Our Emily Week

Tuesday was a quiet day spent mostly at home.


There were many workmen about. There were the painters painting, the tiler tiling, and the builder making shelves and doing odds and ends outside.


I kept an appointment at the doctors to get my 'Fit to Travel' letter. Having seem me a couple of times previously he could see that my condition was stable apart from the fact that I had put on some weight.


At the end of the morning we did go out to Pak n' Save. I dropped grandma and Emily off at the little play area in the school playground.


In the afternoon we set off for Madill's Farm Park twice. After getting to the park we turned around to go home to find her second doll. Then we returned were she played happily without any dolls. Doh!


At 5.15 I was summoned to set off and collect Zoe from her play scheme.


Irene and me had a chill out time before joining Sally to watch the second part of another Harry Potter movie.


On Wednesday there was only the painters in. I drove grandma and Emily off to the Kiwi Valley Farm where Emily enjoyed feeding the animals, riding on a pony, charging through the maze, riding on the trailer behind the tractor and  exploring the cave. She did not much care for the chickens.

It became showery as we left the farm and seems to have set in for the day.


On the way home we stopped at a Mitre10 store for lunch. I could swear that they are a Kiwi branch of B and Q apart for having a wider range of barbecue stuff, a play area and a good cafe. Before and after our lunch Emily made good use of the play area. There was a surfboard on springs on which Emily did a good impression of a surfer. We all had pancakes which were larger for the adults, had pieces of banana and covered in syrup. The adult ones also had slices of bacon which Emily enjoyed.


Sally was home, doing office work, when we got back. Emily played happily and I did some more work on my painting.


In the evening we went of to our friends, Stefan and Debbie. The food had moved up a notch. There was rice with stew and we finished off with custard pie. The conversation about church life was so interesting that we left quite late and sneaked back in the house so as not to disturb the family.


While we were with them they told us about a man who had approached them at their Noah's Ark stand in Auckland City Square. He was dressed smart-casual and claimed to be a born again Christian. He told them a sad tail about being unemployed, but was now working, but needed $300 to get him through to his first pay check. They offered to help if he gave them his email address to arrange to contact them. When the Kitshoffs got home they told their student daughter. She asked if the man had said that he had been a dock worker. It turned out the same man had been telling the same story in the University. It did not come has a surprise to find the email address was phoney.


Thursday started with the sudden descent on us of a builder and a plumber. Mum happened to be downstairs when the work men arrived to move shelving and a hot water tank from a cupboard. This meant rapidly emptying the cupboard. So, by the time Irene appeared the settee was covered in piles of towels and other cloths.


We left the workmen to get on with the work. I drove Irene and Emily to MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology). I am now so used to driving through the city and out on the M16 that I did not need a SATNav. 


Having paid our entrance fee we started by a tram ride. The tram takes passenger from the main MOTAT site to the aviation site. Just before we arrived I noticed a rainbow. We have seen so few rainbows here despite the fact that there can often be a mix of rain and sun. Sally says that they are not uncommon. The picture shows a very  low bow, almost flat along the horizon.

There was little of interest to Emily on the aviation site so we were soon boarding a tram back to the main site. Emily spent a total of 5 hours at MOTAT. There was a 70's mini which had been rebuilt to look life a fire engine. It did a two minute circuit of a part of the site pulling two open carriages. Much of the time was taken up with this ride.


She also enjoyed the 00 gauge railway; predicting were it would go and happily running ahead to stand waiting for the train to come. She spent time climbing on to the engine and waited patiently for a turn on the catapult. 

Waiting for the Tram's Departure

Young Engineer

Waiting for the Grandparent's Coffees

Ahead of the Train.

The viaduct is a scale model of one in the middle of North Island.

We crossed it for real the last time we came.

Fire Engine Ride

Catapult

"Hello Grandma"

When we got back we found that Emily's room had been painted and just needed curtains and furniture before the Clark family could get back to normal sleeping arrangements. This could happen on Friday.

My next task was to pick up Zoe from the holiday club early so that the girls could have a last hold of the Kindy guinea pigs because the animals were going to passed on to a new, temporary keeper on Friday.


Having had a particularly exhausting day yesterday we decided to take it more easily. Emily occupied herself for most of the morning.


I did some more of my painting. The ferry boat catching the evening sun is now in place.


At about 11.00 we set off for 'Lollipop's' indoor play area. We were there quite some time as Emily was kept busy playing with the other children there. She particularly enjoyed chasing a young Batman around area. There was a brief pause in the proceeding while she eat her hot-dog on a stick. In this country a hot dog can mean a large sausage on a stick.


