The fair in Napier was cranking busy! We had our Traditional extravaganza Easter egg hunt. Big thanks to Yani and Terene who played Bunny!
For our end of season party we had a couple of dance instructors come and teach us to Salsa. It was very rowdy and chaotic but loads of fun.
The following week we chilled out at Hamoana beach, schooling and playing while Dad went hunting and got a couple of Stags including an 8 point Sika.
The Havelock north fair was also a good one and our last for the season. Excited to be heading to Motueka to Steiner school again❤ but sad to be leaving our Extravaganza family (love you all!) for the winter 😥. Mum and Dad “surprised” us with flowers and trophy’s for performing a seasons worth of shows which for me totals up to over 160 shows not including our daily fire show! Thanks Mum and Dad I love performing with you guys, it means so much to me. Well done Dallas and Jaz, you boys did so well this season. I am looking forwards to performing next season with my family in a whole new show!
Next week we cross the ferry to set up in Motueka for 5 months of Winter/ off season! Bye!
It rained cats and dogs on Christmas day, we physically had to pull the last six trucks on to the Raglan grounds with the tug of war rope.
The rain stopped and our Xmas party/ secret Santa was safe. For secret Santa I got an amazing Croquet set(thanks Craig)!
Thanks Santa!
We had the first of our summer twilight sessions(DJs and dancing) on that three day fair. My brothers Dallas and Jaz lit up their fire-staffs for their first show on fire!
Tired and happy we booted it to Waihi beach in one day to set up and trade for another three days. Swamp thing played for our second summer twilight session on New Years eve. Awesome music and dancing! We counted the New Year in under the stars, dancing. I was a bit sad because Tiwai and Lettie couldn’t make it as their bus had broken down.
Now very tired and trying to stay “positated”(Dallas’s special word) we made the long haul through Auckland to Matakana, (once again with just one travel day) to set up for luckily just a two day fair. That weekend we sizzled in the hot burning sun.
We surfaced Monday morning exhausted after 13 days straight with almost no air;”just keep swimming, just keep swimming”.
Talking about swimming, we headed for Keri keri and Rainbow falls for a blissful 3 days of eat, drink, swim, repeat with a day of boating around the Bay of islands thrown in.
Rainbow falls.
Thursday night we drove onto Waitangi Marae grounds for our first ever weekend trading in Paihia. The treaty of Waitangi was signed here in 1840. Te triti(the Maori version) is considered by many Maori to be the true document.
We had a beautiful surprise welcome from the Komatua. They blessed us, they blessed our fair and they blessed our weekend. I had my first Hongi(mingling of breath with noses touching) with the guardians of the Waitangi Marae. I have to say I was a bit nervous, but afterwards I felt honored.
On Waitangi Marae grounds.
An exciting thing has happened! I have a summer job on top of all my other summer jobs. Working in the Lucky Star cafe. Its new and stimulating and gives me something to do! I am taking orders and handling cash at the counter. The first day was ridiculously busy and there was only two of us working! Thrown in the deep end and I loved it.
Lucky star crew Dan and Miejne,
That was the incredibly busy, fun, exhausting festive season. Now finally back to a normal pace. Next weekend Whangarei.
It’s hard to believe that Mum and Dad actually had a life before I came along, but they did, a whole 32 years of adventure! Evidence of this arrived in the form of their old friend Anna from England. She came to their wedding and joined them on their month long honeymoon around the south island 18 years ago. Anna arrived right in the middle of our circus training. After we had finished it was hugs all round. She has come to travel with us as long as it suits her.
Waitangi park is a a great place to be set up for the Extravaganza, right next to Te papa, the supermarket and Circa Theater, where we went to see “Puss in boots” the pantomime after set up. I’d never seen a pantomime before but I loved it. It was hilarious and amazing at the same time!
Usually the Wellington weather is a bit of a gamble , this time we got lucky. My Auntie Robbie (Mums sister) and my cousins Jaan and Delishia joined us on Saturday. Sweet Delishia loves helping in our shop!
Bike Rave? What’s a Bike rave? Evidently it’s a thing! Dad and I were tired on Saturday night but he managed to talk us both into dressing up and joining 12 other Gypsies on our bikes. We rode down-town to Bicycle junction( a shop that organised the Bike rave) to meet up with more than 120 other ravers, all on funked up bikes! These included a tricycle sound system pumping out awesome music, bikes lit up with fairy lights, tall bikes, short bikes, long bikes, rickshaws and much more. We dominated the streets of Wellington, stopping at the rainbow pedestrian crossing on Cuba street and holding up the traffic for blocks. No one seemed to mind. We partied there for 10 minutes then moved on to rave at another intersection. We toured the streets and back alleys of Wellington while pedestrians shouted encouragement, waved, clapped and took photos.
So that was a Bike Rave! Next year we will definitely be back with more decorated and funked up bikes. It was the highlight of the weekend! Here is a pro video which does justice to the occasion.
After hauling ass over the Rimataka’s we stopped at Featherstons lovely Book cafe, which we had discovered last year. I walked out with a supermarket bag full of scrumptious books and a warm cozy feeling.
We decided to have a couple of days peace and quiet at a new destination; Mt Holdsworth D.O.C camp, close to Masterton. Our bubbly friend Anna joined us there. Tues after school work we walked up to view point, then came home and watched a movie and went to bed. We had some crazy weather at Mt Holdsworth, hail, thunder, heavy rain, burning sunshine, sometimes all at once!
Wednesday we decided to start socializing again so we sped into town truck n’all to pick up a yummy fudgey slice then made our way through the suburbs to Nana and Pa’s lovely house. We had lunch then Nana and I made Belgium biscuits. I’ve made them before but not by my Great grandmothers recipe. They tasted amazing! Thanks Nana! Afterwards Nana and Pa dropped me off at my Auntie Carolyns and Uncle Des’s house which had recently been completed. All of my relatives in Masterton are on my Dads side, so we usually have an early mini Christmas and this year was no different.
Thursday morning Auntie Carolys and I went op-shopping at Savemart. I love op-shopping and this time I got a particularly good score, including a funky costume for Cupa-dupa (if you keep following my blog you will know what Cupa-dupa is sooner or later).
I’d been wanting to bake a cherry pie for a while now, so Christmas dinner was the perfect opportunity. Nana and Pa arrived and after a quick(not so quick) fashion show of my op-shop bought clothes, we had a delicious Christmas dinner, finishing off with my perfect cherry pie. Then it was present time. Mum and Dad are saving their presents to us for actual Christmas but I got a cute notebook and an amazing Anabell Langbein cook book.
Thanks Nana, Pa, Carolyn and Des! So that was our first mini Christmas of the year. Usually we have a few since our family is spread out in the North Island.
Well that was a lovely little week with the family. And an amazing cherry pie!
