After nearly 5 weeks in our national Covid-19 level 4 lockdown we have dropped down to level 3! The Wangs in the Wild had to do a few things on our list to do when we were able. I asked friends and family over the time in lockdown “What are the first three things you are going to do after lockdown?”, coffee featured in a lot of the responses. The three things I wanted to do were:

  1. Go for a drive and find a rock to jump into some water
  2. Hug some people for an awkwardly long time
  3. Go to a movie

Well, the third option isn’t available in Level 3 of the lockdown rules. So we had to settle for the first two. Tuesday the 28th April the gates were open. We decided to head over the hill to Hays Bay to check out the water and grab a geocache. We were so regretting not grabbing our swimming togs. It was freezing at 8.00 am, but we still would have gone for a swim. We went down to the beach skimmed some stones and went for a wander along the beach and around the bay.

  • Looking over Hays Bay
  • Down by the water’s edge

With 1 half completed the children and I headed over to visit my Dad to add him to our bubble (the people you are isolating with). Under Level 3 you are able to add another household to your bubble. On the way to Dad’s we stopped by Maccas and scored some fries. We were worried that the line for the drivethru would be crazy, it wasn’t! The hot fries were in our hot little hands in no time, there was only one car in front of us in the line. So, drive, fries and an awkwardly long hug with Dad and it was only 10am! Thus, ending the festivities of day 1 with a wonderful lunch.

Day 2: we only technically complete half of list item 1 the day before. Hmm… the plan was hatched to head to the Sumner Beach to complete item 1. The day was not the hottest on record and we were a bit crazy to consider a swim. Oh well, we packed the spades, towels, togs and a lot of optimism and headed to the beach. The beach was busy but we were able to find a spot to ourselves and the children proceeded to construct castles. I may have a nap on the beach.

  • Setting up
  • Toby’s first castle
  • Toby’s second one
  • Annushka’s draw bridge
Design and Art, part of the NZ curriculum in action.

Before it got any colder the children and I changed into our togs and went for a swim! Yes, it was cold, very cold. We lasted about 15 mins before Toby started to turn a very bright red all over. That was the cue to dry off and find something hot. We made a wee detour via the lagoon that had formed from the outgoing tide. Froze some more and then headed back to dry off. It was so nice to swim even though we nearly froze to death. Thus, concluded day 2!

The rest of the week was a blur of home schooling the children and myself spending way too much time on Zoom calls and working towards my Teaching Diploma. We all had clear schedules for the weekend and after a sleep in I prepared a picnic lunch and we grabbed the usual beach/picnic paraphernalia and headed to Taylors Mistake, a wonderful place that is filled with wonderful memories with my late wife. We are feeling a bit wobbly recently as yesterday was her birthday, so you can understand we were feeling a bit nostalgic. Once again the day promised a bit more warmth but didn’t quite deliver. Anyway, that never has stopped us before. I always enjoy the drive here as you feel miles from home in this idyllic seaside hideaway.

  • Little bachs
  • Oh, the sea!
Dramatic skies

We found a lovely spot and set ourselves up in the usual fashion, blanket out, spades out, Dad sits down, children start digging, what else do you want? Toby dug his usual hole so we can bury as stick poking out to the sand. Toby and Annushka dug a great big hole they could stand in. Josie and I played in the waves. It was excruciatingly cold! We all got into our togs and we did go for a swim. Wow, it really took our breathes away. We lasted for ages and I had to pull the pin as, once again, Toby started doing the sewing machine bottom lip and was turning bright red.

  • Testing the waters
  • Quick hole
  • Posing, to record the insanity

Even though the children were two seconds away from hypothermia they reluctantly got out. We got Toby halfway dressed and started the heating process. The good thing at Taylors is the showers. We were able to get cleaned up and dressed and not track too much sand into the courtesy car. There was talk of find some hot chippes, pies and the like. Guess what we ended up buying? Yes, ice creams!!! So, to wrap up we have only done items one and two on our list. But, we’ve done them well. I titled this post ‘Happy Place’ as the water is really one of our happy places. Be it a river, lake, stream, beach or a pool, we’re in it. I’ll leave you with this parting shot. Take care and join us soon for our next adventure.