Back in the house the tiler had gone leaving a few bits of grouting to do.


I had left my paint brushes and paints out and this inspired Emily to do some paint mixing like Granddad. Fortunately Grandma intervened and quickly provided Emily with her own paints and brushes before she could get too far in using mine.


Sally arrived back early to take the guinea pigs to the new temporary keeper and pick up Zoe.


The girls started tea. 


Ian came home with a large canvas print of the very photos that I am laboriously using for a painting. Perhaps I should just sign it and pass it off as my art work.
  
The baby sitter arrived and the four adults went off to a meal in Mission Bay. The first stop was the Belgium Beer Cafe. They carry a huge range of imported beers. We tasted three of them before setting off to the Thai Restaurant.

The Belgium Beer Cafe is above
and the ice-cream parlour beneath

The Thai Restaurant as an authentic feel with the waitresses doing their little bows. The food was very tasty and plentiful. I had the macademia chicken. Sally and me shared a jug of ice cold cider. We sat at the very table that we had sat at three years before, except that this time it was already dark due to it being later in the year.

On the way we were given a letter from our neighbours, Jenny and Francis. The mail was a late Easter card, but added to the greeting was the message, "Wish you were here." As we drove along the sea shore on a warm autumn evening a reply to the message, from a much colder UK, needed very little thought.


On Saturday we got up a little early to see what we could do to help Sally and Ian put the girls' rooms back to normal. It turned out that the best thing was to take them both to 'Lollipops'. The cashier recognised us from yesterday. We sat and had our 'free' drinks while Emily went round and around on the little merry-go-round and Zoe went on the climbing equipment with a new 'friend'.


On the way back we called in for MacDonald's.


The tiler had arrived and we hope that this part of the work will be completed today.


Emily seemed very please with her new room.

Sally is spending the day doing a very thorough 'autumn clean'.

The Day of Failure and Before

Friday 10th

After a quiet day indoors, Irene and I went off for a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was very warm and many people were out on the beaches enjoying food and other social activities. Zoe had gone off to her first Brownie camp with her mum.

St Heliers beach as the shadows
 began moving in.

Rangitoto and the first sunset colours.

Looking from Kohi beach as the
city lights were coming on.

Darkness at St Heliers

It was one of those rain or no-rain weekends and on Saturday we were indoors for the morning, but we drove out to Sylvia Park for a few bits from the 'Warehouse' and 'PAK'nSAVE'. Sally came home in the afternoon.

On Sunday Zoe was still away. Emily went to a party with Ian and Sally had a sleep while Irene and I were at church. We arrived at a reasonable time and the car park attendants ushered us in to their multi-storey car park.

It was the usual, lively service, followed by tea/coffee and bacon and egg pie, which I thought was delicious. The cafe even had an EFTPOS card reading machine.

Late in the afternoon Zoe returned and was pretty tired after the weekend.

On Monday the weather was again uncertain. We took the girls off to school and Kindergarten and, because it was cloudy, they did not have sun block. We did some  house work. Having done some cleaning the builders turned up with angle-grinders and soon there was much more dust than we had cleared. We then set off to our favourite seat at Glover Park which overlooks Rangitoto and Browns Island. After sitting to eat lunch the sketchpads were brought out. However, after an hour after an hour the heat became too intense and we went off down through the park to the cliff tops and down to the beach. Most sheltered benches were taken, but we found a reasonably covered one, and  finished the drawings before going back to the house.

Glover Park

Our bench. It had become quite rickety.

Walking along the board-walk to find shade.

Today - Tuesday we had the car and set off to find the 'Fairy Falls'. These are in the Waitakere mountains. According to the web site, the entrance to the falls track was on Mountain Road. And it was a mountain road; steep and windy and fortunately traffic free. There was a small, rough car park and an entrance. At this point, stiff bristles had been set in a piece of board walk and there were bottles of chemicals to spray our shoes, in order  to protect the kauri trees from a nasty fungal disease.


Immediately, the track was testing. It was narrow, with some gravelling and a steep drop to the left. At one place, where trees had fallen, a path way had been cut through the tree trunk. There were places where trampers had done track repairs and we found it necessary to throw pieces of foliage over to make a more walkable path. At one point, there was an open view of the city, but mostly the track was enclosed by dense bush.


We were encouraged when we came across a brand new, substantial bridge, but eventually, the track led to a fast flowing stream and the only crossing was either using uneven stones or wading through. That, for us, was the end of the walk.

