Water Falling Everywhere

Saturday

Ro and Barnaby had a pseudo-sleepover last night. They played all evening, back and forth between the apartments and even went to bed at Barnaby's place...for about 15 minutes, then Ro wanted to come home. Craig brought him back upstairs, reassuring him that he could come back down for breakfast first thing in the morning. Ro was up bright and early, immediately heading down to Barnaby's for brekkie. Sherry called down a few minutes later and Craig answered the phone. He and Barnaby weren't even up yet, so he checked the door. Ro had been standing in the hall for 10 minutes, knocking too quietly for Craig to hear him!

A big weather front had moved across the North Island over the past few days, bringing with it plenty of rain. We decided to go see Kaiate Falls (near Papamoa Hills), figuring the river would be swollen and the falls impressive. We all piled in Craig's car and he took us the back way (he's a local cop, remember) to the isolated ravine. We were the only car in the carpark, probably because we hit the place in between rainstorms, and most people probably don't know the falls are back open. Sherry and Ro had tried to go there shortly after we arrived in NZ, but the falls have been closed to the public for a while. The boys wasted no time hopping out of the car and running down the trail to the falls.

The Ben 10 posse on the move

Te Rerekawau Falls is a series of nine cascades along the Kaiate Stream, with several hiking tracks that hug the walls of the gorge and crisscross the river. A popular summer swimming hole lies below the largest (and most downstream) of the falls. The tracks and rocks were slippery, and the boys fell more than a few times. No serious injuries to report, thankfully, just a couple bruised egos and elbows. As we were hiking back to the car, the rain started up again, resulting in a soggy ride home for all of us.

Ro & Barnaby at Kaiate Falls

Sherry and the boys at the lower falls

Some of the upper cascades

View of Mauao from near the carpark

The boys had lunch at Craig's place (sausage rolls), while Mark and Sherry ate BLT's in the sunshine on our deck. Warmer weather is definitely here! As the storm we left at the falls slowly rolled north towards The Mount, the guys headed for Drury Park to burn some more energy off the kids before the rain set in. Since school holidays started this weekend, Mt Maunganui is pretty crowded, and it was a little nerve-wracking watching the boys on their noisy training-wheel bikes whizzing past the outdoor cafes, weaving around unsuspecting people on the sidewalk.

Hurtling down Maunganui Road

We got to the park about 10 minutes ahead of the rain, but the boys didn't seem to care even when it started pouring; all of the adults and most of the other kids fled for home or gathered under the trees. Eventually, the water started dripping through the dense foliage above, so Mark and Craig started getting soaked as well. We headed back home once there was a slight let-up in the deluge. Fortunately, if you walk along Maunganui Road, about 75% of the distance back to The Anchorage is covered by shop and restaurant awnings. Sherry was out on the deck and was surprised to see us down on the street, thinking we were still chillin' at Craig's place and weren't dumb enough to venture out in this weather.

Spinning in the rain

D'oh!

These kids are hardcore

Time to go, boys!

Figuring the boys couldn't get any wetter than the 100% they already were, we changed them into their rashies and togs and headed for the pool. Being a school holiday, they weren't the only kids at the pool for a change, but they were some of the smallest. Undeterred, Ro would shout out to the tween girls, "We're big because we're seven!" as if they cared, or even believed him as he clung cautiously to the side of the pool...lol. For the record, he's five and Barnaby is six. Most of the time, the boys switched off between the two spa pools (Mark was in one, Craig the other), jumping in and splashing us. Eventually it started getting late and a bit chilly, so we headed upstairs to rinse off.

Taking over our living room

Sherry was making roast chicken, with steamed broccoli, risotto, and hot buttered rolls for dinner, and invited Craig and Barnaby to join us. Mark realized he'd never carved a bird before tonight, but he did a serviceable job with our dull knives. Ro turned his nose up at the chicken (which was delicious) and didn't eat much, figuring the sooner he was done with dinner, the sooner he could play again. It backfired on him, though, because Barnaby was a good (if slow) eater and was the last of all of us to finish.

The boys wanted to give the whole sleepover thing another try tonight, and spent the evening at Craig's watching E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Meanwhile, we watched The Bank Job (which was better than we expected), fully expecting a knock on the door at any minute from Ro wanting to sleep in his own bed, but it never came.