So we are back from holiday.

The first stage was the cricket camp at Hastings, our third attendance. Joe stayed in camp, while we enjoyed the luxury of a motel with a pool. The cricket went reasonably well for Joe, though not really with the bat. He bowled well in a couple of games out of the five, and picked up two wickets in one game, and again was on a hat-trick! He did not get much of a bat, other than when he was put in at number 3 when the team responsibilities were mixed up. He did not enjoy the experience, and hung around, and played and missed, for a low score.
The team only won a single match, but were competitive in 4 of the 5 games. There were some impressive players on view in some of these teams, though the same could be said of Joe’s team, as four went onto represent Wellington the following week, and of those three made it to the full Wellington rep team that played last weekend against Canterbury.

After cricket we moved onto a new venue for us-Lake Waikaremoana, though the trip involved the horribly winding road after Napier, and then an interesting road from Wairoa, which is 62Km long, of which 25Km is unsealed. The family ‘mobile was not the ideal vehicle for the journey. The campsite was busy, full of fishermen and boaty types. Both “bogans” , and affluent JAFFAs, we decided. Probably they were estate agents, and had arrogance and bad manners oozing from their skin, as they tried to take over the facilities with no regard for anyone else.
We did a few brief walks, which is what one does there if one does not have a boat. The more serious types walk around the lake, but that takes a few days, and does not suit little legs.

Then it was onto Porongahau. The campsite was quiet, we were one of the few there for the first four days. The weather was great, warm, and sunshine though with plenty of opportunity to be burnt. The boys took to the sea and surfed, though dad did demonstrate he is still the dude with the body board. The men went off to the local golf course, paid the $10 into the honesty box and played a few holes, with the three clubs between us, one of which a scaled down 9 iron for Isaac. Everyone enjoyed their swings, and limited success.
The night sky was great with absence of “light pollution”.
Some runs were done, with Sara achieving greater distances. The achilles tendonitis is still a limiting factor.
On the Friday the place suddenly “filled out”. Hardly busy but we still felt invaded. Saturday was the return journey, everyone crammed into the car with all the gear again. The fishing rod was ever present, but not used.

Eleanor joined our party a day late as she went to a gig to see the Arctic Monkeys. Maybe she will find time to describe it for the blog if she can find time to put fingers to keyboard.