A Beachin' Break

Fun fun fun in the sun sun sun

The Summer holidays are here; or, as I like to think of them, the Oli-days. The sun is out and I have three weeks away from daycare, so what better time than to stay indoors snacking while watching Paw Patrol and PJ Masks for hours on my iPad? Unfortunately Mum had other ideas, so we headed out to some places instead.

One of our first day trips was to the beach at Rothesay Bay. The water was lovely and warm, plus we found some cool rockpools with starfishes in them. There was even a cave around the corner from the beach; Daddy and I explored right to the back when we first saw it, and then a few hours later when we went back the water was rushing in and I had to cling to his shoulders. It felt like the sort of place a dinosaur or monster could be living in.

Only a couple of days after we visited that beach, there was a big storm that lasted for days. When we went back to the beach a week later, all the sand where we had been sitting last time had been washed away by the tides, leaving only big rocks where we'd been; needless to say, we sat somewhere else for our return visit!

Another day we did a coastal walk from Milford to Takapuna. This was sold to me as a walk along the beach with ice cream treats halfway, but actually meant we all had to scramble over rocks like some sort of mountain goat just to follow the path. Not so hard for Mum and Dad, but harder for me with my little legs. Lucky William was carried all the way, so all he had to do was look around and hold his hand out for ice cream.

It was cool learning about the Rangitoto volcano though, even if I didn't quite understand the timescales involved. I get that the volcano didn't erupt when I was a baby, but doesn't that mean that it must have happened when Mum and Dad were babies instead?

One day we visited Grandpa and Nana to go to Orewa beach together. As well as having a fun swim, Grandpa showed me how to ride a boogie board in the waves. The first attempt wasn't a big success - I was barely on it before I immediately came off it and face-planted in the water. But I got the hang of it; I reckon I'm a natural!

It's been a great beachy summer; lots of swims at cool different beaches, and at Grandma and Grandad's pool. Maybe it would have been good to have a few less stormy days, but at least then I was able to do my snacking and iPad watching!