Boxing Day.....

Boxing Day dawned another glorious, sunny day.....but there was no rest for the wicked...... Grandpa's sheep needed to be rounded up......

Grandpa's Sheep

so the lambs could be crutched......that is, their bottoms sheared so they don't get flyblown ......when flies lay eggs on the sheep's dags, and then the maggot infestation eat the sheep's flesh....totally yuk, yuk, yuk......so absolutely essential to crutch the little lambs..... especially in the warm summer weather......isn't farming life just delightful?......

Grandpa Crutching

Once that essential job was done, it was time to pack up a picnic, load up the bikes, and head for the hills......a gently enduring....that is, gentle for the Big Ones, enduring for the Little Ones......bike ride round the coast road to Pencarrow Head was now the order of the day......there was much to take, so everyone had to carry a backpack stuffed full with something for our lunch/dinner on the beach.....and warm clothes in case in got chilly ......Pencarrow Head is one side of the gateway......or one tip of the horseshoe......that creates Wellington Harbour......so is very exposed to winds, especially southerlies.....even Little Miss carried a bumbag while seated on her luxury "tandem" type bike pulled along by Grandpa.......

Grandpa "towing" Little Miss

Grandpa, Grandma G, Little Miss and myself stopped a little short of the lighthouse...... hopeful of being more sheltered slightly back from the exposed tip.....and made camp......while Big Lad, Little Lad, Big Miss, K and D rode the extra way to take some stunning photos......

Pencarrow Head Lighthouse

As it's so exposed, it's understandably quite barren.....

Lighthouse at Pencarrow Head

On Boxing Day, with the sun shining, it was incredibly picturesque.....but don't let that fool you......come a full-on southerly storm.....and this place is very bleak indeed.......in fact, unlike today, back in 1968 the Wahine, an inter-island ferry designed and built specifically for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, by Fairfields Ltd Shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to the harbour, and eventually capsized when two violent storms merged over Wellington, creating a single extratropical cyclone storm that was the worst recorded in New Zealand's history.......Cyclone Giselle was heading south ......it hit Wellington at the same time as another storm which had driven up the West Coast of the South Island from Antarctica...... the winds in Wellington were the strongest ever recorded ......as the storms hit Wellington harbour, the Wahine was making her way past the Cook Strait on the last leg of her overnight journey to Wellington from Lyttleton near Christchurch in the South Island. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 people died.......making it one of the better known maritime disasters in New Zealand's history.......so, history lesson over......phew, you say......and today, all four Angels are enjoying a spot of beach combing ......marvelling at all the different shells.....

if they were in just the same spot back on 10 April 1968 and looked up from their search, they would have seen the Wahine listing on it's side in the storm.....

Wahine Sinking - 10 April 1968

Thankfully this was not the scene today....a gloriously, warm, tranquil day......just perfect for a little teatime treat on the beach.......the Angels collected some driftwood........ Grandpa made a little campfire......he was very naughty.....he shouldn't have because of the fire risk.....but he WAS very careful......we boiled a pot of fresh sea water to cook some saveloys......pink skinned sausages.....to be enjoyed smothered in tomato sauce and wrapped in blankets of bread......together with some bacon and egg pie, freshly made by Grandma G before we left home.......and all washed down with a welcome cuppa made from water boiled in a Thermette.....storm kettle to the Brits.......yum, yum, yum.......simply the best beach grub going......

Tummies full, the Angels took some time to relax before their long bike ride back to the car ......while the grown-ups cleared everything away back into the backpacks.....they were going to be a little lighter on the way back, now that we'd eaten all the tasty treats.....nothing was left to show we'd been there....leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos ......is a good motto to live by......

Little Lad Basking in the Sunshine

On a totally cloudless day, it is easy to see the South Island from here.....although despite the light, wispy clouds, you can still just make out hills in the South Island......

Looking towards the South Island

We'd ridden the long and winding road out to the farthest point you can see....

and now we were riding the long and winding gravel coast road home....well, not quite home.....back to the car at least....

It was hard going on the way back.....no southerly today to blow us back to the car.....instead a headwind to hamper and slow our return.....

Grandpa, Little Miss & Grandma G

The Angels managed superbly on their bikes, despite Little Lad coming a cropper in a nose to tail pile up right at the start........gravel and brakes and riding in a bunch take some getting used to......it was a long way there......and even longer back.....but everyone made it......Little Miss didn't even seem tired, having been towed along by Grandpa.....Little Lad, on the other hand was totally knackered, and quite prepared to sleep it off in the boot of the car......

Tuckered Out Little Lad

The housing architecture in NZ is a real mixture.....most homes are stand alone, with large gardens or 'sections' .....because space has never been an issue here.....mostly made of wood, not much brick.....some new modern designs with huge windows of glass....loads of 1930's, 40's, and 50's state.....council.....houses.....mostly bungalow styles with only new modern ones having a second, or maybe third level....... none that are really, really old, as in a few hundred years.....but quite a few Victorian villas and charmingly restored colonial cottages like this cute little one.......

The villas and cottages are my favourites, and I'd seen plenty of beautifully restored examples, but I always seemed to be driving in a car, so never managed to snap a photo......but on our way home from our coastal bike ride we stopped in Petone looking for somewhere to buy an ice cream for dessert......and here, in the middle of the main street.....which is very rare actually......I spotted this charming little cottage.....

Cottage in Jackson Street, Petone

Just along from the cottage is this delightfully renovated police station and jail......

Renovated Police Station & Jail, Petone

and further along still is Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life)......a large granite water feature where anyone can come and collect the free pure artesian drinking water which originates several kilometres up the Hutt River.....the water enters the artesian aquifer (layers of sand, gravel and boulders locked in by clay and silt) and is naturally filtered through the alluvial gravels and sands of the Hutt Valley over several years before reaching Petone and flowing out to sea .....some of the water is drawn into Te Puna Wai Ora.......it is free from micro-organisms and organic substances, and is perfectly safe to drink in its natural form because it has been naturally filtered in its long journey through the aquifer.......and it was just delicious.......

Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life)

Jackson Street....the main street in Petone......has been totally revitalised in recent years, and a special "Walk of Champions" has been laid.....commemorative plaques.....similar in concept to Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame.....have been set into the footpath to acknowledge Petone's sporting heroes......on our stroll looking for ice cream, we came across a very special "Walk of Champions" plaque......for a very special person......Grandpa.....for his participation in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, and the 1978 Commonwealth Games where he competed in cycling.....it was a very proud moment for me and my Angels to see that my Dad had been recognised in this way.

Ice creams were eventually found at Macdonalds...of all places.....actually the only place that was open on Boxing Day evening.....and enjoyed by all......then it was home to bed for the Little Ones......it had been an extremely long and tiring day for them.

It was not however, the end of the day for the Big Ones......Grandpa snuck out with Big Lad on a little jaunt with a .22 rifle......now I know some people do not agree with hunting.....but rabbits, hares and possums cause havoc on NZ farms.......so evening shooting jaunts are quite common place in farming areas......Big Lad had had his first try with a gun......an air rifle......at a target the other day, but it turned out the sights were broken, so there were no bulls eyes achieved......he'd never, ever fired a .22 rifle when he set off with Grandpa ......a hare was spotted in the fading dusk light.....it was tracked as it bounded through the paddock......a shot rang out.....and Big Lad had bagged his hare with his very first shot ......what a crack marksman, or what!!!......and he was soooo very proud of himself.......

Big Lad's Hare

Wow.....this has been a most epic post.....it was a most epic day.....full to the brim with excitement, fun, moments of proudness, and family togetherness......good times!!!

-xx-