Home Time (part 3)

DAY FOUR

Day four, I woke up reasonably early... Excited to get a move on with my holiday... Which was more than I could say for Ben (who had finally got into holiday mode and wanted to sleep a little longer). Somehow, I had convinced mum and dad to let us have the ute for the day. So as soon as breakfast and showers were out of the way, we were off to visit the family.

First stop, was my cousin Erica's. We caught her just before she had left to the lake, so it was a quick hello then off to show Ben a bit of the island. We drove out to Owenga, a small village in the lower part of the island.

It was a good drive... pointing out everyone/everything I saw and knew. We finally got to the end of the road (literally) where the statue of Tommy Soloman was. Tommy was the last full-blooded moriori (the indigenous people of the island) so it was only right he had some form of a memorial. I remember being little and always being scared of the statue. It was huge! and of a man for crying out loud!!! .... and there's no eyes!!!! It also never helped that some crazy person told me his body was inside the statue!!!

After a quick look around it was time to drive home. This time I let Ben do the driving, considering there was no way he could get lost! (and I despise driving manuals).We decided we had a couple of hours until I had to pick dad up, so instead of home, we were of to town to go have a cuppa with my Aunty Liz and catch up on the local gossip. At 4.45pm I called home to see if I should pick dad up from work, turns out he had finished earlier and wasn't even expecting us to pick him up. Incase he was angry I suggested it was time to go home.

DAY FIVE

The next day, was the day of the Chatham Island Horse Races AND New Years Eve!!!!

Unfortunately, there was a bit of rain which caused the races to be cancelled. So my Aunty Irene (one of my favorites) picked us up and took us to the lake where my cousins Erica and Trish were camping with their partners and kids.

Trish's kids Reese (2) and Leighton (5) took a liking to Ben and nicknamed him Ben 10. They spent the whole day playing, while I caught up with everyone and munched on the bbq food!!!



At the lake



The whanau




Leighton waving goodbye

 Later that afternoon it was time to go home and get ready to go to the local pub with mum and dad, while my brother Kerry (16) went off to a friends house.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me, so I have no photos of the night... But it was so much fun!!!
I didn't have to buy a single drink, I had family and friends pulling them out left, right and centre. There was a live band (who were GREAT). I mended old friendships, chatted with other friends, caught up with family, had a very short 5 minute dance with Ben before passing him off to my Aunty Irene (who by now, was as drunk as a skunk!) and even met a few new faces.

However the highlights of the night... Getting a laugh out of everyone telling Ben not hurt me, otherwise the family would be on him (hehehe so funny!). Also, getting a feeling for home again. I saw so many people I had missed more than anything. The final thing, was seeing how much my parents trust me. In their eyes, I left home an immature, young girl who didn't know how to fend for herself. I wasn't exactly trusted by them. But being home, they saw how much I had grown up, I could do things I wasn't allowed to do beforehand, and everything was simply just..... BETTER.