most well known tourist attractions. Fellow Norfolkers had told us about the spectacular gondola ride and thrillling Luge, so how could we drive pass without stopping! We had to drag number one son kicking and screaming into the gondola cabin (alright, I exaggerate...but there were tears). Being the mean, nasty parents we are, Ben and I wouldn't back down. Not only did Harry live to tell the tale, he was also rewarded with a spectacular view over Rotorua, the lake and the mountains beyond*. We had two rides each on the Luge which was super good fun but FREEZING (even with the sun shining)! A Luge is part toboggin, part go-cart. Controlling the brakes and steering requires a certain amount of strength, which is why Till rode with Ben. At the bottom of the Luge track, we had to ride a chair lift back to the start. We didn't realise this when we signed up, I promise. Poor Harry...we were pushing his fear of heights to the limit! But he was so brave for each of those chair lift rides...SO incredibly brave. It had been years since I'd ridden a chair lift myself and I have to confess I was feeling quite nervous too!!! Serves me right....tormenting my child like that.

We didn't spend much time in Rotorua itself, although it appeared to be a lovely city. After stopping for lunch at Kuirau Park we pushed on, keen to spend the afternoon exploring Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland, a geothermal attraction located 20 minutes south of Rotorua. 

Oh my gosh, this place was facinating! The landscape feels prehistoric to say the least. At every turn in the path I half expected to see an Ankylosaurus or a Diplodocus. It feels like you are exploring another planet, albeit, a smelly one. Truth be told, the sulphur smell really didn't bother Ben, myself and Harry all that much. Only Miss Till carried on like her nose hairs were being assaulted with every teeny tiny breath. Look, Till has always had a sensitive sense of smell.... but talk about dramatic. She made such a fuss we ended up stuffing bits of tissue up her nostrils!! Of course I then spent the remainder of our visit praying she didn't snort them right up her nose, with visions of me retrieving them with a chop stick or tweezers later. Parenting is a joy, isn't it!?

I didn't want to say goodbye to the boiling mud with it's everchanging form....it's alive you know.  Well at least it seemed to be. Crazy-fascinating stuff I tell you! I could have sat and watched it for hours. Have you seen the movie Labyrinth? Remember the Bog of Eternal Stench?? It was such a childhood favourite...the image of David Bowie (the Goblin King) wearing tight hosiery is permanently etched on my brain! Anyway, this boiling mud pool was a real life Bog of Eternal Stench...complete with "noises"....you get my drift? Sadly my children weren't as impressed as I was. So I snapped out of my daydream filled with knights, knaves, oubliettes and goblins so we could hit the road once again. Our next destination: Taupo.

Along the way, quite by chance (cause that's how this holiday rolled...no definite plans or set itinerary), we spotted a sign to Huka Falls and managed to pull into the car park 10 minutes before it was to be locked for the night! Sure it was almost dark, but at least we can say we saw the falls! They were rather impressive actually, even in the dark! You can certainly hear them before your see them.

my sweet water babies...outside air temp...about 5 degrees!!!

That night we booked ourselves into an actual caravan park at Taupo because we needed to do some laundry. Plus we had our sights set on a nice long soak in a thermally heated pool. We went to bed that night very content; with freshly laundered clothes and relaxed muscles!!

Day Four (Napier) coming soon

...honest!

*Till looked across Lake Rotoura and said "I can see the South Island!" - ha ha

Follow these links if you missed NZ Day One and Day Two

Read about the campervan we hired here

lessons in the laundry

Miss Till announced she wanted to be in charge of her own washing. I'm not entirely sure why. Ben is pretty much in control of all laundry related tasks 'round here...perhaps his skills aren't cutting the mustard!?

"...Mum, I'm doing my own washing from now on! Can you show me how?"

..."um, really? sure, we'll do it tomorrow!"

Of course she held me to my word. Naturally. I mean, what seven year old wouldn't, right! It's washing for goodness sake. And it's Saturday. It's a no-school-today day, so lets wash!!! Are my kids weird*?

Best seize the moment hey...and bond in the laundry like its' the best room in the house! We discussed the differences between full cycles and short cycles, water temps and water levels...separating colours and how much powder to use etc. Oh how knowledgeable I am in this area. Between trips to and from the laundry to check on the machines progress, Till gathered together a little bag of pegs (pink and purple only). When the cycle had finished, she pulled it all out and made two piles...

