We spent a night at the family hut on New Years eve. It's near the Rangitata river mouth about half an hour South of Ashburton. We love it there. Being near the sea is such a good feeling and it's a lovely stoney beach that always has lots of driftwood of different shapes and sizes.
We've been visiting the hut since the kids we small enough to have a bath in the laundry sink, a kind of tradition for the littlies.
Every New Year they light a bonfire on the beach. Last year I 'saved' 6 bentwood chairs for being burnt on it. This year I swear I saw one of these go on it! But I was too late.
On New Years day there is a community day with a best dog competition, chocolate wheels, raffles, a bouncy castle, kid's running races and the very strange Master and Miss Rangitata. This involves the kids walking in a circle in the front of a randomly chosen judge to see if they get given the prize ( T took out Master this year because apparently he looked cute doing this while also trying to hide behind a bigger boy ).
The river is deep and fast but if we're lucky we find small lagoons to swim in. If it's hot ( and it gets really hot there) nana gets the paddling pool and hose out : ).
Behind the hut ( which is called Do drop In) is a huge paddock which is great for kite flying and rabbit spotting at dusk or dawn.
Many of the huts are circa 1960-70, with everything them being from the same era. The hut beside the family's is painted pink! Most are small but with everything you might need. Some people live there full time so there's S's hut that has a phone and X's that has sky tv.
There's often a bit of drama around staying at the hut too. One year my nephew decided he was going to be born 5 weeks early and last year we got flooded out and had to wake and move the children in the middle of the night in knee deep water!
Many of the huts are circa 1960-70, with everything them being from the same era. The hut beside the family's is painted pink! Most are small but with everything you might need. Some people live there full time so there's S's hut that has a phone and X's that has sky tv.
There's often a bit of drama around staying at the hut too. One year my nephew decided he was going to be born 5 weeks early and last year we got flooded out and had to wake and move the children in the middle of the night in knee deep water!
The camping ground is right behind the hut so this Waitangi weekend we're going back for 2 nights with our tent and taking some friends and their families with us.
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| New Year bonfire |
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| The heat from it is amazing |
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| We find things like a stone that looks like hokey pokey icecream : ) |
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| a Rhino |
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| and a long sharp sword! |
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| run T run! |
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| the next morning we found the bonfire still going- marshmellows for breakfast??? |
a lovely story about one of your favourite places. You all look so happy there, love it
ReplyDeleteOoooo a good bonfire is just magical! Looks like a lovely time away :)
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