Xmas 2008 - New Year 2009

What an amazing time at the bach.  45 visitors in the first week, a wonderful beach-style Xmas day with lovely people, an enjoyable New Year's Eve with relatives and friends, wonderful weather and lots of swimming, and even a bit of repairs and maintenance!  Lots of coming and going, and the creek echoed with the sounds of families enjoying themselves, as should be the case for this summer holiday.  

Graeme & Helen spent a few days at the bach prior to heading back to the UK,   and Hana and I joined them before Xmas.  Barbie & Larry, and his family (Jan, Iain, poppa PJ, and Dane) joined us for Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, then Phil, Coralie & Will, and Will's sister Beky arrived on Boxing Day, and G&H and Hana left.  Sue and Ron; Phillip , Christine and Cuatro; also Robert, Kelli, Andrew and Claire; and Auntie Joy, Roger, and Allison, Masoud, Pedram and Nikisa came to visit. 

Coralie & Will's friends stayed with them in the garage and at the motor camp - Brad & Mirika, Claire & Scott, Samantha and Hannah.  Brad followed Dane's example and contributed crayfish to the menu!  Also delicious Porai for the BBQ.  Yum!  Christine & Peter, Will's mum and dad, camped by the garage for a couple of nights too.  New Year's Eve was enjoyed in the garage and paddock, and on the new big deck, with a background of amazing fireworks from Tom and the camp, and others.  

Barbie & Larry brought their mates from the Kemp Rd campsite for a day of sun, sea and sand, and Phil, Christine and Cuatro came back (with a gate for the paddock!).  

Had lovely sessions of chats and/or drinks and nibbles with Christine, Linda, Wendy & Simon, Geoff & Haklyka, Patsy & Ian, and the Michael Hayes family at their bach.  Helen & Ben, Bobby and Alana, Tom & Christine and their mates, and Glenn & Rebecca as well, all camped in the paddock and contributed to the buzz.  Sue Worthy (Jones) and her gang, and Linda & Shane Ace and the boys were in the houses, and then the Gasquoines arrived - Margie, with Susie, Niki and their families.  On the last day Joanna Williams & Dave turned up with Molly-Jo and Katie-the-dog, all the way from Karitane.  Fabulous to see Molly enjoying the crystal-clear creek on the incoming tide, in time-honoured fashion.  Just as her mum did as a wee tot.  This is the 'family' side of the summer holiday.

And the community side: New Year's Day at Tauranga Bay has become a people, noise and fun-filled day for the annual community association gala.  Food, sideshows and helicopter rides, culminating in the traditional rubber ducky race.  Linda, Phil and I spent the day on the sausage/steak sizzle and the weather was stunning.  HOT.  It was great to have Mary & Monte, and Heather and Ray, pop in for a Xmas drink, and to share in Mark & Nathalie's housewarming just outside the gate.  And to benefit, via Linda, from some of Ray's succulent smoked hapuka.  Spent a day at the Whangaroa Museum in Kaeo, helping with the computer and at a committee meeting as well.  

Kayaking?  Well, the 2 sit-ins, the sit-on, and the old surf ski were well used by the kids between Xmas and New Year.  Phil and I had only a few short paddles, up the river, around the rocks to check out the birds, along to Grandpa's Garden bay, and spent a lovely morning browsing around the Arrows.  Nothing in the way of fishing this time.  

The birds!  I did spot one juvenile dotterel early in the holiday, and then not sure if it grew up, or if it disappeared.  The oyster catchers started off with two very little chicks, and another pair had two older chicks I'd spotted newly hatched in early November.  We kept a close eye on them, and it was such a treat to see the adults protecting and teaching the chicks, but mid-way, one of the older chicks disappeared, and one of the adults was injured.  Must have been a dog.  The young seagulls and terns were being shoved out of the nests and we saw the usual shags, herons, and a couple of pied stilts.  

As well as a collection of 'birds at T Bay' photos, I now have a collection of 'boats seen from the bach' photos.  What an amazing variety in the passing parade, from the annoying jetski in the lagoon, to dinghys and kayaks galore, fishing boats of all shapes and sizes, the Spirit of New Zealand, super-yachts, and stately elderly launches.   

We are so privileged.  

Check out my Picasaweb for zillions of photos.

we were reminded of the serenity and beauty of being at the bach

Phil and I spent a weekend at the bach in September doing a bit of a springclean.  Phil took his chainsaw and tackled the fallen old pohutukawa that means we now can't get to the bach at high tide with dry feet.  Heaps of work, but the majority of the tree will stay where it is.  

A feature of these two visits has been the birds.  The dotterels have struggled to raise 5 chicks, and we think that only one might have survived the dogs, gulls and storms.  They are courageous in their efforts to protect eggs and chicks!  The tui spent Labour weekend in the flax flowers which were a deep russet colour.  What a treat.  We took masses of photos of them, with their heads covered in orange pollen, and they did get used to us being there watching.  

Hana and Barbie became reacquainted with each other the the bach.

Fitzy and Hana had to work out how to share a bed
but he loved being the centre of attention of course

The puzzle board was dusted off

Lovely sisters reacquainting 

Hilarious watching a couple of young guys get themselves well and truly stuck in their pride-and-joy, with the tide on the way in.

Well, somehow, I've lost the post I wrote, and my attempt at inserting and organising photos was a bit of a failure.

  

In November, Hana and I spent a lovely, leisurely couple of days at the bach with Barbie.  Yes, Barbie actually came all the way from Kerikeri to spend the night.