"I'm only hanging out my washing Mum, you can hang out everything else"

...so that's how it works, eh?

All day long she checked on those clothes flapping in the sunshine, like her life depended on it! And guess what....I walked past her bedroom later that evening and blow me down....there was all her clean washing, neatly folded, sitting on her bed! I think Harry needs a lesson next weekend!!!!

* there are stories in our family.....about a certain little girl (she's big now...and keeps a blog) who from time to time went to play at a friends house just so she could rearrange their bookshelves and tidy up their toys for them. I don't think the friends appreciated her company, but the mothers did! Weird indeed, it's hereditary.

the pull of nature

Immediately after our Saturday afternoon yoga class, I always get a strong urge to connect with nature. I can't explain it, but the feeling is hard to ignore. Perhaps it's because I feel centred again or maybe it's the renewed energy I have. On arrival home this week, I coaxed the kids into the car and hit the beach. As we drove down to Emily Bay, the sun was just beginning to set and the light was magical. We had the bay all to ourselves. It was perfect!

creaky old convicts

It's time for a break in "the weather"...a post not related to our New Zealand trip. Here's a bunch of photos I took last week of my gorgeous hairy husband on the footy field. That beard will be gone in just over 2 weeks!!!! I think I'll throw a 'the-beard-is-FINALLY-gone' party. Sorry, I digress. Ben has been playing footy almost every Sunday afternoon since we moved here. He LOVES it.  At first he wasn't allowed to score a try...well, the team is for oldies you see.... but now, he's OLD yay (over 35)!!!! Now, he's legally allowed to score a try, and better still, he can compete in the Golden Oldies Rugby comp!

This week Norfolk Island hosted a Golden Oldies Rugby competition with teams visiting from QLD and New Zealand. It was a week long wild rumpus of footy and socialising. I hate footy. I never watch it, EVER! But I have to confess, I loved every minute of trying to capture the fun these Creaky Ol Convicts were having. Their enthusiasm was completely infectious; just a bunch of guys (and a few gals) of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels running around together, having a laugh....all with the aim to get a ball over the line...apparently! Ben is the youngest player and the oldest, Ian, is 80 years old. His gold shorts are a visual reminder to the other players that he's untouchable!

Before we moved here, Ben read about the Creaky Ol Convicts here, on Cristina's blog. He said then and there, "I want to play with those guys when we move to Norfolk". I'm glad he's living the dream! lol

I won't lie...I've TOTALLY lost my blog mojo of late....not only have I lost the inspiration to keep up with writing posts, I've barely even dropped in to read anybody else's blog (and that alone is very unlike me!). My focus lately has been photography. It's all I want to do! I've just learnt a bit more about shutter speed so I've been trying to capture as much action as I can. I still have SO much to learn (and I'm having a lot of fun)!

new zealand [day two]

So on Day Two we left that cosy carpark in Tuakau and drove through fog and light rain for a bit (and places with names we couldn't pronouce, like Ngaruawahia!!!!!!!!!!) before reaching Waitomo Caves. A smidge of bad weather doesn't really matter when you know you're heading underground. On recommendation (thanks Mum and Dad), we signed up for the Glowworm cave tour; the prospect of drifting silently and effortlessly in a boat, on a river running through a cave, gently illuminated by little insect things had totally caught our imaginations! 

Sadly, our tour guide was the most uninspiring fellow one could hope to meet. He made our cave tour seem as exciting as clipping your toe nails. Don't worry, his insipid approach didn't dampen our enthusiasm. Let's face it, this was a boat ride in the dark!...not a sound to be heard except for the tiny drip-drop of water!...millions of sparkly shining stars above our heads!!!....OF COURSE we were impressed, it was magical to say the least. Yes, those glow worms more than made up for our near slumbering guide (who probably needed a caffeine hit). And guess what? They aren't actually worms at all. If I tell you what they really are, please promise me you won't lose the romance of it all!? Are you ready? Those twinkly little creatures with cute glowing bottoms...well, they are maggots, or larvae to be fair. Their real name is Arachnocampa luminosa. Rather a grand title.

Now the reason I haven't shared any photos of the caves is because photography was strictly prohibited. I did get a picture of our tour guide but I didn't think it polite to publish it after I've not said very nice things about his guiding skills!