View Across the Bush

Logs cut to create a pathway

Recently built bridge

Home-made track improvement

The end of our attempt to get to the falls

 Once at the car we had a drink and some fruit and decided to go on the Arataki Visitors Centre, where we had been on a previous visit. The top of Mountain Road turned on to the aptly named Scenic Drive. A little way along it we came to a better car park at a different entrance to Fairy Falls. Here the track was better laid, but it was still going to take one and a half hours. We thought that we had walked enough and made our our way on.

City view from Arataki

Looking down over Maori totem pole

The Arataki Visitors Centre is a beautiful building in  lovely grounds. It is a starting point for a number of tracks and has fabulous views of the Waitake Mountains. Unfortunately, the coffee machine was out of order. Having taken a few pictures, we moved on to Titirangi. This followed the same plan as we had followed some years before. Except, this time, we were going to get down to Titirangi beach and visit the town's art gallery.


We were a little early for coffee, so went past the town centre and onwards downhill. This did not lead us to the beach, but to a boat ramp. Having gone back to collect my camera, I found that Irene had already left the boat ramp and had gone around the headland on to the grit covered bay. The land of New Zealand could well be described as a land of bays and trees. This bay was small and no exception and there was little choice, but to cross it to the next headland. The clear water was tempting as a way to wash off the tramping track dirt, which we did.

Shoe cleaning

I waded out to try to get my bearings, as at this point we were on the Tasman side of Auckland and were looking towards the airport over Manukau Harbour, with none of the familiar islands of the Pacific side. I find it quite amazing that in Auckland the distance between an inlet from the Tasman and an inlet from the Pacific is about 1/3 of a mile, but there is no canal through.

Stripy pattern on rock

Headland beginning to flood

When I got back to my shoes, I found that they were close to drifting out into the sea. The tide had turned and we needed to take a higher line to the headland, just getting over before we would have had to wade again.

Panorama from the bay

Having still not got to coffee and Titirangi beach we set off. The beach was quite disappointing. There was little to see and no coffee. 

Titirangi beach

Finding the car park and the cafe that we had been in previously was easy and we had some nice chocolate cake and carrot cake before heading off to the gallery. Naturally, the gallery was closed and so back to base we travelled; pausing briefly for mum to take some photos of the large sailing boats off Devonport.

Lantern Festival

Saturday was a pretty much an unplanned day.


We were awakened at about 7.00 by Emily. She came into the bedroom to find us rather than mummy and daddy. (Sally and Ian were probably still sleeping in their Sky Tower Hotel bed.)


Irene answered a phone call at 7.10 from the delivery men who were letting us know that the new refrigerator was arriving between 1.30 and 2.30. 


Ian and Sally arrived home at the end of the morning to the news about the delivery. This meant a new plan had to swiftly come into action. The kitchen had to be rapidly remodelled to make room for the new appliance. It was all hands to the pump to remove a lot of stuff including an IKEA desk.


Having helped at the start our best help was to be going out to Pack and Save for the shopping. When we returned the delivery men were in the process of getting the large fridge freezer up stairs. One the men was an amazing giant.


Then came the news to create more stir. They were also delivering the new cooker. This was one of the wide sorts. Now this meant dismantling the IKEA; a job not to undertaken unnecessarily. And, the job had to be done quickly.


Once this reorganisation was complete then came my failed attempt to set up Ian's new dual wireless hub. Ian was successful, having called Netgear and I think, finally, telecom. The system seems to be working much faster now.


There was then a decision to go off to the 'Lantern Festival' in the city with Zoe. We arrived while the sun was still high and saw the lights in the lanterns gradually appear as the sun went down.


It was an amazing festival. There were literally thousands of people and keeping track of each other was a priority. Queues were lengthy for the rides, but Zoe, as always, has the patience to wait for a go.

The Start of the Evening

Zoe enjoyed the rides, especially attempting to stand up in a large ball as it floated around a pond. She entertained the people around with her spectacular acrobatics on the bungy jump.

Zoe Walking on Water

Bungy Jumping

Coolie Irene

Scary Sheep Lanterns

Zoe and Lantern

Together we visited some of the lantern displays and complete with Coolie Hat (Irene) who also carried normal balloons and helium filled dolphins (Sally) we left the park and made tracks for the MacDonalds and food for Zoe. Driving through the city, Zoe was delighted by the lights and asked why she hadn't been at night.

Going Home

As we drove into the food outlet Zoe notices two stars and made a wish. She told me that I could have a wish. I wished that Zoe would be contented and happy enough to go off to sleep quickly. She said that wish was not going to happen. While were getting ourselves settled Zoe went to bed and by the time that we were ready to eat our Saturday night chocolate she was (you've guessed it) fast asleep.