*WE DID IT*
“SSSHHHH,” he whispered somewhat unnecessarilly as I was only just emerging from slumberland and had little intention of making my wakeful state yet known!
“Is it raining?” he continued.
We sssssshhhh-ed, ears alert to the drops falling outside. Were they falling from the sky or merely dripping off trees? Hard to tell. Opening the curtains revealed a thick layer of cloud enveloping our valley. Assured it would lift, we made the call to go ahead with the walk, knowing full well that 16km would be a long way for the littlest legs, and that it would seem even further if they were wet and cold, as well as miserable.
We were not to be disappointed. There was not one grumble from any of our children The Whole Day. If we’re going to be entirely honest, one of them knocked another accidentally and received a sharp word and even sharper kick in return, but the offender was sent ahead to scout out a lunch spot, and if that was the only bad thing on any other day I’d be one happy Mama! As I say, there were no grumbles, noone asked how far to go, noone complained of sore feet (sure, one asked for a plaster to put on a developing blister, but without so much as a word of complaint). I haven’t even got to the bit about climbing over a volcano or the fact that we ended up walking 19km instead of 16, because we skirted around the bottom of another instead of taking the direct route over…but you can tell I think it was a successful day, eh!
When we set out, we were not certain they’d make it. We hoped. We had a fair idea. We were prepared to carry them if we really had to. We didn’t for one moment expect a near-perfect day. We were pleasantly surprised.
We’re not sure how they’re all going to go with tripping round the world. We hope. We have a fair idea. We’ll make allowances when we need to. We’re looking forward to the surprises.
If we hadn’t tried the walk, we’d never have known.
If we don’t take the plunge, we’ll always wonder.
If you’re ever in Auckland, I would certainly recommend this walk. You can walk it in either direction, but we went from the Manuaku end as there was easily accessible free parking.
A short initial climb brought us to the first park of the day, complete with historic fencibles cottage and Onehunga Blockhouse, a small fort built in 1860 to offer protection from perceived attacks by the Maori.
At this point we stopped using our Interesting Facts sheet and just enjoyed the walk, sharing snippets of information that we already knew with each other as we walked, spotting landmarks from different locations – the Sky Tower, Rangitoto, the museum, the hospital, Mt Eden, Gothic houses, villas, native trees and birds, Grafton Bridge, the university, Queen Street.
Did people point and stare because of the dozen children wandering along the road (another family with lots of kids too, joined us for the day – thanks so much for coming with us guys, we enjoyed adding to our shared memory store)…or was it Grandpa peddling along on his recumbant bike that caught their attention? By the last few kilometers, he had two passengers as well. We figured it was better to applaud their mammoth effort with a very welcome ride while they were still enjoying the day, than to push them to finish under their own steam just so they could say they’d done it. They can still claim to have walked 15km, which is surely a worthy accomplishment for a four-year-old, don’t you think?
Boarding the bus for the twenty minute bus ride back to the carpark, M5 announced, “This is the awesomest part.” Spotting Grandpa cycling back as we waited at the traffic lights only added to the excitement (we arrived within minutes of each other – at 76 years of age, he’s a trooper!!), and noticing places we had walked just hours before prompted cries of delight and remembrance.
Yes, it was a day to be remembered. And would have been worthwhile even if we hadn’t been raising money for Big Brother Mouse!
Tags: children, fundraising, parenting, postcard: New Zealand, preparation, sponsor
rayres
wow what a fantastic effort! congrats!!
good practice too huh? 😉
well done and lots of memories were brought back to me of Auckland (where I use to live up until 3 years ago) by looking at your photos
wtg to all of you
Hi I saw you on the breakfast show the other day and then your website got e-mailed to everyone on a homeschooling list that I am on.
I want to take my two boys 3 and 5 to live in Italy while they are still young. Your blog and others that you have linked to are giving me belief that we as a family can do it and more.
Our big deal yesterday was taking the boys on a trip to Quail Island with friends. It has a walk all the way around that takes a suggested time of 2 hours.
How did it go? Well no one got carried and my son asked at breakfast time if we could go back today.
I am going to keep on reading how your prearation goes so I can get ideas for our family.
Good luck for the trip.
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Grandpa is on a recumbent TRIKE. Please check this grandpa’s site and his two tour journals. http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/geneandann
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=113402&v=9H
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