After a leisurely lunch in our motorhome, we pushed on to Matamata, arriving at Hobbiton around 3ish. With the sun already starting to fade, and the temperature dropping fast, I wondered if maybe we'd left our run a bit late. Thankfully though, we got there just in time to catch the last tour bus of the day. Hobbiton (located on an extensive sheep farming property) is of course the very place where scenes from Lord of the Rings were made and later, The Hobbit. I haven't even watched the entire trilogy (I find it far too violent), but I love Tolkien's story of The Hobbit and I absolutely adored this set. The attention to detail was amazing! There was even washing hanging on the hobbit sized clothes lines! It was a fun place to photograph, but with the sun falling, the light was quite poor.

Our tour guide Benji regaled us with some funny tales of true die hard fans coming to Hobbiton, as you can well imagine. He told us all about the Lord of The Rings enthusiasts who regularly show up dressed in full costume, reciting quotes and playing out the scenes from the movies. Benji said the hard core fans know ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about Middle Earth, including what plants grow there!

After enjoying the complimentary ginger beers in the Hobbiton Tavern, we hit the road once again. Benji (a tour guide with actual spunk) had told us about a great pizza place in Matamata. If you are passing though town, you must stop at Power Pizza. My mouth is watering just typing their name. The pizza was the best we'd eaten in quite some time!

Oh and here's where we camped on Day Two...

Yep, just us...and a power box...ah the serenity.. It only cost $10 to sleep here. Ben slipped the money under the museum's door. Maybe we should have paid extra for the lemon Ben pinched off their tree!!!! (just one I promise). This museum, by the way, looked great but (i) it wasn't open and (ii) we had Day Three all planned out. There's always next time...

Coming up...

Day Three: Rotorua, Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland, Huka Falls

Did you miss Day One?

Check out our motorhome here.

new zealand [day one]

On Sunday 30th June, we left for the airport in a hurry (forgetting to feed the goldfish - oops) and were the last passengers to check our bags in. You can imagine the disapproving glances we receieved from the airport staff for our tardiness. The flight was over in the blink of an eye (one hour and a half) and we landed in Auckland at 2:30pm with empty bellies (because in the rush and excitement of leaving home, we'd forgotten to eat lunch). Almost the only available food at the airport was McDonalds - it took a full 10 minutes to convince Till it was OK to eat fast food just this one time!!!!  Ben made the "Hi, we're here!" phone call to the Wilderness staff, who then promptly collected us from the airport and drove us to the motorhome depot. 

By the time we'd unpacked, signed the paperwork and listened diligently to the explanatory "this is how the van works", it was almost dark! We hadn't really planned on exploring Auckland itself, but it made sense that we should at least have a quick drive around and find some dinner. Secretly I was hoping we might stumble onto New Zealands highest man-made structure Sky Tower, which we did (and it turns out one doesn't stumble onto Sky Tower, it actually sticks out a mile). Ben and I were keen to see the view from the top, but we couldn't convince Harry for love nor money. Yikes, it's a very real fear of heights peeps...tears included. Oh well. At the casino next door, we dined in the buffet restaurant (just three floors up folks), and had a pretty impressive feed. I may not have experienced the (apparently) awesome view from Sky Tower, but the NZ mussels I enthusiastically consumed more than made up for it.

With full bellies we left Auckland and drove south for an hour or so until we found a designated free camping spot.  Pulling up for the night, we dived eagerly into our beds - exhausted, worn out from excitement more than actual physical exertion. I did have a giggle when we woke up the next morning and I peeked out from behind the curtains to get my bearings (as curious school kids passed our window I might add). We appeared to be in the back streets of a small town, in an empty car park of sorts, tucked behind work sheds of some description and just metres from a waste dumping facility...oh and across the road from a police station and a school. It honestly didn't matter, our batteries were recharged and our adventure was about to really start. We were finally in New Zealand and our holiday was underway!

Later investigations revealed that our first camp stop was in a place called Tuakau.

Come back soon for Day Two....Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton

In case you missed it, here's my motorhome review and tips!

friday favourite [kids at play]

Here's my favourite photo taken this week. 

I'd love it if you'd share yours too...just add a link to your Friday Favourite in the comments below!