Georgia and Carmel on the left and Erin, William and Mason on the right.
William, Saxon, Charlie, Georgia (far side of the table) and Mason and Connor wait for the ferry at the Downtown Ferry Terminal in Auckland.
After having something to eat, we all headed to the beach. The jumping creek game is not a game; one of the six children made it up. Ranger Robin loved how the beach allowed them all to play.
When they finished 'playing' Jump the Creek, we went to Blakes.
Blake lives in the caravan in the picture, though a house is on his property. He prefers the house as he is close to nature and he can hear nature sounds better.
We all headed for a creek pool between the house and the caravan. Lots of eels live in here. We had pilchers to feed the eels.
'Stay behind, Ranger Robin,' Erin yelled. Connor, who is three, could not see the creek. It looked like it was all grass. He sneaked in front of Ranger Robin. Oh no, he is now swimming with the eels like a duck.
Connor is not floating like a duck. Ranger Robin is unsure whether Connor can fully swim, and the two Mums are too far away. She also knows eels can bite. There is no time to take off her pouch, which has her phone in it. She hops into the grassy green water, clothes and pouch to grab Connor. She grabs him by the shoulders and paddles him back to the bank. Phew, neither of them was bitten by the eels. The eels must have got a fright and swum away.
They both scrambled up the bank to safety. Connor was upset—we all were. Maybe we got a bigger fright than the eels. Then Connor realized Ranger Robin and he were the only ones who swam with the eels. How brave was that! Ranger Robin said swimming with the eels was special, though not always recommended. Ranger Robin's pouch had her phone in it, which had been saved and still worked. Note the green grassy things on Robin's tee shirt.
We hang part of the pilcher on a piece of grass and place one on a floating log. Four or five eels poke their heads out of the water. They can smell the fish, and when they get close to it, they open their mouths and grab the piece of fish. Only one can be lucky to have it. Carmel, William, Erin, Charlie, Connor, Saxon and Georgia all watch from the bridge.
Can you see the White-Faced Heron? It lives in the Pohutakawa tree beside Blake's place. Blake calls him Birdie Birdie, and Birdie Birdie follows him. Blake sometimes feeds him fish because he loves fish. (never the eels) People sometimes call him the grey-faced heron, though this is incorrect. His face is white.
Next, we drive in the cars to see Jenny's Eels. Ranger Robin can 'fly' in the red fiat. Mason, Saxon and Georgia take it in turns to press all the flying buttons. When there are cars in front we can't 'fly'
William is studying those eels.
Then, we go to see an even bigger eel. We are on an eel hunt to look, watch, and not catch them. We also went to look at a property and went through a coded gate.
We go to Charlie's for fluffies and coffee.
Then we watched Mason, William, Saxon and Georgia play while dinner was cooked. They remembered the gate code!
After dinner, Ranger Robin played a game called Menagerie, which she had bought for the occasion. This game was about building sets in an ecosystem.
And then being wholly self-expressed after dinner. The Barbie Girl song was a hit. Maybe it's a bit too self-expressed. (sorry, the sound did not come through)
