Paua Hut for Guy Fawkes in 36 lines

What happens if you take a whole lot of comments from everyone on the trip and just mash them together?

Mike, Angela, Toby, Beth, Taylor, Carly, Christian, Constanze, Gustav, Moritz, Rowena, Erika, Mary, Rex, Tim, Max, Richard, Hamish, Nick, Marg, Iona, Charlie

There were so many favourite parts

my kids really enjoyed the river crossing,

fireworks

having left over pudding for breakfast

Everyone gathered round the bonfire

roasting marshmallows and damper

Fireworks display and sparklers

Sleeping in the tent

my kids being exhausted enough to sleep in a tent!!

Jelly beans

The company

kids being busy mucking around

having a blast building dams

playing “families”

counting bridges

singing songs (badly and loudly)

The swing

The scenery and weather

Gustav’s admiration of Taylor (who was playing very hard to get!)

Carly (2.5 yrs) walking almost all the way in and all the way out and announcing to those behind her “follow me mateys” in her best pirate voice

The kids all taking turns in the buggy racing over the midway bridge (fun with baby buggies!)

Watching the boys make the dam in the river

Everyone helping each other out with carrying gear, pushing (and carrying!!) the buggy, carrying kids over water

weather forecast coming true

I can bring my  3 year old next time

The fire, dam building and fireworks. I am fairly sure even some kids enjoyed it (not just the dads)

Sleeping in til 7.30!

The dinner and dessert – there was plenty and it tasted mighty good.

That all the kids seemed happy to be around anyone – I saw little of Hamish when we were walking, he had a great time walking up ahead at his own pace.

We had a great time, thanks all for a neat weekend

It was a constant cute-fest with pirate-Carly demanding I'M THE MATEY

I'm still stunned that Beth made it both there and back, with that buggy and didn't once collapse with exhaustion.

It was the first time I've ever seen bread baked on the end of a stick and over a fire.

I realised the true and never-ending power of jellybeans.

I also realised how a simple  game of 'Hide the Hat' could keep kids enthused for quite some time.

Basically, the weather rocked, the company rocked and my back held its temper.