I could totally get used to these sleep in’s, 8am starts are quite pleasant! After a quick picnic/share platter breakfast we packed a picnic and headed to martins bay – pink mermaid boogie boards in tow. We set up under the Pohutakawa tree (to New Zealand’s Xmas tree song on repeat!) and waded straight into Luke warm water! Alexa again showed her determination and love of the water catching some waves, and Jorja although quietly a little more reluctant joined in. You may notice my kids wear sun hats in the water – there’s a good reason for this. At 24 I was diagnosed with a rare and severe form of skin cancer in my face which was tracking to the nerves in my brain. I was given (an uneducated guess based on very very few statistics) approximately 6 weeks to 6 months to live if I didn’t undertake immediate surgery and high dose radiation therapy. It’s now nearly 15 years later and I’m telling the brief version of that incredibly life changing story so I’m sure you clever cookies can assume the outcome! Anyway, we don’t stay in the water for too long, heading into shade for breaks (from the sun and the intense eyeballing of two over confident little girls!). The girls made me “coffee and ice cream” in their buckets and I laughed to hear Alexa ask if I wanted a “vanilla latte with four shots or just three today?” Lol. We repeated this three times before lunch time when we packed up and headed back to our home on wheels. I realized I had some gin and tonic left… so the afternoon flew by lol. The girls Dadda arrived in the late afternoon as he’s working up north this week, so we headed back to martins bay to show off our new skills… including Jorja getting repeatedly roll bowled and a-holed by waves, and my skills included loosing my sunnies to a rogue wave quickly followed by loosing my bikini bottom!!! (fk you The Warehouse and your “everyone gets a bargain”! I wasn’t counting on the bargain being a packed beach full of summer lovers getting a free show of my lily white butt lol… “oh my gosh, look at her butt (inside joke again). Bikini bottom and pride slightly saved by some serious “if you can’t tie knots tie lots” repair work and all was well again! We headed back to our meals on wheels deal and the girls decided to make a campfire. Yet another un-schooling lesson about fire unfolded and everyone remains unscathed. We are off for a fish at Sandspit wharf shortly to end another beautiful day in holiday paradise. But firstly – I’ll leave you with some pearls of wisdom:
– $5 bikini bottoms are a bargain… for the viewers – not the wearers!
– sunnies should never be worn in the surf
– my calves are KILLING me from our viewless hill climb yesterday lol
– getting roll bowled and a-holed is a child-hood right of passage (so proud of your fast recoveries (yes “recoveries” my brave Jorji)!
– Gin will make you sin lol
Goodnight everyone,
Madrika
Sent from my iPhone