05 February 2015

The younger children were shouted to an outing at Whiti Farm Park as their Christmas present from grandparents.

[I love it when they get to experience something instead of stockpile stuff; and make a memory with people they love.]

The trip up the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula was not pleasant with kilometres of narrow, winding, undulating roads but once there the party of six spent 5.5 hours rambling over the park and having a picnic.

It's not the sort of manicured lawns, stick-to-the-path type of place at all though. It appears to have haphazardly grown out of randomly placed farm machinery and the acquisition of various animals to house.  There is no circuit or loop to follow, you just have to keep up with the younger members who will be darting here and there.

You begin at the bottom of the hill/valley and make your way up to the deer at the top, seeing (o)possum, cockatiel, sheep, pigs & a wild boar, ostriches, turkeys, llamas, a magpie, lorikeets, dogs, alpacas, cows, rabbits, emus, roosters, bantams & chickens, a wallaby, goats, turtles, an African grey parrot, pheasants, chinchillas, an Australian blue-tongued lizard, geese, donkeys, and ducks on the way.  They breed La Perm cats too.

 

Here are some of the faces of Whiti...

 

Cockatiel

 

Opposum

 

Deer

 

Sheep

 

Sheep

 

La Perm kitten

 

Castor got to bottle feed a piglet

 

Ostrich

 

Llama

 

A hay barn where you can picnic, bbq, and play in the hay

 

The turkey saying good-bye

THE END!

 

Remember to check out the corrugated toilet block while you are there too - you might just find yourself sitting on an animal too.

Waikato
29 January 2015

 

Atlas shot this footage while we were in the Coromandel and I couldn't help but try to overlay some music to it so I could share it with you.  I hope you enjoy it.

[He didn't come out intending to shoot a video and you can probably tell from the elementary graphics and effects that it is my first time editing, right?!]

 

We've only watched the sunrise as a family a very few times - all while we have been away from home.  

I can see how if you are in a mobile home without black-out curtains, you would be up earlier in the morning anyway, so perhaps we may see more sunrises (and sunsets) on the road.

 

Here are a few other still images:

 

 

 

 

 

Waikato

How can we learn to see and appreciate the sunrise, beyond the metaphorical, as an opportunity to start afresh each day?

03 January 2013

A full day of play in the playgrounds

We've been to Pauanui to stay with family for a few years now but never really explored more than driving to the shops, walking the beach or to the nearby playground.  So we decided to take the children out on a 'Playground Hop'.  As we now have an age-range from toddler to teenager we wanted to see whether other sites had different equipment or were better destinations for play than our local.

There are 8 playgrounds in Pauanui.  Ajax Head and Given Grove both got a 5-star rating from adults and children alike, although the proximity of Ajax Head to the water treatment facilities did mean there was a distinctive smell in the air.  Neither had close toilets, but did provide seating and some shade.

The children thought this outing was the best thing we'd done whilst there and wanted to re-visit one of the playgrounds the next day. 

We ended up back at the shopping centre for ice creams - a welcome reward at the end of a full and sunny day.

Waikato

What are you giving your all to at the moment?  Is it worth it?