Dargaville Holiday Post #1 - Going on Holiday

(written 27/4/11)

On the freezing cold day of Monday, April 18th, we packed bags and suitcases of clothing, food, toys, games...and so on; Dad swapped our 8-seater for the Aikens' 10-seater (Thanks for loaning it to us!); and, yes, I spent a bit (well, maybe a BIG bit I suppose!) of time on the computer, emailing/chatting to my friends letting them know we were going away. Finally (at about 5:30!) we left for Dargaville, Northland.

We soon discovered that with and above-average sized family and a large van, we drew quite a bit of attention! (The van we borrowed at Christmas time had tinted windows, but because this one doesn't, everyone could see us). So anyway, we had fun laughing at, and waving to all the people who looked at us!! *grin* Not quite enough fun, though, it would seem, because near the beginning of the drive we had a few "Are we nearly there yet?"'s!

Because we arrived in Dargaville fairly late, and it is a very small town, no takeaway shops were open, so, after finding our Holiday Park we went to Woolworths (thankfully that was still open!) and bought bread rolls and cooked chicken for dinner, and a chocolate cake for supper, which we ate on returning to the Holiday Park. Side note - The GPS wasn't very happy that we were driving away from our programmed destination - it kept re-mapping to get us back to the Holiday Park; if you ever hear my siblings say "Turn right, after 100 metres, turn right" that's what they're referring to!

We had tried to get into a cabin, but our family is now too large to fit(!), so we were put in a backpacker unit which consists of

lounge and



dining

three bedrooms;

one with a double bed - Mum and Dad's room,

another had a single and bunk set - Jarrod, Danielle and Bryce

and last but not least - a bunk set comprised of double on bottom, single on top - Monique, Diana and me

Yes Uncle Pete, now I know what it's like sleeping, or ah, not sleeping, with Diana...!

Well, onto the next post...
Cya =)

27th December

On the 27th... we packed up all our stuff and loaded it into the van, and left for Wellington (around 10:30/11am).
We arrived mid-afternoon, and the others got unpacked at Aotea Campground where they were staying. Then we headed up to Nana's, where I unpacked, and we did the washing..blah blah blah...eventually Dad went to get F&C (Fish and Chips).

That night Nana and I watched... umm.. Shall We Dance. I think...!

Bee

To Wellington!!!

Hi!


On Tuesday 21st December, the Sonnevelds (homeshool friends - Suzanne, Ruth, Esther) came to pick up our 2 bird cages, guinea pigs, rabbit, and mice (x 6) with their trailer.
Most of the children went with them.
Mum and I went to the midwife, picked up chook chow, etc, and took Buttercup (rabbit) to the vet for his second Calisi (probably wrong spelling!!) virus vaccination, and have his eye checked at the same time, as it was white in the middle. As it turned out, he had a small ulcer on his eye, which they gave us some ointment for, which had to be applied twice a day.
Then we went out to the Sonneveld's house, and showed them how to clean the animal cages, and had lunch, etc...


Then... I can't remember exactly what we did, but we left their place, and carried on getting stuff ready so we could leave on Thursday.


On Wednesday, we packed everything into our bags, then I think I might have baked. That night we had dinner, then went to athletics training. After the other children were  in bed we packed the van. Then I made rolls, and heaps of other food, and Mum and I packed it.


We went to bed really late that night, and got up at .... maybe...7:30am the next morning.


We organised last - minute things, and then piled into the van.
After dropping a key off to Uncle Paul so he could paint our bathroom while we were away, we were on our way! It was about 8:37 when we left I think.


We stopped in Taupo about 12, and the other children played on the playground, etc. Then we got back in the car and had lunch, and i did some maths, and read, etc.


We had a couple more stops for Petrol etc, then arrived at the campground at 4:47pm.
I was staying with my Nana, so we went up to her house, and unpacked all my stuff. Eventually Dad and Nana went to get Fish and Chips for dinner.
Mum went shopping, then when she got back I made a Mud cake and started 2 cheescakes.


The others went back to the camp about 10:30 - 11pm.


I wrapped the last of my presents while waiting for the mud cake to finish cooking, then went to bed.


I'll post about Xmas day next time,
CYA,
Bee